Abandonment

{Seven} Take Me Where You Go

"Keep me in your heart for all time's sake."

-Dive You Mad, Amy Shark

So I told him. I told him everything.

I held back at first, but he noticed. Immediately, he gently demanded for me to tell him everything. It was almost a relief. The truth tumbled off my tongue like word vomit. Even the things I myself didn't really understand, I told him. I told him how, apparently, the way my family traveled differed individually. I told him about my aunt and uncle and how I just found out she'd brought him from the past. I told him how their love story was an inspiration and how she helped me travel back to live my own story. When I was done with all that, I talked about my family. Before, I'd been hesitant to speak about them. Now, I held nothing back.

It made me sad to talk about them. Even though Aunt Millie and Russ would understand my decision, the rest of my family wouldn't. It'd be hard to say goodbye to my parents and Zach. I told Cap, though, that I would visit them every now and again. He didn't like that; I could see it from his grimace. But he didn't refuse, either. How could he when he himself was an avid believer in family? We could figure out the details later.

Cap tried, bless him, to try and keep up. For the most part, he shot questions back to back and did his best to understand all my answers. There was only so much he could, though. Hell, there was still so much for me to learn.

After hours, his eyelids started to droop as I was talking. Truthfully, it took me longer to notice it than it should have. But when I did, I was startled back into reality. He had just fought with the McCoy and I still didn't know what damage he'd acquired.

"We need to get you cleaned up," I said, hoping to check him for wounds in the process.

He smirked tiredly up at me. "Ya just want me outta my clothes is all. So forward."

I rolled my eyes...trying, and failing, not to grin. "You stop that, this is strictly business."

Chuckling under his breath, he nodded in a general area. "There's a lake not far from here."

"Let's hop to it, then."

"Ya say the damndest things." His eyes shown with love as he said it.

It was weird to see Cap this blatant with his feelings. Maybe that's how relieved he was to have the truth finally out in the open? Or maybe he was just that delirious. Either way, I liked it. A lot.

"Just get up."

"Josie...I ain't goin' nowhere," he laughed. "We'll go tomorrow."

I looked up at the darkening sky and sighed. I'd be so happy when we didn't have to sleep on the filthy ground anymore. "Fine, but first sign of light and we're gone."

"Yes, ma'am," he chuckled, making himself comfortable as he stretched out on the ground with his hands behind his head.

The forest floor had never looked so inviting.

Not feeling tired in the least, I lay beside him, curling my body against his and resting my head on his chest. "Yup," I said, getting a good whiff of him. "First sign of daylight."

He snickered tiredly. Almost absent mindedly, he reached down and began playing with the ends of my hair. It didn't take long for the steady rise and fall of his chest to make a rhythm and within mere minutes, he was completely out.

The rest of my life, I thought. I smiled. The rest of our lives.

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