Page 11 of Stop and Seek
Was it where he was anyway?
A resounding, wholly unfortunateyes.
Stabbing the fork into the room-temperature pasta, Theo listened Ethan ramble beside him—louder now, beer already loosening the volume knob.
“You smelled like death,” Ethan laughed, one of those tittering sounds that made other people turn to look.
“And?” Theo deadpanned, pasta mid-twirl. “We should’ve been dissecting frogs. It wasn’t fair they skipped our class.”
“Stuffing them into your backpack is still one of the funniest ideas you ever had.”
Theo snorted. “And I would’ve gotten away with it too, if it wasn’t for English Lit. You didn’t have to go down with me.”
“What are friends for?” Ethan’s empty bottle hit the bar next to his. “Detention could’ve been worse than scrubbing the science lab.”
Theo shrugged, chewing another bite of the rubbery noodles. Salt. Cream and basil.
A touch of microwaveburnt.
At least it was something to do with his hands.
Ethan, now on a full-blown nostalgia trip from hell, flagged down the bartender again. Ordered two more beers. “What’s the one thing that sticks out the most to you?”
“From high school?” Theo squinted, dredging the memory swamp for something not soaked in regret. “Reversing your truck into the drive-thru.”
“No!No. That shit wasn’tfunny, man. We gotbanned. I’ve never seen a grown man so close to breaking my face. I was grounded for a solidmonth.”
“I hated high school,” was the least lame thing Theo could come up with on the spot.
This wasn’t his jam.
Never had been.
And Ethan, for all his stupid jokes, hadn’t brought the screwdriver or rusty spoon like he’d promised.
“Yeah well, you survived it. So did I. And look at us now, living the dream.” Ethan flexed his grease-stained arms, grinning like an idiot.
“You’re not a millionaire.”
“Leave my bank account out of this.”
Theo chuckled despite himself. He lifted the fresh beer, clinked it against Ethan’s. “Here’s to doing… whatever the fuck we’re doing.”
Survivingwasn’t the word to use.
No.
Surviving meant having the will to do something other than move through the day like a goddamn mechanical doll.
A mechanical doll with a full-ass bladder.
“I’ll be back, I gotta take a piss.”
Ethan waved him off. “No one’s gonna take your seat, man. I’ll keep it nice and toasty.”
Theo groaned, pushing himself up from the barstool, his joints crackling in a way hereallyfucking hated. He couldn’t remember the last time he had to pee so badly. His entire body was in the first stages of a violent coup.
The bathroom was empty, thank god; he just needed a second of privacy and relief.
