The Hirt

Chapter Twenty-Two

“Hey!” the Mordan shouted.  “Somebody stop him!”

Matt was too fast.  He quickly bolted around the corner and flung a door open, sunlight assaulting the four Kidellians.  Ivy and Henry, still carrying Heather, raced out the door.  Henry coughed to let Matt know they had made it through the door, and he slammed the door shut. 

Ivy must’ve let go of Henry’s hand, because when Heather looked down, she could see herself and Henry.  Henry gently set Heather down.  She wobbled slightly before gripping his shoulder for balance.

Heather’s memories were slowly starting to creep back into her mind, and she scolded herself.  How could she have even thought Lykos was good?  Guilt seeped through her body.  Although her mind was beginning to clear, her strength was still very much gone.  She felt nauseous and dizzy, and she had a splitting headache.

Henry kicked the lock on the door with so much might that the whole frame shook, but he managed to jam the door so the Mordans couldn’t exit.  They could hear shouting on the other side, so the four went as fast as they could over to the car, where they caught sight of Jimba.

“Oh my god,” Henry muttered as he studied the scene in front of him.  Heather tried to focus her gaze as she leaned on Henry for support.  Jimba stood in front of a dark car in the middle of a ring of several dead people that Heather assumed were Mordans.  Her chest heaved up and down and she was holding her knife.  Jimba looked up, and urgently waved the Kidellians over, a huge smile on her face.

“Heather!” she screamed, and almost tackled her in a hug.

“Jesus, Jimba,” Ivy muttered, mildly impressed.  “You can really hold up on your own.”

Jimba looked around.  “Oh, this?  It was nothing,” she shrugged nonchalantly.  “Come on.  We better get out of here.”

Henry shook his head and chuckled.  Ivy climbed into the driver’s seat and Jimba took the passenger side, while Henry rounded the car and took the far seat in the back.  Heather was about to climb into the middle seat, when suddenly her vision blacked.  She gripped the car door frame, her breathing slowing and her heart beating rapidly. It felt like someone was squeezing her heart and filling her lungs with ice. 

“Heather?  Heather!”  Matt urged, placing a hand on her back.  At some point, he had shifted back to his normal self, and his golden eyes glinted with concern.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Heather murmured, mostly to herself.  Her vision slowly returned, and she clambered into the middle seat.  Matt followed behind her, and shut the door behind him.  Before Heather could buckle her seat belt, Matt hoisted her onto his lap, letting her rest her head on the window and stretch her legs onto the middle seat.  Heather smiled faintly and whispered, “Thank you.”

Ivy slammed on the gas and they zoomed out of the parking lot, leaving that god-awful place behind.  Heather tried to control her breathing and wildly-beating heart.  She could feel sweat beading on her forehead and her hands were shaking.  Matt watched her, eyebrows furrowed together in worry.  She needed to take her mind off of her current state of being.

“Tell me a joke,” she said to Matt.

“What?”

“Tell me a joke,” Heather repeated.

Matt gave her a half-smile.  “Um, okay.  Why was the baby strawberry sad?”

“I don’t know.  Why?”

“Because his parents were stuck in a jam.”

Heather giggled.  She heard Jimba chuckle in the front seat and Henry snort.  Even Ivy managed a smile.  “Tell me another one,” Heather whispered.

The tips of Matt’s lips curled up.  His golden eyes sparkled as he studied her.  “What did the teddy bear say when he was offered dessert?”

A sudden wave of nausea slammed into Heather.  She took a deep breath and leaned her head against the window.  Matt grabbed her hand and softly rubbed circles into her palm with his thumb.  After a few moments, the nausea passed, leaving nothing but a coppery taste in her mouth.  “What did the teddy bear say?” she managed.

“No thanks, I’m stuffed,” Matt said quietly.

Maybe it was her fuzzy brain not causing her to think straight.  Maybe it was the way her heart thumped extra hard in her chest every time his bright eyes met hers.  Or maybe it was because she felt as if she was dying and she realized how important he was to her.  Heather really didn’t know.  But something made her lean forward and kiss that stupid Australian boy right on his lips.

Heather pulled away and looked at Matt, who had such a bewildered look on his face, Heather couldn’t help but laugh.  When he heard Heather’s laugh, his mouth turned into the biggest grin Heather had ever seen.  It was a beautiful smile, one that reached all the way up to his eyes and showed off deep dimples on either cheek.  The two Kidellians leaned towards each other until their foreheads touched.

“I’ve been wanting to do that ever since we were attacked by that cat-lady at the amusement park,” Matt half-whispered to her. 

“What a lovely story,” Heather smirked.  Matt smiled, and their lips met again.

Suddenly, Henry cleared his throat.  Heather quickly pulled away, but wasn’t able to meet his harsh gaze.  Sure, Henry was sweet; hell, he was probably one of the sweetest guys she’d ever met.  And he’d been the one to drag her in to this whole mess in the first place.  But it felt right being in Matt’s arms, and she just . . . knew.

“I hate to interrupt your disgusting love-fest,” Ivy grumbled.  “But we’re here.”  Ivy cut the ignition and jumped out of the car, shuddering.  Jimba was beaming as she slid out, and Henry left without saying a word.  Heather stumbled out slowly and Matt ambled out after her, not letting her arm go.  He grasped her hand and let her lean on him as they made their way into the current Kidellian Headquarters.

Heather had never felt so weak in her life.  She had been this close to betraying all her friends and potentially helping someone destroy the world.  She was faced with an impossible task and a mountain of responsibility she didn’t think she’d be able to handle.  But Matt was at her side now, as he had been this whole time.  And she had never been happier.  She should’ve known it wouldn’t last long.