Taint (Formerly Claimed) Dark Midnight 1

Chapter 33

Ice and snow crunched beneath her rain boots.  Her breaths came in frantic puffs of air while her heart thudded like a sledgehammer against her chest.

Her thoughts were a frantic rush of run, run, run, run.

She lunged for the stairs.

Wham!

He caught her by the waist this time, before she could even make it to the first step.  That pale arm was crooked like a boomerang, snagging her in mid-stride and yanking her back.

“Dead,” she heard him murmur, right before she wound up on her back in the snow, blinking up at a dark sky.

“Here.”

A pale hand appeared above her head.  With a groan she took it and allowed him to haul her back to her feet.  Clumps of snow dripped from her hair, running down the collar of her jacket.

“On second thought,” she gasped, wincing as her hip throbbed.  “I think I’m content with being a mouse, for now.”

At least, if she wound up in the cat’s claws, it would be over way too quickly to feel any pain. 

Useless, she thought, glancing over her body with disgust.  It wasn’t even worth the effort.

She would always be helplessly weak.

Eliot didn’t say anything.  But she realized that he hadn't let her hand go, even when she regained her balance enough to stand on her own.

That gaze was sharp, cutting through her.  Uneasy, Miriam turned away—but she could still feel that gaze there, on the side of her neck. 

“Get some sleep,” he told her, finally.  One by one, those cold fingers pulled away from her own.  She let him, despite the part of her that wanted to hold on for as long as she could.

“You’re right,” she admitted, turning to glance at him through her lashed.  “But…will you be there tomorrow?”  She hated how pathetic her voice came out—desperate.

"Only because I want to be prepared if you barge into my house," she added hastily, turning around to face him.

 She blinked to find him closer than before, holding her pink backpack in those white hands.

“I’ll be around,” was all he said, shoving the pink cotton into her grip.  His tone was stiffly polite, revealing nothing.

“Alright,” she said softly.  “S-see you tomorrow.”

It felt weird saying it—but he didn’t disprove it.  The fact almost made her smile as she hefted her backpack onto her shoulder and headed up the stairs. 

‘See you tomorrow.’

She paused for one last look over her shoulder, before reaching for the doorknob.

It was still broken and came away easy in her hand—too easy.  It wasn’t until she heard the footsteps over the floor of her foyer that she realized why; someone from the other side was pushing it open.

Thunk!

The door knob left her grip as the solid door flew into her face. 

She cringed in anticipation of the pain she knew would be crashing through her skull.

But it never came.

Whoosh!

A dark shadow came from behind to shove her out of the way.  She fell back, careening to the edge of the porch, as someone darted in front of her, partially blocking her view.