Page 25 of Shade
Diego gave a full-body shudder, and I reached up to pat his ankle, wishing I could give him a hug instead. Not knowing what I could say to make him feel better, I offered, "Would you like to eat something next?"
His stomach growled in answer, and I chuckled.
"Come on. I see some kind of food stand about twenty feet ahead."
Diego started walking, then hummed. "Overpriced hot dog, yes please."
So he bought two of them, then snuck one to me when I assured him no one was looking. He sat on a bench as we snacked, then made me tell him about all the rides I could see from here so he could pick what we would do next.
We tried a ride where we had to shoot the monsters, and since it was mostly dark in the tunnel, I helped Diego out, earning him the highest points of all. When the man at the end—who offered pictures to those who wanted to buy one—saw Diego, then saw his cane, his eyes widened, and he scribbled something on a piece of paper before handing it to Diego.
"That was a good game! Here. If you take this to the photo booth—that's to the left of here, three rides down, near the coffee shop—they'll give you a free photo of your ride."
Diego took the receipt, his brows furrowing. "Not sure what I'll do with a photo, but thanks!"
The man's eyes widened, and he started sputtering as Diego gave him a cheery wave and walked out.
I waited until we were outside before I started laughing. "You did that on purpose! The poor man looked ready to fall apart!"
Diego grinned down at me, and I shook my head. I remembered this side of him from before. I didn't think it had survived everything he'd been through, and I was glad to be proven wrong.
"Come on—let's go get our photo. I can't see it, but you can. Do you think it caught you?" he asked as we started heading toward the booth, and I shrugged.
"Even if it did, they'll probably call it a 'trick of the light' or something like that."
Diego snorted. "Yeah, who would believe I had my own personal shadow boyfriend?"
I chuckled, and once Diego had collected his photo—which he passed to me, and it did indeed capture me, though merely as a blurry, vaguely human shadow—he decided it was time for his Mt. Everest, aka the biggest roller coaster ride in the park.
Eleven
Diego
The ride operator slidthe over-the-shoulder harness in place, and the click was loud in my ears despite the chatter surrounding me. I was equal parts excited and terrified, and I wondered if the lack of sight would make it better or worse.
"Okay?" Shade checked in my ear, and all I could say was a somewhat squeaky, "Mm-hmm."
Before Shade could say anything, the ride started moving forward, and I grabbed onto the bars, my fingers digging into the hard plastic.
My back pressed into the seat as the ride slowly rode up, going higher and higher. The people behind me cheered, the little girl beside me shrieked, and my heart went thud-a-thud in my chest as the roller coaster slowly came to a stop, suspended in time as everyone sucked in their breaths, even Shade and me.
I knew it was coming, and yet the moment the ride moved again, jerking in place, I gave a shout, along with half the people in the ride. Before my heart could calm down, though, we fell in one swoop, andeverybodyscreamed. Wind smacked against my face, and I distantly thought my hair would be a mess again, but mostly, I just screamed and tried to keep my heart from leaping out of my chest.
We went up and down, then spiraled for a bit, and though I couldn't see, I still felt a little dizzy and nauseous by the time the ride came to a slow stop.
The harness was removed, and I stepped-slash-stumbled my way out, Shade's shadows the only thing keeping me from falling.
Since this must be a regular reaction, there were benches set up nearby, and Shade told me about them as he led me to one.
I sat down hard, and I felt his shadows tickle my ankle under my sock. "Are you okay?" he asked through the Bluetooth, and I hummed.
"Just a little dizzy," I said, then grinned. "That was fun. Can we do it again before we leave?"
Shade snorted, then sighed. "Sure, why not."
"How did it feel for you?"
"Ah, hmmm..." Shade trailed off, and I perked up, curious.
