Saving Serah

Chapter 9:Butterflies

I jolt awake to a loud boom of lightning. Jacob places his hand on top of mine which was still latched onto his shirt. He shushes me in my alarmed state. "Come here." He whispers with his eyes still closed and he still half asleep. He brings me back down onto his arm and I grab his shirt once more. It was still a little dark but I could make out the features on his face. I stare at him for a moment. He pulls a blanket over the two of us and I'm assuming he got it at some point in the night from his emergency stash.

"Go back to sleep Sarah." I hum gently and at some point in the mix our legs become a jumbled mess all tangled in each other's. "Jacob?" He hums so softly I thought he had fallen back to sleep. "Thank you." He smiles gently but doesn't respond. I eventually dose back off listening to the wind and rain.

When I wake back up Jacob is gone. I groan softly. When I wake myself up completely I sit up noticing that the lights in the barn have come on. I stand up crawling down from the latter. I slip on my way down but am steadied by a hand. "Whoa Sarah!" He smiles. "Good morning." I swallow thickly. "Good morning." He stares at me for a long second. "Um.... the barn door is open now. We can get out of here." I nod quickly. "Please." He chuckles leading the way back to the house.

"I should be getting back to Dylan he's probably worried." I say retrieving my phone from my pocket. Jacob hums in agreement as he pushes open the door to his home. It takes him a moment to realize I have not followed. "Sarah?" I huff. "So apparently my power is out because of the storm and Dylan wants me to stay here." He shrugs. "Is that an issue?" I bite my lip shaking my head. "If you don't mind then no." He motions me in and I oblige stepping into the home.

"If you'd like I can get you set up for another shower." I hum. "I'd like that. Thank you." He nods stepping past me. I hate that Dylan is doing this to me. It's already awkward enough. Clearly we have power if Jacob does he's the neighbor.  I hear Jacob's footsteps pulling me from my thoughts. "The shower is ready for you." I smile stepping past him. "Thank you. I'll try and be quick." I find my way to the bathroom and into the nice shower. It feels so amazing I lose track of time. When I get out I see his flannel and underwear there for me.

I slide the garments on huffing before leaving the shower. I head past his bedroom letting him know I was finished before heading downstairs assuming he would want to shower as well. I find a spare bathroom letting down my hair. Once I'm done I head out into the hallway. I peek into a spare bedroom that's across from the bathroom. I didn't want to snoop but it just kinda happened. I peek through the closet and the pictures on the bedside table.

I pick a photo up into my hands. I'm assuming this was Jacob as a child with his mother and father. "I put your clothes in the wash." He says clearing his throat and I jump. "Thank you." He steps over to me examining the same picture I had in my hand. "I miss them sometimes but it's also nice to be independent." I look up at him seeing him reminisce. "What's it like having real parent's?" I ask gently setting the picture back down. He huffs. "I'm not sure. They worked so much I hardly saw them. But they loved me." I nod softly and we stand in silence looking at each other.

Before I knew it we were leaning into each other. I stand on my toes letting him press his lips to mine. He hums cupping my face. It's one of those long kisses that gives you butterflies in your stomach. I place my hand on his stomach looking down. He doesn't say anything he just waits for me to collect my thoughts. "I want to hate you and I want to be as far away from you as I can get.....but I can never seem to fight this feeling." He lifts my face with a small smile.

"Then don't Sarah. I messed up but it's not gonna happen again." I shake my head. "So I'm just supposed to forget how you hurt me? Do you know what it feels like to be alone and cooped up all your life only to find that one person that gives you these butterflies every time you see them? Do you know what it's like to wait day in and day out for them but they never come?" He uses his fingers to catch my tears and I hadn't realize I was crying. "Only to be told that you were afraid. Afraid of what someone might say but you never stopped to think of how my whole life has consisted of the same fear Jacob."

He takes a breath but let's me keep going. "There's so many things that I can't forget. I can't forget what my parents did. No one will let me. I can't forget how damaging my life has become since. I can't forget how everyone hates me. The one thing I don't know if I ever could forget is how you treated me just the same Jacob and that hurt." I feel something hit my hand that was rested on his arm holding my face. I look up at him gently he sniffles. I see the tears running down his face.

"Jacob...." He shakes his head shutting his eyes. "I'm so sorry......I never meant to hurt you Sarah. I just wanted to make your life easier and I'm sorry that I made it so much worse." He huffs shedding a few more tears. "I'm sorry I was so stupid as to think that what people said even matters. You matter Sarah. Who you are not who people paint you to be." He takes another breath trying not to cry as hard as he wants. I wipe a few tears away. "And those butterflies you mentioned before, I know what they feel like. I've never felt them before but I feel them with you. Every time I see your smile." He chuckles a bit. "Every time you sass me." I smile. "All I can say is I'm sorry Sarah I really am."

I lean forward wrapping my arms around him laying my head on his chest. I feel his arms fall around me. "Jacob...." He hums. "Your cute when you cry." He scuffs. "Bite me." We share a small laugh between the two of us just taking in each other's company. In this moment nothing else mattered.

Enjoy!