Put That Kid Down

Chapter Twelve

David didn't want it to end.

He could just crawl into bed and wait for the police, but that would defeat the purpose of staying. David stood, smiled, and went to go see his campers.

That's why he was here.

He made it up to the dining hall on that courage, heard the unnatural stillness inside, and hesitated. Max had already told Gwen, he knew, and Gwen must have blurted it out, leaving the room silent with shock.

Still, he wanted to see them, but he didn't want to see their faces contort in fear, disgust. And he didn't want them to be forced to feel those things. David backed away from the door and crept around to the window. It was dark inside, and David abruptly heard an explosion, then cheering.

He peeked inside, and the kids were all sitting on the floor, bathed in the glow of the television as a second movie played.

Including Max.

Huh.

David sank down the wall and sat along the side of the dining hall, thinking.

What had Max said? Seen? Heard?

....Nothing?

David didn't know for certain, but it seemed likely Max had at least witnessed something unsettling. Perhaps all he'd noticed was that David was fighting off another attacker. He'd woken up, opened the window, heard part of the scuffle, and ran.

And he hadn't warned Gwen.

David wasn't sure if that was trust in David's ability or fear for Gwen....Or worse, a lack of trust in Gwen not to lose it on them, too.

Hope rose in him, despite the odds, and he stood, slid into the dining hall, and sat beside Gwen at the back table. A show of faith, then.

Gwen barely gave him a glance, flicking her fingers at him in greeting before leaning sideways to whisper around the straw of her pilfered juicebox, "Max woke up before you could finish, huh?"

Oh, the paperwork. Right.

"Yeah, I sent him ahead, but then I worried he might not have actually gone here, you know?" David murmured back and he could see a shiver run up Max's spine as the boy straightened almost imperceptibly. Oops. Had that sounded threatening? "I'll finish it tonight." Shit, that had been the wrong thing to say, too, because Max's shoulders shot up to his ears. "The paperwork," David added quietly, but Max remained tense in the crowd.

Max had definitely seen something more than he already knew about.

Dammit, he'd held back a bit but not enough; David should have reined himself in completely. Shouldn't have played at all with Max so close.

"Oh, well, it's not too time sensitive," Gwen waved off his offer, "Campbell is going to backdate it all, anyway."

That was true enough.

He never liked to linger on it, though.

"What's on?" David gestured to the screen, not recognizing the characters.

"You can't tell me you've never seen Star Wars," Gwen gaped at his lack of response to the words, "What. Did you live under a rock growing up? Were you raised by the forest?" David rolled his eyes with a feeble smile and Gwen shook it off, "Well, whatever. I'll try not to judge you. It does look like you were wrong about Max not liking fiction, though. He's been hooked on this from the second he walked in. Didn't say a single word, just walked in and sat down with his eyes on the screen."

Yeah, David didn't think that had to do with the content.

He just smiled, didn't protest, and Gwen's eyes tracked back to the screen.