Wherever You Are

Chapter 22

"Jonah, how many times have I told you not to fight with your father," Jonah's mother said as she sighed and rested her hand with a damp cloth that now had blood stains on it, on the table.

Jonah looked at his mother. He could see in her eyes that he was hurting her. He could tell she was on the verge of tears so he reached his hand out to hers and held it tightly.

"He is finally out of our lives. We don't have to be scared anymore, or worry about him." She leaned forward and cupped her sons cheeks in her hands. "You don't need to fight anymore."

"I'm just angry, Mom," he said hanging his head low in shame. He knew he shouldn't have gotten out of the car. He knew he shouldn't have even driven past the house, but he just couldn't help himself.

She shook her head and gave him a small smile. "I know, sweetheart. But there's no need to fight anymore. We are free okay?" She tilted his chin up forcing him to look at her. Just seeing the look on his mother's face, made his heart ignite. She was truly happy here. She was happy with the new life they had found. There was no reason for him to go running back to the old one and digging up his anger from the past.

Jonah leaned forward and engulfed his mother into an embrace. She held her son tightly as he buried his face into her shoulder, making sure to keep his nose away in case he was still bleeding. "I love you, Mom," he said.

"I love you too." Harper pulled back and from behind Jonah she saw Felicia step into the room with Andrew behind her. A smile formed on her lips and she slid her chair out from the table. She nodded for Andrew to follow her.

Jonah, not yet noticing what was going on, spun around in his chair and locked eyes with Felicia. "Oh, I didn't know you were back yet."

Felicia silently took a seat in the chair Harper had just been in and stared down at her hands in her lap.

"I was going to come after you," Jonah said staring at Felicia who refused to make eye contact. He stared at her as he thought for a moment. His mind raced as he tried to find something to say to her. What was he supposed to say to the girl he had hurt so badly? "I just didn't know if that was the best thing for you. I didn't want to push you to talk to me. It didn't seem like you wanted to by the way you ran out."

Thinking he would get a laugh a smile appeared on Jonah's face but it was quickly wiped away when Felicia did not reciprocate it. 

Felicia let out a heavy sigh and opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, then closed it again. After a moments pause, she opened it again and looked at Jonah with a hard expression and searching eyes. Her eyes were glossed over with the threatening of tears, but she inhaled deeply, determined not to let any fall. Her bottom lip started to quiver as she roamed Jonah's face. The hard expression softened and all at once as if she had been holding in a great big breath she released it with her words, "I'm sorry."

Jonah stared back at her, mouth agape, and almost laughed at her words. "You're sorry?" His eyes didn't fill with tears but they held a darkness behind them that he had never felt before.

He started to shake his head when Felicia stopped him. "I'm sorry I never called and I let you leave. I shouldn't have let you leave. I should have gone after you. I wasn't there for you when you needed me and I let you leave." She looked back down at her hands in her lap and covered her face for a moment with her hands, as if to shield herself from this reality.

Jonah leaned closer and moved his hand toward her face. He brushed a piece of hair that came loose from her ponytail behind her ear. He could see her body stiffen up at the closeness of his hand and pulled back. "You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm the one who messed up." He tilted his head down to look her in the eyes. "I'm the one who hurt you, don't you remember?" he joked lightly. The thought that she would ever forget, was laughable. "I'm the one who's sorry. I'm sorry I hurt you and kept hurting you while I was gone." He sucked in a hard breath. "I'm sorry I just disappeared without saying anything to you. I didn't even ask if you were okay after what I did to you."

Felicia looked up at him and in that moment while their eyes were locked on each other, she was reminded of how things used to be. They were being so open and honest with each other, unafraid of the harshness behind their past. They were finally facing what they both had tried so hard to bury.

Breaking the time stopping moment, Felicia grabbed the damp towel from the table and started to clean Jonah's again, just as his mother had. As the dried blood started to mix with the white cloth, Jonah only stared back at Felicia.

"So, what happened?" she asked, avoiding eye contact.

Jonah paused for a moment. He weighed his options here. He knew he was in no position to lie to Felicia, but he also didn't want to tell her. Whether it was out of fear or shame, he chose not to tell her and simply said, "It's not important."

Felicia seemed to let the conversation go, but sat there for a moment and as the water from the cloth soaked into her own skin. "Wait," she exclaimed as her eyes almost burst from their sockets and she stared at Jonah. "Did Seth do this?"

Jonah let out a low chuckle and as his lips spread wide, it pulled on the cut in his bottom lip making it bleed again. "No, it wasn't your brother." Felicia let out a sigh of relief and a small smile came across her face as she saw Jonah laugh.

As they sat there in silence, mending one another's wounds, Jonah looked back at the most perfect girl he had ever seen and a small smile crept onto his lips. He tasted the blood from his cut, but he savored it because there was no pain in the world that could take away from the warmth his heart felt in that very moment.