I chose a plateau-like clearing to rest on; it overlooked a good portion of the park and I'd be able to get an idea of whether or not Adim was closing in on me. How long should I stay here? When could I go back, if at all?
Opening my backpack, I found my cell phone and turned it on, finding that I only had a little bit of battery power left—hopefully, just enough to make one call. My phone beeped and blipped with voicemails and texts, but I didn't check them. I couldn't check them. Dess' voice might be waiting in a recorded message, asking me where I was. Worse, Ree might have left me a message, saying things that were probably much too painful to even think about listening to. I wasn't even close to being in the mood for dealing with any of that right now.
I called information and got the number for Extended Stay, and when it rang, Bree answered the phone, thankfully.
"Hi, Bree. It's Morgan Constantina. I, um, checked in this morning."
Her voice seemed to brighten at my name. "Oh yes, hello. How is your room?"
I hesitated, not knowing if I should continue. I threw my concerns aside, realizing it didn't really matter how crazy anyone thought I was. I had something to ask. Time to toughen up.
"Bree, I had a man visit me in my room, and he's dangerous. I ran off, but I don't want to come back until he's gone. Is there a way you could have someone check and see if he's still there, or anywhere near the hotel?"
There was a pause. "What?" Her voice was anxious. "What happened? What did he do? Who was it?"
"He's an old boyfriend of mine, and he came to start a fight with me, I think. He has people keeping tabs on me, and I didn't see anyone following me today at all, but you never know." I closed my eyes, mentally cursing the few tears that began to form under my eyelids. Don't cry, Morgan. Stop it. Be strong and tough. Be a bitch, even.
"Oh, my god. I'll call the police. Where are you? Are you okay?"
"I'm at Lynndale Park. Please don't tell the police that unless you have to," I added, not knowing why I was suddenly confiding in her. "It's after closing hours here, but I didn't have anywhere else to go."
"Okay. We're going to straighten this out. Okay? Hang in there. We'll take care of this right away. I'll have someone take a look at the grounds. Can you describe him for me?"
I did, and thanked her for being so concerned. She asked for my number and said she would call me back, but one look at the flashing battery icon on my phone told me I wouldn't be receiving calls anytime soon. Bree got even more anxious after I related that to her. It almost got to the point where I felt like I had to comfort her, instead of the other way around. I was touched by her concern about me, but I had to hang up before my phone cut us off.
We hung up and I turned off my phone to conserve the tiny bit of battery I had left in case I needed it. I wanted to kick myself for not plugging it in the car charger on the way to the park, but this was no time to dwell on regrets. I had a lunatic ex-boyfriend looking for me, a person with a power known as Fire Claws.
I couldn't think about that right now either. I had to save my thinking power for the struggle that lay ahead of me. Even if he'd run off, now that Adim knew which hotel I was staying at, he might return at any time. I knew I wouldn't be able to think straight unless I had some sort of backup plan, so I considered for a few minutes. If nothing happens for a while, I'd walk very slowly back to my car, keeping an eye out for him along the way. I'd jump in, start the engine, plug my phone into the car charger, then call Bree again and find out if anyone had seen him. Then, depending on her answer, I'd either go back to my room or ask Bree if she knew where else I could stay safely. She seemed to be sympathetic to my situation, so I was confident she'd give me good advice.
I sat there on the plateau cross-legged, keeping a careful watch on any possible movements. What felt like, I don't know, maybe less than an hour, I heard a branch snap behind me. I moved like lightning, grabbing my backpack and taking off in the opposite direction of the sound. No time to look back. Just run, run, run, I told myself.
My heart pounded once I stopped to catch a breath. I chastised myself, thinking it was most likely a little squirrel or rabbit. I couldn't be afraid of my own shadow. I was making a big deal out of nothing.
Then I started to argue with myself. No. No! I am not making a big deal out of nothing. I could have been beaten or raped by Adim tonight. I was alone and scared that I may not survive this. I had a right to take precautions.
Crack, snap, crack!
Three branches cracked, one after the other, and I might have been crazy, but I was pretty sure the spacing of the noise was just right for the sounds of a person taking steps on small, fallen branches.
Taking steps in my direction.
No time to panic or cry. I took off again in the direction I'd been heading, but soon came to a little stream that I had to walk around, which almost sent me back in the direction I came. Shit. I was totally getting lost now, not to mention I might very well be walking back to Adim's psychotic arms.
At one point, I found the stream forked, and I took a moment to decide which direction would be smarter to go in. In the back of my head, I imagined my mother telling the sheriff, My daughter died in the woods after running from a psycho, you say? God was probably testing her, and she failed the test. Leave her in the woods. She doesn't deserve a burial.
Confident I'd put a lot of space between Adim and me—and my legs aching and feeling like they were going to fall off—I slowed down to a walk, keeping close to the stream. Even though I was lost, at least this was a way of keeping track of where I've been. So much for me knowing this place very well.
Crack!!
Unbelievable! How in the world would Adim be able to keep up with me? I was never in the Olympics or anything, but I could certainly keep up in phys ed in high school.
Snap, crack!
He was getting closer. I turned to face the direction of the noise while continuing to walk.
I really need to stop doing two things at once.
I tripped over something and dropped, my head falling against something hard, making me dizzy and giving me an instant migraine. I turned a little to see that my head had hit a rock, which it was currently resting on. Apparently, there was a little cluster of rocks here, and I'd tripped on one of the smaller ones.
Shit.
Still lying on the rocks, I turned back the other way to see how much farther the stream went.
And that's when someone touched my shoulder.
Chapter 20
I screamed to the top of my lungs, spinning my torso back around to see who was standing above me.
It was Bree.
Delirious from stress and tired from all the running, I laid there pitifully, looking at Bree in patient detail. She was blonde, but not Erica-blonde; it was more of a multi-tonal light brown-blonde combination that made her appear beautiful but approachable. The constant smile on her lips probably helped, too. Her eyes were green, and right now they were focused on me, a worry line creasing her forehead.
I exhaled loudly, relaxing my body as much as I could with that dreadful headache.
"I'm sorry I scared you!" she cried, looking worried.
"Bree? How…how did you…how did you find me so fast?"
"Shh. You're hurt—I saw you fall. Are you okay? Do you need medical attention?" She had her phone out, ready to dial.
I groaned as I tried to sit up. Yikes. I needed about twelve Advils.
Bree rushed to my side to help. "Adim…" I muttered.
"What?"
"Adim. My ex. Did anyone find him? Did you see him on the way over here?"
She shook her head, her light brown locks swooshing side to side. "No, no one from our staff was able to find him, and your room appears to be safe, too. We checked."
"Thanks for doing all this. I mean, you didn't have to come here. It couldn't have been easy finding me."
She smiled, her face lighting up. "It actually wasn't that hard," she said modestly. "I was taught how to trail pe
ople in the woods once. Anyway, this is the sort of thing I'm supposed to do. I'm Worthy."
I groaned automatically, not really knowing why. It was probably because I'd somehow thought that leaving Ree and Dess behind would also make the entire God Generation disappear from the planet. I'd had a hard enough time getting through this life just being Morgan, let alone some type of Architect human helper that was all mixed up in the GG's business.
"I'm just here to help," she added, looking a little hurt at my negative reaction.
"No, don't—I'm sorry. Nothing personal. I'm a choop," I added hastily, figuring that was the best way to explain my involvement with the God Generation. Not that I didn't trust her, mind you—you just never knew when someone else was listening, and the way I saw it, the less people I tell my Architect secret to, the less GG people would look for me, and the less trouble I'd have. "I've just had a lot of strange things happen these past couple weeks."
She looked as if she were going to say something, but apparently thought better of it and closed her mouth. "All God Generation-related?" she asked good-naturedly.
I nodded. "It's like, you find out about this stuff, and suddenly, every local angel, demon, and former god comes out of hiding." A thought occurred to me. "How did you know to tell me what you were? I mean, I'm sure you guys don't go around announcing who you are in public."
"I…had a feeling. Sometimes we get an inkling about the status of a person we see." She offered a modest smile. "Besides, if you didn't understand, I thought that you might be too distracted to really worry about it."
I laughed in spite of myself. She had a point.
She gave a polite smile and stuck her hands under my arms. I got up slowly as if I hadn't walked in weeks. Different places of my body stung a little, but it was manageable.
Once I was upright, she regarded me carefully. "Can you walk? If not, I'll call an ambulance."
"No, Bree, don't bother with an ambulance. Thanks, though. I really appreciate it. I'm not feeling perfect, but I don't need medical attention. I just need to lie down."
"Come on," she said, taking my elbow. "I'll walk you to your car and follow you back to the hotel. Or, if you can't drive-"
"I'm okay. I promise. You've done more than your share."
Our walk back was slow and almost maddening. I had no idea I'd run so far.
"Do me a favor," Bree told me gently as she helped me in my car about forty minutes later. "Don't tell anybody about me, okay?"
I gave her a strange look as I settled in my blue VW bug. "Why?"
She sighed to herself. "I'm on the run. I don't know how much you've learned about the God Generation so far, but it seems like when one knows something, every single being in the universe knows it." She sighed again and shook her head to herself. I nodded. I could definitely understand where she was coming from. "Just to be safe, I want the whole community to forget I exist, at least until I…until I'm at a better place." She paused and stared off into space for a while. "Anyway," she said, sounding more like her cheery self, "Are you sure you're okay? This doesn't feel right, leaving you here."
I found it a little odd that she changed the subject so quickly, but I decided that running this far to save my life earned her some breathing space. "No, I'm okay. I promise. I'm going to call someone right now." I suddenly felt guilty about leaving the house without explaining anything to Dess. It wasn't her fault that her eyes reminded me of her brother's. She was my best friend, and I needed her.
Bree paused and looked off in the distance, as if trying to decide what to do. "Alright. But you need to swear that you'll call me if you need me." She gave me her number, hugged me, and left.
I put my car on accessory and plugged my phone in the charger, closing the car door and locking it, just in case. I turned on my phone and sent a text to Dess:
Sorry I left—I'll explain later. Adim found me at the Extended Stay. I hit him and ran to Lynndale Park. I'm at the northwest end by the baseball fields. Please come quickly. For all I know, he might still be out there.
I sent the text and drove around the park toward the three baseball fields. They were an easy landmark for anyone to find. I pulled up on the street and parked, resting my eyes while I waited for Dess.
I caught myself nodding off a couple times, then decided to give in to the fatigue, so I tried to make myself as comfortable as possible and dozed off a little.
When I opened my eyes again, I had no idea how much time had passed, since I'd been too distracted to take note of the time earlier. Regardless, it felt as if a long time had passed—I'd guess one to one-and-a-half hours. I wondered if Dess had a hard time finding the baseball fields—the park was pretty gigantic. I removed my cell phone from its charger and took my keys out of the ignition, getting out of the car. I locked it and walked closer to the main intersection, hoping to get a glimpse of Dess' Kia on the street and wave her in the right direction. I did see a car, but it was some Honda or Toyota sedan, and it passed by me quickly.
"Morgue!"
I never thought I'd be so happy to hear that word.
Dess was about twenty feet away from me, standing next to my car. Her Kia was parked right in front of mine. She must have sneaked up on me.
I've really got to learn how to be more observant.
She ran to me and hugged me, and I relaxed into the embrace, almost wanting to cry. "Morgue, what happened? Are you hurt? God, that wimpy bitch Adim is gonna get his ass barbequed!"
She continued to rattle on and ask questions, so I began to explain everything to her, but I stopped short.
I saw a figure get out of Dess' car.
Oh, god. It was Ree.
I looked at Dess. "I don't want to deal with this right now," I told her, my heart pounding. I didn't allow myself to think about how much I missed him. He'd hurt me. There was no going back.
"He wanted to come, Morgue. You might want to hear what he has to say."
Before I knew it, he was standing next to Dess (he had long legs and could walk extremely fast). Dess 'conveniently' wandered off to explore the baseball fields a little bit, not looking back.
I didn't look directly at him at first, still reeling from this morning's events, still unsure of how he felt about me. I almost expected him to still be angry, but I didn't sense that anger in him now. I didn't even try to figure out how he was feeling or what I should do next. I was too busy being in shock of seeing this beautiful man that I'd convinced myself I didn't need anymore, even though I mourned for him inside my heart with every passing second.
He was once my imaginary, only friend.
Once my Living Guardian Angel.
Without a word Ree pulled me into an remarkably warm embrace. I gasped and was frozen for a moment, confused about what I was feeling. I had to think this through.
Part of me wanted to push him away because I was still hurt over the way we just couldn't connect or understand each other that morning. But I realized that it wouldn't be right if I pushed him away and disregarded whatever he wanted to say to me at that moment.
I had given Adim chance after chance over a period of almost two years. Couldn't I give Ree, the most perfect person on the planet, just one chance to explain himself?
I released my body's tension and sank into him, my energy seeking out his. Without fully realizing what I was doing, I wept into his shoulder, smelling his clean skin, which confused my carefully calculated emotions. He held me, his arms strong and his body radiating warmth, comforting my entire body. I fell into him some more, his body enveloping me like a cloud.
All of a sudden, I no longer cared about our stupid argument. I had things I needed to clarify with him, but that didn't matter at the moment. I felt his chest spasm, and I realized that he was crying, too.
Standing in his arms now, I knew that if I were to ever have a partner in my life, it'd be this beautiful Tiberius, an angel among men.
I'm not sure how long we stood there holding each other. One arm went under his arm and
my other arm went over his other shoulder. This position allowed our hearts to align, and I know we both felt it, our souls coming back together and my heart sighing in relief.
"I was just clearing my head, Baby," he whispered in my ear so gently that I had to strain to understand him. "Did you think I was leaving you? I would never, never do that. How could that be possible, knowing how I stood by you all your life, during all your tribulations?" We pulled our heads back a little so we could see each other. He wiped away one of my tears with his thumb, his hands on either side of my head, cradling it. He continued speaking, but I couldn't hear a thing.
After a minute of this, I erupted with laughter, shock registering on Ree's face, as he regarded me with a confused smile. I put my hands over his and pulled them down, setting my ears free. "I can't hear with your hands over my ears, and I'm not a very good lip-reader," I told him.
He laughed after a moment, as if he needed to change gears from being serious to funny. Then, he changed back. "What I meant to say was, I needed to find a way to deal with the anger that I was feeling. See, I…" He stopped and sighed. "The truth is, I did feel like the devil talking to you was a betrayal on your part, even though subconsciously I was sure you did nothing to encourage this from happening. Please understand how I feel. My safe place was destroyed."
I looked up at his choice of words, amazed that even while we were apart, we still had like minds. "What do you mean?" I asked him, stepping back as he released me.
He smiled sadly. My god, how I had missed his beautiful face in the short time we'd been apart. "Baby, my safe place is with you. I'm always watching out for you and being mindful of any threats to you. But last night, after we were intimate…You see, that's the only place I feel our enemies can't touch us. So when we woke up this morning and you told me about being in contact with the most powerful enemy on the Melted side, I got angry. At you and myself. I mean, how could I have prevented this? Was there a mistake in how I handled everything? I know now that this wasn't your fault, but I needed to leave so that I could find a way to deal with both the devil contacting you and my anger about everything. And when I saw how much you cried and how frightened you seemed to be of me…Morgan," he said, tears welling up in his eyes, "That isn't supposed to ever happen. I'm supposed to be the one to protect you at all times! I'm not supposed to cause you heartache, ever!"
Surreal Ecstasy Page 22