The Meeting (On Hold)

Chapter 4

By the time the three of us go to leave the mall, it's almost closing time. There are only a few stragglers left in the mall, most of them making their way towards the exits themselves. Brennan and Lydia have not once stopped talking to each other, both too immersed in the voice of the other to pay much attention to my brooding stare.

"Unfortunately, there's no chance with him. Michael's clock is only growing closer to zero, and when it does and he leaves with his soulmate, she'll have no one. It's only a matter of time," Lydia's soft voice floats up from behind me and I tense, not wanting to believe what I'm hearing. I can tell by the way she talks she's trying not to let the words travel to my ears. I can feel their gazes land on the back of my head. "The Gods couldn't have been any worse to her."

Tears sting my eyes and my throat squeezes shut as I spin on them both. Due to the mall being so empty, my voice echoes when I speak. "You think I can't hear you?" I snap, my green gaze burning as it switches between their faces. Regret blooms in Lydia's eyes and shock appears in Brennan's. "I don't need your damn pity, Lydia. I trusted you with this secret, and you go behind my back and tell him?"

My voice breaks as I struggle not to cry, my heart breaking at the thought of never having true love because the Gods couldn't take the time to make me my soulmate. The disgust is clear in my voice and it makes Lydia take a step back.

"Mads, I-" Lydia starts, reaching for me, but I cut her off and knock her hand away.

"Don't even bother," I snarl, glaring her down. "You can find your own way home." I spin on my heel and make my way to the doors we had come in. I yank the door open and go to leave, but hesitate. I look over my shoulder at Lydia, who stands in the middle of the wide hallway, unsure of what to do. "This was the biggest thing I have ever told you. I trusted you enough to tell you something that tears my heart apart. I don't want everyone knowing. I don't need everyone looking at me like I'm a fucking puppy that was abandoned on the side of the road!" I swallow hard, my breaths coming short and quick. "Don't even think that I will trust you with another secret ever again."

"Wait," Lydia calls. "Mady, please. Wait!" I ignore her, the hurt of being stabbed in the back too great.

With that, I leave the mall and finally let the sobs of betrayal wreak havoc on my shoulders. As my best friend, Lydia was fully aware of the fact that I was not ready to tell Brennan about my clock being at zero, about my not having a soulmate. I have no doubt that she could tell with the way I reacted when Brennan tried to push the subject. But, she went ahead and told him anyway.

There's nothing worse than someone you trust telling a secret that you didn't want someone to know. So much for Lydia being my best friend. It will take me a while to be able to tell her anything again, and that's to say if I even forgive her for this.

It looks like I'll just have to figure this out on my own.

A thought pops into my head as I climb into my car. I could tell Michael. He's my go-to number two when Lydia is unavailable for me to rant and cry to, and I don't see a reason that I couldn't tell him. If he helps me find someone to be with, someone with a similar situation as mine, then it won't be as difficult for me when the time comes to break it off.

My heart twists and my stomach churns at the thought of breaking up with Michael. It tugs at my heartstrings, stinging my chest.

Maybe it wouldn't be as easy as I thought.

A groan of irritation bubbles in the back of my throat. I cast the thoughts away for the time being as I shove the key into the ignition and turn it, the engine of my car roaring to life. I pull out of the parking space and make my way home. Within a few minutes, the familiar streetlights of Vienna appear in front of me, and relief starts to calm my nerves. Home is only five more minutes away.

I hope that once I'm in bed, once my head hits my pillow, that I'll be out like a light. I don't want to have to waste away hours that I could be sleeping worrying and wallowing over what Lydia did. I know Brennan is her soulmate, but for the Gods sake, she could have kept her mouth shut. And she had just met him. What in that stupid little head of hers made her think that she even had the right or the trust to tell him something like that?

Anger unfurled inside me as I drove through the streets of Vienna, the speedometer slowly going up as my foot pressed on the gas pedal. I need to get out of town before I got in trouble. I need to find a highway where I can go above sixty and not get in trouble. That can't happen here.

I turn onto Nutley Street and glance off to my left where the high school stands in soft light. Only the lobby lights are still on. From here, I can barely see the student parking lot, but I can see enough that Michael's truck catches my eye. My heart jumps.

What is he doing at the school at nine o'clock in the evening?

My curiousness gets the best of me, winning over my anger, so I turn around at the elementary school and backtrack to James Madison Drive. I slow down once I reach the parking lot and pause, noting that Michael is sitting in the driver's seat of his truck.

And I can tell that he isn't alone.