Chapter 6 - THE BLACK SHEEP'S TRUTH
By midnight,
the truck pulled into a hidden gravel turnout,
far from the main road.
A small,
weather-beaten cabin sat nestled among the trees,
its windows dark and uninviting.
"Home sweet home,"
Jaxson said,
killing the lights.
Emily looked at the structure,
then at the heavy rain.
"This is your 'job'?"
"I'm fixing the roof and the wiring for an old friend,"
Jaxson explained,
grabbing his bag from the floor.
"It’s not the Bellwood Hilton,"
"but it doesn't have a string quartet or a guest list."
Emily pushed the door open,
her flip-flops squelching in the mud as she followed him toward the porch.
The dress was a heavy,
soggy anchor now,
the hem caked in filth.
Inside,
the cabin smelled of dry wood and rain.
Jaxson lit a kerosene lamp,
the warm yellow glow revealing a simple room with a fireplace,
a small kitchen,
and a loft above.
"There’s a bathroom through that door,"
he said,
pointing to the back.
"It has a tub."
"I’ll start a fire."
Emily walked into the tiny bathroom,
her movements sluggish.
She saw herself in the mirror again and began to laugh,
a jagged,
hysterical sound that filled the small space.
She reached behind her back,
trying to find the zipper,
but her fingers were too stiff from the cold.
She struggled for a minute,
the silk mocking her,
until she finally gave up.
She walked back into the main room.
Jaxson was kneeling by the hearth,
blowing on a small flame.
"I’m stuck,"
she said softly.
He stood up,
brushing the soot from his hands.
He walked over to her,
his presence overwhelming in the small room.
"Turn around,"
he said.
Emily turned,
her heart hammering against her ribs.
She felt his fingers,
calloused and warm,
touch the back of her neck as he moved the hair aside.
He found the tiny,
delicate zipper and began to pull it down.
The sound of silk parting felt like the loudest thing she had ever heard.
As the dress loosened,
Emily felt the weight literal and metaphorical begin to slide away.
Jaxson stopped halfway down her back.
"Em,"
he whispered.
She didn't move.
She could feel his breath on her skin,
a heat that made her shiver more than the cold ever had.
"Why today?"
he asked.
"Why didn't you run three months ago?"
"Because three months ago,
I was still tired,"
she said,
looking at the flickering shadow on the wall.
"I was still trying to be the girl they wanted."
"And today?"
"Today,
I heard him say that love is just about stability."
"And I realized that if I stayed,"
"I would never be anything else."
Jaxson finished the zipper and stepped back,
his hands dropping to his sides.
"You're more than stability,
Emily,"
he said,
his voice thick with an emotion he couldn't hide.
"You're a goddamn forest fire."
"And Ryan was never going to be able to breathe in your smoke."
He turned back to the fire,
May you like
leaving her standing in the middle of the room,
the dress slipping from her shoulders like a discarded life.
