Who made him think this way? Who made him think he was a monster?
I stand up and barely notice the crack that punctuates my movement. It’s only when I look down and realize that I broke the bench that I realize what I’ve done. Oh my gods, I broke the bench. I look around frantically for somewhere to dispose of the evidence before anyone sees what I’ve done. It's not like we’d be able to explain away my superhuman strength with a wrought iron bench suddenly coming to pieces in my hands. Darn it, where’s a trash can when you need it? A recycling bin.Anything.
“Meadow, are you all right?”
I fling the metal bench arm to the side and into what I hope are just hedges and turn to face Jaak with a bright smile. “Yeah, I’m great! Totally great. What about you?” I ask just as we both hear the sound of glass shattering. A man starts shouting a second later and I have my answer on the is it hedges or not question.
Definitely not hedges.
Oops.
Chapter Twenty Three
Jaak and I made it down the street without anyone realizing I was the window breaker, so I think my luck is turning around. We had to go back in the direction we came from, so we’re basically back to square one. It feels odd standing in front of Pancakes And More again. It’s only been a day but after the battle with Mort and then us befriending him, it feels like a week. My stomach rumbles and Jaak gives me a look before he nods at the diner.
“Right on cue, I suppose. Do you want to stop for dinner?”
The idea is appealing. It would be easier and there was a double-decker cheeseburger affair that I wanted to get my hands on but before I can tell Jaak that I think it’s the double meat double cheese life for me, I see Dina.
She’s alone, shoulders slumped and head down. She shuffles forward and slides into a booth on her own. She looks sad.
“I wanted a cheeseburger but I think we made Dina sad because we, you know,” I say, bringing a finger across my neck.
“Ahhh, yes, her nefarious husband.”
“How do you know he was nefarious?”
“I saw in his mind,” Jaak tells me, tapping a finger to his temple. “And besides that, even that woman in the floralshop said so herself. Dina is better off without him. She has,” Jaak snaps his fingers, trying to remember, “Cloud to keep her company.”
“Clyde,” I say, correcting him and crossing my arms.
“Yes, that’s the one.”
“If she has big-mouth Clyde to keep her company then why does she look like that?” I ask, jerking my chin towards the diner. It’s then I see that it’s practically deserted. Odd for dinnertime. The sun is just now setting. This is peak dining hours, and yet, no one is dining. I look up and down the street. “Something’s up. There should be more people in there, don’t you think?”
Jaak looks around the street with me. “Possibly. Maybe this town doesn’t take kindly to dinner. It’s been known to happen.”
“Maybe…” I turn back to look at Dina and I can’t shake the feeling something else is happening though, but what could it be? A man walks from the back and into my field of vision. He’s walking with purpose and he’s definitely making a beeline for Dina. “Oh, wait, there’s Clyde. That has to be him.”
“I would hope so. Otherwise he’s going to attack her.”
I freeze for a split second before I look at Jaak. “What? Oh my god, what if he is going to attack her? We have to help her! We already probably offed her husband. Come on!” I grab Jaak’s arm and start to pull him across the street when he wraps his other arm around my waist and pulls me back against his chest.
“It’s Clyde, witchling. All is well.”
“How do you know?”
“Why don’t you see for yourself,” he says, nodding over my shoulder towards Dina and the diner. I look back and do a double take because it’s definitely Clyde. He’s sitting at the booth with Dina, across from her and he’s holding her hand. We watch for another few seconds before we see Clyde drop a kiss onto the back of Dina’s hand.
“Yup, that’s Clyde all right. Phew.” I pat Jaak and start walking again. “Well we can’t go to dinner there now. We’ll be date crashers.”
“Would we, though? They’re at work, not on a date,” Jaak points out.
I rub my chin thoughtfully. “Okay, you got me there but no one likes a work crasher either when your crush is maybe making his big move because you got the news your evil cult husband is maybe dead. I can’t think of a worse time to be interrupted, and by his murderers no less.” I wave my hand. “Forget about it. We absolutely cannot go in there for dinner.”
“But you hunger still. It is my duty to see to your needs.”
My needs.
