Let it go

Jacob’s outburst and sudden movement startled her and she didn’t have enough time to protest about his injuries when he ambushed her with an embrace. She was now in his arms and well, she wasn’t going to complain. Instead she remained speechless and actually stopped crying. So he really did mean to stay with her through all the thick and..bullets. He really seemed determined to help her achieve that normal life and god she was grateful to have such a man. He really was a good man, he had no idea…

She—well to be needed for something other than opening up someone’s head was really flattering. The butterflies in her stomach were acting up and a smile spread across her wet face. Yeah, they could make this work. They really could. She wasn’t about to turn him down when he needed her too so…It was settled. Now things felt even more cemented down before and it felt so good! It felt good enough to kiss him. She pulled him in for a kiss when—

“O-Oh umm--!”

Lenn stopped midway, spotting the same nurse with a food cart. Breakfast, remember? “I’m um sorry to interrupt, but breakfast is—Ah Mr. Cunningham!” She rushed into the room after realizing that Jacob was technically flatlining and Lenn was quick to move out of the nurse’s way. She couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of the nurse chiding him about ripping off the monitors and that it seriously wasn’t funny when she found out that there wasn’t anything wrong with him. Well, anything more wrong. Breakfast was served and according to the nurse, it was Lenn’s responsibility to make sure he didn’t rip off anything else while she was watching over him. In exchange, Lenn got a cup of soup for her ‘troubles’ and wished her well regarding her flu.

Finally they had some alone time. It was like a date! Sort of…But she watched him intently while her soup cooled in her hands. He…wasn’t going to ask about anything? Bullocks, he was probably dying to ask. ”Well? Out with it. Don’ be shy, oy’ kno yer itchin’ to ask me about wot ‘appened back there.”

She caught him wiping his eyes…Man, it really was a touching moment and if it weren’t for the nurse giving her a free cup of soup (which ended up being delicious chowder), she probably would have ran the poor woman out of the room. She blew on a spoonful as he began to ask. Hm, that was a good question. With the timing and just how shitty they were at shooting, they had to belong to him. It was too much of a coincidence and eventually she was going to get down to the bottom of it and stomp on this problem before it escalated further. Not that…lighting up her apartment wasn’t bad, but it could have been worse.

”I suppose thas’ a good oydea, but don’ call yourself a load. You helped me a lot back there an’ if you hadn’ showed up, oy’d prolly be dead…Although it might have been betta’ off if they shot me up instead of you,” she thought about that out loud. Oops. ”Believe me it takes more than bullets t’kill me. Trus’ me on that oy’ve had a lot of experience with that particular subject,” she quickly added in before he got it in his head that she was already contemplating suicide.

She ate up a few spoonfuls of soup while she contemplated. She had a hard gaze fixed on a small painting of a boat on the wall. ”They prolly will try again. They work for this wanka’ outta’ New York. His name’s Donovan. One helluva’ snob, but he’s got a lot of power on ‘is hands. No doubt he shanked his own daddy jus’ to have it all. Thas’ how he is. He tried roping me in on a hit two weeks ago,” sniff. ”Pretty much told him to go piss off. Guess he didn’t loike that,” There she went, talking all cold and calculated as if she were sitting there analyzing her prey through a scope.

”Oy’ll be alroight. Nothin’ at the apartment can be traced back to me. Got all that covered up. ‘Prolly stay low fer’ a while till’ oy’ confirm if it’s realleh him,” Now she looked like she fell deeper into thought. Where would she stay? Maybe the storage unit might be a good solution. It was too dangerous to go back to the apartment and even then, it was pointless since her gear should have been tagged and confiscated….

She was just thinking about letting him into the details. For a moment she forgot that he was her boyfriend and not um…a ‘partner’. Right when he said he didn’t wanna know the details, she closed her mouth and shrugged. Well what sane person would want to know anyway? At least it wasn’t as bad as the other hit she had done. That was…By far the worst one and she barely managed to escape with her head still attached.

Well, she continued to eat and think. Right when she put a spoonful in her mouth, he finally popped probably one of the biggest, most important questions she knew she was going to have to deal with. Why don’t you come stay with me? Wow, he made it sound so simple. She gasped, briefly forgetting about the food in her mouth and a carrot tickled the wrong pipe. She coughed, covering her mouth to keep from spraying soup everywhere. Live with him? Live with him? She had been…fantasizing about that occasionally as if it were a dream that would never happen. She blamed that all on her and the mess of a life she had, but here he was throwing it out on the table. He sounded so eager too!

On impulse, she shook her head and wiped her lip. ”Oy’ can’t do that—“

Then he cut her off, making a really good point about how shitty her neighborhood was despite her having something they called “street-cred”. She couldn’t argue with him there. In all honesty she hated that place, but the sole purpose of having to live in such a situation was so that no one could find her. Yeah, that worked out so well.

Oh, and he pointed out all the pros about living at his place which were…all regrettably true along with the fact that she’d be staying with him, period. Even so, there were cons as well. What if the thugs find her again? What if they just didn’t give a damn and stormed the place anyway? No, they possibly couldn’t do such a thing. That would be stupid. They were stupid, but probably not that stupid. She…She really wanted to live with him. She had been at his place enough times to say yes, but it was that nagging little voice in the back of her mind that said prolly’ not a good oydea, mate. What was once confident and cold, now melted into uncertainty. ”Oy’ dunno, Jacob. Oy’ don’ want to get you in trouble…or get you hurt again…”

She couldn’t help but chuckle. Okay, she admitted it was nice to see her collection on display. Ah well, she could deal with not hanging them out in the open, but she was going to at least keep something hidden ‘just in case’. Neighbors on the other hand…That was going to be a new experience. She never played nice with them—he could atone for that. While she hadn’t caught wind of the little whispers and rumors flitting about with the local women about Jacob dating her, it was going to be interesting saying hello—especially should anyone question her. She had to be nice or else she’d get him in trouble.

She would have gone deeper into thought if it weren’t for Jacob revving himself up. In a way it was really cute and even she herself got a little motivated—maybe even a spark of hope was there. Just a teeny bit. Lenn wasn’t alone in dealing with Donovan and even if she could take matters into her own hands, it felt good knowing that someone capable as Jacob had her back. It made her smile as she watched him stare at his food with the intensity of a thousand suns as if his scrambled eggs was Donovan himself. Well good! ”Sounds good to me! Alroigh’, oy’ll come stay with you then. Oy’ don’ have anything t’pack so oy’ guess space isn’t an issue,” she joked and set the empty cup aside. Instead of staying in her chair, she went to nudge him over and share the narrow hospital bed with him. Of course she laid on his good side and sighed with relief. ”…Thank you, Jacob. Realleh, oy’ mean it. You have no…idea how good it feels..to not be alone right now.”