Chapter 19: Growing Closer

(Floor 1 in the Tower - 13:00...)

"Hey Kyle," Brecken greeted as Libby and I approached him, Zere, Henry and Jade in a small room packed with dark furniture and accompanied by a single window looking out at the fenced-in playing court with Zere and Spike's safe houses outside. "Good you're here. Has Zere made you aware of the situation?"

"He sure has," I responded, eyeing Henry cautiously. "I didn't think we'd see you again, Henry,"

"Neither did I," The former bandit agreed.

"Mind telling us what you're doing here?" I questioned fiercely.

Hearing this, Henry sighed. "I want to join the Tower. You were right when you brought it up this morning, and I'm sorry that I didn't listen to you and Libby,"

This earned a surprised frown from me, prompting Brecken to add "Henry's told us his side of what happened back with Rais and whilst it was nice of you to offer, we can't be sure yet,"

"Look," Henry muttered angrily. "I get the trust issues, but I won't hurt you guys. I'm a man of my word,"

"What can you do to help the Tower?" I asked before a fight could let loose. We're all friends here, stay cool.

"Well, you've already seen me killing biters out there - so I could maybe join the Scouts?" Henry suggested hopefully. "I have decent enough experience in medical treatment as well, so I could help the hospital here too. Either one's fine,"

"Okay," I replied with a hidden liking for his honesty. "I suppose we could use an extra team mate for the Scouts, given that our numbers are low," Cue me to address Brecken, Jade, Libby and Zere with "What do you guys think?"

To my absolute surprise, Jade was the first to answer. "I think we should give him a chance,"

"What?!" Brecken demanded. "This guy was with Rais before, he could change his mind in a matter of moments and kill every single one of us - I'm not going to risk that!"

"Do I need to remind you of what happened on the 18th floor, Brecken?!" The woman shot back aggressively with guilt visible in her eyes. "I had to risk leaving children to die in order to save everyone this morning, and that will haunt me until I go to my grave!" A gentler approach. "Look, we allowed Kyle to stay with us and he's proved himself to be a reliable man, why can't we do the same for Henry?"

Hearing this, I couldn't help but send Jade a moved yet sympathetic gaze. She really means what she said in her letter...

The Tower's leader ultimately gave up. "Fine. Our new resident can join the Scouts and I'll call Rahim to train him beforehand,"

"Training?" Henry asked with a confused glare.

"Have fuuun!" I cooed cheekily, remembering my own training with Rahim. Man, was that awesome!

"Henry - if it makes you feel any better, I'll be there," Libby reassured him, earning a pleased yet relieved smile in response. "It's a harmless parkour course too, you'll be fine,"

Ooooooh, he's gonna sh*t his pants when he sees the high jump at the beginning - I know it!

"Come on guys," Zere stepped in, beckoning her and the two guys out. "We'll introduce Henry to Rahim and take it from there, okay?"

"Okay," The young girl replied, quickly addressing me with a concerned "See you in a moment, Kyle?"

"Sure," I answered with a brave grin, watching her, Brecken, Zere and Henry leave. It's just me and Jade now, then. Prepare for awkwardness!

"I take it you found my letter?" The woman asked fearfully, breaking the thick silence.

"Yeah,"

"I am truly sorry, okay?" Jade begged with a hint of aggression and terror, possibly thinking that I wanted to cut all ties. Well, who can really blame her for that?

"I know you are," I shot back calmly, facing her with an authoritative glare. "But you can't do that again,"

"I won't,"

"No, you can't," I scolded, remaining firm. "You can't walk all over me, and you can't protect Rahim and Libby forever. Whether you like it or not, they're growing up and your brother needs to learn to be more responsible. Libby and I are happy to help him but no matter what you feel, you need to let him go - do you understand?"

I must have gotten through to Jade, because she answered with a shaky nod and the look of anguished remorse on her face prompted my heart to give a painful lurch. Please don't... "I'm sorry, Kyle,"

"I know you are, Jade,"

"I'm telling the truth!" The woman cried, her voice cracking with guilt. "I'm sorry!"

That was the final straw and I found myself lunging forward and engulfing her in an embrace, not caring if I was about to get my *ss kicked for it. Instead however, she returned my gesture with the realisation that all was forgiven. See? It's all good. I don't know how long we stayed but when the two of us pulled back after she calmed down, I couldn't help but notice that our faces were a mere centimetres apart. Oh sh*t!

You know, Kyle? You could risk getting your *ss kicked again and kiss her. The opportunity's pretty much just presented itself, you should do i— No! It's way too early for that! Besides, we barely know each other, shouldn't we do that first and see where it goes fro—

But Jade sensed the dilemma I was facing, whilst I was blissfully unaware of a warm feeling beginning to swell up. Looking back nowadays, I think she felt the same and she was the first to do something about it. Feel free to laugh at me for being a coward. Before I knew what was happening, a gloved hand snaked around to the back of my neck and she gently tugged me towards her...

Then, she pressed her lips against mine.

Now, I had kissed before - but this one was brand new for me. Our first kiss was absolutely amazing, so much so that I thought I was in a dream for five seconds. I felt like I was tingling all over and I was certain Jade felt the same way, that is until she pulled back in surprise and gave me a look which told me she was awaiting permission. I responded by reaching out to cup her face with a grin, prompting a visibly relieved Jade to return the favour and press her lips against mine again.

In that moment, it was just us. The way our mouths gently played with each other, the affectionate gestures which confirmed that this was reality, the prospect that I was sharing the moment with the most bad*ss woman I ever met, everything about it was pleasant. I also began to imagine a future where life in Harran became more bearable. Jade and I would be happy and the rest of our family would be pleased for us. She would resolve things with the kids, and we'd get to see them grow into the mature yet caring adults we knew they'd become. Maybe somewhere down the line, Libby could meet a young guy who would genuinely see her for her and... maybe she and Rahim could have a little niece or nephew to play video games with? We could bail out of Harran and reunite with our own families too, thus introducing them to each other?

The possibilities are endless...

We soon pulled away for air and I rested my head against Jade's, with her fingers gently playing with the ends of my hair. "I've always wanted to do that," A nervous gulp. "At least, once,"

"It doesn't have to be once, Kyle," The woman replied softly, smiling.

I shot her a dumbfounded look. "Y-You mean... you're interested in an us?"

"If that's what you want, too," Jade confirmed my suspicions. W-What the f*ck?!

I couldn't stop an almost giddy smirk from painting my face. "Okay,"

Wow, I did not see this coming! Awesome!