calm before the storm

the heat of summer whirled around her, suffocating, grabbing every inch of her bare skin and covering it with smothering warmth.
the sky above growled, deep purple- the promise of a storm. the quiet was eerie. in such a wide open space, the silence pressed upon her like the clouds inching closer to the ground, compressing the warmth. in the distance thunder rumbled. it wasnt the sharp crack as it usually was, it was far away, racing across the sky with the lightning that was sure to follow.
she waited.
brown grass tickled her legs, grown past her knees. it was like this for miles- just wide open stretches of dry straw. he was behind her suddenly, somehow, miraculously, he had appeared without a sound.
still, she did not turn around.
her eyes slipped closed as his lips brushed up her collarbone, slowly up her neck, hovering over her jugular, then up to her ear. goosebumps prickled her skin and he knew.
"you want me here." his voice was a murmur, his lips still close to her ear.
it was now that she turned. the sight of her face shocked him.
"yes. you know how i feel."
the mascara on her cheeks told him what she hadnt made clear. the thunder rumbled again, closer now, more defined, and he shook internally.
"i dont love you," she said, the words attacking him as though she had cracked a whip across his skin.
for minutes, he stood, stock still, in front of his love. his brain consumed the words, trying to make sense of them and then discarding the truth as the pain seared through him.
"please, just go away." more tears leaked from her eyes, and he turned. when her eyes opened again, he had gone.

she sunk to the ground, and, as though the action had pulled the moisture from the clouds, the first heavy drops fell. they were warm, and without warning, the whole sky opened up and drenched her in seconds. but she did not move.
the water ran over her skin, and she wept as she considered the lie she told to save him from her.