Heartbeats

Chapter Twenty-Six

I sat on the edge of the fountain at the theater and tossed leftover popcorn into my mouth. The salt burnt my dry lips, but the butter pleasured my tongue so I kept on. Malcolm had yet to return from the restroom, and I still had a few hours left before my freedom expired. We planned to drag it out as long as possible.

My mind was actually racing in an attempt to keep from focusing on major problems, but it was tired. I didn’t want Mason to die, and that was where all my concern lay at the moment. I didn’t want him to be turned either, but who was I to jump back into his life? He probably didn’t want to talk to me ever again, and I bet even that would be too soon for him.

Then again he was naïve and undoubtedly human. He couldn’t possibly understand just how much danger he was now in, so how could he adequately decide. When these thoughts entered my mind I wondered if this was how it was for Mason when he tried to make judgment calls about my life, but wasn’t this different?

And even so, what he wanted what she would offer him?

Malcolm’s warm fingers on my shoulder gently mapped me back to the present. “You okay Jacie?”

“Yeah.” I sighed heavily, trying to throw the weight of the world from my shoulders. “I’m fine.”

But I wasn’t. I was completely wrecked.

Malcolm handed me the rest of the drink I had bought him and settled down next to me on the fountain. “Liar,” he accused lightly.

“Guilty,” I admitted, holding up my right palm. I brought the drink to my lips with the other hand. Malcolm wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer to his side, only slightly crushing my ribcage. He became my shield in that moment, holding me protectively like he was willing to fight all my demons. He had told me earlier that he had this feeling in his bones that he was obligated to keep me safe, like a sister, and that it killed him to see me so down. And he was like a brother to me.

Maybe it was some stupid pack sense, but I was thankful for it.

“I don’t know what to do about this whole Mason thing.”

Malcolm had heard every detail of my eventful day with an open ear, not once interrupting. I could feel him tense around me, but before he could say anything my ringtone tore through the tension.

Charles.

“Hey, what’s up?”

The voice that answered, however, was not Charles. “Jacie? This is Caleb. You may or may not want to jet over here…” I could hear Adelaide swearing at Caleb in the background, the phone hit the ground, and Caleb scream “You freaking bit me!”

Uhm...

I recoiled when the phone made a scraping sound. “Sorry about that,” Addy said, her voice distorted by the aftereffect of her allergic reaction. “But he’s right; you need to come back. She got someone else, and Charles said you know him.”

My heart stopped. “I’ll be there soon.”

Malcolm didn’t question it as I stood wordlessly. “There isn’t time to drop you off,” I told him as I tried to unlock the car, but the shaking of my hands made that difficult.

“It’s fine.” But the way he spoke, the rigid way he sat, told me it was anything but fine.

Oh God, I thought as I started the car and threw it in reverse. It’s probably Mason.

.:*:.

While I ran up the stairs Malcolm seemed to follow along just fine, despite my hitting him with a door while he was distracted. It seemed to take a million years to reach the top and another hundred to get into the apartment.