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T h e   H o l l o w s   I n
O U R  F R E E D O M
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S K Y

"I'm so glad you're okay, Jameson."

I sat awkwardly beside Jameson on our bed as his parents stood opposite.

He smiled. "So am I." I tried to hide my laugh, but Kath's piercing eyes caught it. And suddenly I was on edge again. Jameson noticed this, and placed his palm on my knee, which aggravated Kath more.

"We'll leave you to wash, and then you'll be down for dinner?" It was Jim who spoke, placing his hand onto his wife's shoulder. He must've sensed the tension, though it wouldn't exactly be hard to miss.

"Of course." Jameson said, smiling up at his father.

They soon left, though Kath made him promise to report to her if he was feeling unwell.

I exhaled when the door was shut, before turning to Jameson. "Are you okay?" I asked him.

He stifled a laugh. "Regarding my parents or my wound?" He asked one response.

I rolled my eyes, before I placed my lips on his. The kiss, as always, was made of pure magic and bound by heat.

I pulled back and smiled at Jameson. "Yes, I'm okay." He told me, making my smile grow.

"Why didn't you tell me you were injured sooner?" I asked him, running my fingers down the side of his face.

"I didn't want it to get in the way of Saph, never mind the mission. It was just something I thought I could deal with on my own. As always, I need you." He told me, gazing down at me.

I smiled. "As much as I'm complimented, you shouldn't just need me. You have your parents here with you now, and you have Jace."

Jameson pulled a face at me. "I wouldn't even tell my parents that I cut my fingernails too short, and where did Jace even come into this?"

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, what about Lexi?"

Jameson thought about this. "She's only good for problems regarding you, or if I need tips on my gorgeously curled hair."

I laughed at that, shaking my head at him. "Okay, Jonah?"

Jameson's face turned grave. "Even if I had anything to tell him, he's grieving right now." I nodded, then realised where this left us and sighed.

"So you see, I only need you." He told me.

I know he was only trying to be romantic, but I still tried to find other solutions. "What about my mum?" I asked.

"Right, so I just tell her about my erectile dysfunction?"

I stared at him. "You have that?" I asked after a few moments.

Jameson laughed. "No, it was a hypothetical argument." He said before proceeding to laugh harder. I rolled my eyes but joined in briefly.

"Well, anyway, you better get used to her since she'll be your mother in-law soon." I told him, a winning smile on my face.

He rose an eyebrow. "'Soon'?" He echoed. "Is this your proposal?" I shook my head, laughing.

"You're the one with the ring." I told him, tracing the lines on his palm with my index finger.

"That's true." He said, "did you want it now?" He asked.

I froze.

"So first you propose to me in the middle of a fire, then next in a bed recovering from a gash? I think I'm seeing a running theme here." I said, speculative.

Jameson laughed in response. "Fine. Not yet, then."

I smiled, satisfied.

"Let's go wash." I said, trying to unearth a flirty grin that I just didn't own. Those kind of things belonged to Lexi, and I was privileged to access only the wink.

"Then you can redress my wound after." Jameson said, after agreeing and slowly standing up—with my help.

I smiled. "That's okay, my mum can do that." I saw as he rolled his eyes and shook his head.

Soon, we were in the shower, and it's safe to say that things heated up as quickly as the water did. Jameson could move around fairly well despite his wound.

"No offence, but why does it hurt more when you're doing it now?" Jameson asked as I was nearly finished redressing his wound.

I pulled a face. "I am offended; I think my mum is just better at it. To be fair, I am better at medical aid than both you and Lexi combined."

Jameson scoffed. "Of course you are." I rolled my eyes, not responding since I really didn't go through the medical training that they did.

When I was done, I drew back to see Jameson smiling down at me. I placed a kiss on his cheek before pulling my lips into a grin.

"Your birthday is next month." I said suddenly as I began to rifle through the wardrobe for things to wear.

"It is." He replied after a few moments.

"Any ideas on what you want?" I asked him, finding a long sleeved dress that looked decent.

"You, me, freedom."

I rolled my eyes as I searched around for clear underwear. "I wasn't aware that we were in a Polyamorous Relationship." I quipped in response, dropping my towel and starting to dress myself.

His response was delayed, maybe because I was now named. But eventually, he did, "nor was I." He watched as I slipped the dress on, "seriously, though, that's all I want."

I smiled, fixing the dress on my body. "I know, but how about a material thing, just this once?" I proposed, watching him deliberate this.

He sighed. "Fine, but have fun figuring out what to get me."

I frowned, "you're not even going to help me?"

He smiled, pulling on his socks. "I can't help you if I don't know what I want. It'll just be a surprise."

I shook my head, offering my help when he started to edge off the bed. He took my hand gratefully before pulling on his shirt. I wished he hadn't, though.

"If only I could just get you a surprise." I said, before bending down to pick up his shoes after watching him eye them for a few seconds.

He laughed. "Cheap."

I rolled my eyes. "You know what I mean. I could just come out from around the corner in a yellow rectangle yelling 'surprise!'"

Jameson laughed, tying up the laces on his shoes. I joined in whilst I slipped my own shoes on.

"You'd probably look good in a yellow rectangle." Jameson remarked as he finished up his laces.

I rolled my eyes, though laughed, "if you say so."

With that, we reached out to each other's hands before leaving the room and starting for the stairs. I threw Jameson a concerned look as we descended the stairs.

"I'm fine." Jameson told me, "it doesn't hurt as much as you think." I pursed my lips, though didn't say anything else as we continued down the stairs.

When we reached the bottom, I realised that my mum was at the bottom waiting for us.

"Are we late?" I asked, suddenly worried that we had held everyone up.

My mum frowned, shaking her head, "we're still waiting for–"

"–please move your congregation away from the stairs so that I don't die." I furrowed my eyebrows, though descended the last few stairs, turning to see Alexi and Jace behind us.

Alexi kept her head down as she quickly brushed past us, but I saw the flush on Jace's cheeks as he followed her. I frowned after them.

"I hate to be obvious, but I think something's up with them." My mum said.

I only hummed in response, and we remained in the hallway for a few moments more before we left to enter the dining room.

The table was all set out, and my mum, Jameson and I took the last remaining seats.

I smiled at Jameson as he sat down in the chair opposite me before peering to my left to see Alexi and Jace fidgeting awkwardly. Then they looked up, and when they saw each other, they froze.

I frowned. My mum was right—something is going on.

Richard started off the dinner by welcoming Kathleen, Jim and the three other new members I had yet to meet, and then went onto mention other matters.

"I'm not one to mention business at the table, but I have to know—what is our next step for this mission?" He asked, the question not directed at anyone in particular.

I watched Lexi survey the room. "I guess we just keep on recruiting trusted members of the Academy. Every single vote in our favour we have is vital for our freedom."

Richard hummed at this, tracing the top of his glass. "To freedom." He said, raising his glass, a glint in his eyes.

I hesitated, though raised my glass, joining in with everyone as we said, "to freedom."

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to freedom, why am I now trapped

👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

finally got this chapter up 😴

Her Life next 🕊☁️🌸🔮☔️

-thank u, next

FABULOUS SONGS

Songs that played when I was writing this chapter (in order):
Low - Lauren Aquilina
Young And Beautiful - Lana Del Rey
My God - Rae Morris
Empty House - Billy Lockett
Settle - Vera Blue
November - Gabrielle Aplin
Alien - Sabrina Carpenter
Touch It - Ariana Grande
Like I Can - Sam Smith
Teenager in Love - Madison Beer
Keep It From You - Glades
Bones - MS MR
Nothing but a Heartbeat - Say Lou Lou
Love Sick - Lij Gilmour

END OF FABULOUS SONGS

Date written:
14/05/18
16/05/18
18/05/18 (wow this took some time – 09/03/19)

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Next update: Wednesday
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CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX SPOILER:

Now, what did happen after that kiss?