His Rose

In the end, Jason had to carry Rose back to the cabin. She refused to let go of him even for a moment, even clinging to his arm as he dragged the body behind a bush and scuffed dirt over the pool of blood in the road. She could barely stand, her muscles aching from the run. Jason carried her down the road in his arms, with her arms wrapped around his neck and her face pressed into his chest.



The tightness in his chest was back. It wasn’t any feeling he was familiar with, but he knew it had to do with the good girl nestled in his arms. He was also confused. In the past, he had only killed because of his mother’s voice in his head, telling him to do so. She hadn’t been talking as he killed the man trying to steal away his Rose, so why had he killed him?



Jason didn’t know, but he suspected it had something to do with the strange feeling in his chest.



Rose shifted slightly in his arms as they entered the clearing, indicating her wish to walk. Jason set her down on her feet gently. He tried to take a step back, but Rose held onto his arm, forcing him to stay close.



“Please,” she said, looking up at his face. “Please don’t leave me.”



Jason reached out and stroked the side of her face, wishing for the first time in his life that he could speak, to tell her that he never wanted to leave her side again. He wanted to tell her about being a good girl, about how he was going to protect her, but he couldn’t. Instead, he stroked the line of her jaw with his fingers, feeling the softness of her skin.



As she had before, Rose put her small hands around his large one and pressed her cheek into the calluses on his palm. Turning her face slightly, she placed a light kiss on the inside of his wrist.



The tiny pressure of her lips against his skin sent a jolt through Jason’s body. For the briefest of moments, he was paralyzed by surprise and something else, something that went deeper.



Rose kept a hold of him, leading him into the cabin. The door was still locked, but she managed to dig the spare key from under the edge of the porch and unlock it without letting go of his hand. She pulled him into the living room, then pushed him down onto the couch and sat next to him, curling up against his side. Jason put his arm around her, carefully, not sure that she would like it. But it seemed to make her happy, and she buried her face in his chest again.



It was several minutes before Jason noticed that she was crying again. He pushed her face away from his chest, trying to wipe the tears of her cheeks with clumsy fingers. She just pushed his hands away and cried harder. Distressed, Jason made a noise in his throat, wishing she would explain what was wrong. The bad man was dead, they were safe, he was going to protect her. Why was she crying?



Rose sniffed, wiping away the last of the tears from her eyes. “I’m sorry, Jason,” she said. “I just - I’m just so glad you came for me. You saved me.”



Jason placed his hand against the side of her face again. Rose caressed the back of his hand, and they stayed that way for several moments. Rose’s face was hesitant, but after a moment, she leaned in and kissed Jason on the part of his jaw that wasn’t covered by the mask.



A shock went through Jason’s body again, and he stiffened in surprise. Rose immediately backed off, shamefaced.



“I’m sorry,” she mumbled.



Jason blinked, unsure of what to do. He liked when she kissed his skin - it made him feel good. Was there a way to convince her to do it again? He reached his hand toward her, hesitantly, and caressed the side of her face again. His eyes caught hers, and he made a questioning noise in the back of his throat.



“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” she explained, understanding his question even without words.



Jason shook his head. He wasn’t uncomfortable. His fingers played over her cheekbone, his thumb trailing across her lips. Her skin was so soft - softer than anything he’d felt before. Tracing the planes if her face, he soaked in the feel of her skin through his fingertips. He ran his thumb over her lips again, feeling a something twinge in his lower stomach.



Rose turned her face into his palm, kissing the inside of his wrist again. Leaning into him, she placed a feather-light kiss on his jaw that made his insides tighten.



“Jason,” she said as she pulled away slightly, her voice a little husky and her face slightly flushed. “Have you ever... I mean, have you been with a - a woman before?”



Jason looked at her, confused for a moment. Then he thought about all the teenage campers who came to his woods, the things they did in their tents and in the open, by the lake - everywhere. Always there had been a boy and a girl doing those things, and they usually started out with kissing, like Rose was doing. He met her eyes, unsure but at the same time a little hopeful. Did she want to do those things with him?



“I mean, we don’t have to - I just thought... you might...” she said very quickly, dropping her eyes to the floor as she trailed off.



Jason thought for a long minute. His mother had always said that the people who did those things were bad. But Rose was a good girl - his good girl. His mother’s voice had said so. She would never ask him to do anything bad, he was sure.



Jason reached out a hand and pulled Rose against him. When she tried to look up at him, he tucked her face against his chest. Making sure she couldn’t see anything, he pushed his mask up just enough to expose his mouth. Leaning down, he pressed his lips to her hair, breathing in the scent of shampoo and sweat and earth that clung to her. He leaned back, pulling his mask down over his face again and making sure he was completely covered before letting her pull her face away from his shirt.



Rose kept her body pressed against his, though she did tip her face back far enough to look into his eyes. When their gazes met, she smiled.