Don't make me fight alone...

He betrayed them and now he needed to be saved. Who will follow her to fight for him?

I turned to leave. Jack caught me on my wrist and twisted my arm to pull me back to him. His face was inches from mine.

“You are mine.”

His words ripped through my chest. The weight I have been carrying for so many had exhausted me. They used me up, but I was free and I did not belong to anyone anymore. I struggled to free my arm from his grasp and my eyes from his stare.

“These eyes, these lips.” He said as he released my arm and grazed my lips with his other hand. I flinched at his touch, untrusting of where the statement was heading. “They’re mine, and I will cherish them so.”

I felt guilty for thinking he meant anything else. He was the only one who had kept me safe all the years before. Even now with inevitable defeat breathing down our necks, he was still trying to protect me. He was my one true friend and I felt embarrassed for doubting him.

“You can’t go back out there now. Give yourself some time to heal.” He was attempting to lead me back to the cot and make me sit down. My broken body wanted to listen. It was a struggle to keep the intense pain pushed from my consciousness, but I had to try for Guillermo.

“I owe him.” He shook his head in disagreement before I could even finish the sentence. “We owe him. He was just a kid when we saved him. He treated us like older siblings. We should have noticed he was struggling with something. We should have been there for him.”

“You didn’t know. He never said anything. You don’t owe him anything.” He tried to keep the anger from his voice, but I knew it was there.

“We both owe him. This is not his fault.” I hoped that Jack would remember the past. I did not want to go this alone. He just stood there searching for the words that would change my mind.

“He’s our only hope for ending this. You know that. He’s the only one close enough to Abraham to stop him.”

“Yeah, maybe too close.” He said in almost a whisper as if Abraham could hear us now. Maybe he could.

I reached out and laced my fingers in his. How many times had I wanted to do that? I looked down at his hand and let my thumb memorize every callous of his palm. So many times, I wanted to reach out and never did.

“Please don’t make me go alone.” I wanted to look him in the eyes so he could see how much he meant to me but I let my head hang to hide it as I always did. I was ashamed for waiting so long and using this moment to reveal the tiniest of my emotions for him felt wrong. I felt unworthy to claim the prize that he might be holding there for me so I kept my eyes trained on his boots.

He sighed and pulled me close. He let his arms wrap tight around me. I tried to engrain the moment in my head. If I was going to die today, I wanted to be able to play back every second.

“I will always keep you safe.”