I shook my head and smiled as I dumped the remaining food on the last plate. I grabbed a fork and joined them on the patio.
“You were in a group home?”
I looked at Rule.
“I told her my story,” he admitted. “And yes. He was thirteen when he came to the group home I was in. I was sixteen.”
“Did you go to the same school?”
Rule shook his head. “I graduated high school when I was fifteen, so no.”
“Oh, right. You’re ridiculously smart.” She laughed.
When Laikyn looked at me, I pointed to Rule, turned two fingers toward my eyes, and then pointed to my chest.
“He kept an eye on you?”
I had to admit, it thrilled me that Laikyn could read me so easily. The fact that I didn’t talk, rather than couldn’t, had the ability to put people off. When I was a kid, my parents would beat me if I didn’t use my words. They never understood that my anxiety made it impossible. As I got older, the anxiety eased up, but I attributed that to having a consistent routine and people who didn’t push me to do shit I didn’t want to do. It helped that Rule made me feel safe. Even now, when I was capable of holding my own against anyone, I knew he wouldn’t leave me to fend for myself. And while I didn’t suffer anxiety attacks nearly as much, I couldn’t speak. My brain simply wouldn’t direct my voice to work.
Laikyn glanced between us. “Since we’re tackling difficult subjects, when did you two start fucking?”
Thank God I wasn’t taking a bite. However, I did choke on nothing.
“Oh, sorry. Should I have worded it differently? Maybe you refer to it as making love?”
Rule snorted. “No filter.”
“Who me?” Laikyn grinned. “No, definitely no filter. So? When?”
“Has anyone told you you ask too many questions?”
“Many times,” she answered simply. “Your turn. When?”
Rule shook his head, but I could tell he was grinning. I was grateful Laikyn wasn’t expecting me to answer because I wasn’t sure this was a subject I cared to venture into. Although she seemed open to the idea, and I detected no judgment, it wasn’t something I was necessarily comfortable discussing. However, the question did trigger the memory.
“Hey? You good?” Rule asked when he walked into the motel room.
I glanced up at him from where I sat on one of the queen beds. We’d been on the road for three days, taking our time to get from Oklahoma to California. Rule wanted the sightseeing route, claiming it had been far too long since he’d been able to breathe fresh air without someone telling him how long he could do it.
Since I was simply along for the ride, I didn’t care if it took a year to get there. I had no plans. I was here to pay Rule back for saving my life. I didn’t know how exactly I would do that, but I figured he would tell me at some point.
“Did you eat?”
I nodded.
“You wanna grab a drink?”
I didn’t respond because I didn’t care one way or the other. If he wanted to head for the bar, I would gladly go with him.
“Yeah. Me neither.”
I grinned. I found it amusing that he filled in my answers for me when he wanted to.
Rule flopped down on the other queen bed and exhaled heavily, staring at the ceiling. “Can I ask you something?”
When his eyes cut to my face, I nodded.
“Have you ever been with a man?”
