𝙑𝙞𝙭𝙚𝙣 || 𝙏𝙧𝙞𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙁𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙧

Twelve.

Chapter twelve: No warning

For the life of her, Margo couldn't understand why she could hear the collision of the helicopter against the ground. With the impact her body made, she should've been dead, yet, her she lay, black dots clouding her vision and her body numb. In a desperate attempt to use her fine motor skills, she managed to grasp a strand of the grass that tickled her side. Then, the movement of her toes made her sigh in relief. She wasn't paralysed but now came the hard part; getting back up.

Margo could only cry in both physical pain and mental as she rolled onto her stomach and seen the helicopter on its side. With her hearing strained, she heard the yells of the men that were on board and she cried harder, beyond grateful to hear their voices as well as still being alive. Ordinarily, death didn't scare her and from time to time, she wished it upon herself but in that circumstance, she became terrified and now, her near-death experience made her open her eyes. She still had so much to live for and it only took a disastrous occurrence to become her wake up call.

"You're a crazy fucking bitch!" Ben yelled through the pain in his chest after enduring such grief. "I could've saved your ass!"

Margo tried to pull herself up from the dirt and as soon as she did, Ben's body crashed against her like a tidal wave. With his arms tightly round her waist and her hands circling his neck, she sniffled, blinking away tears at his touch. It was warm and it made her feel safe. The men behind the two had began to run towards her, only to realise Ben got there first and so, to let them have a moment, they turned round after reluctantly trailing William away. He didn't need to see their encounter despite knowing there was something going on between them. It visibly pained him to watch the girl he loved, embracing his brother.

Ben and Margo both knew they had to pull away and defend themselves against the herd of angry villagers that flocked upon the havoc they brought to their fields. A years worth of crops had been damaged and yet, they didn't have a care in the world. For all they knew, the villagers could have formed a circle around them with pitchforks ablaze but if they had each other, nothing else mattered. 

"I nearly ruined my ass to save yours, so suck it up, baby." Margo bit her lip and breathed a giggle, her words indirectly accepting his proposal to be his.

Smiling through the tears, Ben's heart stammered loudly in his chest and the blood pumped abundant in his ears. He couldn't believe that like sand through fingers, he nearly let her slip away. From where he had been strenuously trying to save her life in the helicopter, the drop below looked substantial and daunting, but thankfully, it wasn't high enough to shatter her bones. 

When they eventually pulled back, Margo was bewildered to find wet patches under his eyes. Whilst his gaze only store into hers harder, searching for the right words to say, he realised there weren't enough words in the English language to confess his undying love and gratitude towards her. Unlike any other woman, she was and he fell hard. He couldn't believe she was in front of him with a few scratches. She was a warrior and she was his saviour.

Margo's hands cupped Ben' cheeks and with her thumbs, she wiped the residue from his eyes and when he sniffled, he sighed deeply and forced himself into the facade of a strong man, but it faltered, for she would only see right through the charade and call his bluff. 

"I thought I lost you." Ben's voice was surprisingly low and it radiated absolute sadness.

Margo pulled the corner of her lips into a tight frown. "I'm here, Benny. I ain't going nowhere."

Then, just like that, their lips found each others, but unlike any other time, this wasn't rushed. It was full of passion and beholden. As their mouths moved in sync, Ben's hand gently wrapped around the back of Margo's head to deepen their love and she could taste his everlasting grief and the salty twang of his tears.