Only chaos remains

Chapter 9

The sun shone through the curtains. I raised a hand above my eyes to protect them from the light. I felt comfortable in this huge bed, the blanket was still covering me and I wrapped it tighter around my body. I heard a light noise coming from my right. I turned around, slightly opening my eyes, and saw Jake sitting on the bed with his laptop.

I raised my head, "You stayed in bed with your laptop?"

When he heard me, Jake looked at me and smiled, "Yes. I wanted to be close to you so I brought it here with me."

I smiled back at him, happy to finally be with the man I love. I got closer to him, slipping an arm beneath his and resting my hand on his stomach, tracing the shape of his features above his gray t-shirt. With my other hand, I lifted up his sleeve and started to kiss his shoulder. I inhaled the scent of his skin. Even after years, I wouldn't be able to describe this smell. It was soft, warm, and reassuring. I softly moaned against his shoulder.

"You're distracting me," Jake said.

"Is it bad?" I asked with a mischievous smile, rather proud of myself.

"Yes and no," he answered. I raised my eyebrows, "Yes because I need to focus on what I'm doing right now. And no, because I'm enjoying what you are doing."

"Oh..." I started while withdrawing my hand from his chest.

But Jake was faster than me. He took my hand, lifted it up to his lips and planted a kiss on my knuckles, "I did not say you have to stop, though."

I laughed and put my hand again on his chest, but this time under his shirt. I pushed on my other hand to lift my body a bit so I could reach his neck. I could feel Jake slightly flinch under my touch, and it didn't take time for the man to close his laptop and focus on me.

-

Jake put his hood and facemask on. While he took his backpack, he turned towards me, "Do you have something to hide your face? Any hood or mask?"

I nodded, "My coat has a hood," I answered. As the weather was unsure, I brought with me a raincoat, which was a good idea because since Richy's funeral, it hasn't really stopped raining. Jake grabbed me by the hand and led me to a door that led to the garden of the house.

"We are leaving this way. There is a small path behind the garden that leads next to a bus station," Jake opened the door.

"We're going to Colville by bus? Isn't it too dangerous?" I asked while I walked past Jake to step outside the house. I arrived in a tiny garden full of flowers. I thought I recognized some tulips and jonquils. I also saw rose bushes but it was too early for the flowers to bloom. This place should be very pretty during the summer, though.

I started walking in the garden while Jake quietly closed the door, "For now, it is the safest way I have to travel," he explained, "at that time of the day, the bus will be crowded, so we should go unnoticed." Jake took the lead and went to a fence at the back of the garden. "Do you need help to climb it?" he asked.

The fence was a bit taller than me but I could put my feet between the mesh to help me. "I think I can do it," I answered firmly. Jake nodded and put both hands on the top of the fence. He easily climbed it and put his right foot on the top of the fence before jumping on the other side. I was obviously less elegant than Jake while climbing. I slipped twice before reaching the top. Fortunately Jake raised his arms to help me get down.

Once on the path, Jake took my hand again, intertwining his fingers with mine. We walked in silence for fifteen minutes. We only crossed a couple walking their dog. We finally reached a more crowded area of the city. As it was a rainy day, everyone outside wore rainy clothes so we didn't seem awkward among them. We soon arrived at the bus stop for Colville. The light panel indicated we had to wait twenty more minutes before the bus arrived.