In the Golden Triangle

Chapter 22: Prosthetic Leg

Kitt was being weird again.

He was sitting up in Devon's bed, his ankles crossed as he watched her at her desk. Her focus was on the laptop in front of her but Kitt didn't mind. With her attention on something else it gave him time to stare at her.

The thoughts running through his head were nauseatingly sweet, but he couldn't help it. Should anyone look that good in the glow of a computer screen? Her lips mumbled as she typed, and her eyes flicked back and forth, sometimes looking up as she furiously scrolled up to see what she had previously written. It was a fascinating dance that Kitt didn't think he would ever get used to.

Her camera was resting in his lap and he picked it up. Earlier she had taken him around camp and talked to him about photography. Kitt had never been interested in it before, but when she let him take the camera he suddenly felt a fascination begin to bloom. The way shadows and light could change an entire photo, or where a subject was placed in the frame could convey an emotion was like a foreign language to him. And he wanted to learn.

Most of the photos he took were lame—just random shots of things he had seen around camp. But as the day dragged on he began to see things as if through the lens of a camera, he could begin to picture how he wanted the photo to look and what he would need to do to get it just right.

Devon had said he had a knack for it. She had no formal training with photography, it was just something she enjoyed that went along well with her job. But he could tell she enjoyed walking around and being out of the infirmary.

"What did your mom say?" she asked.

Kitt's mother had organized a phone call this morning. It was nice to hear her voice after so long. She sounded tired and a little overwhelmed, but she was staying strong.

"Not much. Teh is still mostly sleeping. They have him on antibiotics but so far there doesn't appear to be any infection."

Devon nodded as she sat back in her chair. "I was worried about sepsis."

He nodded. "It'll be a while before he's out of hospital, and then he will need some physical therapy." Kitt hadn't been able to talk to him yet, but he was due some leave soon and he would spend the time helping Teh.

His mother had said that despite the pain meds he was still smiling and trying to crack jokes with the doctors and nurses. Kitt was relieved to hear that Teh was maintaining his spirited personality. Kitt found his brothers aloof personality grating at times, but he never wanted him to lose it.

Devon stared off with a vacant gaze. She was idly tapping two keys with her index fingers.

"What's wrong?" Kitt set the camera aside and sat up.

Her green eyes flicked to him and focused. There was a strange look on her face, and he didn't know how to interpret it. Devon was not the kind of person who was afraid to say what she was thinking.

"I'm leaving." She said softly. Rather than look away from him she pinned him down with her gaze.

Kitt felt like someone had kicked him in the chest. For a moment he couldn't process what she said but her words floated through the haze and his brain registered what she had said.

Devon was leaving.

His heart hammered in his chest and he felt a twinge of pain. He didn't know how to react. Did he want to scream or cry? He didn't know.