He lets go of me, and I miss his embrace immediately. He goes to his closet and pulls something from the top shelf. It’s a blanket, neatly folded. Tan. And it lookssosoft.
When he hands it to me, it feels like a cloud.
“Oh my—”
“I’ve had that thing forever. Thought you’d like it because it’s soft.”
I rub it against my face. “It’s perfect.”
“Go on, then. Get comfortable on the couch. I’ll bring your things in and order pizza.”
I head out of the room but stop as soon as I step into the hallway. I turn to face Grizz and find him watching me.
“Thank you, Grizz. I’m happy to be here.”
He smiles. “I’m happy you’re here.”
I make my way to the living room, carrying the soft blanket, and get comfortable on the couch. The remote is on the side table, so I pick it up and figure out how to get the TV on.
He wasn’t lying when he called it the big TV. This thing is huge. Maybe as tall as me, if it were on the floor. I’ve never seen a TV so big and didn’t realize you were able to get this in your home. It’s a good thing the room is so big, or else it would make me dizzy.
The home screen pops up, showing the available platforms to watch. I’ve learned most of them from being at Snapper’s house, but prior to that, they meant nothing to me.
I’ve missed out on a lot of this world. Not only from being held by the Iron Runners, but from being poor and having nothing before that. The electricitydidn’twork more than it did. Not that I had a TV to watch anything on if the electricity was working, anyway.
Grizz carries my stuff into his room all in one go. I hear him on the phone ordering pizza. A moment later, he comes into the living room to sit beside me on the couch.
“Did you decide on something to watch?”
“No, but I was thinking we could watch a TV show.”
“Oh, that’s serious.”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
He smiles. “I’m just joking.”
I smile back. “But I don’t understand the joke. Can you explain it to me?”
“Well, if we start a show now, neither of us will be able to watch it unless we’re together. It’s a common, uh… couple thing.”
“Oh,” I say, my cheeks heating. “Well, if you don’t want to—”
“I do want to,” he says adamantly. “I’ll watch anything with you, Angel.”
Angel…
Something about the nickname has my heart soaring.
I smile as I look through the shows, trying to decide what to watch. I don’t want anything scary or too action-packed. Something light and funny could be good.
“Have you watched this one?” I ask, clicking on it to see the description. It looks light.
“Friends? I think everyone—” He pauses abruptly. “Sorry. Yes, I’ve seen it.”
“Don’t be sorry, Grizz. I’m not offended. You were going to say everyone has seen it?”
“Yeah…”
