Cordelia
Malcolm is kind, sweet, and funny. The more time we spend together, the more I find myself falling for him. Isn’t that crazy? Part of me thinks I shouldn’t. There’s a part of me that believes I probably should hold back because Malcolm is so perfect that he could break me if I let him.
Then there’s another part of me that keeps whispering for me to take this chance.
There’s part of me that wants everything to be okay, and I think I should listen to that part: to the part that wants me to be brave even when I don’t feel brave.
As time passes, I finally start to feel more comfortable. A week goes by, and then another, and nothing bad happens, and I finally start to feel okay. Our lunch dates become more regular, and I get to know him on a deeper level. We talk about being bird shifters and how it affected our friendships with other kids. We talk about what it was like to grow up feeling like we were sort of on the outside of things.
And we talk about Perfection and how this place really does have it all. It really does offer a safe, wonderful place for shifters like us to be ourselves.
And then he tells me about his little sister. We’re at lunch one afternoon at a little café and he brings her up to me.
“I had a sister,” he says slowly.
Lindsey.
His sister’s name was Lindsey and she died one year ago.
An entire year without her, and he’s still struggling to make it through each day.
They were close.
Twins.
Best friends.
Inseparable.
“She got sick,” Malcolm tells me. “And that was it. There was nothing anyone could do. She just…died.”
I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what to do. I’m not prepared to handle something like this right now, so I just reach for Malcolm and I take his hand. I should promise him that everything’s going to be all right, but I don’t know if it is.
We’re all carrying around pain we can’t seem to get rid of. We’re all holding these burdens that feel unbearable.
“I’m sorry,” I tell him.
“You would have liked her,” he tells me. “And Lindsey would have…she would have completely loved you, Cordelia.”
“You think so?” It’s the best compliment I’ve ever gotten. I can tell he thinks highly of his sister. He seems to have nothing but fond, wonderful memories of her.
“Yeah,” he says. “You two would have been great together.”
We finish the rest of our food in silence.
I should tell him about my past.
This is the part where I tell him about everything that’s happened to me. Right here, right now. It’s on the tip of my tongue, but then I swallow the words.
“She sounds lovely,” I manage to say.
And that’s the end of that.
***
I’m walking home from work one evening, thinking about far I’ve managed to come, and I stop at a little gas station to get a drink for my walk. It looks like it’s going to rain tonight, so I should probably hurry. The last thing I need is to get stuck outside, soaked.
“Be careful out there,” the cashier tells me, handing me the soda. I thank her and head back out. The skies are already getting dark, and I pick up the pace. I’m a little more uncomfortable than usual tonight, but I can’t really pinpoint why.
Work is busy this week with new patients and longer appointment times. Figuring out how to set up everyone’s insurance in the computer system takes awhile. My phone has been kind of weird, so I’m taking it to the shop tomorrow.
Then there’s Malcolm.
The two of us have been meeting for lunch almost every day, and it really has been this fantastically sweet relationship. He’s kind and interesting and fun. We’re both hurting, but what two people aren’t? We have a comfortable companionship.
I think we both want more, though.
At some point, I’m going to have to make the first move when it comes to getting physical. Malcolm has already made it clear that he likes me, but that he’s willing to wait for me. Not many guys are like that. Harold says it’s because Malcolm and I are mates. Maybe he’s right, but I’m not sure.
I finally reach my house. Slipping my key into the door, I dash inside just before the rain starts to fall. I’m in such a hurry that I don’t realize my door opened too easily until I’m already inside and see the figures standing there.
Two of them.
In my living room.
“Long time no see, roomie,” Trish says, and an evil grin spreads across her face.
What the actual fuck?
How the hell did they get here?
Why are they inside of my house?
How did they get into the living room?
So many thoughts run through my head, but the biggest one is just RUN.
So that’s what I do.
I turn to flee, to escape back out the front door, but Trish and Frank are too fast for that. Frank throws something at me: some sort of net. It lands on me and entangles me. I wiggle, trying to break free, and as I’m falling to the floor, Trish darts behind me and locks the door.
“Why are you here?” I ask.
I’ve been caught.
I don’t want to admit it, but somehow this terrible, evil, horrible couple has managed to get the best of me on not one, but two occasions. This doesn’t say much for my self-preservation skills.
“I think you know why we’re here,” Trish says. “Don’t be stupid. You really think you can run off and get away with it? We certainly weren’t about to let our prize escape without paying us back for all of our hard work.”
“I’m not a prize to be won,” I say, but it’s a whisper.
They’re both laughing, and Frank grabs me by the ankle and then starts to tie me up over the net. I should shift now, but the net means it would be impossible to escape, even if I was in my swan form. I’m worried I’ll shift and then not be able to get back to my human form because of the tightness of the netting.
I think they know that, too.
“Don’t try anything stupid,” Trish says.
“I don’t understand you,” I say. I’m not filled with hatred toward my former roommate. No, what I feel is something else, something different: sadness. I’m filled with angst. I don’t understand why she would do this to me or to anyone. Trish has it all: a loving family, rich parents, an incredible car, and a boyfriend who loves her.
Why would she need to do this?
“Well, get used to it, sweetheart,” she spits at me. “No one does.”
“How did you find me?” I ask.
I don’t know if they’re going to kill me.
I don’t know if they’re going to torture me.
Maybe they’ll try to drain my blood right here or maybe they’ll try to transport me back to our hometown. I’m not sure. Things could go either way for me. If I can keep them talking, though, Malcolm and Harold are going to be home soon.
Will they know something’s wrong?
Will they come to check on me?
Will they save me?
Malcolm checks on my house every night. He thinks I don’t know, but I do. He comes in goose form, waddling around the little building, making sure everything is as it’s supposed to be. He’s never told me he does this, but he started shortly after I moved in. Somehow, I love knowing he’s taking care of me this way. I like the knowledge that he’s watching out for bad guys or problems at the house.
These days, I can’t even fall asleep until after his unofficial visit.
It’s kind of like the equivalent of having someone look under my bed for monsters.
Only tonight, the monsters broke out of the closet.
Frank laughs.
“Stupid girl,” he shakes his head. “The first thing you did when you broke out was go for your phone.”
“We didn’t think you’d escape,” Trish says. “But we had a back-up plan, just in case.”
“My phone?”
“Frank put tracking apps on it,” she says. “A couple of them. Did you really think you’d be able to hide from us?”
So that’s why my phone has been acting up so much.
They’ve been tracking me.
Tomorrow is the day I planned to take my phone in. Why did I wait so long? If I hadn’t, maybe I would have had a chance…
“Why did you wait so long to come for me?” I ask.
“We had to get some things in order,” Frank growls, and now he stalks across the room to me. He stands over me, leering at me. I look up at his scowl and I don’t see anything there but hate: pure hate.
“A buyer,” Trish clarifies. “Sorry, honey. You were a good roomie and all, but, well, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.”
So that’s how it’s going to end.
Someone’s going to buy me and take me and try to experiment on me.
This is why my mother made me promise to keep my shifter status to myself.
This is why I’ve led a life of privacy and solitude.
This why I’ve been afraid.
Come on, Malcolm.
My heart calls to him.
He’s going to come for me.
Before Trish and Frank take me away, he’s going to come for me.
I just know it.
He has to.