Beginning of the End

XXIII

About 45 minutes pass, then I see the intersection come into view. I see a car parked with someone leaned against the car door. I light tap the horse with my foot, and they pick up speed. As we reach the car, I see Alek lean off the car. I finally pull up next to him.

"A horse?" He smiles, "Couldn't a car have worked too?" I jumped down and hug him.

"I didn't want to be loud," I smiled at him and I tied the reins to his car door mirror. I turn to him, "So. Why did you want to meet me?" He stepped closer.

"So I could do this..." He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me. I kissed back and smiled.

"Well then..." I blushed as he pulled away.

"It's, like, really weird," He chuckled, "I thought you were gonna kill me when I showed up in your house."

"Oh, she should have." I turned to see Lamar holding his gun firmly, pointed at Alek.

"Lamar! Drop the gun." I pleaded. Alek has his hands raised. Lamar shook his head.

"Not this time, Ziggles." He stepped closer. I stepped in front of Alek.

"Drop the gun." I repeated. Alek gently nudged me out of the way.

"Stop, Jade. You need to stop sacrificing yourself for other people." He nodded at me, then looked at Lamar, raising his hands back up. Lamar glanced between me and Alek.

"What is going on here?" Lamar asked, frustrated. I stepped in front of Alek.

"He doesn't want a war either, Wisconsin... " I explained. Lamar looked back at Alek.

"If this true?" He asked.

"Yes, it is. I..." Alek ran his hand through his hair, "I can't let this happen. I've known Jade for a long time. I'm gonna try and convince them not to fight. To just leave the community alone." Lamar lowered his gun, walking towards Alek.

"All I'm gonna say is you're lucky I didn't put a bullet between your eyes. If you fuck this up, I'll personally be the one to put you in the fucking ground." He swiftly turned around and disappeared as quickly as he showed up. Alek turned to me.

"Seems like a nice guy." He smiled. I scoffed and shook my head.

"He's just protective." I shrugged.

"Obviously," Alek pulled me into a hug, "I wanted to do something we haven't done yet." Alek grabbed me by my hand and we began to sprint towards Food Lion. He walked over to a truck, climbing into the bed. He helped pull me up. He laid down, motioning for me to join him. We stared up at the sky, "Isn't it pretty?" He whispered. The Milky Way danced along the sky. Roanoke was a well lit city, you never ever would've been able to see this many stars. Let alone the Milky Way itself.

"It's...gorgeous..." I muttered.

"I know." He pulled me into an embrace, my head on his chest.

"I could lay here forever." He mumbled, more to himself than to me.

"Same." I mumbled back. I heard his heart rate pick up.

"I wish it didn't have to be like this..." He said with a sigh.

"...Maybe I can convince the community you can come. You'd be a great add on our team. And we cou-" He placed his hand over my mouth. He held up one finger to his mouth, then pointed to his ear. I began listening. I could hear faint talking. I struggled to further pinpoint the voices. I realized I was listening to the voice of my stepfather and cousin. They were to the right of us, walking through the parking lot.

"I'd give anything that he's there." Cj said with an attitude.

"Let's hope it's more for our side than hers," Chris replied. I looked up at Alek with weary eyes. He shook his head, "Honestly, why are we even out here looking? You know how he gets. His random ass trips in the middle of the night. Which, to your luck, gave you the perfect opportunity." Chris laughed.

"The perfect opportunity for my cousin to bash in someone's fucking skull." Cj said with a snarl. Alek clenched his eyes shut.

"You're honestly still upset about that? You have a fucking wife. If anything, karma hit you."

"Just shut up, okay? It's fucking complicated in more ways than you fucking think."

"Well... Let's just head back. We're not gonna find him, because it's who he is. He wants to be alone. But, while we're out. Let's stop by the hospital. Then we can just head back." Their voices trailed off. I looked up at Alek, whose eyes were still closed. I placed my hand on the side of his face. Here's a man I've seen that the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. I pulled his face down and kissed him. He pulled me in closer to him, biting down slightly on my lower lip. I closed my eyes as I let the moment engulf me.