Sorry for the late update, I've just been really busy O.o Sorry if I haven't been reviewing other stories as much too, I really want to, I just haven't had a lot of reading time recently. There is Maltara in this chapter if that makes up for it though…
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Natara Willaim's PoV
The next morning doesn't bring any relief from my headache. I still feel tired as I get ready for work, as if I hadn't slept at all. You can even see it in my face, the tiredness in my gaze.
'You're just coming down with a cold' I tell myself as get dressed, splashing water in my face in an effort to wake up. 'It's just a cold'.
Mal's there to pick me up in the morning, his normal warm smile greeting me as I climb into the passenger side.
"Good morning to you too" Mal says sarcastically as I buckle up without saying a word, and we pull out onto the street. He seems to notice my fragile state of mind though, and adds "You okay?".
"I'm fine". I try to force a smile, try to show him that I'm alright from what happened last night. But…I can't. I'm just tired. Tired of being confused and being kept in the dark by my own mind, and really, just tired of being tired. Not 'fine' at all.
After that the whole day is awful. No matter where I go, every light I see is bright enough to feel like a dagger in my skull. Every noise feels like an explosion in my head. My temples still throb. This isn't my first concussion, there was that other one when I tackled that guy out the window of Mal's apartment…but this feels different. Deeper…almost. Kind of like a bad hangover. Of course, this probably just means I had a worse concussion this time. Nothing to worry about.
I'm almost overwhelmingly relieved when my full day of filling out nothing but paperwork is done, glad to finally get a chance to rest when I get home. Mal drives me back, and to my surprise he gets out with me as we pull up to my apartment building.
"I wanna make sure you get inside okay" he says in a low voice, which I appreciate, when I glance at him quizzically. "You just seemed…off today".
I can see it in his eyes that he's thinking about last night, that random occurrence that caused the cuts on my hands. "You don't have to do that".
"I know". He smiles, that gentle good-natured smile that fits so naturally across his face. I manage to return it, and the two of us walk inside.
When we reach my door, Mal goes to turn around, but something occurs to me. A memory, or more accurately, the ghost of one. I remember the sound of an explosion ringing in my ear, the cruel sting of concrete on my skin. I remember panicking, my brain trying to put together what just happened, trying to find out of Mal's okay…
"Your apartment" I say quietly before I go inside.
"What?".
"Your apartment…there was a bomb. It-it blew up…didn't it?".
He smiles again, as if amused that I'm only realizing this. "Yeah".
"Do you have somewhere to stay?".
"I can find somewhere".
"Where'd you go last night?" I ask, concerned.
"I found a hotel".
"Mal…you know you can always stay here". I look deep into his pure blue eyes, something inside of me lighting up like a spark. Even my headache seems to fade away for a moment, long forgotten. Because there's something else I remember too.
Mal's face is inches from mine. At this distance, I can almost feel something. Something warm and passionate.
Almost familiar.
I lean closer and our lips meet, his breath warm in the cold hallway. The silence around us is no longer dangerous, shadows no longer sinister. Now…it's almost comforting. As if the world itself has stopped.
Arms around me, he squeezes tightly, hearing my breath catch as our warmth is combined.
But then something inside me seems to waver, and I can feel myself tremble.
No I think.
The tremors are soft, so much so Mal probably has mistaken them for a shiver from the cold. But they feel like they're everywhere, on my arms and my face. I know it's there. The disagreement between my body and brain.
Mal seems to notice that I seem to be inching away from him, and he stops, his arms still wrapped around mine.
I take a step back, something that must be so unexpected that he just lets go. I start to stumble and fall, barely stopping myself from crumbling like a dropped marionette puppet. The result is a sharp pain in my knee, the inability to get up and the heaving of my stomach that follows. The wild spins, icy and cold as if I've been taken millions of miles away and I'm watching through a telescope.
"Natara…" I hear someone call.
I feel a hand reach over to grab me, and I look up. The figure is shrouded in night, his body made of shadow. But covering his face…is a pure white mask.
"No!" I shove myself away from him, my arms shaking so much I can barely drag myself across the floor. "Get away from me!".
I try and stand to fight, but my head too heavy. I can barely keep myself in the kneeling position I'm in. The figure reaches for me one last time, and as he touches me the mask falls away, shattering into a million pieces on the floor.
I don't get a chance to look up at the shadow before I black out.