Taint (Formerly Claimed) Dark Midnight 1

Chapter 8

But instead of slowing down, the car only sped up.  Mariam watched, horrified as the gauge slowly ticked higher and higher…

“Really, I’m—”

“Fine?”  The quiet murmur was her only warning before Eliot slammed on the break and the car lurched to a sudden halt. 

Miriam was thrown forward and had to brace her hands against the dashboard just to keep her head from smashing off it. 

Dazed, she turned to face him, and something twisted inside her at the look on his face. 

“You’re lying,” was all he said, as calmly as if he’d uttered ‘it’s raining’ instead.

But she wasn’t fooled… 

He was angry. 

Raging mad.

Only at her. 

“I…I didn’t eat breakfast,” she repeated the lie weakly.  “I think I might have just fainted—”

“You’re.  Lying.”  His voice was sharper now.  Colder.

The harsh tone was enough to shock Miriam into telling the truth—at least, a portion of it anyway. 

“I had a seizure,” she said softly.  Her body tensed in anticipation of his reaction.

Fear?

Disgust?

He only blinked instead, glancing at her sharply from the corner of his eye. 

“A…seizure?” 

She nodded, before adding in a hesitant whisper.  “I get them all the time.”

He should have been uneasy.  Maybe given her the same wary glance mixed with pity she was used to. 

But, he only…

Laughed—darkly rich laughter that made her tremble as she watched him from the corner of her eyes.  Shaking his head, he adjusted his grip on the wheel.  The car lurched back into motion. 

“Where are you taking me?”  Miriam asked. 

She tried to sound more afraid.  She tried to be afraid.

But for some reason, she just wasn’t. 

She felt more embarrassed.

Embarrassed for him.  Embarrassed for herself. 

Embarrassed that a stranger had to find her unconscious along the side of the road.

Her voice sounded more like a resigned sigh. 

Caught, she thought crossing her arms over her chest as if the motion could calm the frantic beating of her heart. 

Caught by a stranger, no less, who had every right to drive her ranting and raving to the hospital.  A stranger who seemed to cut through her with those searing red eyes.

A stranger who seemed very annoyed at the fact that his morning was rudely interrupted by the need to do his so called civilian duty and help someone in distress. 

“I’m sorry,” she blurted, leaning back to rest her aching head against the plush leather with a sigh.  “You were probably on your way to see your sister…”

She hated herself for giving him something else to worry about—when he already had more than enough. 

“Ha,” he scoffed on a sharp note that made her glance at him sideways.  “My sister.”  He chuckled darkly as if the idea of him seeing Lizzie was mildly amusing.  “She’ll survive for a few hours without me.”