Page 14 of Guarded By Death

'Don't worry, I talked to your mom earlier. She thinks you're here, and boy was she freaking out about you not answering your phone. I told her you were asleep. Text me soon, xoxo P.S. Zack told me you were with the tall guy from the club, I want to know everything!'

She’s an absolute saint. As my fingers hover over the screen I begin to type a reply, but the screen goes black. I have to laugh at the irony. What would I even say to her in my frantic state? The only person I can talk to about my problems is Pierce and I need to stay far, far away from him.

The moment he floats into the front of my mind, my pulse quickens. I attempt to shove his memory down and turn my car around, hoping that I drove here in a straight line so I can easily find my way home since my phone is dead and I have no natural sense of direction in the dark.

Frustration sets in when I'm still just as lost as I was thirty minutes ago. The light drizzle has turned into a roaring downpour. I take a sharp turn on a familiar-sounding road, then I lose control of the wheel. The violent sound of my tires screeching as I hydroplane in the darkness makes me scream. I'm spinning out of control when a warm hand grips around mine on the wheel.

"Oh my God!" I scream when I see Pierce beside me. He swiftly lifts my right leg. In the frantic moment, I didn’t realize my foot was holding down the gas pedal. He leans over me and takes control of the wheel and in seconds we come to a screeching halt. While his foot is on the brake, he throws the car into park.

My breath is caught in my throat as I glare him down. "Have you been in the backseat this whole time?" I snap.

"Scar, let go of the wheel," he gently demands. My eyes pan to my white knuckles that grip the steering wheel, he pries my fingers from it.

"I wasn't in the car Scarlett, I just got here."

My eyes squint at his undisturbed demeanor. "How can you be so calm! How can you say that so calmly!?" I'm still screaming. He acts like this is normal for me, like people magically appear at my side daily.

A small chuckle escapes from his lips as he says, "I don't know Scar, I'm just comfortable around you." He shrugs and leans back in the seat.

"You tell me some divine secret that I’m never meant to find out and you think I'm not going to freak out?" I stare at him in disbelief.

He runs a large hand through his hair. "I didn't want to tell you." He holds his hands up in defense. "That's the last thing I wanted, but you need to know."

A beat of silence passes through the car, the only sounds are the patter of rain. "Switch seats with me," he demands.

"Absolutely not! You can't just show up here Pierce. I didn't ask you to save me, again." As the words come out, I realize how awful I sound. This is the third time Pierce has saved my life, and how do I thank him? By yelling and throwing a fit. But to be fair, this is all insane.

My confusion about everything is messing with my judgment. I'm directing my anger towards him when I shouldn't be. But I'm scared, so scared of what's happening to me. I take a deep breath as I watch him open his mouth a few times trying to figure out the words to say.

For the first time, he raises his voice. "What did you want me to do? Collect your soul, Scar?" His jade eyes pierce through.

I lower my head, "Is that why you showed up? Was I about to... die?" My voice is a little weak as he places his warm hand on my arm.

"I could sense you were in danger, so I came. You shouldn't have been driving in this weather. What are you even doing out here?"

I shrug. "I was upset so I just kept driving, my phone died, and I ended up here." I gesture to the pitch-black nothingness in front of us. We haven't bothered to move from the middle of the road. No one is out this late anyway. "I thought you said you don't mess with people's destiny." That sounds very weird coming out of my mouth.

"This." He gestures between us. "This is not part of your destiny, Scar. I shouldn't fucking be here. I shouldn't have made you upset in the first place because I should never have told you about me. You only drove out here because you were upset with me." His perfect lips downturn.

I hop out of the car and he swiftly meets me at the driver’s door. "Where do youthinkyou're going?" He asks.

"Letting you drive," I say, walking past him. When I climb into the passenger seat, it takes him a moment to get back in. I hear a few choice words as he paces on the wet pavement but finally, he climbs in and cranks it up. We drive in silence for a while. My mind drifts off to the three times I've almost died in the past twenty-four hours.

My life was calm, peaceful even. Simple, until Pierce showed up. In truth, I shouldn't be comparing him with the negative. He's the only reason I'm alive right now. He has done nothing but be honest with me, which seems like a hard thing to do. I glance over at him and he's already looking at me, his face looks torn.

"I'm sorry," he breathes, breaking the silence. I want to reach over and touch his face, to soothe the lines of worry he has around his perfect eyes. But I stop myself. He's still a stranger, why do I feel the need to comfort him?

"I'm not used to any of this, Pierce," I say calmly. "I know this is your world but let me ease in, okay? I just don't understand any of this.”

"This isn't something I do either. I never would have told you all of this if you weren't in danger. I feel a need, like I said before, to keep you safe, this is all new to me." I look to his eyes, trying to search for answers. From the outside, he looks like a regular guy. Well, I take that back. He looks like a divine God sent here to drive me insane. But, a human, nonetheless.

I stare out the foggy window, contemplating my life until flashing lights break me from my trance. I glance forward to a familiar sight as we come to a stop. I feel a sense of warmth when Liv's house comes into view.

When we stop, Pierce makes his way to my side to open the door. We stand by my car for a moment before I invite him inside, knowing Liv’s parents are out of town and there are still things I need to know. I lead him through the front door and into the back yard. I don't want to wake Liv up if we talk inside, I'm afraid for her to hear of my new reality.

I sit as he stands, watching over me. His eyes roam the large, dark backyard. He seems guarded, not towards me but at the world outside of us. It makes me scared; I fidget uncomfortably in my chair.

"How will I ever be safe? He's going to keep coming until he gets me, Pierce, you said it yourself," I tell him. I wrap my hands around myself for comfort.

---