“I wouldn’t like it.”
Thomas took a menacing step closer. “I’dmakeyou like it.”
There was promise in his words, and Scott choked around his lolly.
“I would, Scott. I’d make you come with it. I’d make you comehardall over yourself.”
Scott’s cheeks burned. He pulled the lolly out of his mouth and patted the grass beside him. “Sit down.”
“Don’t tell me what to do.”
“Okay, stand there looking all angry.”
Thomas narrowed his eyes and sat down. He kept his back to Scott.
Scott let the silence linger between them, hoping it would work its magic. He finished his lolly first, then lay down, staring up at the sky.
A few minutes later, Thomas lay down too.
There were no clouds to point at, only endless blue. Scott shut his eyes and concentrated on the grass stroking his bare arms. He listened to the birds and heard an aeroplane overhead. The wind, although faint, rushed through his hair, and he shivered at the sensation against his scalp.
“Careful,” Thomas said softly. “Your mask is slipping again.”
Scott opened his eyes.
Thomas had his head propped up on his hand as he watched Scott. It was hard to tell his expression, but he could no longer threaten to make Scott come with his ice lolly; he’d eaten it.
“Those three years inside, I don’t remember hearing a bird, or a plane.” Scott dug his nails into the earth. “There was no grass, or flowers, or trees.”
Thomas looked away. “Tim did an amazing job while I was away, but it was almost overwhelming to look at when I got out. The same walls, bars, fences, and concrete for three years, and suddenly all this…”
“I love it.”
Thomas sighed. “I know you do.”
“How do you know?”
“You spend a lot of time out here, clearing the ponds. Cameras,” Thomas reminded.
“You watch me on the cameras?” Scott bristled.
“I’ve watched you come multiple times upstairs on camera…”
“But it’s different.”
“There’s no mask,” Thomas said softly. “I like seeing you without the mask.”
Scott swallowed. He needed to move the conversation away from himself.
“Tim said you stay inside mostly. You used to spend hours walking in the gardens, but you stopped doing that after you got back from Brixton.”
“Tim talks too much,” Thomas snapped. He sighed. “Maybe he’s got a point, though.”
Scott sprang to his feet and held his hand out to Thomas. “Want to walk with me? We can search for your eyeball while we do.”
“Do I have a choice?”
“You always do.”
