The next day I would return to Treegap, to the Fosters, and take my leave formally and respectfully, as a member of society.
Winnie had made her decision and would stay with the Tucks for as long as she could; and someone needed to go back and clean up the mess she'd left. That person, of course, could be none other than me. While I returned to Treegap, the Tucks were packing to leave their home.
Her decision was made last night, by the fire with her head in my lap and her hand in Jesse's. The girl was entirely lost to me now, having found something newer and more exciting in the form of an immortal teenage boy. I had Winnie help me with the corset that I hadn't worn in so long, and her hands felt foreign to me as they laced the strings. She nodded when she had finished and went off with Jesse, who had been waiting in a corner.
"They're inseparable, those two." Miles said, nodding towards the couple. "It makes me nervous."
"It's puppy love, Miles, they're young. Soon enough they'll grow out of it." Miles snickered at me, and I realized the stupidity of what I had said. "Don't worry, they'll be fine. They have you watching out for them, and Mae and Angus too."
"I don't like that," He said, nodding towards my corset.
"Neither do I," I laughed. "But it's a staple of society and I plan on looking presentable when I walk back into Treegap. I won't be staying there long, anyways."
"What do you mean?" Miles said.
"You remember how I told you, the first night I came here, that Winnie and I are cousins? Winnie's the only reason I stayed with the Fosters for as long as I did, without her they'll be unbearable. I only plan on staying long enough to make sure you all get out alright, and then I'm gone." I smiled at them.
Miles only looked at me as if he couldn't hear words, couldn't formulate what they meant. After a moment, he lunged at me, wrapping his hand around the back of my neck and lacing an arm around my waist to steady me as he pressed his lips against mine. His tongue darted in and out like a dagger, a sharp, beautiful dagger, and I moaned in response. Turning me over, Miles made quick work of the corset Winnie had painstakingly laced; he threw it across the room without any regard to her handiwork.
He flipped me around and locked out lips once more, guiding my hands towards his belt.
When we were finished, we laid in bed next to each other, entangled in the sheets of the loft hoping no one would catch us.
"Come with us." He said quietly, out of breath.
"Excuse me?"
"Leave Treegap with us, with me and Jesse and Winnie."
"You know I can't do that, Miles, it would just put you all in more danger!"
"Winnie's putting us in danger, not you!" Miles urged. "And she's still permitted to come, isn't she? Stay with me, Willow, and we can make something of this. What is there for you out there now, now that you've met the most intriguing people you'll ever come to know? We're immortal, Willow, can't get much better than that."
"Believe me, you can." Willow scoffed, rising from the bed and dressing. She thought of offering the corset up to Miles, asking him to lace it for her, but she left it lying on the bedroom floor and dressed without it. It was Winnie's, anyways, and it was too small.
"You don't even have to drink from the spring, I swear by it. And we don't have to leave with my family, we can go on our own if that's what you want."
"What do you want?" Willow asked. "Do you want me to risk all of your lives over a silly evening of romance? This never should have happened, Miles. I have to go."
Willow grabbed her already-packed belongings, leaving the rest of her things behind, and hurried from the house without a goodbye. She ran towards what she thought was Treegap, her long legs making the strides easy. She knew the woods better this time around, knew how to avoid branches and other animals. Miles had taught her that, just like Jesse had taught Winnie.
Still, with all of this practice, she found herself lost.
Leaning against a tree, she spotted a small pond nearby. She leaned down and took a sip, before realizing her mistake and shooting back up. She spit the remaining water out, but it was still too late. The rain had made the spring grow, and it was now the size of a tiny pond.
Willow ran all the way back to the Foster's, fueled by anger and resent. She'd done it now, she really had.