Golden Boy

T H I R T Y - F O U R

"Get inside," was all Dayna said before entering the house. 

"Well, that was absolutely insane," I commented, attempting to get up, but failing.

"You're a mess," said Jace, taking a hold of my arms, twisting them around to see all of the different cuts and places where there was still glass embedded. 

"What can I say, I was thrown through a window."

He grimaced at that. "I feel like all I do is apologize to you, but I don't know what else to say."

"Say that it's over. Say that you're done working with those people and that we can go back to school tomorrow and pretend like none of this ever happened."

"It's not that simple, El."

"It can be that simple if you want it to be."

"I just want to keep you safe," he sighed. He picked out a few pieces of glass, and I bit my lip to keep me from exclaiming in pain. "I keep failing and you always end up taking a beating. I'm sorry, El. I'll never let anything like that happen again. I promise."

His eyes teared up, but he looked away so that before I could comment on him crying. After everything, I wanted to cry too. It just seemed like the appropriate response after almost dying. 

"I trust you, Jace. I probably shouldn't, but I do."

He shook his head. "Yeah, you definitely shouldn't."

I rested my palm on his face, guiding his gaze back to mine. "Everything is going to be okay," I said. I met his lips with mine, savoring the moment. Nothing else mattered right now than being in this moment with Jace. 

Even though we had just started down this path of exploring our feelings for one another, I didn't plan on taking anything for granted, especially after today and how easily everything can change from one moment to the next. Haven was a prime example since she arrived on her own two feet and left in a body bag (not really, but you get what I mean.) 

After our embrace, Jace hauled me up to my feet and brought me inside. Dayna and Bev had already started the reconstructive work of putting Dayna's house back together. So far the floor was clear of bodies, blood, and water—so they've gotten to most of the work. 

Jace brushed away some glass on the couch and then motioned for me to take a seat. He joined the clean-up crew, and I got to sit back and watch as things were magically put back together. It reminded me of when you took a video of something coming apart and then played in backwards until it looked normal again. It was exactly like that but happening in real life. 

Dayna made her rounds, attending to everyone's battle scars. Bev had it worse than I thought. There was a long gash from his left thigh up to his abdomen. It didn't run too deep, but it was likely to leave a scar. 

Jace needed stitches on his scalp from when Maggie broke a bunch of plates over his head. He recounted the story with a sour expression. Dayna had the least injuries, having been an expert at the art of fighting and a lot more experienced than all of us combined. 

She tended to mine last, carefully picking out every little piece of glass that I couldn't get to with a pair of tweezers. We were in the upstairs bathroom now where she had drawn me a bath to see the cuts we missed. 

"I don't know how you will be able to go back to your life after witnessing everything you saw here today, but if you ever need someone to talk about it with, I'm here." She finished patching me up and got up to leave me alone to bathe. 

"Thank you. I plan on never thinking about it."

She smiled and nodded. "That's probably the best way to cope."