Steven Hyde took a deep breath.
The woman beside him, tucked into his arms, shifted slightly and made a whisper of a moan in her sleep. He knew she'd be gone when he woke up in the morning.
It had been a mistake; a moment of weakness on his part. She had been so sad, and seemed so small, when he'd found her curled on the couch in the basement, dried tears staining her cheeks in parallel lines. And he's simply slipped and fallen, Zen gone, when she'd reached to remove the sunglasses from his face.
No words had been exchanged.
They'd both wanted it. Both craved it. She didn't object when he brushed the hair from her face. Didn't flinch like she'd been known to do when he'd made a movement towards her over the last few months. His fingers had lingered on her face and her mismatched eyes had searched his for something, he wasn't sure whether it was comfort or a long lost and buried love.
They had moved in slow motion towards one another. He recalled watching her eyelids flutter closed, trying to stop her eyes from overflowing again, and he had kissed her. He could feel her heart pounding as she put everything she had into the kiss; responding hungrily to the feel of his lips against hers...
Hyde had memorised the events of the last hour and he played them over and over again in his head as he held Jackie in his arms.
He knew she'd be gone when he woke up in the morning.
"So
keep me awake to memorize you
Give us more time to feel this
way
We can't stay like this forever
But I can have you next to
me today"
– 'Awake', Josh Groban.