Chapter 5 #2
“Hey! Not for you, asshole,” Ralen said as he sat across from them in a comfortable-looking floral armchair.
Yeah, this really didn’t seem like a place that the two of them had decorated. In fact, she was pretty certain that her grandmother had had the same drapes in her house.
Twenty years ago.
“I was just checking the temperature. Here you are.” Cash held it out to her.
Wait.
What?
He’d taken a sip to check the temperature of the drink? Wasn’t that a bit excessive?
And now she was meant to drink from the same cup he’d sipped from? Like put her lips where his had been?
Calm down, Addie.
It’s not like he’s trying to kiss you.
“Do you want me to hold it for you, Stowaway?” he murmured.
“She looks more like a bat than a stowaway right now,” Ralen said.
A bat? Jeez. That was rude. She glared at him and he just grinned back at her.
Then she suddenly realized what she was doing. She shouldn’t be glaring at either of them. At any moment they could turn on her, hurt her.
They were strangers.
Her mother always warned her about the bad things that strangers would want to do to her.
Her breathing grew faster, panic circling her as her throat growing tighter and tighter until she could barely breathe.
“Whoa, okay, you need to breathe, Stowaway,” Cash told her. “Come on, breathe with me. We’re going to take a deep breath in. One two. Hold, one two. Out, one two.”
His words started growing more distant as though they were coming to her through a tunnel.
“Shit, Ralen, she’s still panicking,” Cash said worriedly, turning to his friend.
“All right, let me have a go,” Ralen replied. “Bat girly, I need you to hold up one finger of your right hand and draw a circle for me.”
No, she couldn’t do that. She couldn’t move. She was too panicked to do anything.
“Do what you’re told,” Cash said in a firm voice that had her instantly paying attention. “Finger in the air and draw a circle.”
Before she was even able to think it through, she had her finger up in the air and was drawing a circle.
“Good girl,” Cash told her.
Oh, she liked that. Being praised by him. A wave of warmth ran through her, which managed to push away most of the panic.
“Now, draw a triangle,” Cash told her firmly.
Concentrating on the commands made the rest of her anxiety fade. Air filled her lungs and the ringing in her ears died down.
“Now, draw a square,” Ralen said.
Cash watched her intently as she drew a square.
“Good job,” he said. “You’re doing so well.”
Did he know that she was starved for praise? It wasn’t something that she had heard much growing up.
“Now, draw a hexagon,” Ralen said.
Addie gave him a look. Did he seriously expect her to draw a hexagon? She guessed she’d attempt it.
The concentration took away the last bits of panic.
“I think she’s good now,” Cash said as he settled back into the sofa. “Do you still want your drink?” He held out the cup and she reached out with one tentative hand to take it.
Her fingers brushed against his and she jolted, spilling hot chocolate on her hand.
Shoot. That stung. But she didn’t react.
She’d had far worse.
“Oh shit,” Cash said as he took the cup and set it down on the coffee table. What was he doing? She wanted to drink that. He quickly turned back and grabbed hold of her hand gently.
“Did that burn you? Shit. There’s a red mark. Ralen!”
“On it. Take her to the sink and run her hand under the water. I’ll get the first aid kit.”
Why were they acting so nuts? It was just a small burn. It barely even stung.
But Cash scooped her up, blanket and all, and raced with her into the kitchen where Ralen joined them with a huge first aid kit.
What did they need with a first aid kit this big? Did they get hurt a lot?
Hmm. Maybe they did.
Cash turned on the water and held her hand under it. She let out a small noise of protest. That was so cold! She attempted to move her hand away, but Cash wouldn’t let her.
“I know it’s cold, but you need it for the burn,” he told her.
Burn? It was barely even red.
“Right, pull it out and I’ll put this on it,” Ralen said.
Cash gently held her hand while Ralen carefully dried it, then put on some cream and a bandage.
She just stared at them in amazement. Once, she’d slipped over on the tile floor in the bathroom of her childhood house and knocked herself out. Her mother had told her to just get over it.
So this really did seem like complete overkill to her.
“There we go. That should help,” Ralen said as he finished bandaging her up. “Do you want any painkillers, Bat girly?”
She glared at him. Addie didn’t think much of that nickname.
Ralen just grinned.
“No more hot chocolate in a mug for you,” Cash said. “If you want some, I’ll give it to you.”
He picked her up.
Addie had to admit that she was confused by their actions. They’d found a strange woman stowed away in the back of their pickup and instead of kicking her out or calling the cops, they’d brought her into their home.
Gotten her a blanket.
Made her hot chocolate.
Helped her during a panic attack.
And doctored her after a slight burn to her hand that was barely even noticeable.
It was crazy. They shouldn’t be doing this. Why would they even care about her?
Cash carried her back into the living room and sat her on the sofa. She moved into the corner once more, wrapping the blanket tight around her.
Wait! Snaggles! Where was Snaggles?
She glanced around in a panic until Cash held up the stuffed toy. Reaching out from under the blanket, she grabbed him, holding him tight against her chest.
Addie knew that she should pretend to be indifferent. That she shouldn’t let them see her vulnerable spot. But this was Snaggles. She couldn’t do any of this without him.
“So, did you get separated from your friends tonight?” Cash asked. “During the brawl?”
Addie nodded.
“Maybe this would be easier with a pen and some paper,” Ralen suggested, getting up and walking out.
“Hmm. I’ll go get you a glass of water,” Cash said. “You’re probably thirsty.”
Suddenly, she found herself all alone in a strange room, with just Snaggles for company. She glanced around, wondering what the heck she was going to do.
Getting up, she moved around the room. Where had Cash gone? She really had to go to the bathroom. Sometimes it felt like she had the world’s smallest bladder. Like her voice, her bladder didn’t do well with anxiety and worry.
Addie walked into the galley-style kitchen. It was empty.
Shoot.
Just go and find the bathroom yourself.
Was it rude to just wander around, though?
She stepped out of the other end of the galley kitchen and moved along the hallway, peeking into the first doorway.
Yes! A toilet.
Rushing in, she locked the door behind her and drew up her skirt, pulling down her tights.
Sitting, she peed with a sigh. She hadn’t even had to coax herself into going.
Yay, her!
After cleaning up, she stepped out into the hallway. The sound of voices came from down the hall, from the opposite direction of the living room.
Just go back to the living room, Addie.
It’s none of your business.
But her feet didn’t want to listen to her brain, and she ended up walking toward the voices. Sure, she knew it was wrong, but that didn’t stop her, as she paused outside an open door.
“She’s really cute,” Ralen said. “I saw you looking at her.”
“Of course I was looking at her. She was hiding in the back of my pickup.”
“Right . . . and that meant you had to sit with her on your lap? And rush around in a panic when she got a small burn?”
“You bandaged her up!”
“Because you were making such a fuss. But it was a tiny mark. You overreacted and you know it.”
“I didn’t overreact,” Cash said sharply. “Maybe you should get to the point of what you’re trying to say.”
“What I’m trying to say is that she might be good for you. Get you out of the slump you’re in.”
“I’m not in a fucking slump.”
“When was the last time you had a date?” Ralen asked.
“I don’t know,” Cash grumbled. “Am I supposed to keep track of those things?”
“I know. It was nineteen-ninety-one.”
“Fuck you,” Cash said. “I wasn’t even alive in nineteen-ninety-one.”
Ralen snorted. “Well, it might as well have been nineteen-ninety-one, considering how long ago it was.”
“You’re an asshole. You know that, right?”
“But what do you think about her?” Ralen asked.
“I think she’s cute. I think she’s, well, shy and quiet, and there’s something not quite right about her.”
Not quite right.
Wow, those words hit her really hard.
Not quite right.
How often had she heard that or something similar? About how she wasn’t quite right in the head. How she wasn’t normal. She was different.
And different was never good.
“Yeah,” Ralen said. “Something isn’t quite right, is it?”
“She seems to be scared of her own shadow.”
“That’s worrying.”
Knowing she might not be able to stay quiet anymore, and not wanting them to know that she was there, Addie turned around and tiptoed back to the lounge.
It was better to know what they actually thought of her.
At least that’s what she told herself, anyway.