This Is Where I Want To Be

40. Chris You Think too Much

Liam

Cindy and I quickly exchanged looks. The man in front of us was a watcher. All the people that came to help were. Dressed in all-white. Michael and I stood at eye level. I might be as tall as him, but I was nowhere near his size. Bulging muscles and covered in tattoos from his neck to his toes, I supposed. Long hair and those beady eyes were what Juliet would like. Then I remembered him. "I wish I could say I'm here with good news, but I wouldn't have come if it wasn't an emergency."

"Is Juliet okay?"

"Qadir was at the fight tonight, gave her lashings, split her back open, almost gave her a concussion. Put Marcus out for not letting him take her back."

Cindy covered her mouth with a hand. Michael looked guilty as if he had done something wrong. His hand ran nervously over his hair. Eyes cast to the ground.

"It seems there is more?" I asked.

"There is. You see she's pregnant." That was a possibility, so we weren't really surprised. Michael's eyes fell on Chris on the ground and went quiet again. After a long pause, he looked back at me. "But that isn't the biggest thing going on right now."

"What else could possibly have happened?"

"It's not my place. And I feel strange talking to you about this, but Juliet and Louis slept together." That news made me happy. Why would he be worried? Michael went on. "Then today to get back at Qadir. She stood..." Michael smiled. It was quick and only one side of his mouth quirked. He was proud of her. "She stood so Louis could brand her and join Marcus on her."

Cindy and I gasped. Our eyes met, and she grabbed my hand. Elated, astonished but taken by surprise. I felt relieved and anxious at the same time for all it entailed for them. But my lifelong worry was gone in one moment. "I didn't think she would ever let anyone do that to her again," I muttered, watching Cindy.

"No. Neither did I," Michael said softly.

"I thought it would have been Chris... Cindy and I had started thinking we made a mistake with Louis and that she didn't love him at all?"

"On the contrary... Juliet loves Louis deeply. He wouldn't have stayed any other way." Michael's seemed full of admiration for their relationship. I stared at the strange man in front of me, that knew everything about us, and yet we didn't know him at all.

Chris moved and complained, muttering. Cindy bent down and took his pulse, turning him on his back. She patted his face. "It won't help, mam."

Cindy's eyes shot up to Michael. "Don't ever call me that again. Just because I'm four hundred years old doesn't mean I'm middle-aged."

Michael smiled and nodded. "The drugs kicked in. I will have to carry him. Warden, you're dismissed. I need to talk to them." The other man saluted and flew off as if this was a movie. How could they even do that?

Michael threw Chris over his shoulder like he didn't weigh anything. Like Chris wasn't three times Michael's size a minute ago. Together, we made our way back to the house and to the barn. We locked him up for the rest of the morning in his original cage, which seemed stupid. I chuckled. He wouldn't even have fit. Then, for the first time in the two hundred years, I'd been on Earth. We had a very long talk with a watcher. My daughters' watcher.

***

Chris

My eyes jolted open. I remembered everything that had happened. The feeling of falling. Juliet! I manifested and teleported out of that stupid cage onto the porch. Changed back, ran into the house, and rummaged through my stuff, trying to find my passport. I tossed everything into an overnight bag. I got dressed and did it all again, only to get out the door faster. Liam and Cindy sat on the porch, watching me go in and out. I walked past them with one intent but had to stop right before getting in the car. "How do I get Marcus off her?" Liam couldn't meet my eyes. That was strange, and red flags went up. Yesterday he was still smirking at me. Challenging me. Now he seemed almost defeated.