A Simple Deception

XXXIII

"When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible." When Harry Met Sally

----

XXXIII.

Alex recoiled, alarmed at the sudden shock that shot through his veins like a blast of ice. The captain knew. Why did this feel so frightening? Of everything that he had endured in the last few months, why was this so startling? He had been in the very presence of the man for a week on his ship and it had not felt so confronting.

But this was different. This was obviously different. It was no longer a possibility. This was now a certainty, and the man was here.

The very same man who had refused to dock his ship in Port-au-Prince for fear of being persecuted, had made the dangerous trek onto the island. The same thought crossed his mind, as it had done when he realised that Susanna had come after him. Why?

But could the answer be the very same?

Did the captain care? Did his father care?

He had to ... and Alex didn't know why that was so difficult for him to understand.

Alex suddenly settled back into his body and looked down upon Susanna once more. He could see the look of apprehension in her blue eyes as she worried that she had done wrong.

"He ... he came willingly?"

Susanna nodded her head. "Adam and I would not have made it without him. Your father brought us to shore, he helped us stay safe overnight ... and he obviously navigated this island well enough to find you."

Alex was still struggling to picture if, and yet Susanna was standing right in front of him, having just put herself in mortal danger, as evidence of her feelings.

He knew that he didn't deserve her. But he had a responsibility in that moment, and in every moment going forward, to keep her safe. He needed to get her back to the plantation, and they needed to start now, as they would need to travel on foot.

Alex grasped Susanna's small hand in his and rejoiced in the sensation of her fingers interlocking with his own. "Come on," he urged, "we need to leave now, or it will be nightfall before we make it to the plantation."

Alex wished that he had a scarf or some sort of shawl for Susanna to wear to cover her hair as they ducked and weaved throughout the streets of Port-au-Prince. Despite the fact that she was not approached now that she was being escorted by a black man, it did not save her from the astonished stares of the locals as they looked upon a golden-haired woman for, potentially, the first time in their lives.

The sun's position told him that it was late afternoon by the time that they made it to the border of the town and the road that would lead them up into the mountains. It was then, now that they were out of the way of the people, that Alex finally stopped, and his breath caught in his throat as he watched Susanna wobble on her feet with fatigue.

Alex reflexively grabbed onto her arm with one hand and wound the other around her waist to steady her. He could see the heat in her cheeks and the sweat on her brow, the quick rise and fall of her chest as she panted.

"I'm sorry," she puffed.

"You do not owe me an apology," he assured her, now or ever. "Please tell me if you need a rest." Alex helped her to a moss-covered boulder that was situated near the road. As soon as she was seated, she rested her hands on her lap and bent her head over as she caught her breath. Seeing her in that state suddenly shocked Alex once again with the reality that Susanna was here, after everything that he had done. "Susanna," he uttered, kneeling down before her. "I am the one who is sorry. I am so eternally sorry."