This, That & The Third

Chapter 9

"So. Urhm, what happened yesterday?", Malcolm asks, an uneasy look on his face. He tries to keep my eyes, but I look away. "You know what, Malcolm? It's been a really long day and I've got school tomorrow," I try to get up off the blanket as fast as I can, "and I promised my mother I wouldn't be lo-". "Max, please sit." Malcolm's entire body is turned to me now and his jaw has clenched. He stares me down until I lower myself back down. He looks towards the van. A single thin silver hoop hanging in the upper part of his ear is highlighted by the sunlight.

That's new.

"It's locked, anyway.", he says scoffingly. He sighs heavily and scoots closer toward me after moving our empty packages out of the way.
I have all his attention.

But I don't want to have all his attention right now.

Today has been an absolute rollercoaster. From waking up with an unexpected visitor to basically being harassed to the perfection of just a few moments ago.

I scan his face until I find his eyes. They convey concern, telling me how badly he wants to help in anyway he can.

I sigh hesitantly and tell him EVERYTHING. By the time I finish, we've moved to the car, because of the dark and cold.

"Damn.", is all he says after a few minutes of processing the information. I say, "I know, when it rains-", "it pours.", we say together. He turns on the engine and we head home. After coming to a halt at a red light, Malcolm asks, "So you want me to beat him up?". I start laughing, "Malcolm, plea...", I look at him and see his jaw tighten. He's serious about his offer. Dead serious. I lift my hand up touch his arm, "Hey, that won't be necessary. Okay?" He looks at me, his eyes sullen. He faces the road again, "Seeing you hurt on my first day back was not what I wanted. It really tore at my heart seeing you like that." He places his hands on my wrists now, they're a bit sweaty. He looks me in the eye and whispers, "No one deserves such pain." He reaches up to my face to brush a piece of hair aside. He's touch is soft and comforting.

I'm stuck in his eyes. They're telling a story with characters I've never heard about, I try to capture all its details. He's face comes closer to mine and he's breath dances on my nose and lips. We're caught in this daze for what seems like infinity and are suddenly brought to life by a car hooting.

The traffic robot is green.

Green means go.

~~~~~

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