The Luck Charm END

The house was silent as he made his way toward her room. Her door was unlocked and he walked in meeting darkness. He shut the door slowly and took small steps until he found her sitting at the edge of her bed, her eyes were wide open, her chest heaving. He gulped down the lump and walked to her, taking her hand, and putting it against his heart.

     “I love you,” Jedidiah whispered as he took her lips.

     Anna sighed against him and shivered as his fingers came to untie the strings holding her gown together. When she felt his fingers on her flesh, she shuddered and fell against the bed, her thoughts hazed with erotic pleasure. When he bit her shoulder, she tore his shirt off of him and he lifted her up to a sitting position.

     “Anna, I want you so much I’m going blind. If you want me to stop, tell me now. Otherwise, once I begin, there’s no end for me,” he said.

     She let out a soft gasp of pleasure as his fingers grabbed her thigh. “Don’t ever stop.”

 

     Rose was up when Anna came down the stairs dressed in a blue summer dress. She blushed when she saw the older woman, but she didn’t seem to notice. The doorbell rang and she hurried to open it to find Thomas at the front door. When she saw him, guilt filled her and she swallowed hard. She forced a smile and let him in. He smiled at her and then took her hand.

     “How are you this morning?” he asked.

     She pulled her hand away from him. “I’m well. Before you talk to Rose, I need to speak to you.”

     He looked over her shoulder and then nodded. “Sure. Shall we take a walk outside?”

     Anna nodded and walked out with him. She waited until they were farther from the house before she turned to him and took his hands. She looked at his gentle eyes and smiled.

     “Thomas,” she began.

     He put his hand up. “If this is about you and Jedidiah, then don’t say anything else.”

     Anna frowned. “What?”

     “Look, before I came here, I knew all about you and Jedidiah’s history. In fact, you coming here was a well thought out plan. Rose came to me and she asked me to find you.”

     Anna felt her heart race and she took a few steps back. “What do you mean?”

     Thomas sighed and stuck his hand in his pockets. “Life is all about forgiveness and moving on. Jedidiah was stuck in the past where he was bitter. She needed him to live his life again and she needed to know he would be ok if she were to not live tomorrow. So I found you.”

     “You mean…the recruiter was?”

     “I handed her the job to give to you. Rose needed Jedidiah to live again and the only way was to get you back into his life. He needed to move on and he couldn’t because he didn’t close that one chapter. In order to close it, he needed you.”

     She felt tears in her eyes and she turned away to find Rose slowly walking toward her. The tears dropped onto her cheeks as she wrapped her arms around herself. When Rose reached her, she put her arms around Anna, pulling her close.

     “My dear, don’t be sad. I did this for him. I love him so much and I couldn’t die knowing he would be angry for the rest of his life. The only way for him to grow was for you to save him. You did just that.”

     Anna pulled away. “I don’t know what to say.”

     “Say you’ll never leave.”

     Anna looked up to find Jedidiah walking toward them. He had a serious look on his face. Rose smiled and gave Anna a kiss on the cheek. Then Thomas took her hand and led her to the house. Rose patted Jedidiah on the shoulder as she passed him. Anna waited until they passed before she turned her back to Jedidiah. She heard him walk to her and then felt his hands on her shoulders, turning her around to face him. He reached over and wiped her tears.

     “I meant what I said. Don’t leave,” he said.

     She tried to leave, but he reached out his arms and held her against him. “Why should I stay? We were played.”

     “So what? Sooner or later, we’d have found each other. They just made it sooner instead of later.”

     “Last night was a mistake,” she whispered.

     “No!” he cried, turning her to face him. “Don’t say that! Do you realize how angry I’ve been since Hans died? I’ve lived in vain for so long that when you entered my life again, I thought I could kill you for just existing. But the more I tried to hate you, the more I realized I couldn’t. Do you know what’s it’s like growing up with loudness? It’s amazing how good silence feels and you give me that. After knowing such loudness, you give me stability and peace. Last night, with you in my arms, I was able to sleep in peace. I was able to sleep without any fear of waking up to violence.”

     Anna started to cry. She reached out and held him. “Jedidiah, we’re practically strangers. How are we supposed to survive?”

     He kissed her hair and shut his eyes, longing for her. “We’ll survive, but I know that if you leave me now, I’ll die. I can’t go back to being alone without the peace you give me. I need you. I need you to bring me peace. With you at my side, I can finally close the chapters that have been long gone from my life.”

     She pulled away and cupped his face. “I’ll be your peace, Jedidiah.

     “No, Anna, you’re my lucky charm.”