Free Web NovelChapter 214: Chapter 214 - I Care
Morning light pushed through the curtains and filled the room, but Iyisha couldn’t sit still as her thoughts kept turning.
She paced back and forth while Malcolm sat on the edge of the bed watching her.
"What if Cena’s in danger," she said, biting her nails as she moved.
Cena was soft. She couldn’t even stand blood. That was why she never went into medicine, no matter how much their mom pushed her.
Iyisha dragged both hands into her hair and pulled hard. "How is she even..." Her voice broke. "Why didn’t I look for her sooner?"
"Stop," Malcolm muttered.
She shook her head and kept pacing. "I knew something was wrong," she said. "I knew it and I still stayed."
She stopped and struck her thigh. "I was scared."
Another hit, sharper. "I was selfish."
Her hand lifted again, but Malcolm caught her wrist before it landed.
"Calm down," he said.
She turned on him and grabbed his wrist instead, holding tight. "I’m scared, Malcolm," she said, her voice shaking. "What if Cena’s dead? What if I’m too late?"
Her grip tightened as her thoughts spiraled. If they hadn’t wasted time on the road. If only they had kept moving through that winter instead of stopping.
"We wasted time," she said. "We stayed there when we should’ve moved. What if she was waiting? What if she needed me and I wasn’t there?"
Her shoulders shook as she looked at him.
"Look at me," Malcolm said as he held her face and made her focus. "We came as fast as we could."
She nodded, even if she didn’t believe it.
"Listen," he added as his hands dropped to her shoulders and steadied her. "We made it here when we were supposed to. If we came earlier, we wouldn’t have found the TAL."
Iyisha bit her lip and nodded. "It’s a miracle I even made it here alive, right?"
His grip tightened slightly. "It is. You nearly died more than once trying to find her."
Her lips trembled, and she stepped into him and held on. "And you saved me every time," she said under her breath.
Malcolm’s hands hovered for a second before settling around her. "I did," he said. "You owe me your life."
She let out a small breath and punched his shoulder lightly. "How am I supposed to repay that?"
Malcolm went still. "I want you to live," he said, low.
She pulled back and looked at him. "What are you talking about?" she said with a short laugh. "That’s not helping. I thought you were trying to calm me down."
Malcolm didn’t answer. He just held her gaze.
"What?" Iyisha said, her smile fading. "That’s morbid. I don’t like how you talk."
"We’re walking into a heavily guarded facility," Malcolm said.
Iyisha’s breath stilled and her hands dropped to her sides.
She understood.
This wasn’t just a search anymore. They could die.
"Are you telling me to leave her?" she asked, stepping back, her eyes hard now.
Malcolm moved with her and caught her arm. "No," he said. "I’m telling you to choose yourself if it comes to it."
"How can you even say that?"
"I want you safe."
"Cena is in there," she said, her voice rising. "How can you even—"
"I don’t care about Cena."
The words landed hard.
Iyisha froze. Her chest tightened as the meaning hit, and for a second she just stood there, staring at him.
He didn’t mean it like that.
She knew that.
But it still hurt.
Her jaw clenched as she tried to steady her breathing. He wasn’t choosing Cena. He was choosing her. Putting her above everything.
Above her sister.
Her grip on his arm loosened, then tightened again like she didn’t know what to do with it.
"Do you..." She bit her lip and hesitated. The question pushed up, but she held it there. Not now. Not like this. With Cena out there and everything about to fall apart.
But if not now, then when?
She swallowed and forced it out. "Do you... care about me?"
Malcolm didn’t move, still facing the door. For a second she thought he would leave.
He turned back.
She locked onto his blue eyes and didn’t look away.
He opened his mouth, but no words came out.
"Malcolm," she said, softer now as she stepped closer and took his hands. Her heart pounded hard against her chest. Maybe he wasn’t ready. Maybe she wasn’t either.
"I care about you," she said carefully. "More than I should."
Malcolm’s jaw ticked.
She lifted her hand and touched it.
He still wasn’t saying it.
The silence pressed in, and she felt it settle in her chest.
He wouldn’t say it.
Maybe he couldn’t.
Her fingers stayed on his jaw anyway.
Then he moved.
His hand slid to the back of her neck and pulled her in, and his mouth met hers hard enough to stop her breath.
Iyisha stilled at the impact, then her fingers tightened on his shirt as she leaned into him without thinking.
His grip held her in place, firm and unyielding, as if letting go wasn’t an option, and she pressed back just as hard, her other hand catching his arm and holding on.
Her breath hitched against him as she shifted closer, closing whatever space was left between them.
He stayed there, kissing her like it was the only thing that mattered, like everything else could wait.
Iyisha followed, her hand sliding up to his shoulder as she held on, her thoughts slipping as her body moved before she could stop it.
She pushed against him, breath uneven. "Is this your answer?"
He swallowed, then moved.
His hands gripped her and pulled her in harder, his mouth finding hers again with more force this time, deeper, leaving no space between them.
Iyisha’s breath broke against him as she held on, her fingers curling into his shirt while she kissed him back just as hard.
He didn’t slow down, his grip tightening as he lifted her, and her legs wrapped around his waist as if it was instinct.
He kept kissing her as he moved, pressing her down onto the bed without letting her go.
Her hand slid to the back of his neck, pulling him closer, holding him there.
He stayed with her, firm, steady, not letting the moment break.
"No," he muttered against her mouth. "This is."
