Page 33 of War

“He's all yours,” Mark joked.

“Fuck you, Mark,” I grumbled.

I moved forward and walked through the gate on the counter. I stopped in front of Amantha.

She stood there holding her cane in one hand. A small paper bag with handles sat by her feet.

Amantha passed me the package of Reese's.

“You're wonderful,” I said.

She smiled. “Let's get out of here,” she said.

I winced at the volume of her voice, but I knew the volume was in my head.

She bent down to get the bag, but I intervened.

“Uh, uh. I've got it.”

I grasped the handles and picked the bag up before Amantha could.

Eric crossed the room to the counter. “Amantha?” he asked.

I cringed at the volume.

She looked surprised. “How'd you know?”

“Zion’s talked about you. I'm Eric. His best friend.” He extended a hand across the counter, which Amantha shook.

“It's nice to meet you,” she said.

“You, too.”

I couldn't take any more. “Okay, it's too loud in here. We have to go,” I said to Amantha.

She smiled at Eric and shrugged before we headed toward the door.

Eric flashed me a thumbs-up. I flipped him off. His responding laugh made me cringe at the noise.

I walked beside Amantha as she slowly maneuvered with her cane. We made it through the door and down the building's ramp.

I squinted in the bright sunlight.

“Where's your car?” she whispered.

There was no end to my appreciation for her quietness.

“Not here. I had Eric pick me up because I wasn't safe to drive. ...And I'm not sure where I put my keys.”

She nodded and whispered, “Okay. Get in the car. I'll drive.”

Still squinting, I gave a single nod, afraid that nodding my head like normal might make me queasy.

We both climbed in the car. I put the bag on the floor between my feet and opened the Reese's package. I unwrapped a piece and when my teeth sank into the candy, I closed my eyes and moaned (quietly) with pleasure as I chewed the bite.

Once Amantha was seated, I opened my eyes to watch as she twisted around to put her cane in the backseat.

When she was done, she turned to me and whispered, “Jailbreak successful.” The wicked smile on her face was contagious.