Beautiful Monster(84)

              “What’s the matter?” I asked, alarmed. She was pale as a sheet, and her jaw was clenched in a familiar way, trying to ward off nausea. “Porsche?”
              “It’s her,” she whispered, urgently. “She’s here. She’s in the audience. And she obviously knows there’s a shield here, because she looks damned confused why she hasn’t transformed yet.”
              “Oh God,” I groaned, looking around as if I expected Selene to just appear.
              “Where’s Liam?” Porsche asked.
              “He uh…he’ll be getting his makeup retouched. I’ll find him, alright? You just…” I looked around for a chair but she shook her head.
              “I’m going back out. It’ll be more effective the closer I am to her. Find Liam and tell him she’s here. But she hasn’t tried anything yet, so I doubt she’s going to. Just…be careful out there, Amy.”
              “Right,” I nodded, my frantic heart beat returning. “Be careful too, Porsche.”
              She swayed alarmingly, gripping the wall and I was hesitant to let her go.
              “And Amy…” she blurted out, right before she shooed me off. “Tell Liam that it’ll be tonight. For him and I.”
              I stood, open mouthed, but nodded, watching as she stumbled off. Tonight. Everything came down to tonight.
 


CHAPTER 23: AMY
When the second act started, I felt like my heart was in my throat. Everything was happening at once and it was out of my control. The media had practically attempted to break in during intermission, all too desperate to get shots of Liam again. Luckily, our security was good and held them back. However, it reconfirmed that I had made the right choice. I wasn’t ready for the world out there, not yet. If anything, I wanted to spend eternity curled up in my dorm room, going to the safety of classes and snuggling with Liam in the afternoons.
              “I haven’t experienced night as a human like this in three years,” Liam said to me, as we waited in the wings for our final cue. His arms were around my waist, and he was warm, his chest rising and falling.
              “Are shields common?” I asked, and he shook his head.
              “No. After Porsche…I’ll be lucky if I ever meet another one again. They really don’t make themselves known, and half of them aren’t ever aware of their powers. Anyway, what do you want to do next year?”
              “Next year?” I turned to him and gaped.
              “For a show?”
              “Liam?” I asked, confused. “Why are you not concerned about everything that’s happening?”
              He laughed, squeezing me tight.
              “Because. Selene is just here to make sure I’m doing my part, which I am. After tonight, my best friend will be immortal and I no longer have to spend every spare moment wondering if she’s dead. And you’re staying with me. You aren’t going to leave and I don’t have to mourn what would have been.”
              I supposed that did all sound good. I arched up to kiss him before breaking away.
              “See you on stage,” I breathed, and he blew me one more kiss.  
              For everything that was happening around us, the show went off reasonably flawlessly. Of course, in such a big production, with such a huge cast, there would always be hitches. And I was glad that Liam was on stage with me, most of the time, showing me how to react in the moment when things went wrong.