Live on Me Pt. 05

"Why do you have a key too?" I asked. To my knowledge, she had given me the only key.

"Do you remember what I told you when I explained the bracelet? It is a symbol of my protection over you, and if you unlock it, you will return to your life where you left it." Jessica recalled. "Well, one thing I couldn't tell you is that it is a magical item. The red band contains my blood as the catalyst, the white band is made from a memory stone, and the black band contains a strong time spell."

"Wait, so if I had unlocked this, I would have..." I trailed off. I had come to accept a lot of things up to this point, but time travel was not one of them.

"Yes, when unlocked with the golden key, it would have sent you back in time with no memory of what had happened between us. Master Gilbert had it made specifically for you. I didn't want to force you to be with me if you didn't want to, but I didn't want the knowledge of Other Humans and our relationship to put you in any harm if you left."

"If I had unlocked it, I never would have gotten to love you. I never would have had the time and space to grow into who I am now..." I thought aloud, the idea that a small decision could have altered my entire life was such a large revelation. It was a scary thought, but knowing I had made it to this point felt like a major accomplishment.

"I had this key made shortly after you moved in because I realized that if you did leave, I wouldn't want you to be taken away from my life forever. So, now we can unlock it without setting off the magical spell and you can be free. In a way, I guess it's a bit selfish of me, huh?"

I shook my head.

"I feel the same way. I want to have you in my life, whether we are friends or lovers."

We smiled at each other, our mutual selfish desires creating a bond that could last through time. Jessica inserted the key into the lock and with a click, it unlocked and she removed it from my wrist. There was a paleness to my skin where it had naturally settled.

"They are going to make fun of my tan line," I muttered, rubbing my wrist. Jessica and I giggled together for a moment, the tension in the room clearing.

"I'm sorry for not telling you all this from the start, but the ability to rewind time is something Master Gilbert doesn't give out often. I was sworn to keep it a secret until the bracelet was removed."

"I can understand that. It's in the past now, so all we can do is look forward. No reason to stew over it now," I said, letting the endless possibilities of the past lay to rest. I had learned to focus on the exciting things to come rather than what I couldn't change. It was one of the precious skills I had learned since meeting Jessica, but I learned it from myself.

I noticed a yellowed book on her desk, the same one I had briefly seen her reading on and off for the past three months. It was titled Traveling the Dreamscape and was written by none other than Master Gilbert. I shook my head. That old fart hid many secrets. First time travel and now being an expert on the Dreamscape that Jessica had taught me about.

"Yeah, Master Gilbert is a pretty talented man," Jessica commented from behind me. I put the book down and glanced across her desk. She had a picture of us both framed next to her computer amongst the clutter of forms and notes that I hadn't seen before.

"Yeah, but will he ever be as talented as you?" I asked, turning to take Jessica's hand.

"It depends on the subject. Time and space? Way more talented. Sex and alure? He doesn't stand a chance."

Jessica embraced me and we managed to stumble our way up the stairs together between hugs and kisses.

***

As the sun set and painted the cloudy sky shades of pink and red, I drove with Jessica to the airport. The whole time, we drowned out any sad feelings with loud music, singing along and laughing the whole way. We wanted to make sure neither of us were crying on our way to and from the airport. We arrived and made it through the initial check-in fairly quickly, and made our way up to security.

"Well, here's my final stop," Jessica said. "Remember, if security freaks out about you being trans, I'll swoop in and fuck them up!" I was unsure of if she was being hyperbolic or actually could sway airport security somehow.

"Don't worry, you can just chill. They won't do anything crazy. I read my rights and I'm not afraid to exercise them," I said, an entire script of responses to various situations at the ready in my head. If they tried to objectify or treat me improperly, they were going to find themselves in a world of legal trouble.

I took out my IDs and got them sorted and ready for security. Jessica clutched my hand, wanting to spend just a few more seconds with me. She gave me a kiss and then would go on to say goodbye before giving me another kiss and another.

"Jessica, I've really got to go. I love you, I promise. I'll call when we land," I said, pulling myself from her grasp and getting into line.

"Your water bottle is empty, right? Your pockets are empty?" she said to me as I snaked around the roped lines.

"I've got this! You don't need to worry!" I called back. As I made it up near the front of the line, I heard Jessica scooting under the lines and approaching me. As I turned, she hugged me close and kissed me like her life depended on it. I felt the joy of the kiss pass through my body, but I stayed strong in my resolve, pulling her close to me as well.

"I'm really going to miss you, my sweet kitten," she whispered.

"I'm going to miss you too, Jessica. I love you."

"I love you too. I'm sorry for making a scene..." she muttered, suddenly aware of how obvious she was being, her cheeks turning red.

"Hey, don't worry about it. Now go stand back and keep an eye out while I go through. I'll be sure to wave before I head down to the gate." I smiled. She was so beautiful. Her genuine care for me was just so sweet.

I went through the scanner and made it to the other side without any issue. As I put on my jacket and shoes again, I caught Jessica's gaze and waved to her. She waved back, jumping up and down with both arms in the air. She blew me a kiss and I blew one back to her before disappearing down the hallway to my gate.

The gate opened after a while and I boarded the plane, checking my texts before turning off my phone.

"I'll be thinking about you every day, Layna," her text said. My parents sent me a "Be safe!" text. Sarah sent me a "Make sure to call and tell me about your adventures" text.

I felt like I was leaving home on a grand adventure, but I knew in my heart that home isn't a place. It's a state of mind. Anywhere can be a home, and anyone can have any number of them.

As I sat on the plane and got comfortable, I began to feel weightless. The plane was still settled on the ground and gravity was still pushing down on me normally, but somehow, the feeling came to me stronger than ever. I was free and hopeful.

If I could go back in time and tell myself anything when I was sitting on the bathroom floor, wishing that I would stop living, I would tell myself: "Live on, me. You have so much to do and experience. Just live on, and one day you will find that you're flying through the sky toward hope."

***

It had been a couple weeks since Layna left to study abroad. Jessica was buried in requests to formulate synthetic blood alternatives for Other Humans across the world, and she was struggling to find ways to tweak the formula for each request.

Not everyone swooped in and got to feed on a delicious person with an O- blood type, so she spent nearly all of her time for the past week working out what to do.

There was a knock at her door, breaking her stare at the sheets of data that she was sifting through. She managed to pull herself away and open the front door. She was expecting Master Gilbert soon, but not for another couple of hours. To her surprise, Sarah was there and gave her a nervous smile.

"Sarah, what brings you here?" Jessica asked, suddenly conscious that her days of constant work probably showed on her face. The clouds soared high in the blue sky outside, and Jessica quickly closed the door to avoid the light as Sarah stepped in.

"Well, I just got laid off from my job. Apparently my boss is losing money because of a family squabble and a new law office just opened, so business is going down the toilet." Sarah sighed, her arms crossed across her chest.

"I'm sorry to hear that... do you want to put your request on hold until you find something?"

"No, not really... I was wondering if I could get a job with you," she said, nervous about bringing up the subject since it was never something Jessica had suggested. Jessica didn't respond right away, so Sarah continued.

"Layna told me she was helping you with experiments a while back. So, since she is gone for a while, I thought I would see if you needed an assistant. I've got years of office experience and I can send you my resume and-"

Jessica, waved her hand in the air, dismissing her persuasions.

"No need to go through all the trouble. We can talk about it in the living room."