She is Fatal to Death (Standalone Story)

Chapter 20 (Shark in Water)

Renata

The breeze felt nice on her skin as she laid on the grass. She looked up at the tree, and the shape of the dark branches littered with the bright red flowers were outlined by an occasional white cloud. The baby blue backdrop of the sky made it all pop.

Her hands lay flat on her belly. Renata felt her organs move around as she inhaled, lifting her warm palms. The next exhale flattened her body. She envisioned the ground swallowing her, enticing her to sink into the plush green. It would be nice to not think anymore, to just be held by the earth and allowed to forget everything else.

But there she laid in emotional turmoil, failing to achieve any kind of meditative state. The back door of the house opened and balanced footsteps ensued. Renata wasn't sure if she was in the mood for company. She'd spent the majority of the day in solitude, but it didn't feel like quite enough.

There he was. A tight black shirt, a thick, silver chain, and one pant leg of his jeans was dark blue while the other was dark blue with painted, baby pink roses on top. That raven black hair was braided back. She realized the soft smile plastered on her lips happened unbeknownst to her. "Mind if I join you, Renata?"

She shrugged. "Knock yourself out."

Tahoma settled beside her, though did not lay all the way down. He rested his weight against his hands and looked down at her. His eyes studied her face before briefly attending to the rest of her. She tried not to fidget, to show that his little moment of scrutiny made her nervous. He made her nervous. Guilt bloomed again.

"I'll start with an easy question," Tahoma addressed her, "how are you?"

Renata snorted. The sound was hideous but it made them both smile. "That's the best you got, huh?" She closed her eyes and took in as much air as possible. "Try again."

"Okay... Ah, I've got it."

"Let's hear it."

The warmth of the sun lessened as she felt the shade cover her. She knew he was close, too close. Renata opened her eyes anyway to see him grinning down at her. Her breath stopped. Her heart didn't. It sped up. "First, you'll have to follow me." He popped to his feet with incredible swiftness. It was a chore to track him.

Rennata groaned and rolled over onto her front. She pushed herself to her hands and knees before standing up. She shifted her weight on her feet. "You know the last time we did this song and dance," she called after him, "I was shot."

She followed Tahoma past the greenery, and they both were strolling on a carved out path to somewhere else farther from the house. She wondered if she would finally see Nirvi's secret laboratory but thought better of mentioning it.

His perfect set of black eyebrows rose in her direction. "Was that supposed to be funny?"

She watched his back as he walked ahead. Tahoma was a big fucking guy. Renata sometimes forgot that, even when in his presence. He wasn't imposing or overwhelming. This was unlike what she had come to expect from anyone who was regarded as physically intimidating. This in no way meant she wasn't aware how powerful and deadly he probably was—well, even saying probably felt wrong to use. She wondered if he did this on purpose or if this was his nature—no, he was too intelligent for this to not be a strategic choice.