Page 22 of Shelf-Made Man
Best to sidestep that issue for the moment. “It’s me, Alfie. Are you hurt? Hang on.” Tobias took off his hoody, removed Alfie’s too-thin coat, and put the hoody on him. Then he replaced the coat and wrapped him in his arms, sharing his warmth.
Alfie clutched him back and murmured into his neck. “But you can’t— How did you?—
You’ll be cold, and the trolls, and how?—"
“I’m fine. Can you walk back to the car? It’s about a mile or so, I think.”
Alfie feebly tried to pull away. “Go away, Tobias. You’re not safe here.”
“Neither are you.”
“I’m not safe anywhere,” Alfie snapped. “Didn’t you read my note? You need to get far away from me before the trolls come again.”
“I won’t. Look, you come back with me to the car, or I’ll stay here with you in the middle of the goddamn forest. I’d prefer the car. It’s warm and we can drive to breakfast. But in any case, I’m not abandoning you.”
For a moment, Alfie was silent, and then he sniffled against Tobias’s shoulder. “It’s stupid of you to stay with me.”
“I never claimed to be brilliant. Now, come on. Can you walk okay?”
As it turned out, Alfie couldn’t, at least not without Tobias’s help. But he did his best, Tobias supported him as needed, and about half an hour later they were back at the parking lot. Tobias helped him into the passenger seat and buckled him in before getting into his own seat, starting the engine, and setting the heater to full blast.
Alfie leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “You weren’t supposed to find me.”
“I’m responsible for you— No, don’t argue with me. Iam. And it’s a responsibility I accept willingly because I’m your friend.” And because he was maybe falling in love with Alfie, but he didn’t say so. No need to make the situation even more complicated.
Instead of answering, Alfie sighed.
Tobias drove out of the parking lot and merged onto the southbound freeway. He wanted breakfast butdidn’t want to backtrack into town. He’d find something, maybe in Redding, which was less than an hour away.
They’d traveled for five or six miles when Alfie spoke again. “How did you find me, Tobias?”
This was the part Tobias dreaded. Being a troll had come in handy when tracking down a missing elf. But the elf in question had a strong—and understandable—detestation of trolls. How would he react when he found out about Tobias? He’d be horrified, terrified, angry. And just the anticipation of that was enough to break Tobias’s heart.
“Could we discuss this after we eat?” He could at least postpone the inevitable.
“All right.”
They continued on for a while, the silence between them deafening. Finally, Tobias cleared his throat. “Will you promise me something, please?”
“I cannot promise your safety if you remain with me,” Alfie replied wearily. “In fact, I can almost guarantee the opposite.”
“I’m not asking for that. Look, I’m going to do my very best to get some answers and find a way to protect you permanently. This is something Iwantto do, okay? I’d be really upset if I didn’t get a chance to at least try to help. So promise me you won’t take off again without me—not until you’re safe. Please.”
Alfie reached over and set a hand on Tobias’s leg, a gesture that already felt familiar. “Very well. I promise. And Tobias, if I had a choice—if not for trolls andSnjokarl and Kol and… well, everything—I would remain at your side forever.”
“You don’t have to?—”
“I have, erm, interacted with a goodly number of people over a variety of species. I told you I was wild, yes? But I have never met anyone who draws me as you do. It’s not only that you are brave and handsome, although you are certainly both of those. When I am with you, food has more flavor. Colors are brighter. The scenery is more beautiful. Everything is simplymoreand infinitely better.”
The freeway grew a little blurry, and Tobias had to blink rapidly to clear his vision. His throat felt tight. That cinnamon roll sensation was back, but at the same time a thousand tiny blades poked at his heart. Because he felt the same way about Alfie—inexplicably, completely in love—but it couldn’t go anywhere. Even in the happiest of outcomes, in which they both survived, Alfie would be horrified when he found out that Tobias was a troll. There was also that little detail of them living, literally, in two different worlds.
“How about a sausage McMuffin?” he asked, knowing it was the most idiotic response ever to a poetic declaration of love.
Alfie didn’t seem to mind, however. He chuckled and squeezed Tobias’s leg. “I don’t know what that is, but I’m sure it’s delightful.”
Multiple crises averted. For now.
Chapter
