Page 32 of Soulmates

“Fuck, Santiago, I’m so scared.”

“I know. I am too. But we’re less than half a day from someone who can help. Let’s focus on that and just get you and Maddox to him.” Santiago stood. “I’m going to go get some pizza. We’ll get some food in him, get some rest, and hit the road before dawn.”

“It scares me that you’re the clearheaded one,” Jake said.

“Yeah, well, one of us has to keep it together, and my boyfriend isn’t glowing, so I’m nominated.”

“You’ve never had a boyfriend.”

“That’s because boys are gross,” Santiago said and left.

That got a slight chuckle out of Jake. He turned to Maddox and stroked his cheek, which was overly warm, though Santiago swore she didn’t feel any difference. To Jake's touch, Maddox was burning. Maddox had even mentioned something about Jake’s skin feeling hot yesterday, but Maddox always said that, so he’d thought nothing of it. Everything in Jake rebelled against allowing anything to happen to Maddox. But here he was in a motel far from home with something wrong with Maddox, and it was Jake’s fault. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t meant to. It was still his fault. He should have just told Maddox how he felt ages ago. “If wishes were horses, my darling.” His mother was fond of that saying.

Santiago came back with three pizzas and some water bottles. They got Maddox awake enough to use the bathroom, eat a slice, and drink a bottle of water before he sat next to Jake on the bed, leaning his head on Jake’s shoulder, looking dazed.

“This isn’t normal, huh?” Maddox said.

“Well, nothing about this is normal, so I think some weird shit is probably…normal. Given the circumstances,” Santiago said.

Maddox said nothing for a while, and Jake and Santiago downed an entire pizza each and split the rest of the third.

“Jake, take care of Clarissa if something happens to me.” Maddox broke the silence.

“Nothing is going to happen to you,” Jake snapped.

“But if something does, get her away from my dad, okay?” Maddox’s head was so heavy on his shoulder.

“What the hell, Maddox? Do you feel something other than tired?” Santiago said.

“Not really? Kind of full in my chest. Not like I can’t breathe—I can—but like there’s so much there, and I’m warm and tired.”

“I would never let your dad dictate Clarissa’s life. You know that. But nothing is going to happen to you. We have a solution, and we’re driving to it in the morning,” Jake said.

“Okay, good. Can I lie down?” Maddox looked at him with his shining golden eyes. The glow was unnerving.

“Sure, honey, hang on.”

Santiago helped get them settled in the bed. They didn’t bother removing shirts, just took off their shoes and slept in the T-shirts and sweats they had on already. Jake spooned around Maddox, facing Santiago’s bed, where she sat staring at both of them.

“Jake, I don’t know what to do. How can I help?”

“I don’t know. Drive us to the wizard quickly, I guess.”

Santiago smiled at the reference to Cricket as a wizard. Maybe he was. Maybe that’s what they needed. A true healer. A true mystic. If there were even any left.

“We need to sleep. I’ve got my alarm set for 0400. I have a feeling we won’t be able to stop for food, so I’ll go out and pick up as much as we’ll need for the day. If Maddox gets worse and we can’t get him up, we can’t take an unconscious person inside any businesses. He’ll just have to pee on the side of the road.”

“Yeah, let’s assume he won’t be leaving the car tomorrow. If his eyes are glowing, they won’t be noticeable in the day—I hope—but indoors…”

“I know. Try to sleep.” Santiago got ready for bed and cut the lights while Jake held Maddox as tightly as he dared. How had everything gone to shit so damn fast?

Maddox’s skin was hot, and Jake was scared, not something he was overly familiar with. The last thing he saw before falling into a fitful sleep was the faint movement of fireflies outside the motel window, barely visible through the gauze curtains and the glow of the streetlights.

They set off before dawn. Maddox had woken easily enough, though he stayed groggy through the coffee and donuts, having refused the breakfast sandwich that Santiago was happy enough to eat for him.

Once in the car, he put his head in Jake’s lap and went immediately to sleep.

“Is he belted in?” Santiago said from the driver’s seat.

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