Page 35 of Unmade

“Oh. Thanks.” He chewed on his lip.

The light changed, and I walked again.

He stayed next to me as we rounded the park, but he didn’t speak.

Ironically, I hated my own sessions with Doc, but I hoped they’d do wonders for Leighton. It was damn near impossible to read him, and I wasn’t even sure there was much to read in the first place. If he was carrying around insecurities and doubts about anything, I bet he had those buried deep. If anything, he seemed blank. Losing his mother and not having a dad around must’ve been incredibly traumatic, and joining the Army right after…? I could only guess. He may have dealt with some of it, as he’d mentioned, but I knew how the service worked. I knew how suppression worked. Sometimes, it made you lose sight of who you were.

It only reminded me of how I was fucking shit up for my niece. Alex had been dealt the same cards, only she was even younger.

Kat was right. We had to drag Ma out of mourning. She had to be there for Alex too.

Once we got to the left-side tower, we took the elevator up to the thirteenth floor, where I showed Miguel, Oliver, and Riley the one-bedroom they were gonna share. The bedroom had two twin beds, and the living room area had a sofa bed. Kitchen there, bathroom there, and due to the situation, there’d be no inspection on Tuesdays and Fridays. We’d get back to that once the dorms had been cleared again.

“Just ensure you leave enough time to have breakfast before class,” I said. “You can cook and eat here if you want, but I’d advise you to eat in the cafeteria since that’s free.”

“This is awesome,” Oliver said, opening the fridge. “I’mma go buy Monster.”

Of course he was, because all soldiers lived on energy drinks and Zyn or Copenhagen.

“Do we use the laundry facilities at Hillcroft?” Miguel asked.

“Whichever,” I replied. “There’s a laundry room in the basement next to the garage—the code is sixty-seven, forty-nine. The only thing I will say is that the dryers in this building are a little better, and not many use them. Most units have their own facilities.”

It was Leighton’s turn now. We took the elevator down two floors, and I was suddenly glad I’d had my place cleaned not too long ago. But he might have to throw out some condiments that’d expired in the fridge.

I unlocked the door and gestured at the camera in the ceiling. “Same here as upstairs. Increased security wherever operators live.”

“Got it.”

I let him enter first.

My place was simple, and I didn’t have many belongings. Bathroom in the entryway’s hallway, then the kitchen. A small one. Past that, a living room and a sleep alcove.

“By the way, I noticed something,” he said, peering into the kitchen. “You always swipe your ID card at Hillcroft. You know you can just tap it, right?”

I chuckled—but then I smiled as an idea struck. “You should be able to get some profiling out of that, actually. Why do you think I swipe the card?”

He glanced at me curiously, and I let him think about it. In the meantime, I showed him the bathroom, then the kitchen, where the dishwasher needed special care. You had to shut it hard enough that you heard two clicks. Otherwise, water would run out.

He nodded in acknowledgment and turned his attention to the living room. Rather, the walls.

“You don’t have any pictures or personal belongings,” he noted.

Not many of them. “I have a couple photo albums at my ma’s place.” I gestured back to the kitchen. “A few drawings from my niece and nephews on the fridge.”

He came to a stop at the couch, and he looked at the shelf above it. He found some books there. And a snow globe Alex had given me last Christmas.

I’d been so useless that holiday, first one without Vince, that Kat had had to take care of my gift-giving. I didn’t even know what I’d given Alex.

“I think I figured it out.” Leighton looked away from the shelf and dropped his duffel on the couch. “I’m guessing Hillcroft had an older system where you had to swipe your card. Now that you can do both, you stay with the old habit.”

I smirked and nodded with a dip of my chin. “That’s it. I’m old.”

He smiled faintly and scrunched his nose. “I’ve noticed that too. Most operators I’ve seen so far are over forty. Like you and Coach and Riggs and Rose…”

“Do you think Operator Rose is forty?”

“Thereabouts…?”

---