Uncontained

I was half-conscious when Malachi dragged me to my designated room. It really was mine, Malachi read the number off my ticket. "Hey," I mumbled, "Since I found you, we gotta have a battle!"

"Fuck no." He practically dropped me onto my bed. It was the comfiest bed I'd ever been on, and it was scarlet red with a transparent white canopy over the top. I dragged my eyes over the room to try to focus on something. It was maroon and white trimmed with gold. "What the hell possessed you to get here?"

I rolled over and set my backpack down. Florence was staring at me, bug-eyed, and I sobered. "It's a long story," I said lamely.

"I have time." Malachi pulled a chair from the desk and sat in it in front of me. I realized he was wearing a tuxedo and it fitted him to the T. Malachi had broad, muscular shoulders from working out and a trimmed waist. It made my face redden to see him.

"Was I supposed to dress up?" I asked.

"Beau!" he exploded. I'd never seen him that angry and I flinched. "You scared the hell out of everyone here! If I'd have known you were going to be here I wouldn't asked the captain to wait! God, you - you could've died!"

That irked me. "Fuck yeah, I could've," I snapped. "I could've died a thousand times over on this stupid trek. You don't know what I've been though to get here. What makes it important now?"

"It's because I care about you!"

That shut me up.

Malachi seethed. "It matters the whole time we were out. I didn't want you to follow me out here, I was hoping you'd give up and go home. I never wanted to see you jump off a cliff to get on this boat. Seriously, it's not that great of a party."

"If you hadn't forgotten, I don't have a home to return to," I said.

Malachi didn't say anything and rubbed his forehead. "Look, Beau..." he said softly. "Really, why are you here?"

"Because," I said, "there are some people here I want to confront."

---

Malachi helped me get decent afterward. I took a shower in their luxury shower thing, shaved, and combed my hair. They sold suits here so I used some of my prize money to buy one. Malachi waited for me to change in my room, but as I was doing so, I heard him gasp.

I looked over; I was halfway putting a dress shirt on. "What?" I asked, but then I realized it. My stitches. I'd forgotten I'd had them. They were an angry red from protesting my movement. "I got these like a week ago."

"Shit." Malachi rose from his chair. His voice fell to no more than a whisper. "You weren't kidding when you said you'd nearly died, huh?"

I said nothing and pulled my arms through the sleeves. Malachi stepped forward and I avoided his gaze. I couldn't avoid it any longer when he reached out and touched my sutures. Then our eyes locked. His were pained.

"I didn't want this to happen," he whispered.

"It's not your fault."

But then he pulled me into a hug.

Malachi wasn't a touchy-feely person, so when he did that, I knew this had seriously bothered him. His heart was pounding in his chest and he pressed his face into my shoulder. Right then butterflies erupted in my stomach and heat spread all over. Since when did I feel like this?

Malachi pulled away and patted me on my shoulder. "You're still my best friend," he said.

I felt unnerved. "You're still a fucking traitor," I said.

His shit-eating grin appeared. "You know it. Since we're here, how about we go enjoy the party?"