Lethal Love

28 ; Stars

It's warm out even though it's the middle of the night. The wind is barely blowing and the sky is clear. It's a perfect night for stargazing, hence why I'm currently on Jacksons rooftop.

"Here."

I turn around and grab the blankets from Jackson before he climbs out the window himself. When he's seated comfortably behind me, feet on either side of my body, he drapes the blanket over us. The material feels soft against my skin and I lean my back against Jackson's chest. 

The moment gives me deja-vu. It's similar to the first time I was here, but everything has shifted. I'm no longer scared and he's no longer secluded from me. 

"You cold?" he asks.

I shake my head. "No." 

We're both silent for a while, letting the stars work their magic. I feel so calm. Like everything is fine and that nothing really matters besides this moment. I guess nothing really does.

"What now?" Jackson breaks the silence.

I think about his question for a while. What now? "I don't know," I reply. "I guess we just move on."

Jackson pulls me closer and kisses my neck from behind, his arms tight around my waist. I think about all that has happened the last few months.

Jackson, Tyler and I all had to testify against Sebastian. The police found out about the underground fighting along with the drug dealing. Tyler and Jackson told them the fighting was all forced. That they were blackmailed to participate. They were let off with community service, since none of them were involved in Sebastians' drug dealing.

I had to tell them my story as well. That I'd been hanging out with Jackson and that I accidentally found out. And that when I found out Sebastian had threatened me and that was when Tyler and I found a plan to take him down. I may have skipped a few parts, but the details weren't important in Sebastians' undoing. Not to the police anyways.

Nobody mentioned Jacksons "murder". Henrys' name never even came up. It was as if he just disappeared right after Sebastian was arrested. He probably figured he'd be better off without him. The thought of him being free gave me chills but I chose to just ignore it for now. Life had been shitty lately. The scale would have to even out now. Nothing bad would happen, I told myself.

It was as if Jackson could read my thoughts or at least sense the worry in them. "Hey, it's going to be fine. Sebastian's in jail," he says.

I let out a deep breath. "I know. I'm just... I don't know. Paranoid," I mumble.

"Has Hailee forgiven you yet?"

I chuckle. She had been pissed when she found out we did all this without her. I understood her. But now I also understood what Tyler and Jackson had repeated all the time. It wasn't safe. It wasn't safe to involve her. It wasn't worth the risk. She wasn't involved in the first place and there was no need to involve her at all. "She's at breaking point," I say. "She's just about to forgive me. But she's giving Tyler a harder time though." There's humor in my voice. Tyler totally deserved whatever Hailee did to him. I deserved it too, to be honest.

Jackson chuckles. "Good. That's good."

"Every time I watch the stars it reminds me of my mom," I mumble.

Jackson kissed my head before leaning his cheek against it. "Why?" he asks.

"Perhaps they are not stars in the sky, but rather openings where our loved ones shine down to let us know they are happy... I remember I read it years ago and at the time I thought it as the stupidest thing. But then I found it again right after mom died and I don't know. Now I want it to be true..." My voice trails off into silence.

Jackson doesn't respond with words. He only tightens his hold around me, giving me another kiss on the head. And that's all I really need. For him to show me he cares. That he won't leave. That he's actually here.

"Tell me a story about a constellation," I mumble, letting my eyes wander around on the glittering sky.

He points to a constellation. "That's the Pegasus. It represents the white winged horse from Greek mythology." His voice is raspier than normal. Probably because it's so late and we're both a little tired.

"You see that star over there?" He points at another star that seems brighter than the ones around it. I nod and he continues. "It was said that a beautiful girl once received it from a fallen angel for saving his life."

"What's it called?" I ask. 

"It's called Adeline," he says. I chuckle at his joke. 

"Very funny. No but seriously though. Do you know what it's called?"

"Turn around," he says. "I want to see your eyes."

I comply and turn around, straddling him. He fishes out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and hands it to me. I unfold it, reading it over and over again once I understand what it is.

I gape at him, eyes wide. He just smiles normally as if this isn't the most amazing gift ever. "You got me a star?"

He nods "Do you like it?" he asks.

"I love it," I say before leaning in, letting my lips meet his. They're warm and soft and nice. Really nice. My hands move to his neck and my fingers play with his hair. Jackson moves his hands from my waist to my hips, pulling me closer.

I pull back after a while, breathless and still feeling the jittery effect of the kiss. "Why?" I ask, a small smile on my lips.

"You know how in the olden days people used stars for navigation?"

I nod. "Yeah?"

"Well you're my star. I'd be completely lost without you."

T H E   E N D

A/N:

(Sorry if you thought it was short, but I wanted to keep it short and sweet.)

But wow.

It's over you guys. The book is finished. It's actually finished. 

I don't know what to say to be honest. It feels so strange. I feel a lot sadder than I thought I would. I don't know if I'm ready to let go yet. Adeline and Jackson will always have a special place in my heart.

This has been such an amazing journey, and I want to say thank you to every single person that has read, voted or commented on my story. You guys are the reason why I've been able to write this. You give me so much happiness. I know it sounds cheesy and some of you are probably thinking 'that's what everyone says'. But really, you have given me so much you don't even know.

Special thanks to @WesternStarGazer for showing so much support all throughout this book<3

But I want you to know that I appreciate every single one of you, silent reader or not<3

I love you.

xoxo