Free The Watchers by Lynnie Purcell Page B

sarcastically. “And somehow if I’m
less cold that will make up for the fact that I took your jacket
and you are now freezing? Isn’t that a bit archaic?”
    He ignored me and laid the jacket on my
shoulders in bossy confidence. I settled it around my shoulders,
resigned that I would have to accept it. I could tell he would get
his way…eventually. Plus, I sort of liked the gesture.
    “You’re pushy, do you know that?” I said.
    “Of course. It comes with being an all-star
quarterback and having people kiss my ass all the time.” His eyes
caught mine. “Are you warmer?”
    “Yes,” I huffed, grumpily. He looked at me
expectantly. I couldn’t help it, I laughed again. “Fine. Thank you
for the jacket.”
    He smiled happily. “You’re welcome.”
    I looked at him in his blue t-shirt and
jeans, admittedly admiring what I saw. “But aren’t you cold?”
    “I’m tough, I can handle it.”
    “Ugh!” I said. “Talk about typical male
pride.”
    “I just like to think that chivalry isn’t
dead.”
    “Of course it’s dead,” I retorted.
“Technology killed it…Murdered it dead.”
    He made a funny grunting noise of agreement
but didn’t say anything else in response. As we circled another
street, I could see him deep in thought, as if he was considering
something especially important. I left him to those thoughts,
content to be left alone with mine.
    “Clare, can I ask a weird question?”
    “Uh…beyond the one you just asked?”
    “Yes. Is it all right if we just walk for a
while…in silence?”
    “Silence?”
    “Yes, that thing that happens when two people
don’t talk.”
    “I thought that’s what we were doing?”
    “I need an official agreement.”
    “Silence sounds wonderful,” I answered,
ignoring his sarcasm.
    It also sounded too much like a request I
would make. He nodded and went back to watching the heavens. I
listened, and realized we were really walking in silence. There
were no thoughts, just the sound of an occasional car and a stiff
wind, which rustled the tree branches. How was that possible? I
never had a moment free of other people’s thoughts; I even saw
their dreams in mine sometimes. I shook my head – it didn’t matter
as much as the silence.
    The silence slipped around my mind like
a warm blanket, and I felt myself relax in response to the quiet.
It was the most relaxed I’d felt in days, months even. The darkness
got thicker as we walked together in that relaxed silence, our arms
almost touching. Clouds rolled in around the mountains and obscured
the sky, making it feel darker and like there was less space
separating us. The street lights kicked on in response, casting
everything into weird shades of pink and orange. The shadows
started to stretch across the road, sheathing the houses in
obscurity, blocking out everything more than ten feet in front of
us. In this encapsulated oblivion, we walked in circles, finding
peace, talking only when we felt moved to do so, his request
freeing something between us. When we eventually reached my street,
having circled the downtown several times, I slowed my pace
slightly, surprised that I was actually enjoying our time together.
There was no pressure, no expectation. We simply were.
    I stopped when we reached my driveway and
took the jacket off, offering it to him. “Thanks for the walk.”
    He ignored me. I shook the jacket at him to
get his attention, but his eyes were on the thick woods behind my
house.
    “Daniel?”
    “I want you to promise me something.”
    I was taken aback by his tone. It was
familiar, yet intense. He had thrown aside all the awkwardness
between strangers with that one phrase, making us friends.
    “What?”
    “Stay out of the woods.”
    “Why?”
    He didn’t answer. He simply waited, looking
at me seriously, until I agreed. I did so knowing I wouldn’t go
wandering around anyway, not knowing the terrain. I wasn’t
stupid.
    “I promise.”
    He nodded once then turned with a stiff back
and