bet it was a long, awkward, boring visit.” He smirks and says, in a high-pitched voice, “Alaina! I haven’t seen you in a month. Let’s sit here and stare at each other in silence, like old times.”
I giggle, even though I shouldn’t. He’s mocking Mother. Still, it is silly to think that we spent nearly an hour saying absolutely nothing. Especially after getting used to the way Beth and Holly interact.
Adam reaches for a black object that looks like the phone we had in Shiloh, but there is no cord and there are too many buttons. He points it at the television and before I can protest, the screen springs to life.
Looking away quickly, I pretend to be interested in my Coke can.
“What’s the matter?”
Shaking my head, I take a long drink. My nose burns with the fizz and my eyes water as I focus on the red fabric covering the couch cushion between us.
“TV bother you?”
Peeking up at him, I nod slightly.
As quickly as he turned it on, the TV is off. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“It’s okay.”
He cocks his head. “Why, though? Why does it bother you?”
“It’s dangerous. It’s used to spread evil and it’s addictive.”
I watch a slow smile creep across his lips and he pulls the silver ring in his lip between his teeth.
“What’s so funny?” I say, scowling.
“Nothing,” he says, holding back a laugh.
“I’m glad my concerns are so amusing to you.” It comes out harsher than I intended and I’m immediately reminded of Mother. I sound just like her.
His eyes widen and the smile disappears quickly. “Hey, relax. I’m not laughing at you. I’ve just never…” The smile is back.
I sigh heavily and take another drink of my Coke.
“TV isn’t evil. And only rarely is it actually addictive. It’s for entertainment, not evil. Didn’t you have entertainment in Shiloh?”
The urge to say “no” just to spite him is strong, but I resist. “Of course we did. The men would play baseball and we would watch.”
His eyebrows lift. “Okay, yeah. Baseball is a good example. They put baseball games on TV. You can watch teams from all over the world play.”
I squint at him. “Really?”
He nods. “Yup. What else?”
“Painting? Some of the girls would paint pictures of flowers.”
He nods again. “There’s all kinds of shows about painting and stuff.”
“I was never good at it,” I admit.
Adam shrugs. “Not everyone is.”
I glance at the black screen. “What kinds of things do you do for entertainment?”
“Me? I don’t know. All kinds of stuff. I played drums for a while. Me and Drew play paintball sometimes. Most of the time we just hangout wherever, play Xbox, watch movies.” He shrugs. “Just kind of whatever, you know?”
I really don’t know, but I nod anyway, noting that he didn’t list television as a source of entertainment.
“TV isn’t dangerous,” he says after a moment. “There’s some messed up shit on there, but for the most part, it’s just something to do while you’re waiting for something better to come along.” When I don’t say anything, he reaches for the black phone-looking thing again. “I’ll show you. Just for five minutes. I promise you won’t die. Or get addicted. Or possessed.”
“Okay,” I say, gripping my can tighter.
This time when the TV comes on, I don’t look away. And I’m glad for it, because the first thing I see is a beautiful unicorn.
“That looks just like Windshadow,” I say, pointing at the screen.
Adam squints at me. “How do you know about this movie?”
“It’s not a movie, it’s a book. That’s Windshadow and the girl riding him is Avryn.”
“So you read this book?”
Without thinking, I blurt, “It’s why I was flogged. I took it from a library.”
His reaction is the same as Jacki and Serena’s. “They beat you over a stupid fucking book?!” His eyes blaze. “That’s the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard!”
“It was evil,” I say. “I exposed the community to
I giggle, even though I shouldn’t. He’s mocking Mother. Still, it is silly to think that we spent nearly an hour saying absolutely nothing. Especially after getting used to the way Beth and Holly interact.
Adam reaches for a black object that looks like the phone we had in Shiloh, but there is no cord and there are too many buttons. He points it at the television and before I can protest, the screen springs to life.
Looking away quickly, I pretend to be interested in my Coke can.
“What’s the matter?”
Shaking my head, I take a long drink. My nose burns with the fizz and my eyes water as I focus on the red fabric covering the couch cushion between us.
“TV bother you?”
Peeking up at him, I nod slightly.
As quickly as he turned it on, the TV is off. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“It’s okay.”
He cocks his head. “Why, though? Why does it bother you?”
“It’s dangerous. It’s used to spread evil and it’s addictive.”
I watch a slow smile creep across his lips and he pulls the silver ring in his lip between his teeth.
“What’s so funny?” I say, scowling.
“Nothing,” he says, holding back a laugh.
“I’m glad my concerns are so amusing to you.” It comes out harsher than I intended and I’m immediately reminded of Mother. I sound just like her.
His eyes widen and the smile disappears quickly. “Hey, relax. I’m not laughing at you. I’ve just never…” The smile is back.
I sigh heavily and take another drink of my Coke.
“TV isn’t evil. And only rarely is it actually addictive. It’s for entertainment, not evil. Didn’t you have entertainment in Shiloh?”
The urge to say “no” just to spite him is strong, but I resist. “Of course we did. The men would play baseball and we would watch.”
His eyebrows lift. “Okay, yeah. Baseball is a good example. They put baseball games on TV. You can watch teams from all over the world play.”
I squint at him. “Really?”
He nods. “Yup. What else?”
“Painting? Some of the girls would paint pictures of flowers.”
He nods again. “There’s all kinds of shows about painting and stuff.”
“I was never good at it,” I admit.
Adam shrugs. “Not everyone is.”
I glance at the black screen. “What kinds of things do you do for entertainment?”
“Me? I don’t know. All kinds of stuff. I played drums for a while. Me and Drew play paintball sometimes. Most of the time we just hangout wherever, play Xbox, watch movies.” He shrugs. “Just kind of whatever, you know?”
I really don’t know, but I nod anyway, noting that he didn’t list television as a source of entertainment.
“TV isn’t dangerous,” he says after a moment. “There’s some messed up shit on there, but for the most part, it’s just something to do while you’re waiting for something better to come along.” When I don’t say anything, he reaches for the black phone-looking thing again. “I’ll show you. Just for five minutes. I promise you won’t die. Or get addicted. Or possessed.”
“Okay,” I say, gripping my can tighter.
This time when the TV comes on, I don’t look away. And I’m glad for it, because the first thing I see is a beautiful unicorn.
“That looks just like Windshadow,” I say, pointing at the screen.
Adam squints at me. “How do you know about this movie?”
“It’s not a movie, it’s a book. That’s Windshadow and the girl riding him is Avryn.”
“So you read this book?”
Without thinking, I blurt, “It’s why I was flogged. I took it from a library.”
His reaction is the same as Jacki and Serena’s. “They beat you over a stupid fucking book?!” His eyes blaze. “That’s the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard!”
“It was evil,” I say. “I exposed the community to
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