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And it was everywhere.
“…an elephant?”
Elephant? Huh?
“Maddox, do you think it’s an elephant?”
The roaring in my ears was so loud, I almost didn’t hear my name being said. “What?” I managed to croak. Why was Jett asking me about elephants?
“Do you think Newt spies a pink elephant?”
Newt.
Reality slowly returned as I realized it was Isaac asking me the question. No, Isaac couldn’t be in the desert. It wasn’t safe for him or Newt. I was about to yell at both of them to run when I felt a soft caress along the back of my neck.
I knew that touch.
I craved it.
Isaac.
He was here.
And here wasn’t that terrible, too-quiet road outside Mosul.
The blackness disappeared and all I saw before me was white.
Snow.
Lots and lots of snow.
Because I was home.
“Maddox,” Isaac whispered, his voice sounding strangled.
I didn’t like when he sounded like that. It meant he was upset and I didn’t like when he was upset. I turned to look at him. He looked like he was on the verge of tears. “Breathe, baby,” he whispered as his fingers continued to toy with the back of my neck.
I didn’t want him to look so scared anymore, so I did what he said and pulled in a deep breath. My lungs screamed in relief and the pain in my chest eased just a little. So I did it again.
And again.
I kept sucking in huge lungsful of air in until the pain and noise in my head receded and my chest no longer felt like it had an anchor sitting on it. My body was shaking and I couldn’t relax my hands, but I was able to focus on Isaac and Newt.
“Maddox,” Isaac said carefully. “Do you think Newt spies a pink elephant?”
The game.
Right.
I glanced over my shoulder at Newt, who was watching me with worried eyes.
“No,” I managed to somehow say. “I think he sees pink clouds.”
There was a beat of silence and then Newt let out a long, “Nooooo.”
“Is it elephants?” Isaac asked, even as he kept glancing at me.
“Nooooo.”
“Okay, I guess we need another hint,” Isaac insisted.
“I spy something with my little eye that’s soft.”
I continued to slow my breathing as Isaac made another silly guess. When it was my turn, I reached out to run my fingers over the hem of Isaac’s sweater. “Is it Isaac’s sweater?” I asked as I held Isaac’s gaze. He was forced to keep looking back at the road in between exchanging glances with me, but there were a whole lot of things he said to me with those looks.
Most of all, that he was relieved.
As I managed to calm down, the pain in my hand returned, but I happily welcomed it.
“Yes!” Newt said. “You win. It’s your turn.”
We played the game for the entire drive to town. Every guess was silly and the game grew more boisterous as we argued and joked about the hints and the answers. By the time we reached the doctor’s office, I was feeling a little steadier. Though admittedly, I was more than happy to get out of that truck.
When we entered the clinic, Newt went quiet and tucked himself against Isaac’s side and I quickly realized why. His helmet had gained the attention of several people, including a couple of children who were in the kid’s area of the lobby. I reached down for Newt’s hand and tucked it in my uninjured one. I crouched down to his level and said, “Do you trust me, Newt?”
Newt hesitated, then nodded. I looked up at Isaac who didn’t even hesitate to nod. I felt my heart swell at that. I wanted to kiss him then and there but managed to refrain. I led Newt over to where the kids were playing. I kept my bloody hand out of view so I wouldn’t scare the kids and said, “Hey guys, this is my friend, Newt. You mind if he hangs out with you while I get my hand fixed up?”
The little boy who was maybe a year older than Newt shrank back a bit, but the girl who appeared to be closer to eight or nine eyed Newt’s helmet. Newt automatically pressed against me and I put my arm around him.
“Why’s he wearing that?” the girl asked.
“Hmmm, well, you know how your mom probably makes you wear a seatbelt or sit in a car seat when you’re in the car?” I asked.
“Uh-huh, it’s to keep us safe,” the girl said as she motioned between her and the boy, so I figured they were likely siblings.
“Well, Newt here needs this hat to keep his head safe just in case he falls. Even though he can walk and run and play just like you guys, sometimes he just needs a little bit of extra protection.”
The girl studied me and Newt for a moment, then looked at her brother. “It’s like your bed,” she said to him. Then she looked at me and said, “Justin’s gotta have a fence on his bed to keep him from falling out when he sleeps.”
