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When the final whistle blew, the crowd descended upon the field. Haven followed Dr. DeMarco to the surrounding fence, her footsteps faltering on the outskirts.
Dr. DeMarco paused. “Don’t move from this spot. Remember what I’ve told you.”
The voice in her head screamed again, He’s testing you!
Someone approached while she stood there, their voice an unfamiliar southern drawl like none she’d heard before. “Lost?”
Haven turned to see a boy with sun-kissed skin, his blond hair concealed under a baseball cap. He wore a pair of cargo shorts and a blue t-shirt. Haven was immediately drawn to his nearly bare feet. She smiled at them—he had on flip-flops.
Her own feet felt stifled. What she wouldn’t give to have a pair.
“I’m not lost,” she said politely. “I’m waiting for someone.”
“I’m Nicholas.”
“Haven.”
“So, tell me something, Haven. What do you call a deer with no eyes?”
“Excuse me?”
“No-eye deer.” Nicholas grinned. “Get it? No idea.”
ook it from him and drank the rest of it before handing the empty bottle back to him. He shrugged as he tossed it onto the floor in a pile of dirty clothes. The room was somehow messier than the last time she saw it. “I could clean your room for you.”
“I’m not gonna make you do that.”
“I know, but you’ve been nice. I’d like to do something in return.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Nice? Don’t say that shit too loud. It might ruin my reputation. And maybe I’ll ask for help with my room someday, but not today.”
“Someday, then.”
They were both quiet again, the silence awkward. Haven tried to think of something to say to lighten the mood, but his eyes were watching her, and she couldn’t focus on anything but them.
She looked around the room again, needing to break from his gaze. “I should try to move around. The longer I lie around, the harder it’s going to be when I do have to get up.”
Carmine helped her to her feet—putting weight on her legs was not easy. He held her arm the whole way downstairs, hesitantly letting go when they reached the family room.
They sat together quietly on the couch as night fell. Carmine offhandedly flipped through channels, watching a program until commercials came on and then turning to another. A few minutes past seven, he settled on an episode of Jeopardy! “This popular pasta dish consists of wide, flat noodles layered with meat, cheese, and tomato sauce.”
“Lasagna,” Haven and Carmine said at the same time. She smiled. “What is this?”
“Useless trivia,” he said, “like the bullshit they teach us in school.”
She turned back to the television, eyes wide, and soaked up every question asked during the next thirty minutes. When the show came to an end, she turned to Carmine. He appeared bored, his head propped up with his fist on the arm of the couch, as he flipped through channels again.
“Thank you,” she said. “I liked that show.”
“It’s on every night at that time,” he said. “You know, in case you wanna watch it again.”
* * *
The front door opened a few minutes later, and Haven tensed when she heard footsteps. She could feel Carmine’s gaze on her, could sense it powerfully, but she couldn’t look at him. She didn’t want to see his expression. She didn’t want his pity. He had treated her like an equal, and she didn’t want to feel like less than him again.
Dr. DeMarco walked in, an uncomfortable tension entering with him. Haven fought back a bout of sickness, focusing her attention on a smudge on the floor.
“Can you go to your room, Carmine?” Dr. DeMarco asked. “I’d like to talk to her alone.”
