"I may have saved her from the monsters that crawl through the dark, but she saved me from the worst monster of all. She rescued me from who I would have become without her, the monster that would have easily conquered my body."
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Reese Chambler...
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THE SILENCE THAT fills the air is smothering as we walk at a slow, steady pace around a bend in the road. I try not to stand too close to him, but since he is pushing the stroller, I have no choice if I want to be close to Meghan.
My hands hook around the straps of my backpack as I pull them tightly to my body, trying to be as small as possible. I have everything I need in this pack, with the exception of my pool cue, just in case I need to grab Meghan and get out of here.
We walk a little farther, just listening to the sound of our feet as they scrape against the pavement and our quiet intakes of the cool air. The gentle sounds of this early autumn morning rustle through our ears, but I long for the sweet sound of crickets and cicadas. Summer has always been my favorite season, even after I spent every day of the past one sweating in the hot sun and fearing for my life.
My eyes wander over to the boy walking beside me. I can see the dark circle under his eye as it slowly droops closed and open again. His gaze turns to me, and I look away, feeling confused at the sudden blush in my cheeks. We share an awkward moment which he thankfully ends quickly.
"Did you sleep well?" He asks me.
I shake my head no without looking at him. After a few moments, I say quietly, "Did you?"
He pauses, then a ghost of a smile perks at the edges of his mouth.
"No," He says, "She cried all night."
I cover my small smile with a cough, unable to stop my self from thinking that she cried because I wasn't there. I wonder if she was scared last night. Scared to be in a foreign place, engulfed in a strange smell. Scared to be held in the arms belonging to strangers.
Scared, like I was.
The streets are not very busy even though the sun has been up for at least on hour. Few people walk by, but the ones that do swoon over a snoozing Meghan. We don't stop our steady pace for those people.
Here and there, people sit on their porches with mugs of steaming drinks. One woman sucks on a cigarette. I watch the smoke billow from the glowing tip and curl into the air. Then, I look back to the boy and watch the vapor from his mouth do the same.
The puff of air spirals away then dissipates. Steam consistently spills out from between his lips, is free and light for a few fleeting seconds before it is swallowed up. I watch the rhythmic pattern of the vapor until it suddenly stops.
My eyes refocus, and they now are looking right at his face. He stares back, then he slowly lets out the breath he was holding. My eyes flick nervously away again.
