Ocean of Secrets

The rest of the evening passed by agonizingly slow, and by the time seven-thirty came around I was a hot mess. My hands were clammy, my knees were shaking, and my hair wouldn’t stay flat even with help from a gallon of hairspray. It made me angry and anxious and so nervous that I could hardly breathe. It was my first date with a hot guy that I actually liked, and my body was freaking out on me… typical.

Malachai’s car pulled into the driveway and for the hundredth time in my life I was thankful that my father fell asleep super early every night. I told my mom goodbye and kissed a sleeping Belle on the forehead before slowly walking out of the house. I wanted to call Bridget and tell her I was leaving, but Mal stepped out of his car and walked around to open the passenger door for me before I could even pull my phone out of my pocket. When my eyes laid on him my mouth began to water and I tripped over my own feet. He probably thought I was an idiot as I practically fell into his Bugatti, but I couldn’t help it. He just looked so damn sexy.

“You don’t get out much, do you?” I don’t think he meant for the statement to be an insult, but my cheeks reddened in embarrassment anyway. I wanted to say something – and Malachai probably thought that I was going to because he had yet to shut the door – but I was tongue tied yet again.

Finally the door slammed shut and I rushed to click on my seat belt before Malachai could see my fumbling with it like a geek. He sat next to me and turned on the engine. As he began to back up I looked out the windshield, at the house, and saw my mom trying to evasively peek out a window. Obviously the super spy thing wasn’t working for her though because I could see her clearly. I’d have to let her know when I got back home that she was a horrible sneak.

I wanted to start a conversation or just hear Malachai’s silky voice, but I couldn’t think of anything to say. So, when he asked, “How was your day,” I was more than grateful to him.

My mouth slowly un-knotted itself and my lips moved as if to speak, but no sound came out. I swallowed the lump in my throat and answered with a short reply, “good.” I didn’t want him to think that I didn’t want to talk to him so I continued to search for a conversation starter, but my mind kept coming up blank and I doubted that I’d be able to say anything anyway.

“Do you like having your parents around all the time?” His question seemed innocent enough, but I knew that it meant he had seen my mom as well and that wrecked my nerves even more.

For a while I couldn’t answer and just stared out the window. Malachai didn’t offer me any help by asking another question or even saying anything to get me started; he just sat quietly with a closed mouth and his gorgeous eyes on the road.

“Sometimes it can be hard,” I played with the hem of my shirt and tried not to look at Malachai, “Especially when they become overbearing.” I felt my cheeks heat up and continued, “But at the end of the day it’s nice to know that you can count on the loving you and being there when the sun rises; even if you did something terrible.”

The car was silent for a long time and I wondered what Malachai’s parents were like. I didn’t think I’d ever find out though because he cringed a little at my small speech. So I was surprised when he said, “My parents died a while back. I don’t remember them much and I live off of my uncle’s and my income. I haven’t spoken to him since he bought me my apartment though.”

My mind reeled at this new information. Nowadays, more than ever, kids were losing one or both of their parents. No matter how selfish I sounded I hoped that it would never happen to me because I would probably break, and I wouldn’t know how to take care of Belle. I was almost old enough to take care of Belle and become her legal guardian if something awful occurred, but I didn’t know how well I would be able to hold the responsibility.

“Bridget’s parents are divorced.” I don’t know why I said this, but it seemed to help Malachai relax a little. I felt bad that his parents were dead, but I was glad that he had decided to share it with me. We were practically strangers still, but already I knew something new about him.

I tried to get a glance in at his profile in my peripheral vision without him noticing, but my efforts were wasted when I realized we were sitting at a stop light and he was staring straight at me with a curious expression on his face. I felt as if he was reading me, but couldn’t explain why. It was just that his gaze was that intense.

Turning my head away from him I looked out the window once again. We were in a rundown area that I didn’t think was a part of McCook. I had never been in the area, and felt as if I shouldn’t be there now; something about it felt dangerous.

“Where are we going,” I suddenly felt nervous, but I tried to keep the fear out of my voice. I was in a car with an older guy I barely knew in a rundown part of town. My instincts were screaming at me for being such an idiot.

“You’ll see pretty soon.” A mysterious smile lit up his face and I tried desperately to bottle the scream that was trying to claw its way up my throat.