Art Deco {Cherry Wine Sequel}

two

The world narrowed to a knife point.
I broke out of Benji's hold, his hand sliding from my wrist. "Lex." I breathed, my voice almost lost in the spray of the waves. He turned slowly, gripping tightly to the metal of the rail with one hand.

"Ruth."

It took ten steps to cross the deck. It felt like running a marathon. In the space of a breath, I was across from him. He held out a hand, stopping me. His fingers shook, and his face was pale.

"Lex." I said, confused. "It's me."

"It is." His face crumpled in relief. "It's really you. Oh, my girl."

I could still feel his hands shaking as he crushed me to his chest. I put my hands up, and pushed away, looking up at him. He was tanned, freckles dirty over where the blood had drained from his face. There were dark circles under his eyes, though, too, and bruises on his knuckles.
Carlisle cleared his throat behind me, and I was aware suddenly of all the eyes on us. Another guard had followed Carlisle up the stairs, and two more were on deck with us.

"Carlisle, bring Benji into the main conference room. I'll be with you in a moment." Lex said, following my gaze. Carlisle nodded at the other men, and they filed away, disappearing into some unseen parts of the boat.

Lex stared down at me, his eyes flicking over the new scar along my hairline. It wound from above my eye to level with my ear. The hair had been shaved along it. Four months of growth left it downy and soft, half-hidden by the rest of my hair.

"Your face," he said, running a finger over the visible end of the scar.

"It doesn't bother me." I said. Lex turned to face the railing again, hands gripping the metal so tightly they turned white.

"I did that to you." The muscles in his neck corded as he clenched his jaw.

"I don't care." I put my hand over his.
"Look at me. I don't care. The only thing I care about is that I'm here now." I felt like I barely knew the man in front of me. So much had changed for him. The world had moved under him, and I hadn't been there for it. The sunshine flashing from the sleek waves below was incongruous with the grief between us.

"I mourned you." Lex whispered, closing his eyes. "Every night, I imagined what would have happened if I had just stopped."

"It doesn't matter now," I squeezed his hand. "I'm here now. I'm alive, we're together."

Lex dropped his head. The unbuttoned collar of his shirt moved, and I caught a glimpse of silver. My purple cross hung from around his neck, the amethyst glimmering. In one motion, I ducked under his arm, so I was facing him, between the railing and his chest. 

"Lex." I said. He looked down at me, tears in his eyes. I took the cross in my palm, resting my hand on the bare skin of his collarbone. "I'm here."

He blinked, and his eyes cleared, focussing on me. Relief fractured behind my sternum as he threaded his fingers through mine, holding our woven hands to his mouth. "I'm sorry." He said. "You're right. That's all that matters now."

We stood like that until my knees began to shake from exhaustion. I was still so weak. Lex stepped away from me. I leaned heavily on the railing, stars spinning around the edges of my vision.

"Come sit." he said, and helped me to a wicker loveseat sheltered under the overhang of the upper deck. I sank onto it gratefully, catching my breath. The sky dimmed as the sun was hidden by a cloud, the long shadows of the mountains stretching over the sea.

"How many people are on the boat?" I asked Lex, as footsteps echoed above us.

"Four guards, plus you, Benji, and I."