The Otherkind Book One:Heart

~*~ 23 ~*~

His voice was clipped, repressing his anger. "Are you okay Sarah? Rowan?"

I nodded but he couldn't hear that.

"Yes" I whispered.

Sarah spoke up louder than I could. "We're fine" she was holding her head. My eyes went wide when I saw the gash across her forehead and above her eyebrow where something had flown through the air hitting her a split second before he had shoved us under the cover of the table.

"Stay here!" he spoke with authority that brooked absolutely no disobedience. "And I mean it!" he over enunciated his words looking directly at me under the edge of the table.

He was beyond furious!

He looked at Sarah doing a double take. "You're hurt!" His voice sounding extremely worried and full of care and compassion. That tone was not extended to me. I could feel as well as see his complete wrath and disdain for me.

"I'm fine." she spoke calmly.

"Take care of her Rowan." he demanded "I must do something immediately! Stay— here!" he over-emphasized pointing at the spot where we were huddled beneath the table. As final emphasis he slammed one of his large hands on to the table beside us. I heard the leg of the table wrench in protest and then slam into the bench. And then the tent of his coat disappeared and so too did his big black boots. He was gone in a flash. Literally!

The passing light was fast, like the flash of light from a speeding car.

"Rowan?"

"Hm?" I didn't dare stick my head up and reached blindly on the table above us for the napkin dispenser dragging it down under the table with us. I pulled out a wad of them. Bryce didn't seem to be one to cross twice in one day. Pressing a folded wad of napkins to her head I tried to understand everything that had just transpired.

"What just happened?" She took the napkins and kept them pressed to her forehead.

I closed my eyes trying to get all the details straight in my head. "I saw headlights careening towards the diner window from— oh!"

"What?"

"Your mom's van." I whispered. "The headlights barreled in from that direction."

"Oh man," she groaned. "Mom's going to kill me! You think it was hit?"

"I don't know and if it was, it wasn't your fault!"

"Where did Bryce come from?"

At least she didn't have a concussion. Her mind was zipping through details pretty clearly. Faster than I was processing it all that was for sure!

"I'm not sure. At the same fraction of a second that I saw he was storming in heading straight for us, like he knew exactly where we were, I saw the headlights coming towards the diner." I mused out loud to myself.

Sarah mused. "Our Guardian Angel!"

Ignoring her comment, I switched the napkins from my right hand to my left, while pressing firmly against her lacerated forehead. Blood was running down the side of her face and head. I felt hot and cramped.

"Where did our hero go?" she shifted uncomfortably under the table which was one of those kinds on a fat metal pole, it was bent a quarter of the way over. I marveled at it.

"Well?"

"I don't know Sarah, I really don't. But he is really, really mad at me."

"I'll tell him I drug you up here to go see my aunt and that I was starving. Blood sugar dips and I go a bitty nutty, have to eat every couple hours!"