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| I Love You by Katie Allen and Nancybe |
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This
was a collaborative effort. An e-mail was sent
with a little story, then
anwered with another e-mail giving the other point of view.
Hope you enjoy it! I
LOVE YOU
Barnabas had walked Julia home. She was happy for his company. Everyone had left yesterday, and last night coming home alone to an empty house had made her nervous in spite of herself. As they approached the door, Barnabas said, "Perhaps I should come in and say goodnight to Elizabeth. You two aren't nervous alone in the house are you? Willie could come over." "Elizabeth isn't here. At the last moment she went to meet Carolyn in Boston." As Julia saw Barnabas' face she added, "I told her I'd be fine… but maybe if you wouldn't mind, I will take you up on Willie spending the nights here." Julia thought of last night when she got almost no sleep listening to each noise, each creak and worrying if it was house noises, or whether it was something more sinister. Barnabas came into the house. "I'll wait here." Julia was puzzled. "For what?" "For you to pack a bag. Just for overnight. You can always pick up more of your things tomorrow." "Barnabas, that's unnecessary." Julia said. "There's no sense on uprooting Willie, and having him shuffle back and forth, when you can move into the Old House for a couple of weeks." Julia would have argued about phone calls and reputations, except for two things: two weeks sleeping at the Old House away from the lonely, creaky halls of the Great House, and two weeks sleeping at the Old House near Barnabas.
Julia and Barnabas had settled down to a new way of life. Evenings stretched as long as they wanted them to with no one to worry if Julia was late home. It was comfortable, too comfortable, and Julia began to realize her coming here was a mistake. Julia had slept at the Old House before, but this time there was no work for her in the lab, no threats to work against except for Barnabas and the danger of his nearness. Other times when she had stayed here she had pretended she belonged, but on those earlier visits with all that had to be done, her mind could not dwell on those happy thoughts, and therefore could not betray her. This time those fantasies were too close to reality. More than once she was tempted to say something. They had been so comfortable together, so happy, surely if she said them now… She shook her head, and wondered what would he say if she told him, "I love you"? "What do you think?" Barnabas' voice cut into her reverie. "I'm sorry, I was thinking about something else. You were saying?"
"I guess it's time for me to go to bed." Julia stood up. "Tomorrow afternoon, Elizabeth and Carolyn are returning, and Mrs. Johnson will be back by evening. I'll be leaving in the morning." Julia hoped Barnabas would say something romantic. "Two weeks went by quickly. It's been nice to have you here." Barnabas stood and began to blow out candles. "Do you go to work in the morning?" Julia gave a silent sigh. "No. I'll probably pack and leave after breakfast anyway." Barnabas nodded. "I'll tell Willie. He'll help you with your bags." With nothing more to say, Julia started up the stairs. "Goodnight, Barnabas." "Goodnight, Julia, sleep well." Two weeks of constant companionship, and the only step closer in their relationship was the "sleep well" attached to the goodnight. Julia closed her bedroom door and got undressed. She donned her nightgown and looked in the mirror. Why had she bothered to bring this one? The green of the gown brought out the green of her eyes and the glint of her hair. It was cut almost to the navel, except for a single button, and touched the floor with a graceful skirt. She felt foolish. Her hopes for Barnabas to see her in the gown, and appreciate the sight, were silly. She tried sleeping, but it was elusive. After fighting it for an hour or so, she got up and donned her tailored robe, tying the belt loosely. She had wasted her last night. She wondered if things would have been different if she had just said, "I love you." Barnabas and she were so close these last two weeks, surely he would not turn away from her, even if he could not have said them back. She sighed. It was too late. Barnabas was asleep and in the morning she would go. They would go back to spending evenings together, touching lives but not sharing them. There would be no sleep for her tonight, and she left her room to go down and get a book.
It was heard the first time. It was now heard the second time. Julia smiled, hesitant and hopeful. Barnabas took a step toward her, and then the two who had been separated by more than just the distance of a room were in each other's arms, Julia's book falling to the floor. Barnabas' lips sought Julia's and the kiss that started tender and soft, sparked into breathless unity as they explored each other's mouths. While the kiss remained unbroken, robes were discarded, buttons undone, and hands slipped inside fabric to touch and caress bare skin. When they pulled apart, Barnabas held her to him. "Come to bed?" he asked. She nodded. As Barnabas took Julia's hand to lead her upstairs and to his bed, the words, "I love you" were repeated for the third time, this time in tenderness. Julia had tears in her eyes as she whispered, "I love you, too."
Why hadn't he done something before tonight to stop her from leaving? Why was he such a coward? During these past two weeks, he had become so used to her constant presence - the sound of her voice the first thing in the morning and the last thing at night, the faint scent of her perfume left behind in her wake, the sight of her in her robe gliding down the hallway. And now she was leaving, and he would no longer hear or smell or see her in his house at all hours of the day and night. She had brought life and laughter to this house, and when she left, they would be swept out the front door with her like a sweet summer wind. He wasn't sure that he could bear to let any of them go. He twisted restlessly in his bed for the hundredth time further entangling himself in the covers. He tried to close his eyes but all that he could see was her face before him -her glowing emerald eyes and the way the candlelight reflected off of her coral tinted cheekbones. He dragged his eyes from the vision of her face down her swanlike neck to the top of her curving breasts…. His eyes snapped open as he tried to banish this illusion from his thoughts. This was not helping him get to sleep and that damn clock - But even with his eyes wide open, he could see her in the flickering shadows on the wall, and he wanted to reach out and caress the soft skin that he knew hid behind her clothes. He wanted to bury himself in the fresh scent of her hair and drink in the smell of her perfume. He remembered the morning she had leaned close to give him a peck on the cheek before she had headed out for the day. The scent of her perfume had lingered on the lapel of his jacket making him recall her kiss, and it had driven him wild until he had seen her again that evening. He groaned as he realized what these thoughts had done to him, and he knew that he needed some distraction if he was ever going to get to sleep now. He cursed as he extracted himself from his binding bedcovers and swung his feet to the cold floor. Flinging a robe on over his silk pajamas, he padded to the door and opened it quietly intending to make his way downstairs. But he stopped to cast a glance at Julia's room wondering what would happen if… .Should he take the chance? Sighing deeply, he shook his head and walked toward the stairs. He was surprised when he saw the flicker of light dancing at the base of the stairs. Silently, he descended to the first floor of the house and stopped to look into the drawing room. Julia stood facing slightly away from him, flipping slowly through a book she had apparently taken from the shelf. He watched her for a moment, and he felt his heart constrict with the thought that tomorrow night and the night after that, he would not be able to look upon her in her white satin robe. There would be no auburn-haired visitor standing in his drawing room with her slim fingers examining his books, her exotic face trained on the printed pages, her beautiful bare feet warmed by his rug. He wanted to capture this moment, put it in bottle and quickly cork it up so that it could never escape. He took a tentative step into the room and stopped again trying to imprint the scene upon his mind. She finally sensed his presence and turned around. "Barnabas. I hope I didn't wake you. I couldn't sleep," she said quietly. "No, you didn't wake me, Julia. I couldn't sleep either." His dark eyes noticed with interest the green negligee that peeked from beneath her loosely tied robe. "Is something wrong?" she asked, her smoky eyes narrowing in concern. No, he started to say. The lie sprang easily to his lips, but where had pretense gotten him except to this sleepless moment? "Yes, something is wrong." He watched as his words caused her to furrow her brow with worry for him. "I couldn't stop thinking that this was your last night in this house. I don't want you to go," he said in a low voice, bowing his head slightly. Her face held surprise and a touch of something else…. Encouragement? He grabbed onto that look as his lifeline and took the leap of faith. "I love you."
Even though he had been cured for quite some time, mornings remained a miraculous time for Barnabas Collins. And this morning was doubly miraculous because beside him slept an angel with hair the color of fire. How appropriate, he thought, that the color of her hair was matched by the fiery passion that lived in her heart. Her fire had warmed him all night long. In fact, it had been so intense that he had been tempted to check his body for burns. He knew now that she was his love - that she was his only love- and that it was her fire that would light his way for the rest of his life. THE END. |