Beneath The Waves (bxb)

21. You Can't Run Away From This

"Parker?"

"Parkerrrrr."

I shook my head, clearing away my thoughts of Jay as I heard Callem's worried voice. When we stopped at a red light, I looked over at him and smiled, though it was definitely forced.

"Parker, you are sad."

Straight to the point. I suppose it's for the best, though.

"Yeah."

"Why did Jayson be bad?"

I sighed, turning my attention back to the road as someone honked behind me to get moving.

"It's complicated, Callem."

"He was afraid of me."

The sudden deep voice from the backseat made me jump a little. I'd thought Mellac had fallen asleep with how quiet he had been. I suppose he was just not interested in talking until then.

"There was that."

"Fool. I would not kill my mate, he did not need to do something so stupid."

It sounded exactly like something Mellac would normally say, but for some reason, I could hear a slight rasp in his voice, making me wonder what was going on in his head.

"Besides what Mellac had intended to do, Jayson was worried about where his life was going. I didn't have much to lose since I was just basically living with him. Sure, losing my job sucks, and soon I will be out of money, if they haven't already frozen my bank account for stealing you guys, haha."

The three hundred dollars in my pocket was the only cash I had left. My last twenty went into the gas tank to fill up the truck right before I came back yesterday. Guess it was a good idea since we'd had to run pretty damn fast that morning.

"What do you have to lose?"

Callem made sure to emphasize the word 'do' in his question. I hadn't really thought about it that much, or, well, there wasn't much to think about.

"I have my freedom, and I have you."

From the corner of my eye, I caught Callem smiling softly and chuckled.

"It'll be okay, though. I'll get you guys back to the ocean safely, then figure things out from there."

"Parker stay with us?"

"I can't breathe underwater, Callem, but I'll try to find a way to visit you guys."

"I'm not staying around."

I glanced into the rearview mirror to see a very blatantly pouting Mellac.

"Okay? Leave if you wish once we get there."

He growled, but I just ignored him as I took the next turn for the interstate. It wasn't the smartest move since I figured they'd have plenty of people watching for us there, but I really couldn't afford to risk the slower roads that ran along the coast, either. At least this way we'd be at the water within the hour.

"Callem, what are you going to do when you're back in the ocean?"

"I..."

I chanced a glance over at him when he stuttered but couldn't read his expression before I had to look back toward the road.

"I do not want go back without Parker."

"I know, sweetie."

We were silent for a long while before the flashing of police lights and the clip of a siren drew my attention to the rearview mirror.