Every Breath She Takes [CURRENTLY ON HOLD]

Chapter 13: Life Lessons

Cam grew quickly. Soon, he was starting to want solid food, and he began to crawl. That was when the fun really started. Both Jack and I were kept busy keeping an eye on him, and I made sure that I was around when Jack had to work. With a bit of investigation, I found out that he was an author, and I begged to read some of his books. However, he wouldn’t let me, saying that they weren’t suitable for me. I just laughed that off. After what I had been through? Luckily for him, Cam had chosen that time to crawl away at high speed, and I followed him.

“Jack?” I poked my head around his workroom door, wary. If he was in the grip of his work, he wouldn’t be happy about the interruption. He wasn’t, though, and I gave a small sigh as he looked up.

“Yeah?”

“Come and look at this.” I led him back to the lounge room, where I’d been watching TV while playing with Cam. The news had come on, and that was what I wanted to show him. The news reporter was still talking, just finishing up his report.

“…and there is still no sign of Rökiga, the young woman who disappeared nearly two years ago coming home from her small bookstore…”

As I had, Jack froze, staring at it. “They’re still looking?”

I nodded, my mouth suddenly dry. “What should we do?”

“There’s nothing we can do,” he replied, absently picking Cam up before he disappeared. “Did you have any ideas?”

I shook my head. “No. That’s why I asked you.”

He shrugged. “Do you want to be found?” he asked, suspiciously casual. I eyed him narrowly.

“Why do you ask?”

“No reason.”

“Hmph.” I didn’t believe him, but let the matter drop. I took Cam off him, and carried him to his cot. He’d been fed, and was rubbing his eyes. I knew he was tired – I was the same. I put him down, pulling his blanket up, and he fell asleep quickly, letting me relax a little without having to worry about him. I came back out to the lounge room, where Jack was still staring at the TV.

“Are you alright?”

He jerked, startled, and looked at me. “I’m fine. What about you?”

I shrugged. What he had done was always in the back of my mind, but I was usually able to ignore it. It was only at times like this that it resurfaced, and I often went quiet when it did.

“How long has it been?”

I sighed, and sat down heavily. “He kidnapped me on the thirtieth of November,” I said slowly, trying to work it out. “And Cam was born on the seventh. He’s now nearly eighteen months old. So almost two years, Jack. A long time.”

“You reckon you’re still scarred?”

“Of course.” I stared at him. “Why wouldn’t I be? He had me for a year!”

He took a step back away from my anger. “I know, sweetheart. I’m just trying to get my head around it.”

I sighed, and looked away from him, staring blindly at the TV screen. I was afraid of what he was going to do.

“Ro, there’s something I need to ask you.”

I nodded, waiting for the worst. “Yes?”

However, he crossed to me, and knelt in front of me, his blue eyes shining with something I couldn’t define. He was holding something, and I could see that he was shaking. Smiling slightly, I put my hands over his.

“What is it, Jack?” I whispered.

“Promise me something first.”

Intrigued, I nodded. “What?”

“Don’t be afraid. Please.”

I nodded again. “What’s the matter?”

His hands were shaking, but he managed to uncover the box he was holding. “Will…will you marry me?”

I stared at him, starting to shake as much as he was. My first instinct – to say no – trembled on the tip of my tongue, but I pushed it away. I didn’t want to rush into something like this, nor rush out. Then, I made the fatal error of looking down at what he was holding. I knew I was gone then. The ring was beautiful. It was a simple golden band, with a medium sized sapphire in the middle. Edging that stone were tiny smaller ones, two each side, and all five were set in delicate settings. The ring itself had a faint engraving on it, a vine, and when I looked at it more closely, I could see that there were words engraved on the inside. I raised my gaze to meet Jack’s, finally realising what it was that I had seen in his eyes so many times over the past couple of years. It had been love, and I could see it now. I gently laid my hand against his cheek.

“Yes,” I murmured. “I will.” My eyes were filling with tears, but I refused to let them spill over. I held his hands tightly, and he carefully slid the ring over my finger. I smiled, gazing at it, and looked at him once more.

“Thank you,” I whispered, knowing he would know what I meant. “Thank you so much.”

He smiled, and kissed me. For the first time, I kissed him back, both of us urging on the other. When we broke away, I looked involuntarily towards the room in which Cam was sleeping.

“You don’t mind…?”

He stopped my words, placing a finger on my lips. “As far as I’m concerned,” he said. “He’s mine. Ours. Don’t worry about him.”

That made me cry. I flung my arms around him, hugging him tightly. He wrapped his arms around me, and we twirled around the room, giddy with happiness. I hadn’t realised that I loved him, but now that he brought it up, I knew that it was right. I did love him, despite out history. For all I knew, though, it could have been because of our history.