Page 236 of Stay Scared

“I’m checking.”

“I went because I wanted to.”

There it is.

Maybe the most ordinary sentence Ash Langston has ever spoken.

“How long did you stay?”

“Several hours.”

“Doing what?”

“Looking.”

“At?”

His mouth tightens.

“Fish, Salem.”

I laugh.

“I understand the broad concept of an aquarium.”

“Then the question was unnecessary.”

“I want specifics.”

“I am beginning to regret telling you anything.”

“That ship sank six weeks ago.”

Ash studies me before answering.

“The jellyfish exhibit.”

Of course.

Something about that is so unexpectedly mundane that it makes my chest ache.

“You spent several hours looking at jellyfish.”

“The room was quiet.”

“You like that room.”

“Yes.”

The answer comes easier now.

I file that away beside the ridiculous whistle and the way he fixes paper when a question makes him uncomfortable.

“Did you enjoy yourself?”

Ash’s gaze moves over my face.

“I stayed until closing.”