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I stay silent for a few seconds as I think.
“Stay here,” I finally say, walking back to the car.
“Where are you going?” she says half-heartedly but I don’t answer.
Finding what I’m looking for in the middle console, I return with a water bottle and uncap it. I empty the water in the well while Lucy watches studiously.
“There,” I say, meeting her curious gaze. “Now it’s not dry.”
Her warm smile makes the side of her eyes crinkle. I pretend none of it is affecting me, my face carefully blank when I hand her a dime I fished out of my pocket.
“Thank you,” she says in earnest.
I shrug, looking away. Deciding I can’t bear another fucking second of this wholesome exchange, I turn and say over my shoulder, “I’ll wait in the car.”
* * *
Back on thehighway heading to another sad-looking motel for the night, I’m busy working on my laptop when Lucy breaks the silence.
“Let’s play two truths and a lie,” she says excitedly.
She can’t be serious.
I slowly turn my head toward her and the delighted expression on her face confirms it. She’s being serious.
“No.”
My attention returns to the screen in front of me, hoping she’ll drop it.
She doesn’t.
“Oh come on,” she replies, a slight whine in her tone while she lowers the music. “I am bored, and you are always on your computer. What do you do on there anyway?”
“Work.”
“But what do youdo?”
I close my laptop in defeat and slide it back into my backpack, letting out a long sigh. “Given your history, I don’t think you’d understand even if I explained it.”
“Try me,” she says while straightening in her seat as if preparing for the world’s best gossip. Holding back another sigh, I decide to start simply.
“Do you know what the dark web is?”
“Like a Google?”
I bite back a grin.
“Yeah like Google,” I say while looking out the window at the passing landscape. “But for criminals.”
“What do you do on there?”
“Top secret shit.”
A small huff falls from her full lips. “You are not going to tell me are you?”
I look back at her. “No.”
She falls silent for a beat, eyes on the road.
