THE MEDUSA VIRUS: Book one of the Beta Viruses

Chapter 17- Jolene Woods*

I shake my head and slide my head between the inside of my knees, squeezing my legs together where I don't have to hold my head up. I inhale air, almost choking on how fast I took it in, but I remain composed. My eyes burn from my tears and I'm thankful that I'm not wearing any makeup. Beside me Jason is sitting on the floor, his legs pulled close to his chest, feet brushing the ice chunks on the floor. Damion is laying on his back with his eyes closed, but his breathing isn't slow enough for him to be sleeping.
We decided that when I'm completely thawed, we will get on the road to Canada. I'm hoping that along the way I'll run into Nikala, or even Kit. I also noticed that with this snow, none of the cars around are going to be able to plow through it. So I guess, I'm going to have to tough it out— and walk through snow. Of course, after putting on at least three layers of clothes, or more if we can't find winter clothes in the middle of summer.

"You okay?" My eyes fall on Jason who looks completely shook. He looks up at me, his beautiful eyes sending shots through my stomach(even if I can't see the color).

"Yeah— I mean as well as can be expected." He replies, his voice hushed in almost a whisper. I touch my thawed knees, which have the slightest bit of discoloration.

"Did you get hurt?"

"Besides my nose, no I'm fine. You and Damion were the only ones." Jason touches his nose while he speaks, a smile pulling at the corner of his mouth as if him hurting his nose is amusing. I bite my lip and shake my head, looking past Jason at the shut gray doors, that have a bit of ice creeping around the edges.

"That's good I guess." I reply, looking back at Jason. Jason runs his fingers through his messy hair before he leans back against the wall we're both leaning against. He spreads his legs out before him and closes his eyes.

"You know— I hate Kit." Pause. "But when he didn't come back, and I saw that he had gone away, I felt guilty." I shake my head.

"It's not your faul—"

"I mean I get it, he's afraid that he'd hurt one of us— specifically you— but there's got to be a reason he didn't tell us, I mean he didn't even leave a note." Jason opens his eyes and looks at me. "It's clear he liked and trusted you." Jason shakes his head and looks forward. "He didn't trust me, and I don't blame him." Jason's head drops, making me feel guilty. Not for doing anything to him— but because it's my fault too.
My hand touches Jason's warm hand, sending a shiver up my spine and cold bumps up my arms. I rub my thumb gently across the back of his hand until he looks at me. I try my best to smile reassuringly when we make eye contact, but I know that I'm definitely not fooling myself. "It is not your fault." I state, making sure he knows I'm serious. Jason's face shows so many emotions, I can't even recognize what he's feeling. Not even when he presses his warm lips to my frozen cheek. Not even when he moves away from me, I guess expecting me to say something in return. Instead, I sit there like a goof—very unlike me— and just stare at him in awe.

"I'm sorry." Jason says as he pulls his hand away from mine, moving his body away. But this time I know what I want. I don't want him to let go. I snatch his hand out from his lap and I pull him close to me. A little to fast because my lips crash into his, but I still know what I want. My hands find their way into his hair, pulling his face closer to mine. His lips taste like syrup, and he smells like fire, despite the fact that he took a shower. His hair is as soft as Woofles fur, and I will admit it's softer than mine. Jason's hands grab my hips and pull me towards him. Our legs bump, and I wish they weren't there so could get closer to him. But even despite that I find away to get closer. I take in a breath of air— which sounds almost like gasp— and wrap my arms around his neck, keeping my hands in his hair. He pulls his lips away from mine and begins kissing my cheek. Then my jaw, making sure he doesn't leave his lips anywhere for too long. I close my eyes and focus on the way his lips feel on my jaw. The warmth of them against the slight dampness of my sharp jaw from the once frozen ice. I open my eyes and move to where I can look him in the eye.