Renata
Renata was just pulling on her sweatshirt when Tahoma knocked on the door.
"Come in."
He entered, raising his eyebrows at her briefly. She was immediately suspicious of him. "What?"
Tahoma walked up to her and stopped in close proximity. Renata had no choice but to inhale his clean scent and feel the heat of his body. He looked down at her and lifted his hand to tug at her sweater. "It's been a really long day for you. I say we've both earned a greasy burger and onion rings. What do you think?"
Right on time, Renata's stomach whined. He definitely heard it but didn't react. "You read my mind."
Tahoma couldn't have looked more pleased. "Excellent. It's a date then."
Okay, Renata wouldn't let that comment go. "A date?"
He inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. She was distracted by the movement of his wide chest. The image of it bare and dripping with water popped into her head and made her feel like a complete pervert. "Yes," Tahoma answered, "it's when two single people who are attracted to each other hang out, food hopefully included."
She nodded along as he spoke. "Is that so?"
Tahoma came closer, which made her stiffen. Not because she was uncomfortable, but because her body reacted in ways she wasn't quite ready to recognize. "Yes, Renata. If you disagree, it'd be best to say so now. Otherwise, we should go before the food gets cold."
He was giving her the opportunity to opt out of whatever the hell was happening between them. Considering her heart still wasn't healed and maybe never would be, the best thing was to run in the complete opposite direction of the downright sinful Tahoma. But...she didn't want to. "We wouldn't want that. After you."
When Tahoma smirked, Renata knew she was in for a world of trouble.
They began walking down a random hall after leaving the MRI room. Renata didn't understand why she was so uncomfortable as they got farther and farther away. Her skin was heavy, experiencing a type of pressure she just couldn't describe fully. But it got worse and worse until it was all she could think about.
They got in front of a particular door, and she stopped dead in her tracks. Tahoma watched as she studied the door but did not verbally question her. The golden numbers read '414'. It meant nothing to her.
"I'll be right back," she whispered as she twisted the knob and entered the hospital room. There was that familiar beeping. It was a slow beat. Renata was silent as the feeling worsened, and she knew it was because of the woman laying in the bed.
Something began to swirl inside of her. A force that was responding to this pain. Renata looked at the woman whose eyes were closed. She slept, but she did not sleep peacefully. Her face was wrinkled and some of her skin was deeply bruised and discolored with purples and greens and yellows.
Renata came closer and leaned over the woman. Her throat tightened with familiarity. No, she'd never seen this sick woman before in her life. But she imagined her as a child, bright with life and a breathtaking smile. It was an expression she'd come to hate because one of her front teeth was twisted. But she'd learn to smile again, after meeting her love, a small, quiet man who was unafraid to worship her imperfections.
Renata gasped and felt hot tears roll down her cheeks. She felt intrusive as she lifted the woman's upper lip to reveal her teeth, but she needed to know.
A twisted tooth just where she imagined.
Renata closed her eyes as more flashes of this woman's life bombarded her thoughts. None of it made sense, and she didn't understand how this was happening or why she was feeling emotions that didn't belong to her story.
Please, my angel, take me. I want to be with my husband.
The voice was crystal clear inside her mind. It was the woman's words, though she did not stir in the hospital bed. She never would again.
Renata wanted to be terrified. All she found was content. Acceptance. Fate was knocking at this woman's door, and she just couldn't answer it on her own. She was too weak, wasting away from the years battering down on her body and soul.
Please. I am done. I beg you, let me see him again. I am ready.
"You can rest now, Beatrice," Renata whispered, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. It was a whisper of a touch, but that was all it took. A warm wisp of wind blew against Renata's face before evading the room altogether. The beeping of monitors reacted with a sad, whining sound.
"We have to go."
Tahoma's voice startled her. She hadn't realized he'd entered the room.
She looked back at him with wide eyes.
He held out his hand to her.
She hesitated.
"Come, Renata, it's time to go."
His choice of words worsened her hesitation, but before she completely lost it, she decided to accept his offer of stability. As her confusion tossed her around, her fear threatened to sweep her away into the sky, he volunteered to be her anchor. She took his hand and squeezed it hard. Her voice was hoarse. "Let's get out of here."
**********
They sat at the diner. As promised, this place had burgers and onion rings that were the perfect balance of fat and bread and saltiness.
Unfortunately, Renata's appetite had disappeared as soon as they left the hospital.
Not too many words had been spoken between them since, which she sincerely appreciated.
Tahoma had a soft smile on his face as he enjoyed his food.
"I killed that woman," Renata whispered.
He paused, his food forgotten in an instant. "Are you alright?"
Renata shook her head. "I've never done that before. Thatâthat...I've never experienced anything like that before."
Tahoma didn't respond right away, and she could sense he was choosing whether to share something. "There were shadows by your back."
She frowned, needing more clarification.
He wiped the grease off his elegant, long fingers as he shrugged both shoulders. "They were shapeless. Just blackness at your back. As soon as you kissed her, it disappeared."
Renata thought she was going to be sick. "I don't know what's happening to me, Tahoma." She said his name like a plea, which caused him to take her hands into his. The gesture made her jump and warmth spread up her arms, burrowing deep into her chest.
"I'm sorry I don't have answers just yet." His hold on her tightened. "I don't know what you are, but I know that you're good."
Making that kind of proclamation scared the hell out of her. She tried to pull away. "You don't know that. You don't even really know me."
He didn't let her go far, unafraid to display some of his strength which left her breathless. "I know that you're in a world of so many unknowns, the world of undying, and here you are in one whole piece, refusing to back down. It's admirable. I admire you."
Her heart was racing at this point. It wasn't fair that he watched her with that fierce, otherworldly gaze of his. She needed to break the tension. "You're just saying that to get into my pants."
His brows only furrowed, but the smile soon returned. "While I have thought about tearing your clothes off once or twice, that's not why I'm telling you the truth."
Renata swallowed, and the racing in her body soaked into a different region of her. "Oh."
He leaned forward and his voice quieted. "Why don't we take this to-go?"
She had no words, so she offered a single nod of her head.
**********
They sat in the car in silence. Tahoma had been without words since their last exchange. He stared ahead, focused on the road, which allowed her to study his striking profile.
Before the wicked thoughts could swell, she looked away into the darkening day. Diamond's beautiful face popped into mind, a subject not much better. Renata sighed and twisted the volume dial to turn up Al Green's voice. She leaned against the headrest and sighed.
"Something on your mind?" His deep voice rumbled.
You. "Noâ"
"Fuck!" Tahoma shouted.
Renata screamed and braced her hands on the dashboard as the car came screeching to a halt. The sound was deafening, a moment of panic worsened as something slammed into the windshield and disappeared into the air beyond sight.
"Are you alright?" Tahoma demanded, grabbing her arm and tugging her closer. She was so stunned but immediately nodded.
"That wasn't a person," he gritted out as he removed his seatbelt.
"What?" Her eyes darted down the lit path from the headlights and thought she saw feet dart across the road up ahead. Her heart was in her throat as she realized she was seeing multiple bodies moving about in the darkness.
Then, there was a different kind of awareness in the pit of her stomach. And as that awareness thickened and twisted her with dread, she knew terrible things would soon happen. She inhaled the stench of death, a taste on her tongue she wished she didn't know. But there was no forgetting the feeling, especially as it worsened the chill latched onto her flesh.
"Stragglers," Tahoma muttered, as though that was any kind of explanation, "I've already spotted six. I've never in all my time seen more than two together, and that was only because they weren't that far into the craze." Renata watched as he reached beneath his seat and removed two guns.
"Let's just keep driving. We're in a death machine, and they're not." She placed a hand on his bicep to grab his attention. "Please, let's go."
Tahoma's face melted with sympathy. "See that?" He nodded his head forward. She followed his eyes but didn't quite catch on. "There's spikes up that way. This is a trap. I can't risk us crashing. Not when I have no idea what's going on." She jolted when he placed a hand on her cheek. His hand didn't feel as she imagined. It was hard and almost like he was made out of ceramics. This worsened the turmoil in her mind, yet those red eyes remained kind and reassuring. "I'm going to get us out of this, priye. Here." He placed his phone in her stiff hand. "Call Nirvi if you can. Lock the doors behind me."
Then he did something that made her whole mouth dry. He reached beneath her seat and removed another gun, which he promptly placed in her free hand. He clicked something on it. "The safety is off now."
"You're not leaving this car, Tahoma. Don't you dare."
"Have you ever used one?"
Renata shook her head, but it most likely wasn't obvious since her entire body was wrecked with tremors. "Yesâ"
"Good, then you know what to do." He pressed a random button in the ceiling and the entire interior of the vehicle filled with bright UV light, and she had to brace her eyes from the burning brightness.
"No!"
He popped open the door. In response, the background noise of growling and groaning rose in volume, and it was only getting closer. Were they more fucked than he was willing to admit? His confident demeanor gave nothing away.
But Renata was beginning to think then was the perfect time to say a last prayer.