My thanks to Sylvain for the beta work, and especially for his friendship and support
Spectre
Epilogue
It was late, the room bathed in the milky light of a full moon, the only sound Aaron's soft rhythmic breathing. Jackson lay awake in the stillness, a smile of contentment gracing his face.
It was their first night back at the cottage, and they had marked the occasion with passion, with their love for each other. It had been a while since they'd been intimate; because they'd been trapped in a nightmare, they had, on recent nights, clung to each other in the darkness, being together the only need in want of satisfying.
Tonight, they had fallen into bed exhausted, sleep the only thing on their minds, but as they'd snuggled together under the duvet, their lips had met and a fire had started to burn, stirring emotions, energizing the flesh.
Then came the pillow talk, whispered words of love, of devotion. Aaron eventually drifting off to sleep in his arms just like he always did after they'd made love. He held Aaron close, nuzzled his face against his and inhaled his heady, masculine scent, basking in the mellow mood of the moment.
Jackson was physically drained, at peace emotionally but still sleep would not come, maybe because he wasn't quite ready to give into it just yet. It seemed he wanted to hold on to today for a little longer. It had, after all, been a momentous day in their lives, their world had been turned upside down by Chris's death, but Joel's confession had put it back on its axis, and they were back in control of their future, as in control as anyone could be. They could get back to making plans, and they'd had such big plans before their life had been eclipsed by tragedy.
It was always going to happen, they just hadn't decided when. Now, Jackson realised you couldn't take anything for granted, that life could be turned on its head or even ended in the blink of an eye. Now, there was an urgency to those plans and he wouldn't rest until they had been set in motion. The very first thing they needed to do was set a date... Christmas? Yeah, he liked the idea of getting married at Christmas, something told him Aaron would, too. The festive season wasn't all that far off now, they were going to have to get a wiggle on if they decided on making things official between them then.
He was going to have to find himself a few well-paying jobs in the meantime, better than the one he had lined up for Monday. Not that they wanted anything big and lavish, no. The ceremony would take place somewhere quiet, somewhere tasteful and refined, the two of them surrounded by family and friends. The evening do, though, now that would be a time to party, a time to let their hair down!
It was the honeymoon that was going to prove the most costly, two weeks in the sun and not their usual beach-and-beer break. No, this was going to be something else entirely, fourteen days in a luxurious Caribbean retreat. It would be their last holiday for a while and he was determined it would be an unforgettable once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Their money would be spent on other things after that. Children, so everyone kept telling them, were expensive. Well, they didn't care how expensive they were, they just knew they had more than enough love to give a child, that they could provide a nurturing and stable home for a child in need of such, maybe even two.
He shifted uneasily, suddenly unsettled on remembering how all their dreams had been threatened, how they had come so close to being shattered. If Joel hadn't admitted his guilt, clearing Aaron in the process, then there might never have been a wedding, and even less likelihood of them having a family of their own.
His thoughts drifted again, back to how they'd walked hand-in-hand to Paddy's, eager to share the development with everyone else. As the news spread, the Smithy had filled up with those echoing their relief. At some point, someone had suggested a celebratory drink in the Woolpack but Aaron had said no. Jackson had to agree. They'd celebrated the night Chris had been convicted, it had been a welcome release from the strain of the previous few months. It had been a hard-fought-for victory, one at times they weren't sure they would win, but with Chris finally paying for his wrongdoing, they'd all thought it worthy of a night out. But this was different, it wasn't anything to celebrate, a man was dead, another facing a spell in prison, one life ended, the other marred. No, they wouldn't be celebrating Joel's confession. They would just get on with their lives, just grateful to be able to.
On David Smith's arrival, the house had quickly emptied, what he had to say was for their ears only, for the time being at least. David had been right about Joel, his suspicions spot on. The eighteen-year-old had panicked when he realised Chris was dead, and in desperation had decided to make it look like Aaron was responsible for his death. With Aaron unconscious, he'd been able to cover his tracks, had cleaned the handle of the knife he'd used and then pressed Aaron's fingertips against it. He'd told himself that because of the history between the two men, the beating Aaron had taken, that Aaron would get away with it, that it would be seen as self-defense. According to the police, Joel seemed genuinely sorry for what he'd done, for what he'd put Aaron through. Even if he was, it didn't make much difference now; if he'd come forward earlier, Jackson might have had an ounce of compassion for him, but he'd left it a little too late as far as he was concerned.
David hadn't been able to tell them anything else, the police were legally only able to share so much with him. But David had promised that all their questions would be answered in time, he couldn't tell them what would happen to Joel either. Jackson didn't care what happened to him but he knew, despite everything Aaron did, that the one he held responsible for all this was Chris. And Chris had paid the ultimate price for his ways, he wouldn't hurt anyone ever again.
A wave of tiredness washed over him and he yawned, tightening his hold on Aaron as he did so. He was so proud of him, he'd been through a terrible ordeal, but he'd handled it so very well, he'd thrown a few wobblers… they both had, but he'd come through it and had already taken the first steps in moving on.
Aaron had insisted on moving back into the cottage today, it didn't matter that the living room floor wasn't finished, that the paint on its walls wasn't quite dry or that the furniture was stacked in one corner. He'd just wanted to reclaim what was his, theirs… and in doing so had exorcised a ghost.
End
My thanks to everyone who has read and so very kindly reviewed this story.
Mererid :-)