Chapter 8

Once off the mountain and back on the jungle path that led to the beach, Charlie relaxed a little. They were far enough away from any cliffs or precipices that there would be no more temptations. At least, not that kind. Just walking beside Ana was a powerful temptation of a different sort; she was still close enough to touch. He needed to get away from her, from himself, from everything that had happened that day. He wanted to be gone, empty, free. Just for a little while.

Soon they reached the place where the path branched off toward the hatch, and Charlie halted.

"So here we are," he said. "Thanks for the walk. It's been fun."

"You heading back to the beach?" said Ana.

Charlie shrugged. "Sure," he said, though in his mind he was already planning his route back up the mountain to the place where relief waited, encased in ceramic.

"I have to take the gun to Jack, but after that I was thinking I could meet you at the beach. Locke will be okay watching Henry for a while," said Ana.

"Meet me?" said Charlie, puzzled. "Why?"

Ana smiled. A mischievous, tender, heartbreaking smile. "I always see you with that guitar, and I want to know if you can play it. I have my doubts."

"I can play it," said Charlie, grinning back at her in spite of himself. "In fact, I'm bloody brilliant."

"You're gonna have to prove that," said Ana. "So you'll wait for me?"

Charlie hesitated, glancing involuntarily in the direction they had just come.

"Of course, if you don't show I know where to go to find you," said Ana, her smile fading. "I even know a shortcut."

"No," said Charlie quickly. He tried to shut out the memory of watching her fall. "Don't go back up there."

"Don't make me."

They stared at each other for a long moment, a challenge in Ana's gaze. Once again Charlie felt sure she knew exactly what he was planning. "Fine," he said at last. "I'll be at the beach when you're done."

"Good," she said. "I want you to know, Charlie, your secret is safe with me."

For a moment Charlie was confused. Secret? Did she mean the drugs? Or that he'd nearly murdered her? Oh, Sun. She was talking about Sun. That's what this was about, the secret that he'd done all this to protect. He would have been better off walking right up to Sun and Jin and telling them himself. Maybe he'd do just that. He deserved whatever Jin did to him.

Ana had started down the path toward the hatch. Suddenly she stopped and turned around.

"One more thing... about what happened out there, " she said. She bit her lip and looked away, then continued reluctantly, "When I kissed you."

"Yeah," said Charlie. He had hoped she wouldn't want to talk about it.

Ana stared at the ground for a moment before raising her eyes to meet Charlie's. "Let's just forget it," she said. "Okay?"

Forget it, right. No problem. Forget the weight of her body on his chest, the scent of her hair as the thick, dark strands brushed across his cheek, the taste of her lips. Forget how he'd held her life in his hands a moment before and decided to take it, only to discover how precious it was to him.

Charlie forced a smile. "It's forgotten," he said.

Ana looked at him with a troubled expression, then gave a slight nod. "Thanks," she said, and headed for the hatch where Jack was waiting for the gun. Charlie watched her go.

THE END