It was strange how grimy and dark it all seemed. Streets littered with people and trash, the cement and steel buildings stared down from their lofty heights with sightless eyes full of indifference to the scurrying masses. Weary people clothed in years of toil and hardship trudged along the dingy concrete sidewalks, the same as they ever had.
Nothing had changed here. Alderbrook was the same beast it had always been. It was Quinn that had changed. Those streets, barren of kindness and mercy, had once meant freedom at the cost of everything else. Now they did little more than instill a knotted thread of fear that turned her stomach to leaden ice when the car hissed to a stop in front of a pharmacy whose brilliant red signage tried to light up the misty gloom of the day.
“We can stay here,” Tobias murmured against her ear, fingers clenching over the shelf of her hip as he sought to warm that icy pit deep within her.
A brief shake of her head, a sudden denial of her hesitance made him sigh. More of a grumble, Tobias still rapped his knuckles against the seat which prompted Curtis to climb from the car. The men in the car ahead did the same, and Quinn caught the dark suits of more from the one behind them.
Amid so much fuss, it was difficult not to feel a little ridiculous as Tobias helped her from the backseat. Caging her in against his body, he used the massive breadth of it to shield her from sight and imagined danger as he bustled her into the store. Down the aisles towards the sign indicating the pharmacy counter, two of the guards followed along with Curtis. The others remained at the front of the store to watch out for any dangers coming from that direction.
The pharmacist was wrinkled, the crepe paper quality of his balding pate transparent under the glare of the fluorescent lights as he sidled up to the counter. The rheumy blue of his gaze flicked from Quinn to Tobias, taking in the men behind them with a subtle sigh of long suffering.
“New prescription, sir?”
It wasn’t the first time Tobias had been here then. The scrap of paper came out of Tobias’ pocket, slapped down onto the counter and slid across where the pharmacist plucked it up into his knotted fingers. Squinting and mumbling, he angled the paper to read the illegible scrawl.
“Ah, yes. I can have that ready in about ten minutes.”
“You can have it ready now.”
“Yes, of course. Which will be about ten minutes, sir.” The sides of his face folded, winkles collapsing in on one another as the thin line of his lips pulled up into a smile. The perfect evenness of dentures presented themselves, a liver-spotted hand sweeping towards the racks of bottles behind him. “I have to count them out, sir. That will take a moment.”
“Just hurry it up, Wilcox.”
“Absolutely, Mr. Kahler.” Given a name, Wilcox went into his stacks, fingers trailing over labels and plastic to search for her new medication.
Quinn stood stiff against Tobias, pale grays skittering around in excitement. She inspected every end cap she could around the breadth of his shoulders, eyes rounding at the display of candies that taunted her from a few feet that might have been miles.
“Would you like one?”
His voice was so close and quiet, Quinn wondered if he had even spoken aloud or if she heard it inside of her in some freakish turn of the bond. Gnawing at her lower lip, a furious nod responded. Surprise flickered through her, a sudden jolt when Tobias led her away from the counter to the bank of bright wrappers and exorbitant claims.
Weight bouncing on her toes, she touched every bar and box she could reach. The delighted crinkle of the wrappers tempted her to take them all. Sliding one bar free of the shelf, Quinn turned her head aside and reached for another. Movements slow, she snuck in plain sight. Fully aware he was indulging her, she pretended as the stack of chocolate bars and bags of candies were beginning to overflow her arms. Treats for the kids, one for Meghan, and several more for herself, she gasped as the large bag of gumdrops began to slip from her fingers.
A faded red basket appeared under her bounty, allowing her to dump the whole lot in. Curtis’ brows knit as he inspected the contents, lips pressing into a pale line. No doubt thinking her stupid, the entire affair ridiculous, the rich brown of his gaze sought and found Quinn’s.
Turning away from his disdain, shielding herself with Tobias’ presence, something else caught her eye.
With a squeal she rushed forward, slipping out of the relaxed circle of Tobias’ arms towards the aisle packed full of bright colors and cheap plastics.
“Stop!”
Shoulders lurching to her ears, she froze with hand outstretched towards the toy that demanded her attention. The command was a roar, violence spilling over to echo through the small store. Despite not having moved an inch more, Quinn saw she was boxed in. The guards from the front of the store now blocked the end of the aisle, Curtis taking up position on the other as Tobias stormed towards her. Fists encasing her upper arms, he put their faces close to breathe his rage into her shocked expression.
“What do you think you are doing?” Punctuating the question with a hard shake, he rattled her brains loose and strained her neck before shoving Quinn against his chest. Arm clamped at her back, he turned them towards the door, her moment of true freedom gone before she could even taste it.
“Get the bubble blower gun,” she squeaked, wriggling an arm free to point at the cheap toy. “Elise would like it and I think Adam can work it. The green one. They both like green.”
“The…?”
“The bubble blower. You put the stuff in, and it blows bubbles. Oh! And batteries. If it doesn’t work as soon as I take it out of the package, Adam will freak out on me.”
“You…”
Quinn tipped her head back as far as she could, still not quite able to see all of Tobias’ face. Single brow making a slow journey north, she curled the fingers of her free hand into his thick coat. “I… think the kids would like it, and it’s not some dumb educational toy you and Meghan keep insisting they need. They’re babies, they want to pop soap bubbles not learn Mozart or whatever.”
“There’s nothing wrong with them learning Mozart.” Tobias sighed, hiding the sound in the length of her hair as he turned them around and hauled her back to the pharmacy counter. “You make it exceptionally difficult to take you places. Don’t do that again, little bird.”
“Where was I going to go?”
