Chapter Seven-This is goodbye, for now
Two weeks after the explosion
I knocked on Bass' office door before I opened it. He was leaning over a map, Jeremy standing next to him. They looked up when I entered. Bass looked angry.
"I'm working Jaylyn" he snapped. I swallowed.
"Bass, it's late. Come to bed" I said, stepping closer. He looked at Jeremy and nodded to the door. Jeremy got the message and stepped out, closing the door behind him. Bass ran a hand through his hair and sighed.
"You need to stop bothering me while I work" he said as he poured a glass of whiskey.
"Bass, it's one in the morning. I'm sure whatever you're doing can wait till morning" I said as I approached him. He tipped his whiskey back and slammed the glass on the table, making me jump.
"Last time I checked, I was in charge. Not you" He said, glaring at me. Anger surged through me. "Stop talking to me like that. I'm your wife, not some hooker you grabbed off the street" I snapped. His eyes widened in surprise. "I'm not trying to run the Republic. I'm giving my opinions so stop treating me like I'm some bimbo who doesn't know what I'm talking about"
I could see he was fuming. His fists were clenching and un clenching repeatedly.
"You're not a part of this militia. You are my wife. You have no affect on the decisions I make" he growled, taking a step forward. I stood my ground but fear raced through my veins.
"Bass, you're starting to scare me." I said quietly as he stopped right in front of me. "You're...different. The man I fell in love with eleven years ago wouldn't murder a woman and her children without thinking twice. You're angry all the time and you act like you don't love me anymore." I looked up at him and he stared down at me with no emotion. He was silent or a long time.
"I have work to do. Get out" he said, stepping away.
"You son of a bitch" I hissed. His head whipped around and he closed the gap between us in two steps. He grabbed my shoulders and shoved me against the wall. My head hit the wall and his fingers dug into my shoulders.
"You do not speak to me like that" he snarled, his voice low. I put my hands on his chest and shoved him away.
"Don't touch me like that you asshole" I yelled. I wasn't expecting what happened next. His hand connected with my cheek before I could react. The force of it brought me to my knees and my hand went to my face. It stung and I tasted blood in my mouth. Tears burned my eyes and I stood up shakily. His eyes were wide, as if he couldn't believe what he just did.
"Jaylyn, I'm so sorry. I.." he stammered as he took a step forward. I flinched and took a step back. Tears streamed down my face as I stared at him. "Jay, sweetheart, please." he whispered. He reached for me and I stood, paralyzed. His arms wrapped around me and pulled me to him. He held me for a long time before I wrapped my arms around his waist and began to sob. He stroked my hair. "I'm so sorry" he whispered. I looked up at him and I saw tears in his eyes at the sight of my face. It would bruise.
"Bass, you're slipping away and I don't know how to help you." I said as my hands went to his face and pulled him into a kiss. He took a deep breath and rested his forehead against mine.
"I'm sorry. It wont happen again, I promise" he whispered. I took his hands in mine and gave him a weak smile.
"Come to bed" I said, pulling him with me. He nodded and we went to our room and laid in each others arms, not saying a word..
The next morning I was surprised to find Bass still in bed, his arms wrapped firmly around my waist, my back to his front. I turned my head to look at him and saw that he was awake.
"Good morning beautiful" he whispered pressing a kiss to my cheek. I rolled over to face him and his face fell. His fingers reached up to touch my cheek gently. Memories from last night came flooding back and I swallowed hard. "Jaylyn, I'm so sorry"
"I know." I said before kissing him. "I love you so much"
"I love you. Always" he said. I looked out the window and saw the sun was already high in the sky.
"Don't you have to get to work?" I asked. He shrugged and pulled me closer.
"I think I'll take the day off" he said. I laughed.
"You can just take the day off?" I asked. He raised an eyebrow.
"It is my Republic you know." he said as he leaned forward, kissing me. "Besides, it's going to be a lot of work keeping my wife in bed all day." he kissed his way over to my ear and down my neck. I laughed and ran my nails down his naked back making him shiver.
"Sounds like a perfect day" I moaned as he reached my breast. I felt him smile and he made good on his promise. We spent all day in bed, exploring each other over and over again.
The following day Bass woke up early to make up for his day off. He kissed me lightly before exiting our room. I laid in bed for a long time after he left, my hand moving subconsciously to my cheek. I stood and walked to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. The corner of my lip was split open and a dark bruise was forming on my cheek. Tears formed in my eyes as I pulled on a pair of jeans and a black wife beater tank top before putting on my black combat boots. I pulled my hair back into a messy bun and strapped my belt on. I walked down the hall to Bass' office and knocked lightly on the door.
"Come in" I heard him call. I opened the door and saw him and Miles standing by a desk looking at some papers. They both looked up but their reactions were different. Bass smiled and Miles' eyes widened. I walked over to Bass and kissed him lightly.
"Going somewhere?" he asked as his arm wrapped around my waist. I avoided looking at Miles.
"I was just going to go for a walk. Maybe go to the library for a while" I said. Bass smiled and kissed my forehead.
"I was hoping you'd join me for dinner tonight" he said quietly. I smiled slightly up at him.
"Of course darling" I said. I leaned up and kissed him. "I'll see you later" I said before turning to leave, but not before I caught Miles' gaze. He looked furious. I shook my head slightly before leaving them to work. I made it about fifty feet down the street before Miles caught up to me.
"Jaylyn" he said, spinning me around. His hand went to my chin and tilted my face so he could see my cheek better. "That son of a bitch. I'm gonna kill him"
"Miles, just drop it" I said, trying to turn and walk away. He grabbed my arm and I automatically flinched away. He let go and stared at me, shocked.
"What happened?" he asked. I looked down at my feet.
"I...I brought up the woman and her kids again and told him he was turning into a cold, scarry person and he got angry. He pushed me against the wall so I shoved him off and told him he was being an asshole. So he hit me" I said quietly. I heard his teeth grinding and I looked up. I had never seen him so mad before.
"He's dead" he said, turning to go back.
"Miles, no!" I yelled after him. He was walking fast and I had to jog to keep up with him but he wouldn't stop. He burst into Bass' office and before Bass could do anything he was on the floor, blood coming from his nose.
"You son of a bitch!" Miles yelled. I grabbed his arm trying to hold him back.
"Miles, please! Stop!" I cried, pulling him back. Bass stood, his face red with blood. They stood there, staring at each other breathing heavily. Miles raised his arm and pointed at Bass.
"If you ever touch her like that again, I'll kill you" he hissed. Bass ran a hand across his face, wiping the blood away before sighing.
"Miles, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. It wont happen again. You know how much I love her" he said quietly.
"I don't give a shit how much you love her or how much she loves you. If you hit her again, I'll slit your throat" he said before storming out of the room. I stared after him, my eyes wide. I looked back at Bass who was running his hands through his hair.
"Bass, I'm sorry. I tried to stop him" I said, walking over and wrapping my arms around his waist. I saw a tear slide down his cheek.
"I wish I could take it back, Jaylyn. I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am" he whispered. I leaned up and kissed him.
"I know babe" I said before kissing him again. I put on a brave face and made it look like I was okay with it but on the inside I was breaking. "I'll see you for dinner" I said before going to find Miles.
I walked down the hall to Miles' room and knocked.
"What?" he yelled. I opened the door and he turned to look. When he saw me, his face softened. I glanced around the room and saw that his closet was open and there was a backpack on his bed.
"Miles, what are you doing?" I asked, my eyes finding his. He sighed and sat down on his bed putting his head in his hands. I swallowed and took a deep breath. "You're leaving, aren't you?" I asked. He looked up at me, his eyes revealing how sad he was.
"Yes, I am" he said quietly. I let out the breath I hadn't realized I was holding. I sat down next to him and took his hand.
"Where will you go?" I asked. He looked out the window and was silent for a moment.
"Chicago. That's where Ben was going. I'm not sure if he's still there but it's a start" he said. He squeezed my hand and looked at me. "Come with me" he whispered. I felt tears forming and I tried to hold them back.
"I can't do that. I can't leave him" I said. I looked down at my left hand, at the beautiful rings on my left finger.
"Jay, I know you love him. I love him too. He's my best friend, but we both know that the Sebastian we love is gone." he said. Tears were sliding down my cheeks because I knew he was right.
"He promised it wouldn't happen again" I whispered. He turned my face so I was looking at him. "If it happened once it'll happen again. Maybe not right away but it will happen again. I can't leave you behind. What happens three years from now when this happens again but he doesn't stop. He could kill you" he said. I nodded. As much as I hated to admit it, he was right about everything. We sat in silence for a long time.
"When are you leaving?" I asked.
"Tonight. After the city's gone to sleep" he said. I nodded and wiped away my tears.
"I'll be ready to leave by midnight." I whispered before standing and walking to my room. I sat on my bed and stared at the wall for what was probably hours. I finally walked to the closet and reached into the back, pulling my backpack out. I filled it with my road clothes and my first aid kit before going to my safe and pulling out all the ammunition. I made sure that it wasn't obvious that a lot of my things were missing so Bass didn't notice. By the time I was done the sun was going down. I changed into a simple sun dress and made my way to the dining room to find Bass already there. He looked up when I entered and smiled. I put on a smile that would fool him and walked over and wrapped my arms around his neck. He kissed me deeply and my breathing became heavy.
"You need to stop that or else we wont be eating dinner" I said as his lips traveled to my ear. He smiled and lead me to my seat. We made small talk during dinner and before I knew it we were done. He came over and took my hand.
"Have I told you that you look beautiful tonight?" he whispered as he slowly backed me up against the wall. I smiled.
"Not in the last five minutes, no" I said. He smirked and kissed me hard. I moaned and he picked me up so my legs wrapped around his waist. He pulled away and brought me to our room. He laid me down on the bed and soon our clothes were off. I savored every moment because I knew that this was the last time I would be with my husband...
Bass snored softly, his back facing me. I quietly slipped out of bed and got dressed before reaching into the back of the closet for my bag. I heard a small click and looked over to see Miles standing at the foot of the bed, a gun in his hand. Fear raced through my veins.
"Miles" I whispered and walked over to him. "Don't" Bass stirred and I looked at him. His eyes slid open and he looked confused. He opened his mouth as if he was going to say something when he saw the gun. He sat up and stared up at us.
"Miles?" he asked. Then he looked at me. The fear and sadness I saw in his eyes absolutely broke my heart. "Jaylyn, what's going on?" he asked. Tears slid down my cheeks as Miles rose the gun. His hand was shaking. None of us moved for a long time. Finally, Miles put the gun down. I let out a breath. Bass' eyes had never left mine. Miles took a chair and threw it at the window, shattering it. He looked at me and I looked back at Bass. Tears were shining in his eyes.
"I love you" I whispered before taking Miles' hand as we jumped out the window landing softly in the bushes only a few feet below. We took off towards the stables and the sound we heard almost made me collapse.
"Jaylyn!" I heard Bass scream, the agony in his voice heartbreaking. I slowed down but Miles grabbed my hand.
"It's for the best, Jay" he whispered as he dragged me down the street. We reached the stables and grabbed our horses. We were out of Philadelphia before Bass could raise the alarm. Every step we took away from Philly, my heart broke again and again...
