Way Back into Love ↪ Owen Grady

twenty-six ↪ survival

    I couldn't tell how much time had passed but, the whole time, Blue stayed with me. She was pretty calm, but I didn't know how long she would've stayed like that before she remembered she was a carnivore. There were a few swoosh and swish around us, leaves moving with no wind. Who knew what we had to expect.

    The ground below us trembled a little as a soft thump caught our attention. Blue got defensive until she recognized her sibling. Echo stomped towards me under her cautious stare and sniffed me up. When a shotgun's loud bang echoed in the woods, I jumped in front of the two raptors in protection without even thinking.

    "Hold your fire, do not fire!" Owen's voice spoke louder than the noisy chatter.

    I could hear both Echo and Blue snarl from behind me, ready to sprint and attack any threat they'd find on the way. When the InGen squad showed up, they aimed their weapons at us. Owen quickly passed by them and sprang in our direction, stopping only a few feet from us. He was hesitant whether to take steps closer or not.

    His green eyes intensely bored into mine, waiting for some kind of approval. I moved my glance to my right. "Blue, girly, let him come closer"

    The raptor tilted her head to the side as actually listening to me and slowly took a few steps in Owen's direction. I eyed Echo cautiously. "Echo, stay back"

    Blue curiously circled Owen and carefully sniffed him up. When she was certain it was actually him, she accompanied him to me. Once he was close enough, I rushed to him and held him the tighter I could. "I'm so sorry I ran away like that, I only put you in danger. I feel so bad."

    "It's okay" Owen sweetly assured against my ear, his voice muffled. "You're okay, that's all that matters"

    Blue and Echo abruptly jumped in front of us for no apparent reason. I quickly let go of the raptor trainer and eyed the InGen squad. They were now standing closer, their shotguns still aimed at us. I glanced up at my crush with a worried look.

    "Stand back" Owen instructed.

    They were ready to shoot, their fingers steady on the trigger. They couldn't shoot at me and Owen too, right? I acted quickly by telling Blue and Echo to run away to somewhere safer. Owen's firm arms wrapped me up and protectively pulled me against his chest when the weapons, in fact, shot. I squeezed my eyes shut, my body gripping onto Owen.

    "They have a back-up!" one of the men hysterically informed.

    "Call off the mission! Call off the mission!" another one yelled.

When I snapped my eyes open, Charlie and Delta had crashed a couple of men against the nearby trees. I gaped my mouth open in shock, but Owen reacted real quick by dragging me out of the scene. It was going to be a blood bath. These people never learn.

.

    The valley didn't look as safe now that also carnivore dinosaurs were loose. Was there a way, any chance, to lock them all up again? Probably not. I tightened the grip around Owen's hand, our fingers interlocked together as we looked for a safe spot where to stop for a minute.

    "Is here okay?" he asked when we approached an area filled with packs of Stegosaurus.

    "They look chill, yeah" I agreed, tiredness getting the best of me.

    Owen and I hid behind a couple of trees and finally sat down on the grass. It was nice not being chased. My crush suddenly pressed his lips on my own without even giving me time to process. I gave in right away, cupping his face with my hands and pulling him impossibly closer.

    "Mh" Owen hummed into the kiss and slowly pulled away with a smug. "You missed me, huh?"

    "More than you think" I shyly smiled. He was clearly taken aback by my honesty, probably expecting me to mess with him or something.

    "She's a security intern, Kendra. That date was actually a job interview" he calmly explained. "I made that up just to see your reaction. It's stupid, I know"

    I stared in pure confusion. "That explains why you low-key left her there like that and came to me that night"

    "Honestly?" Owen let out a stifled laugh. "I would've left any other person for you"

    "Shut up" I huffed playfully. "You wouldn't"

    He moved a little from his spot and pulled me to him, my back bumping against his chest. He blew small soft kisses on my head as he enfolded me in his arms. "I so would"

    It was time. Time to ask that one simple thing that could've changed everything for us, it would've either pulled us together or broken us apart. It was time because he couldn't see my face when I'd ask. "Why?"

    "Why I would ditch people for you..?" he let out a muffled laugh against my hair.

    I took a soft breath and continued. "Yeah, why?"

    "It's just the things you do when you l-" he stopped mid-sentence. After a few moments of hesitation, his arms calmly swung me around so I was facing him, the thing I was trying so hard to avoid. Owen pressed his lips together, his eyes bored into mine. - "It's been a rough journey. I called it quits with, you know, girls and all. I knew most of them used me to get to Dyson, it was clear, the way they looked at him"

    I listened carefully to every word without pressuring him to get to the point, so he continued.

    "Then you came around. You were in a cage full of loose dinosaurs, not scared one bit, and you were in there with Dyson. But you-" he smiled lightheartedly. "You looked at me the exact same way everyone looked at him"

    "I don't get it, he's not that good looking" I blurted out without giving my words a second thought.

    "Yeah" Owen let out a throaty laugh. "I planned the fake date and told Claire about it. I knew she would've told Nick and, you know. But when you showed up in that diner, all dressed up but heartbroken, I felt like a jerk"

    "I mean, it wasn't exactly nice" I felt the urge to look down.

    "You let me in and that hug.. I felt things. I have feelings for you" Owen's voice softened drastically. His hand cupped my cheek in a way that made me weak to my knees. I was completely and utterly starstruck. He caressed my cheek with his thumb and leaned in dangerously close.

    I couldn't take it anymore. I gripped onto his shirt and roughly pulled him down on me, our lips crashing into one another hungrily. His muffled voice unexpectedly blurted out against my lips. "I wouldn't trade this for the world"