Lagoon

The Code

The door squeaked just a little as she slipped quietly into his cabin. Her face was thankfully hidden by the shadows of the room, but she still turned to face away from Jack, unsure about his reaction. This was new territory for them.

Jack's voice cut across the silence of the room, sounding more sober than usual.

"Well, how did the lad take it?"

She wasn't even sure of the answer to that question. Will had called her things, had said things to her that she could have never imagined him saying. Young sweet Will, the little boy she had rescued from the shipwreck so long ago, the little boy that she had played pretend pirate with, had named her a whore, had shaken himself of her like she was a troublesome maggot, unworthy of his presence.

Then he had struck her, and it was in that moment, that terrifying moment, everything changed. He was an entirely different person now, one that she couldn't recognize.

Were things changed, or just revealed?

Her eyes started to sting with fresh tears, the residual pounding in her head intensifying, as she shook her head, silently telling Jack that Will did not take kindly to her confession.

Resting her forehead against the door, she let her eyelids slip closed and blocked out the world for just a moment. She had wanted to tell him, maybe apologize to him, make him understand that she wasn't trying to hurt him. His suspicions must have been festering for some time, ever since that kiss, maybe even before that. With the weight of his father being trapped on the Dutchman, and their wedding being interrupted, the reveal of where her heart truly lied must have finally broken him.

But that didn't excuse him for the way he acted towards her.

"Lizzie?"

The immediate concern in Jack's voice reminded her of exactly how intelligent he was, and how he could surmise that something had gone terribly wrong without her saying anything to him.

When she still didn't respond to him, the tears spilling onto her cheeks now, burning a hot trail down her skin, she heard his chair being pushed back, heard the trinkets in his hair clinking together. Her heart started to pound, but she couldn't fathom why for the life of her. She had nothing to be nervous about when it came to Jack.

She let him tug her away from the door, let him turn her around, feeling like the world was right again for one precious moment when she was enveloped in the warmth of his arms. His shirt was soft against her skin as he gently pushed her face into his chest, and it was there that she finally allowed herself to cry.

Not because of Jack, or this new joy in her life, because she still found no shame in it, but because of the treacherous and destructive path she had taken to get there.

Eventually, her tears petered out, becoming occasional snuffles. But she was still reluctant to raise her head. Unfortunately, Jack was far too perceptive for his own good. He shifted his shoulder, nudging her head away, and then his clever fingers hooked under her chin, tilting her face up.

She couldn't look him in the eye, and she realized that she thought he was going to be angry with her because of what Will had done. Immediately after the thought entered her brain, she felt absolutely ashamed of herself for even having the notion.

"Lizzie, what's the-"

His words were cut off at the same exact moment that he turned her face so that her cheek was facing him, the light from the lantern on his desk illuminating the evidence of Will's anger.