Page 85 of The One With the Mountain Man
"Let me know you...and let them know you too." Because regardless of exactly why she pushed each person away, at the heart of it was self-preservation. If they didn't know what was happening, really truly happening, they couldn't abandon her. Not if she already left them behind.
I knew these moves. They were mine.
Our reasons and methods were different, but at the heart of it, we had the same problem.
"We're too close." She pressed on my chest.
"We're not nearly close enough." I flipped her onto the bed, let my weight hold her down. "I'm just like these mountains, I'm immovable."
"You're suffocating."
"I'm yours."
She collapsed onto the mattress with a huff. "You better only use your powers for good, Jackson Finn."
"And what powers are those?"
"You're literally holding me down right now. Which...fine. I'm a runner. I get it. Just..."
"Only use my powers for good. Got it. If you genuinely ask me to let you go, you know I will."
"Let me go."
I was off her in a flash. And I felt a twinge of guilt when she let out a huge breath before sitting up, pulling her knees under her chin.
Maybe I'd gone too far. "I'm sorry."
She smiled at me sadly. "You were right. I wanted to run. I also needed to test you, make sure you'd let me go."
Let me go.Fuck that hurt. I rubbed my chest. "Just to be clear, I never, everwantto let you go."
"I know."
Well at least there was that. I came to sit beside her. "Is this okay?"
She rested her head on my shoulder. "I'm not scared of you, Jackson. I'm scared of what I might do to you."
She was scared of what I might do toher.Her heart, more specifically. But we were already too deep to turn back and save ourselves. "Guess we better love each other real hard then."
She pressed a kiss to my chest. "How do I help you worry less about me?"
I kissed the top of her head. "I'm never going to worry less. I guess...I guess I'm scared of what I don't know."
She sighed, wrapping her arms around me as she climbed back into my lap. "We don't know a lot about each other." She took my face in her hands for a change.
I liked it. "I'm not asking you to tell me your life story in one afternoon."
"You've been so patient. You've told me about your life while I've been doling you out breadcrumbs."
My normally immense patience was growing thinner by the day because I wanted all of Marley. Now. But I knew I couldn't push too hard or I'd risk losing her. "You gave me a sneak peek."
She curled, cuddling against my chest, like looking at me was too intense. I held her tighter. "It was a boating accident."
I didn't spend much time reading news or on social media, but I made extra sure to avoid it today. After her confession it was only a matter of time before the internet sleuths and superfans dug up the story.
I didn't want to read it in some tabloid. I wanted Marley to tell me, in her words, about her friends. But now that she was opening up, I wasn't sure I was ready to watch her fall apart all over again.
"It was spring break and we were trying to enjoy some beach time. We don't really go in the water that early in the year though. Our blood is too thin for that."
