Page 13 of Dueling Flames

She’d started calling me names of characters who used crutches or walking aids. I found it amusing and wanted to know if she’d settle on a single character or keep mixing it up. I hobbled over to a seating area and sat down. She put the books on the table beside me and started to walk away.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“If we’re going to be here for a while, I’ll go find something as well.”

I don’t know when she came back. By the time I looked up from reading the first two chapters of The Strange Case of Dr. Couney, she sat across from me relaxed with her legs crossed reading what looked like a thriller. She wore the same style since I started staying with her, athletic pants, a t-shirt and her hair pulled back into a ponytail. Yesterday at brunch was the first time I’d seen her in jeans and even then, her shirt was a sleeveless black button up.

I liked seeing her this way. Relaxed with a slight smile. These last two weeks helped me see her in a different light. She wasn’t strict like she was at work, though being active still made her eyes light up. Even now, I could see her eyes brighten.

She looked up and caught me staring. Instead of looking away, I smiled and said, “Ready?”

She nodded and helped me to my feet.

Lissa

Living with Thorne shifted from feeling like I had a shadow to having a friend tagging along on errands. He hopped around the kitchen a few times to make dinner and cleaned up after himself. As far as roommates went, he was probably the best one I’d ever had.

He started telling me small facts about the books he read. How Dr. Couney charged twenty-five cents for the incubator show and how he used that money to pay for the baby’s care. None of the parents had to pay for their babies to get better.

“Did you know that Louis Pasteur came up with germ theory and proved that microorganisms lived on our hands and all around us? This eventually led to doctors washing their hands and equipment before surgeries.” Thorne told me this while he rinsed the soap off his hands at the kitchen sink. He turned off the faucet. “And now we all wash our hands on a regular basis.”

“So, we might be dead by now if it wasn’t for Louis Pasteur?” I leaned against the counter and crossed my arms over my chest.

“Probably not. Someone would have come up with it eventually. Like how moveable type was created twice. Once in China in the 11th century and then again in Europe in the 1400s.”

His face instantly reddened, and he looked away. “Sorry. I’m sharing too much.”

“You’re not sharing too much. Why didn’t the Europeans learn movable type from China?”

He looked back and studied my face. I don’t know what he saw, but eventually he said, “China refused to share its inventions with other nations, so many of the inventions they had were re-invented later by others.”

“That’s interesting. I didn’t know that.” I watched a small smile creep back onto his face. “You ever do trivia nights at any of the bars around here?”

He grinned. “I used to with my buddy Joe. We grew up on the same street. He’s the one that convinced me to move here. We’d go twice a month. But he moved to Madison, so I stopped going.”

“That’s too bad. Did you win?”

“About half the time, which was nice because it paid for our drinks.”

I nodded. “I’ve gone a few times. We always lose, as in last place lose. Of course, we’re usually too drunk to know anything halfway through, but it’s still fun.”

“Next time invite me. Maybe I can help you get second to last.”

“That would be amazing. I hate losing.” I sighed and noticed Thorne bouncing a little on his good foot. “You’re antsy. Go for a walk?”

He started panting with his tongue out and nodded. “Yes please.”

“Alright, Hiccup. Let me get your leash.”

As we walked out of the front door he said, “If I’m Hiccup, are you Toothless?”

“No, apparently, I’m your mom.”

“You would ruin my fun. Did you know the book is nothing like the movie?”

Chapter 7

Thorne