Untouchable ~ A Jared Leto/MARS Fanfiction

Chapter Nine

So, I guess that settles it. I stay with Jared at his request until he falls asleep and a nurse comes in to change his IV bag. Then I slip out of the room and find Constance and Shelby where I left them at the end of the hall.

"He's asleep," I say.

Constance nods. "Did he mention my offer? About you and Shelby coming to stay at my place until he's released?"

I shuffle my feet awkwardly. "I don't want to put you to any trouble. I know how weird this all is."

The elder woman gets to her feet. Her remarkable eyes, which so resemble her sons', especially Shannon's, peer into mine. "Trouble? You saved my son's life, Lanie. And anyway, I live alone in a house that's far too large for me and my two dogs. It's no trouble. In truth I'd be grateful for the company, and I want to learn more about you. What I've heard is fascinating to say the least, and I think you'll find that we have some things in common." She glances at Shelby, who's curled up in a ball, her braids askew, her mouth slightly open in deep sleep. "She's such a beautiful child."

I follow Constance's gaze and smile faintly. "Yes, she is."

***

Constance Leto lives in a quiet, residential area about a half-hour's drive from the hospital. On the way, I gaze out at the endless miles of traffic, buildings and lights, awash in a vague sense of unreality that tends to show up around random corners in my mind. Shelby, roused briefly when I carried her to Constance's car, has quickly fallen asleep again in the backseat.

"Have you been to California before?" Constance asks as she comes to a stop at a red light.

"Yes, a short visit a long time ago," I answer. "I've actually traveled quite a bit, just not in the last few years." I don't mention that's because, during one of his days-long meth-fueled paranoid rages, Todd ripped up my passport as well as Shelby's that I'd just gotten for her in anticipation of a trip to Canada.

"Well, it's going to be an adjustment for you both, certainly. Jared told me you were a little reluctant to come here, and I can understand why you would be. But I know how persistent he is," Constance tells me with a rueful smile as the light changes to green and she steps gently on the gas. Well, not the gas—Constance drives a black Tesla that's both incredibly comfortable and incredibly quiet-running. It's the first all-electric car I've ever ridden in. "That persistence is both a blessing and a curse to him, and one he inherited from me."

"It's not just L.A. itself," I say with a sigh, wondering exactly how much Jared and Shannon have told their mother about me. About Todd. About why Shelby and I were in Oak Creek Canyon at the same time Jared was.

Apparently they've told her enough, because Constance's eyes leave the road briefly and meet mine. "I know it's not, Lanie. But I really do think you did the right thing. The safest thing, especially for that little girl. In time, you'll realize it, too."

I only nod, too tired to continue the conversation as the city continues to stream past my window, and endless stream of lights, buildings, traffic, and people. Unfamiliar sights, sounds, and smells assail my senses. I don't know if I've done the right thing. It's far too soon to say. I do know that I've been so wrapped up in Jared that I've lost sight of everything that until a few days ago, had occupied my every thought.

Todd. Still out there. Somewhere. Perhaps close by, perhaps still half the country away. I have no way of knowing right now. I'd planned to make some phone calls just before crossing into Mexico. A part of me wishes I could just forget about it, forget about Todd and everything he is and has done, and let myself get swept away in some kind of Cinderella fairy-tale fantasy that started the minute Jared kissed me.