I watched at my empty apartment. Everything was clean and tidy, too tidy, I'm usually not that household maniac. Having some mess in my apartment is something that reassures me. But this time I felt like my apartment had been sterilized, a bleach scent floated all over the room, giving me nausea. I winced and picked up the mugs from my coffee table and put them in the sink. Great, a little unwashed dishes won't hurt.

I yawned and stretched. I was exhausted and I had no strength left because of the stress. I walked to my bedroom but before I left the living room I saw a hole in my wall. I passed my hand above it and shivered as I remembered the bullet hitting this spot a few inches from my fingers.

Suddenly, my home didn't seem safe anymore. I started to panic, I was sure someone was about to break in. With shaking hands I took a chair and blocked it under the knob of my front door. Even if this wouldn't avoid someone opening it, the sound of the chair falling would warn me. I finally went to my room and locked the door behind me, I opened my window and looked outside. The street was at least 7 meters below, and there were no emergency stairs on this side of the building. I fell on my bed, my body was sore and I was too tired. I fell asleep fully dressed, without taking the time to wear my pajamas.

I woke up screaming and watched at my hands, expecting to see blood on it. I could still feel the warm liquid of Pete's blood on my palms. It would take me time to get over this nightmare. The one good thing on all of this was that Jake was free. It was the middle of the afternoon and he was supposed to come at 7pm. I got up and put some music on, I needed to keep my mind busy, and went to my bathroom.

After a long hot shower I start to prepare for the date. I chose a green skirt with flowers and a black top. I put some makeup on and let my hair fall on my shoulders. I sat on my couch and picked up a good book. I had one hour left before the date. I read the same paragraph again and again, I couldn't focus on my reading. I was torned between my excitement for tonight and the trauma of what happened last night. I felt relieved but scared, full of joy but nauseous, excited but nervous. I didn't know how to deal with all these mixed emotions, how to tame them. I closed my eyes and tried to only focus on my breath, slowly inhaling with my nose and exhaling with my mouth. Everything's fine, I'm safe now, Jake's free now. I smiled as I thought about Jake, and how he made me feel. How his smile made my heart beat faster, how his eyes enchanted me, how his voice softly rang in my ears like a peaceful melody, how his touch made me shiver. I felt safe by his side, I felt at home. 

Soft knocks sounded on my door and I gasped. I checked the time, it was 7pm already. I stood and went to my front door but I stopped. The chair I had put against the door earlier this morning was still there and reminded me why I did this. Last time I opened this door Jasper threatened me with his gun. I stepped back as I heard another knock on my door. I waited, frozen until my phone buzzed in my pocket.

Jake : MC, I'm at your door, are you here?

Immediately my body moved by itself. I ran toward the chair and pushed it away, I slammed open the door and as I recognized Jake standing in the corridor, I rushed into his arms snuggling my face in his black hoodie inhaling his familiar scent. I felt his arms wrapped around me and pulling me closer to his chest. He lowered his head so his mouth was right next to my right ear, I could feel his stubble tickling my skin. "Are you ok?" His deep voice calmed me down. I just nodded, and held him closer clenching my hands behind his back. After a while I walked away from Jake and invited him inside.

"So, how did it go with Mrs Prescott this morning?" I asked with a slight annoyance in my voice.

Jake must have noticed it because he raised one of his eyebrows with an amused look on his face. "It went well," he spoke slowly, approaching me, "I guess, I'm free now."

"You guess?" It was my turn to raise my eyebrows.

He sighed then smiled, "All the charges against me have been erased. I'm free, I really am."

I felt my eyes widened and I started to laugh with the biggest smile on my face. Soon he joined me, it was the first time I heard him laugh and it sounded so good. He cupped my face and kissed me deeply, passionately. It was a genuine embrace, all the stress, the fear disappeared with this amazing news. Jake pulled away from our kiss, "Well, it's not quite over yet, I will have to testify during the trial. It will not be easy."

I lovingly stroke his face, "I know, but I'll be there. We'll get through this together."

He closed his eyes leaning in my touch, "together," he whispered. Jake took my hand and led me to my door, "we should go to the restaurant, or we are going to be late." I agreed and we left my apartment hand in hand.

We had a great time at the Chinese restaurant. It was a beautiful place standing by a river in a touristic area, but it was a quiet place. We sat at a table next to the window and Jake insisted on taking a seat where he could see the entrance of the restaurant. He peeked at the door every minute and I shook my head. His old habits wouldn't leave him anytime soon. I took his hand in the attempt to ease him. "It's okay Jake, the FBI won't walk through the door to arrest you."

He breathed deeply and squeezed my hand. "You are right, sorry." We spent the rest of the evening talking about anything. It was good to act like a normal couple and I could see that despite his unease behavior, he seemed quite happy. He kept peeking at the door but I didn't say a word, he needed time to accept and adapt to his new life.

After eating, we took a walk along the river. There were a lot of bars and restaurants but we decided to go to a quiet place and sat on a bench. The cool air blew in my hair, sending a pleasant chill on my body. Jake put his arm around my shoulder and held me close to him, resting  chin on the top of my head. We looked at the river, mesmerized by the city lights reflecting on the water. We stayed in each other's arms enjoying the silence between us. At some point it was too cold to stay outside. Jake stood and we began to walk back to my apartment.

 "Where are you staying?" I asked curious.

"Well, to be honest, the FBI booked a room for me the time I find an apartment for myself." He stated.

"Really? You know… If you need somewhere to stay… I gave you my spare keys, you can use it."

"I know, it is very kind of you but I think for now it is better that we each have our own apartment."

"Oh.." I started, I felt so stupid to ask him to live with me. It, obviously, wasn't what he wanted. I blushed and looked away trying to swallow the lump in my throat.

Jake stopped, pulling me gently by my hand. He raised his hand to my chin, to make me look at him. "MC… Do not misunderstand what I said. I want to be with you. I want to live with you. But it has been four years that I have not spent time with anybody. I do not want to rush things between us. I want to do this the right way. I still have a lot of things to settle but be sure that when I have a good situation I will be the happiest man living with you." his voice was hoarse and I could see in his eyes that he was telling me his true feelings, "These keys… You cannot imagine what it means to me." He kissed me softly on my lips and walked toward my building leaving me speechless. 

Back at my apartment we shared a hot chocolate. By the time he had to go I felt anxiety tightening my chest. I grabbed Jake by the sleeves. "Please stay. I no longer feel safe in this apartment alone."

Jake held me in his arms. "I will stay until you fall asleep."

We went to my room and cuddled under the blanket. I nestled into his neck, Jake left light kisses over my face. The gentle embrace soon turned into something more passionate, intimate. I could feel his burning skin all over my body, his weight gently pushing me onto the mattress as he rolled us on the bed. His forehead rested against mine and his hot breath quickened as our hands explored lovingly each other's body. I closed my eyes, enjoying every second of this moment.

Later that night I looked at Jake sleeping in my bed and I smiled. Finally, he was the one who fell asleep. I softly stroke his messy hair and he groaned but didn't wake up. I felt safe, at ease. We did it, we were about to live our lives into the open, like a couple. I knew there were a lot of tough things waiting for us. But I wasn't afraid anymore. We were going through this together.

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This was the final chapter. Thank you everyone for reading, commenting and voting. Thank you for your support ❤️ I hope you liked this story.

If you want to read more of my Fanfictions, you can check my

Duskwood oneshot compilation : Tales of Duskwood,

or my other story : Only chaos remains.