Page 3 of Mortal Shift
“To be able to hold her like that. You’re strong.”
“Oh.” I shrugged. “Adrenaline rush, I guess.”
“Yeah.” The frown didn’t leave his face. “I suppose so.”
He shifted his grip further up my mom’s arm, and started toward the door. “Let’s get her downstairs.”
I wanted to fight him, to tell him he couldn’t do this, that he couldn’t take her—that I wouldn’t let him—but my whole body was shaking and suddenly I could barely even keep my legs under me.
“Hey, maybe you should sit down,” the cop said, worry coloring his voice.
“And maybe you should bite me,” I snapped back at him. And then I staggered two steps forward and landed on my butt.
“I’ll be back for you,” he said. “Stay there.”
“Or what?” My words were somewhat undermined by the violent shivers running through my body, and the cop opened his mouth, closed it again, and steered my unresisting mother back inside the building.
Shit. How had it come to this?
By the time I managed to get my legs back under me and the shaking at least partway under control for long enough to make it through the building and out onto the street, an ambulance was already there, and two more cop cars. My heart sank down into my shoes and stayed there. They were going to take her into a mental hospital, and they were never going to let her out again.
The cop who cuffed her gave me a pitying look as she was loaded into the ambulance, and I returned it with a scowl and stalked over to the EMT.
“Where’s she being taken?” I demanded.
“Southside General,” he said. “She’ll be checked over and assessed, and from what I’ve heard, she’ll probably be held under chapter 51, for her own safety.”
“Committed.” The word was heavy on my tongue, and tasted like failure. It was the final confirmation that everything I’d ever dreaded was coming true. “You’re having her committed.”
“That’ll be down to the doctors,” he said, while my mom stared blankly past me. I shivered again. I’d never seen her this bad before. Bad, yes, but neverthisbad.
This was my fault. I should have got her help sooner. I should have done something.
“Why don’t you come with us?” the EMT asked, his voice gentle. “You can get checked over at the same time.”
Me? Did he think I was…like her? And then I followed his eyes to my shaking hands.
“I’m fine,” I said. Or I would be, when I could get the shock and adrenaline under control. There’d be time for worrying about me later. First, I had to work out how to get my mom out of whatever hellhole they had planned for her.
Chapter Two
As the ambulance rumbled away, and the police set up a cordon around the apartment block, I decided it was time to make myself scarce. I couldn’t think with all of them here, shooting furtive looks my way like they were waiting for me to be the next to have meltdown or try to throw herself off the top of a building.
It wasn’t her fault,I wanted to tell them, but what was the point? She was beyond their control now. The doctors would take over, and— Well, I’d find some way to get her out, so it didn’t matter. But right now, I needed to walk.
I let my feet lead me through the darkness, not paying much attention to where they were taking me. The further away from that horrific scene, the better. The shaking eased as the night air cooled my skin and filled my lungs, and my stomach rumbled loudly. Ugh. Trust my body to have warped priorities. Wasn’t like I came out with a bundle of cash, either. Or even my cell and debit card. Food was most definitely not an option right now. Or taking a cab back home. I sighed and turned—it was getting late, probably gone midnight already.
A scent caught my nose, and I all but groaned out loud. Someone was cooking. And partying. I frowned. The latter might not be unusual at midnight, but the former was. And neither was any of my business.
And yet, I couldn’t help turning in the direction of the house, noting as I did that I was way out of my part of town. I must’ve walked for longer than I realized. The houses here were huge, each with its own driveway or front garden, some with both, and all with garages. It was easy enough to spot the one where the party was—bright light flooded the front garden, dozens of cars were parked outside, and dozens of youths were scattered around the garden, and more still were visible through the open front door.
The low throbbing of the music seemed to call to me, and I wandered closer. No-one seemed to notice me, aside from one guy lounging against the side of the house who raised a beer bottle to me in acknowledgement, then tilted it to his lips and took a deep pull. Somewhere to my left, I was vaguely aware of a couple in an intimate embrace, kissing as though their lives depended on it, and to my right, another couple were dancing, hip to hip, but my eyes didn’t want to leave the guy as he swallowed his swig of beer. There was something about him; he was hot, no question, well-built and with a nice enough face, so far as I could tell in the semi-lighting, but it was more than that. There was an energy about him. A power…
He lowered his bottle and caught me watching. A blush stole across my cheeks and his lips curved into a smirk. He beckoned me closer with a head tilt, and I hesitated.
I should head home. Get some sleep so I’d be ready to deal with the doctors. But the thought of going back to the empty apartment, where the only thing that awaited me was the crushing weight of responsibility that I’d been carrying for six years now, was abruptly too much. I wasn’t ready to face my failure. And, after all, I was eighteen. Why shouldn’t I let my hair down and party, just this once, just this night? I’d earned that much.
I smiled and made for the guy.
