Rain
Thunder ripped down the Wisconsin coastline. Lightning flickered in the distance. Sunday, Malakai thought glumly from the refuge of Carlisle's front porch. The day Alice promised it would rain. Malakai's car had already been pushed under the safety of Carlisle's garage. Pushed because when Malakai tried to start it all the damn thing did was grumble loudly in protest for a second or two before it gave one last sputtering cough and wheezed pitifully into silence. His repeated attempts to coax it back to life produced no results. Rosalie was working on it now. The wind yanked the yellow-gold leaves off the wispy birch trees, chasing them across the yard and over the house where they disappeared above the steeped roof. Malakai knew the rain would follow soon after. As if on cue, the clouds broke open and the countryside was drenched in cold, soggy precipitation.
Stupid rain, Malakai cursed it silently. How he wished it could have rained yesterday. How he wished Luke had called a week earlier. How he wished Felix had never called at all. What did Aro want with him anyway? Why did they think threatening Luke's life would make him cooperate? They were right, of course, but that was like hitting below the belt. Malakai knew Aro was fully aware of his complicated relationship with Lucas Brown, but he wondered how far that awareness extended. Surely he had mentioned it to Marcus at some point during their last meeting. He was quite sure Rachel knew nothing about it. But that was just as well. No need to warp her idealistic sense of reality any further.
Darling Lucas. Malakai realized too late that Lucas coming to Wisconsin would be just as impossible as Malakai going to Chicago. How would he explain Luke to Carlisle? Not only that, but how would he explain his blue eyes to Luke? Malakai had tried him a dozen times on his cell since they spoke, but he was unreachable, and Malakai knew perfectly well why. Malakai realized too late that Luke coming to Wisconsin would open a whole realm of his life that Malakai just wasn't ready to get into. He had been so happy to hear from his dear friend that any sense of propriety had flown out the window.
But now Carlisle was asking questions. Why are you here? Malakai scoffed. Why did Carlisle think he was here? What did he want him to say? The truth? He had already told him the truth and Carlisle hadn't believed it. None of this would have happened f he had just burned that letter in the first place like Lucas told him to. But Malakai had thought it was funny, ironic even, and kept it. He was seriously regretting that decision now. No doubt Carlisle had come to the cliché conclusion that Malakai secretly had the Volturi's best interests at heart. As far as Malakai was concerned, the Volturi could rot in hell for all he cared. What business did they have threatening Lucas like that anyway? Whatever they wanted from him they sure as hell weren't going to get it now. He had tried to explain this to Carlisle, but Carlisle, as usual, heard what he wanted to hear and left in poor spirits for a double at St. Mary's. Malakai had said good riddance and put it out of his head. But when Edward and Alice and everyone arrived home several hours later and started asking questions of their own, Malakai had sought refuge on the front porch.
He needed something to distract them all with, something that might keep them from drawing any more heinous conclusions about him. Emmett had already predicted that Lucas was really Malakai's gay lover and— He never got a chance to finish his prediction. Malakai had quickly showed he wasn't in the mood to play these games today. Jasper had told him that before they even walked in the door. But when did Emmett every listen to Jasper?
Malakai sat down in the oversized wicker chair and sighed heavily. How he wished it would stop raining.