| Jess |
It was as though the clouds had exploded and were pouring their hearts out onto the hungry ground below, so deprived of the life-giving kiss that it was hardly even wet on the surface. The water rolled off the stark blue canvas of the sky in sheets, tapping out a steady rhythm on everything it met on its forsaken journey down, down, down. The softest of drum rolls, an uneven canter, offset by the winds that lifted up and carried the beads off course.
The rain fell, haughty, triumphant, cascading off the sloped roof of the veranda in a cold, wet blanket, encasing the marble structure in its embrace, drenching the earth below that marble pedestal. Liquid walls separated by Roman pillars and vines alive with small and daring flowers.
Two figures stood, huddled together underneath that forgiving haven, soaked from being out in the rain for too long. For them the rain didn't exist, it was only them in their world, only them and this veranda, swathed with its mossy green vines laden with little pink petals and baby's breath. Just them, and the symphony of winds that swirled about their haven, enraptured by the duo caught within those walls.
Her hair was plastered to her face by the droplets that trickled down her cheeks in little rivulets. He caressed them away, affectionately, with the back of his hand. She was cold, he wrapped his arms around her, bringing her close; but still she shivered against him. Hers was a different kind of cold.
She pulled away, he released her, watching her back and the wet fabric that clung to her small frame; that rippled when she walked and collapsed against a pillar. He reached out to catch her, to gather her near to him once again, but she shrugged him off with a sob, turning glassy hazel eyes to him. Her fingers danced lightly against the skin of his cheek, hesitantly, as though she was afraid. He caught her hand in his, bringing it down, pressing it lightly against his chest. Her breath hitched, she tried to pull away again, but he wouldn't let her.
"Why do you keep running away?"
"I'm sorry," another droplet ran down her cheek as the rain pounded down, outside of their little haven. "Please, just let me go."
He shook his head, his resolve burned like a fire within his tender green eyes that enamored her, sucked her in like the ground consumed the rain. “I won’t.”
Her voice was a whisper, a soft plea, “Please.”
"Why?"
She looked away, averted her attention to the rain that continued to fall. He gently took her chin and turned her face back to him. “Stop running away.”
“I can’t,” her eyes flickered back and forth between his steadfast emeralds, never setting foot in either of those soothing waters long enough to be whisked away by the undercurrent. No, she wouldn’t be swept off her feet.
“What are you afraid of?” Her eyes stung, she blinked another tear; again he caressed it away as he kept her. Her silence was filled by the static noise of rain beating its tiny war drums. She shook her head, slowly. She wasn’t sure.
“Please, let go.”
“I can’t.”
"You can."
“So can you.” Their breaths were dragons, escaping the caverns of their mouths in puffs of steam that dissipated in the rain-burdened air. She bit her lip; he took her other hand and brushed his lips softly over her white knuckles. She looked away. “Are you afraid of me?” A sigh alleviated her churning stomach, settled her heart, its chaotic rhythm rivaling the pulse of the rain.
“No.” There was no hesitation in her quaking voice. Both relief and concern flooded his consuming eyes.
The rain was relentless in its onslaught, the sky, once so clear and blue, grew overcast. Dark clouds dotted the horizon as they spread long opposing arms out and out and over everything in sight. The clouds wept and the earth drank up their tears, brushing their burdens aside as its long thirst was quenched.
He watched her, and she waited for a revelation to come upon her, waited for the right words to roll forth from her.
“I love you.” She pressed a finger to his lips. He captured her other hand, pressed it, too, against the wet fabric of his shirt.
“Please don’t. Just let me go.”
They were a mismatched pair, the two of them. She was dark, her heart was overshadowed by her past, and he, in her eyes, at least, was light and happy, and everything that she would ever need. But it wasn’t enough. She couldn’t let herself love him.
“This isn’t what you really want.” His voice was soft and warm, and he spoke the truth.
“Don’t tell me what I want.”
He acquiesced, but still he held her. “Then is it what you want?”
Her eyes fluttered shut and her heart leapt into her ears, drowning out the sound of the downpour. The drums rolled closer, roared louder, she was sinking beneath the waterfall of the rain and he refused to let her go.
"No."
“What do you want?”
She stuttered, her mind reeled, swimming through her thoughts in a tide that continued to rise and threatened to overflow and overpower her at any given moment. His heart beat against her hands; open palmed to accept its steadying, comforting measure. He was warm. She could have said anything, anything at all. But she couldn’t lie, not to those green eyes that had completely and utterly harvested her soul. “You.”
The darkness had relinquished its hold on the sky, was drawing its long arms back into the horizon, leaving behind a fog to take its place, rolling in under the protective roof of the veranda to ensnare the two, safely tucked beneath. The rain still couldn’t get to them though, the rain that continued to play outside without ever thinking of releasing them.
“But you have me,” he breathed.
