AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“But we’re in the US.”
“Temporarily. It’s the shortest route.”
I didn’t understand and shook my head. “What? How?”
“Our flight path may actually spend most of its time over the US. There’s a lot of smoke from the forest fires in the west, so we’ll have to try and avoid them.”
“Flying through smoke is bad?”
He nodded. “Very much so.”
The plane jumped, and I sprang my hand out to grab hold of the arm rest.
“Just a little turbulence.” The statement was said as if it were no big deal, but I disagreed.
The plane bounced a lot, and for once I was glad I was buckled in tight.
“Are you hungry?” He pointed to the pocket in front of me. “They came by with snacks, and I hope you don’t mind but I picked a few out for you and stuffed them in there. You’re not allergic to anything?”
“Nope. One of the lucky ones, I suppose.” As I reached for the pocket, my left sleeve caught on the armrest and exposed my forearm. Alone, this wouldn’t have been a big deal, but…
There was no mistaking the wide-eye gaze from Holden as he spotted the tiger-stripes of scarring across the inside of my forearm. The mostrecent marks were still red and raw; the thick, gnarly scab a testament to its newness.
My face heated, and I yanked my sweater sleeve down over my palm. “Thanks for the snacks. What do I owe you?”
I tore open the nosiest plastic bag ever made as my cheeks continued to burn.
“Nothing.”
“I can pay my own way.” I pulled out my wallet and dug through the few bills, handing him a five.
“I said don’t worry.” He pushed my hand away. “Besides, that barely covers the cookies.”
I put the five away and flabbergasted at the cost of a couple bags of cheap, dried out munchies, handed him a ten.
“It’s already taken care of.”
Hesitantly, I pocketed the money. “Well, thank you. That wasn’t necessary.”
“It’s not a problem.” Holden took a sip of his water and slipped itback into the pocket in front of him. “There is one thing you can do, if you want to pay me back.”
“Oh no. I’m not into paying back with favours.” I moved as close to the window as possible.
Holden pulled back in disgust, putting more space between us. His brows furrowed tightly together. “Wow. Who said anything about that?”
“Force of … Well… Never mind.”
Keeping my gaze focused out the window into the void of darkness, I munched on the dry brownie while forcing myself to swallow it down. Without lookingat Holden, I reached for the bottle of water and uncapped it, taking a quick swig.
The minutes ticked by in utter silence, and it seemed even the plane itself had a quiet hum. An awkward wedge of tension had pounded between us; I leaned as far away from Holden as I could. In response, he also pushed away like I was diseased; he was practically in the aisle.
I took a sharp breath. “What’s the one thing I can do?”
“I just want to ask one question.”
“Just one?” I lifted a finger to solidify my point. “Aspart of the twenty questions game?”
“Sure.” He nodded to confirm. “Just one. Promise.”
