Page 27 of True Sight
“My‘empire?’” I raise a brow at him again, picking up the food that I had abandoned to pet Annie.
“I mean, yeah, kind of. I see how quickly your classes get booked, people really like you.” The statement is a simple truth that I try not to read too much into.
“Well, I wouldn’t be able to build an empire without you,” I compliment before giving him a wink. He and Annie follow me into the kitchen where I set down the groceries and start to unpack them.
“What the hell is all of this?” His warm brown eyes scan the countertop where I just laid out everything I brought with me.
“You said to bring stuff I would want to have. So that’s what I did,” I state matter of factly. Sure I also brought things over I thought he might enjoy but I wasn’t going to admit that.
“You eat enough food for an army?”
“No, I eat enough for myself. I just also wanted to bring things for you too.” I shrug.
“I told you that you didn’t have to do that.” He rolls his eyes at me.
“And I decided to do it anyway. You don’t like it? Throw me out.” He looks at me like I can’t be serious before taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. When he opens them again, he does something that nearly causes my heart to stop.
He smiles.
“Thank you for bringing over extras, that was very thoughtful of you. I see you brought popcorn, probably smart seeing as how we’re watching a movie and I don’t have any. Let me get you a bowl, the microwave is over there.” He points in the direction of the appliance and helps to stash the drinks I brought in the fridge.
With the popcorn popped and drinks in hand, we move to the sofa. He takes his seat on one end of it and I decide it’ll be best to sit on the opposite side. Once I set the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table in front of us, Annie, who apparently is never one to be left behind, hops up and curls herself into a ball between us.
“So, what are we watching?” I ask, looking at him from where I’m sitting, offering him a smile.
“Have you ever seenThe Goonies?” He pauses to look at me, leaving the TV remote floating in front of him.
“Can’t say I have, no.”
“Then that’s what we’re watching. It was our favorite movie growing up.”
“Our?” I question and try to keep my voice neutral. Maybe he has someone already and has managed to keep that bit about himself private.
“Yeah, my three best friends and I. We would watch it all the time growing up together and fight over who would be which character. The one thing we’d always agree on was that, if we ever found a lost treasure, we’d split it evenly.” He smirks and chuckles to himself. By the way he speaks, I can tell his friends are important to him.
“Do they live here in Charleston, your friends?” I ask in an attempt to get to know him more. During our meetings he’s always so closed off, minus the time he’d mentioned Annie and his nightmares but even then he acted as if it was physically hurting him to do so.
“Yep. We’ve all lived here forever, minus Hank. He just got back the summer before last from an extended stint in the Army.”
“The Army, well that’s mighty impressive.”
“My friends are impressive. All three of them.” The way his voice trails off makes him seem like he is lost in thought.Or maybe that he doesn’t seem himself as impressive, when he is.
“Surely they think you’re impressive too,” I offer, tipping my head at him.
“Surely they think I’m an insufferable grump they can’t wait to move on from,” he grumbles to himself but not quiet enough for me to miss what he said.
“Found the movie,” he barks before clicking play. I stare at him for a few moments, wanting to tell him that I think he’s impressive but I don’t think he’ll want to hear it anyway. Instead, I resituate myself, get comfortable, and start to watch the movie. When Annie jumps down, he leans over and moves the bowl of popcorn to be between us so we can both reach it. I go to take a few pieces at the same time he does and our fingers brush together under a few popcorn kernels. His eyes fall to the bowl, staring at where our hands are before looking at me with wide eyes. Frozen in shock that he doesn’t rip his hand away like he did earlier, I just stare back, leaving my hand where it is.
“Sorry.” He clears his throat and pulls his hand away more slowly than when I first came over. “It’s all you.”
I take a few pieces and eat them as quietly as possible for fear that any loud noise will knock over the precarious tower of awkwardness that’s being built between us. He ripped his hand away before as if touching me was like touching a hot burner, but this time it is as if he doesn’t mind as much. I glance over in his direction out of the corner of my eye and realize he has pressed himself further into the opposite side of the couch and has his arm closest to me draped over his lap. His other arm is propping his head up as he keeps his eyes glued to the TV screen. I guess the popcorn is all mine now.
A little over an hour later, the group of kids on thescreen are diving into a pool of water with a pirate ship behind them. I can’t believe I’ve never seen this movie before. The humor is sublime, the costuming is incredible, and the storyline is every kid’s dream. It’s no wonder Conrad and his friends loved it growing up. He and I haven’t said anything to one another after the popcorn hand touching incident. Instead, we just let the sounds of the movie fill the space between us.
“Stop,” he mumbles softly, “stop, please stop.”
I glance over at him to ask why he’s asking me to stop only to notice he’s fallen asleep. Looking at his face, I can tell something is wrong. His brows are furrowed and his jaw is tight. The hand that’s in his lap is clenched and his head is making small back and forth movements. I know he’s sleeping because his eyes are closed but from his pained expression, I can tell his brain is very much awake.
