Page 53 of Shifted

"Grandma Mary Ellen passed away this morning." She stares at me, confused; she doesn't understand what I just said. But how could she? She's only a baby.

"So we can't see Grams no more?" I shook my head.

"She went to a special place where she's at peace. We can't see her anymore until we are old and gray." Her lip quivers, and I tuck her against my chest, rocking her. We go to the couch, and we sit like this for a long time.

“I want Grammy,” she mumbled once in a while, like a slight stab in the heart. Once the open wound had healed, she’d ask again.

I've lost count of how many minutes or hours we've been here, but Bella's now making dinner in the kitchen for my empty appetite. My tears were dry, and Joely was asleep. I closed my eyes for just a moment and pictured him comforting Joely and me, reassuring me I’d make it through, and showing me how to help Joely. But it's not real, and he’s not here. It's just me and her, like it's always been.

"Tell him." Her words echo.

It will haunt my mind for months, years, and even decades. Some of Grandma’s final words were ones that she never expressed to me, but somehow, I knew. But she's not here, and I can't ask her why or ask for her help on this. All I can do is try to move on and do what I will with that.

"Dinner's ready," I looked to Bella, who stood waiting for me. I made you two my famous grilled cheese with tomato soup!" I recognized the smell of it earlier when it wafted in from the kitchen. Come on, its comfort food, and I know you want some!" It wasn’t worth fighting Bella over; one way or another, she’d just win like she always did.

“Alright,” I stand with Joely in my arms and follow her into the kitchen.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Hope Taylor

The sound of shoes scuffing against the pavement follows behind me. As I turn around, I see him staring at me, not so hidden. "You know you should get new shoes. Those ruin your whole sneak attack vibe?"

"You're avoiding me?" He says, taking five steps towards me as I take two back.

He knew I was hiding. I didn’t want to risk things again. I was trying never to see him again, and it was for the worst reasons. Not because he was determined to kill me but because I was afraid I might kiss him. You can’t hide from your problems. They’ll just come up and confront you head-on. What did he want me to say? ‘I slept with you, I cheated with you, of course I am avoiding you?’ Maybe he does have a brain of some sort, after all?

"That is ridiculous. I’ve just been very busy." I turn back to my target, adjusting the rifle.

"Liar," he chided, and I scoffed at him. “You disappeared into thin air, abandoning your post the last time we spoke. Come on, what's wrong?” There were a million things wrong, and I couldn’t exactly tell him. I didn’t have feelings for him—how could I? I didn’t even know what he looked like, and he was a psychopath.

"I'm not lying?” We both knew I was, but now I just stood awkwardly, not knowing what to say, distracted from a mission yet again. Nothing is wrong; I had to go; my family comes first.” I knew playing the family card probably wasn’t the best. It felt like karma in a way, especially now with MaryEllen dead. But it was better to lie to a man you don’t know than someone you do know.

"Isaac told me that you requested that he could not let me know when your missions were, so yes, you are, in fact, a liar." I turned back to face him, more frustrated. Isaac was trying to make my life worse than before. He disappeared, and it’s okay; he’s allowed to take a break. God forbid, I want to be left alone if something is wrong.

"Can you just drop this? I've had a long week." He stands in front of me, towering over me like some intimidation tactic, slowly backing me up against the wall.

"No," He demands. "Why have you been avoiding me? What did I do wrong, Angel?" I shake my head. Because he didn’t do anything to me, it was me who did something wrong.

"Nothing, you did nothing." He steps back.

"You?" He asks, "Fine, what did you do wrong?" Sighing, I turn back to the sniper, ignoring his comment, and as he steps forward, I draw my gun towards him as he does the same.

"You really don't want to kill me, Angel.”

"But you really want to kill me, don't you Amartolós? Would you like to watch me bleed out on the floor, claiming your victory like some win as you stand over my lifeless body? Because I am a prize with a bounty on my head, you are one of hundreds who want me dead," I hear him sigh, shaking his head.

"So that is what this is all about? My desire to kill you?" He jests, but I’m not laughing. I’m five seconds away from pulling the trigger and solving a problem, but we both know I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I don’t know why I won’t, and I honestly don’t want to.

"I cheated on my boyfriend with you, that too," Silence is shared between us, and he steps back over to me, pressing me against the wall. I shouldn’t expect any sympathy, and I made these choices myself. I chose to cheat, just as I chose to leave. It’s the choices we make that define our next steps.

"What does he have that I don't, huh?" His head tilts down as his eyes grow darker. As if he’s jealous of a man he didn’t know. But I viewed it as playful because if he really was jealous. He’d find Reed and most likely kill him.

"He has a face, Amartolós, and you don’t. So, we are two faceless strangers, and that's the truth. He has a face, and we trust each other; that's what he has that you don't." Turning back to my sniper, I look through the lens to see guns drawn toward me on the other end.

"Fuck," I jump onto him, pushing us to the ground as bullets ring through the walls, "I waited too long" The sound of gunfire doesn't end; instead, it grows, making us crawl our way out. This was all his fault; I was no longer able to do my job, and this is why I told Isaac to let me work alone.

Once we hit the ground, we book it. I take Amartolós’s hand, and we run, but he struggles to keep pace with me, "You should be hitting the gym more often, Amartolós. This isn't a turn-on for me,” Shots fire at us from afar, and I turn back, pulling my gun from my pocket and firing at the guy shooting at us, and he drops to the ground. I looked ahead, and Amartolós was scaling the building, offering me his hand.

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