Page 57 of Mortala
Before the door shuts, I see the tear that she had been fighting finally slip free. Then the door is closed between us and all I can do is just stand there, staring at the wood like I can somehow see her through it.
Like if I wait long enough, she’ll come walking back through it. But she doesn’t.
I drop my head against the door, my fists clenching at my sides.
“MADDIE!” My voice cracks. “Please! Don’t do this to us.”
The anger boils up inside me, impossible to control now. I can feel the heat in my chest as I pound my fist against the door, helpless to do anything but feel the rage building.
I hear her on the other side, just beyond that inch of wood, the only thing separating me from the one person I’ve ever truly connected with.
She’s crying and I want nothing but to hold her and wipe her tears from her eyes. I want to kiss her and wrap her hair around my fist until she remembers that no matter what happens, what mistakes are made, I’ll be here for her. I want to protect her from the demons of her past, but she won’t let me. She won’t let me in.
“There is no us. There never was.” Her voice cracks and I slide down the door until I’m sitting on the floor. A few seconds later, I hear her do the same thing on the other side.
And there we are, two people who want the same thing but are too broken to reach for it. Separated by a fucking door.
I’ve been sitting at her door for ten minutes, listening to her silent tears as she cried against her door, before I finally get up and walk away. I’m going to fix this. I’m going to find whoever this fucking guy is and get rid of him. I won’t let this piece of shit from her past keep her from me.
I walk through the courtyard of the college on my way to my Jeep when I feel searing eyes on the back of my head. Almost as if there’s a laser pointed straight at me. It’s burning straight through me and yet, it’s sending ice all down my spine. I stop where I’m at, trying to sense where exactly it’s coming from. I turn to my left and look straight at the trees that line the courtyard. The trees lining the walkway sway in the wind, their branches moving against the dark sky.
It’s silent out here, aside from the whistling wind and the single car that pulls into the parking lot across the way, its headlights sweeping over the pavement. A door shuts and I see a familiar face walking in my direction.
Fucking great.
Izzi walks up to me and grabs me by my jacket, a drunken smile already plastered across her face. “Hey baby, you here tosee me? Finally tired of your little friend you’ve been dragging around?”
The smell hits me before anything else, stinging my nose, making my eyes water.
I pull her hands away. “Jesus fucking Christ, Izzi. How much have you had to drink?”
“Enough to forget about your friend,” she laughs and steps closer, “and bring you back up to my room.”
Her fingers curl into my jacket again, tugging me toward her. I immediately push her away from me, and she stumbles back, looking offended.
“What the fuck is your problem, Miles?!”
“You, Isabella! You’re my fucking problem. This thing that we had is over. So whatever you thought was happening tonight, forget it. Go upstairs and sleep off whatever you had to drink. I’m done.”
I turn towards my Jeep when she starts cussing me out from where I left her.
I ignore her. I’m almost to my car when her hand wraps around my arm. I turn, ready to pull away, but before I can she throws her arms around my neck and presses her lips against mine. Disgust hits me instantly and I shove her off, her ass promptly hitting the ground.
I wipe my mouth with my sleeve, trying to get rid of the taste, and even spit to get rid of the lingering sensation. My eyes dart up to Maddie’s dorm window, just in time to see the curtains shift.
Did she see Izzi kiss me?
Fuck.
“You son of a bitch!” Izzi screams at me and I stalk over to where she lies on the ground. I kneel in front of her and grab the front of her shirt, pulling her up just enough that she has no choice but to look at me.
“I’m only going to warn you this one time, Isabella. If you ever speak of Maddie the way you do, and if you ever fucking touch me again, I will end you. Do you understand me?”
For once, she has nothing to say. She’s without a doubt frozen in fear, and she fucking should be. I’ve never spoken to her like this or grabbed her the way I am before in our lives. Nevertheless, she nods her head in agreement and I drop her.
She scrambles to her feet, stumbling backward, then spits right in my direction. She clearly was trying to aim for me, but in her drunken state, she misses. I chuckle at how pathetic she is and watch her walk into her dorm building.
I look back up at Maddie’s window and see the curtains are still. She definitely fucking saw us.
