SHORT CIRCUIT. [STEVE HARRINGTON]

CHAPTER FOUR.

CHAPTER FOUR.
LIGHT ENERGY.

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LEE COULDN'T REMEMBER the last time that she had smelled roses.

While she was still trying to remember the names of the flowers, she understood the meaning behind them. The man she had seen at the train station in Kentucky greeting his significant other. The father at the market buying a pink flower for his toddler daughter. The woman picking the flowers in her garden with a smile, collecting them to bring to a neighbor. They stood for love or joy, often given to a significant other.

However, this was the first time Lee had seen them used as a way to say sorry. Steve's hands were gripped tight around the steering wheel, a bundle of roses placed in his lap, muttering words of apology under his breath, as if he were rehearsing for something.

She nearly envied him, watching as he carelessly threw words around, never worrying about stuttering or finding the correct word. She wondered if she would ever be able to do that.

Lee shook the thoughts away, furrowing her brow as she watched Steve from the backseat. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Why?" she asked suddenly. Steve's eyes to flicked to his rearview mirror and caught hers.

"Why what?"

"Back here?" she questioned, pointing to herself.

Steve sighed, slowing down to turn left. "I already told you this," he said. "My girlfriend and I had a fight." His words to her were slow, nearly patronizing. Lee clenched her jaw, but chose not to speak as she saw how stressed he was. "And I really don't like fighting with her. So, I'm going to go apologize," he stated, motioning to the flowers. "And I'm not sure how seriously she's going to take me when I have another girl in the car with me. So, I'm sorry, but you're in the back for right now."

While Lee thought that was the most backwards logic she had heard in three years, she kept her mouth shut. Instead, she reached for the notepad beside her, etching a question into the paper. Then why wouldn't you leave me in the basement?

When she showed this to Steve, he shrugged. "We're going to try and talk to Nancy's brother about you."

"Why?"

"There was a rumor that Mike had some girl with powers like yours in his basement," he explained, the car rolling to a slow stop outside of a half-brick, half-white house. Lee widened her eyes. "I never asked Nance about it, but you know, it couldn't hurt."

Lee nodded, biting the inside of her cheek. She wasn't sure how she felt about someone else knowing about her abilities. That was dangerous. She couldn't afford danger.

Steve looked at her, evaluating her for a moment. He sighed as he was able to see how nervous she was about this. He couldn't push her too far. "Listen," he began, "stay in the car. If things go well, I'll come back to get you. Okay?" Lee looked at him skeptically. "I'll be back in like, five minutes, tops."