Don't give up on me ✓

[23] Your Imagination

Turn your wounds into wisdom - Oprah Winfrey

Chapter 23: Your Imagination

Emily checked the stitches on my arm, "You heal quickly, Georgia. You know you can train now."

"That's a shame. I like my bed."

Yes, I'm lazy and I'm ok with it.

"I hope you change your mind," she said, "Jesper's only human. He puts himself in more danger trying to save you."

"He does?"

"Yes.  No offence, but he's a human and he's been protecting you better than you are."

Emily's guilt trip game was good. It was working. "What should I do about it? I don't even know how to use my strength."

"That's why you need to learn. Don't be weak when you can be strong."

"How?"

"Ask for help," Emily said, "You live in a house full of them.  I suggest you train from the best."

"Who's the best?"

"Nathaniel."

I groaned. 

I stared at her, to see if she was pulling my leg. 

Sometimes, I feel like Emily likes to play a little game of Cupid. 

But at least from one angle, she was right. Nathaniel took training more seriously than any of the others and it showed. His body was like chiseled stone. And I needed to shape up.

I always hide behind Jesper. I even sleep in his room when I can't sleep alone. That's how it's always been. He's looked out for me. But things are different now.  Now I'm the one with the capability of looking after us. 

He had gotten hurt too many times trying to defend me.

I need to be stronger than that. It's taken me time to realize that. He needs to be able to live his own life, without feeling the burden of protecting me. 

And if I'm the supernatural thing they are, then I should be able to kick ass.

So, screw it. If Nathaniel is what I need to become strong, then bring him on.

That afternoon, when he was in the foyer about to go for a run, I walked up to him. He was knelt on one knee, trying his shoe lace.

"Georgia," Jesper tried to stop me, "What are you doing?"

I removed my arm from his grip, "You told me to grow into who I need to be."

Reminding him of what he told me.

"Aren't you two cute," Nate said sarcastically, bent on one knee, tying his other shoe now.

His damn extraterrestrial hearing.

"Nate, will you take me with you?" I asked.

He stood up to his full height and looked down at me, gray eyes shining. "No."

"Why not?"

"I thought we agreed to stay apart."

"Please. I can keep up and if I don't, you can keep running."

He put his headphones over his ears, "Fine. But don't think about slowing me down."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

OK, I couldn't keep up. What was I thinking?

Nate ran far out of Swell Valley, through the cornfields where we saw no one but a couple scarecrows. All I saw were his Nike ticks before he left a trail of dust for me. He ran up a hill like it was a casual bump in the road. That hill took me forty minutes.

I collapsed when I arrived at the top. My legs gave up.

I opened my eyes and stared up at the world upside down. From the trees around me, Nate was doing pull ups off a thick tree branch. His back muscles rippled as he raised and lowered himself in a constant rhythm.

"Why do you train more than the others?" I randomly asked him.

He continued his pull ups. He didn't miss a beat. "Because it's hard to protect the people I love."

"I didn't think you were capable of love," I muttered under my breath.

Surprisingly, he heard me. I forget that he's supernatural.

"We all had families before this."

He released his hands off the branch and dropped to earth. I covered my eyes, exhaling a large breath. This was getting hard.

"What happened to your family?" I asked.

"We all had to let them go."

Jesper.

When I pulled my hands away, I found him standing over me. I lay on the ground, getting dirt on my clothes and hair. He picked me up off the ground and had me face him.

"If you want to get stronger, you have to work harder," he said, eyeing me up, "Or you can rely on me, but we both know how you hate that thought."

I had to look away from him. The hill had led up to a cliff. He saw where I was looking and led me towards the edge, so I could get a better view. There was water beyond us.

"Let's swim."

I looked at him like he was crazy, "Down there?"

"No, in your imagination," he rolled his eyes.

I started to shake my head, "No, no way."

I was terrified, and he knew it. He smirked, his playful, irresistible smirk. And he slowly unzipped his gray running jacket. He was wearing no shirt under it.

"Wh- what are you doing?" I wanted to cover my eyes again.

"You're blushing again, Red," he teased, "I'm going for a swim. Are you just going to stand there, or are you coming with me?"

"I'm not jumping off a cliff with you."

He took his jacket off and I came face-to-face with his bare upper torso. Someone help me.

"Push me."

He raised his hand and picked up mine. Our fingers entwined, and he stepped backwards, pulling me forwards with him. His eyes were fixed on me while the backdrop of a cliff set the stage behind him. There wasn't an ounce of fear in his eyes. A thrill of the jump was evident in his face and a light in his eyes.

He took my hand and pressed it over his heart. "Go on. Push."

I barely did. It was a light touch, but it was enough. He reacted to it. He blew me a kiss before his lips curled into a smile and he did a backwards flip over the edge. I ran forwards, dropping to my knees to stare overboard. I watched his body twist into a perfect dive, before he broke the top of the surface, and sunk elegantly into the water.

I held my breath, watching the splash where he used to be.

"Come on Nate," I waited, growing more and more impatient.

The water settled, and he still hadn't risen to the surface. I stood up and kicked my shoes off. I couldn't believe this guy – he was making me come after him.

I was about to jump when I saw his upper body emerge, his strong torso causing waves to rock the surface. Water dripped over him as he breathed fresh air, flicking his hair to the side. He looked up at me, squinting under the glare of the sun, and flicked a thumbs up.

I was already on the edge. I shook my head at him. And right before I jumped, I muttered one word.

"Assh- AAAAAAAH!"  

A/N: You wanted more Nate - Georgia time... so here it is.  And more coming up in the next chapter.  Please vote if you enjoyed it and I'll publish the next chapter out on Tuesday!