Page 104 of Locke 2

He got out of the car and made me change seats. I had to wipe my sweaty hands against my jacket, feeling overheated with panic as he moved about with complete ease.

He removed a knife sheathed to his belt and settled it into my hand. “For protection.”

“I expected a gun.” My joke was poorly delivered.

“I only keep guns in my bar,” he replied, smiling. “A nice shotgun, if you’re curious.”

“You should have brought it with us.”

“I didn’t know when I woke up this morning that I might be killing someone.” His joke was delivered nicely, but I didn’t find it funny.

He dropped his voice, sounding soothing when he said, “Kali, if there’s a boy here, I want to find him.” His eyes burned with emotion. “I want to do something right this time.”

I grabbed his hand and squeezed. “Jem, that wasn’t your fault…”

“Except it was,” he returned, his voice edged with tension. “Locke is the way he is because of me. Because of what I did to him. I’m tired of being the plague in people’s lives. I’ve caused too much misery, Kali. And the fucked-up part is that I can’t wait to pay for my sins.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.“I’m hoping I go in the worst way possible because that’s what I deserve, but fuck, I won’t go without finishing out at least one good fucking deed.”

He didn’t need soft words, or a tender touch. He didn’t want me to tell him he was wrong, even though he was. Jem just wanted me to listen, and I did. I looked him dead in the eye and listened to him tell me what a disease he was, and it gutted me. I shook my head, but I let him talk, and when he finished, I lunged at him and hugged him. I hugged him tightly, and he didn’t hug me back, not for many seconds, but that didn’t make me stop hugging him.

His arms came around me, and he held me to him, muttering softly, “You’re good for him, Kali. You truly are.”

A tear escaped my eye as he pulled back to look at me. He brushed away my tears and smiled. “I’ll be right back.”

He pulled away, but I gripped his arm tightly, making him look back at me. “Take the phone.”

“It’s dead because it’s a potato phone,” he replied, amused.

“Then take mine.”

I gave him my phone, and he stared down at the pink, sparkly case and chuckled. “Alright,” he agreed. “I’ll be back.”

Forty-Three

Kali

Minutes passed slowly. I was on edge the entire time. I grabbed for the potato phone and turned it on. It had climbed up to fifteen percent before we had to shut the car off. Jem didn’t want to draw any attention to the truck, especially if it was going to get dark soon.

It was nearly mid-afternoon, and the light was dimming. The wind picked up, along with the rain. Unsure of what to do, I checked the reception on the phone, but there was none. I turned it off, in case I needed it for later.

“You mean in case something goes wrong,” Aurora said from next to me, kicking her legs back and forth. “Are you hungry? We should have cake at the party.”

I looked at her. She was all shadowy because there wasn’t a lot of light left. “I like cake.”

“What flavour?”

My heart picked up when I thought of our tea party. On her damn birthday no less. “A pink one. In the shape of a unicorn.”

She looked at me, smiling. “Was that what you picked out for me that day?”

I nodded, swallowing. “It was.”

She clapped her hands. “I can’t wait.”

I looked away and buried my face in my hands. I took deep breaths because everything hurt more all of a sudden. With Locke, everything had broken. All the dull emotions from before were more vibrant and it was both blissful and cruel.

I leaned back in my seat, attempting to get comfortable as I waited for Jem.

I waited and waited.

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