J-Fred

Ch. 9: The Knife

As Damien approaches their weak, limp bodies, Alice sees a glint from the corner of her eye. When she looks over, she sees the knife she dropped earlier. It is just barely in her reach. She musters up her strength, and in one swift move, she reaches out, snatches the knife, and swings. 

There is a solid thud noise as the knife sticks itself into Damien's foot. He howls in pain and falls back. J-Fred forces himself into a standing position, even though pain spreads all throughout his body with each inch he moves. Damien tries to get back up, but J-Fred gets him into a headlock and pulls him back down. 

Thankfully, Alice can see blue and red lights flashing through the windows. "The police are here," she breathes with relief. The burst through the door and pounce on Damien.

Alice sits on the front steps with a blanket around her shoulders as the police fix everything. They handcuff Damien and take him away. J-Fred talks to the police for a while. They talk to Alice, and then they depart. All is quiet again, and Alice and J-Fred are alone. He walks over and sits beside her on the steps. 

"Thank you...for everything," Alice sighs with a raspy voice. "I'm sorry you got hurt."

"I'd do it every day if it meant you were safe," J-Fred answers. He does not even realize what he is saying until the words are already out. He blushes slightly. 

Alice stands up to go back inside, but she is so wobbly and weak that she grabs onto J-Fred to keep herself stable. He stands up and scoops her up into his arms. "Does this remind you of anything?" he smiles as he carries her inside. His smile is contagious, and Alice soon finds herself smiling as well. It brings back that awkward memory of when she sprained her ankle and J-Fred had to carry her back inside in front of everyone. 

 J-Fred places her down gently on her bed. He fetches a bag of ice and sits on the bed beside her. Before Alice realizes what he is doing, he is holding the ice against her chin where Damien kicked her. Her heart races. She looks up at his kind, icy blue eyes that look down at her. She feels the sudden urge to pull him down and kiss him, but that is when she remembers his date last night.

"So...how was your date last night?" Alice asks, trying to act casual. 

He looks surprised that she knew about that. "Oh...I actually broke up with her last night."

"I'm sorry," Alice says. She feels guilty for feeling a twinge of happiness from his news.

"I told her I still had feelings for someone else." He glances back down at Alice, but he does not elaborate. 

J-Fred leans in closer to adjust the bag of ice. He is so close that Alice can feel his breath on her cheek. Her heart races a million miles an hour, and she can feel her face heating up. His eyes meet hers again, and Alice finally gives up on holding back her feelings. She slides her arm around J-Fred's neck and pulls him in for a kiss. She sits up, and when they finally break apart, J-Fred wraps his arms around her and pulls her in for a tight hug. She rests her head on his shoulder and sighs. It feels right. 

"I missed you," Alice says softly. "I'm sorry how I reacted to when you kissed me. I was scared, but I'm not anymore." J-Fred kisses the top of her head. "Could you...stay the night? I don't to be alone."

"Of course," he whispers. The two of them fall asleep asleep like that, still in each other's arms. Alice can finally dream about him without feeling guilty.