It was weird that neither of us said a word. Malin’s knuckles where almost blue where he clutched the steering wheel. I wondered who he called to make this final deal. I wondered if he had any money left at all. If not, what then?
I leaned back into the buttery soft seat, the seat that was like an embrace. And then I began to shake. I pressed my hands tightly together.
Malin glanced quickly at me, then back at the road. It was a cold fall day and he turned up the heat. But that wasn’t why I was shaking. I tried to control it but my entire body felt like a too-tight knot.
“Are you hungry?”
Malin’s sudden question made me jump. I had already figured out it was morning. I hadn’t eaten since yesterday. But I was in too much shock to feel hunger. So why did I nod? Food was a distraction, I told myself. Something to focus on.
“What would you like?”
“A cheeseburger.” It was my go-to craving and I didn’t have to think.
Malin took the first exit off the highway and suddenly we were in the tunnel of a drive-thru. I hadn’t had drive-thru junk food since leaving my pack over a year ago. My stomach perked up at the broiled burger scent that wafted through Malin’s open window.
Malin gave a quick order. I heard the word French fries and it was like I’d been blasted off to the moon. The ranch had us on strict diets to keep us fit and appealing. Our biggest meal of the day was breakfast.
My next thought was how was he going to pay for this if he spent all his money. Out of everything that had been going on, yes, I worried about that. Because you could be free, but in a world that was against you, options were limited. Especially if you were destitute.
I still kept asking myself if I was dreaming. Every five seconds.
After we got our food, Malin drove to a little park and stopped under a tree. He handed me a wrapped burger and a carton of fries. I already had my soda, which was in a huge cup with a lid and straw.
“Don’t get it all over my car.” He handed me a couple of napkins.
Sitting under a tree in a Lamborghini eating junk food was surreal. The food smelled wonderful, but after my first few fries and a burger bite, my stomach seemed filled with lead. Mybreathing grew rapid as bile edged in at the back of my throat. The edges of my vision began to darken.
“Is the food that bad?” Malin asked.
I shook my head, gasping, “I think I need some air.”
Malin hit the switch to open the door, which rose upward. I didn’t wait for it to lock into place but pushed my food and wrappers aside and jumped out. Irrationally, I hoped I didn’t get food all over the interior because he’d just asked me not to.
I moved toward the trunk of the tree and leaned my hands against the rough strength, head lowered. The world twirled about me. I couldn’t tell up from down.
A warm weight touched my shoulder. “Are you sick?”
I still couldn’t speak, but the touch grounded me.
“Take your time. Breathe through your nose slowly, out through the mouth.”
I focused on what he said, no longer trying to make sense of everything. The coldness inside began to recede. My stomach muscles relaxed and the bile taste vanished.
I straightened, my hands dropping from the tree. “I—I’m okay.”
“Take your time.”
I turned, facing his chest. Gold threads wove through his fancy vest and caught the light. I stared at them before finally looking up. “What’s going to happen to me?”
A small frown teased at his brows. “Uh, well, nothing.”
“Am I going with you?”
He glanced at his car, then back at me. “It seems so.”
“I mean… why? You don’t like sets. You said that at the party. Now what?”
He shrugged as if nothing extraordinary was going on. “Well, after I finish my cheeseburger I thought we’d go to the mall.” His nose wrinkled. “You really do need some new clothes.”
