Back with ice cream

Not having heard Katie approach, Jason flinches at her touch, startled. He looks at her quickly, forcing himself back to calmness again as he sends a hard stare into her eyes. Her words hit him with more impact that he’d been prepared for, and all excuses for his abrupt exit from the store fly out the window. His stomach is in knots, despite all the logic in the world, and he knows now, the impossibility of hiding any of this from Katie. He swallows hard, finally looking away. “I’ll be alright. My mind likes to play tricks on me this day every year no matter how hard I try to forget about it.”
Katie’s hand on his arm is as soothing to him as it always had been, and he finds himself gritting his teeth against the boiling emotions he’s bottled up inside. He can’t help but think of her shielding comfort during the night he’d so violently awakened. He could still feel her hand running through his hair…
Blinking, Jason turns to the truck door. “Thanks, Katie…I appreciate it. I’ll be alright now. Just don’t mention it to the others when we get back to Wyatt’s, eh?” He opens up the door and slips inside, closing his eyes for a just a moment to regroup before Katie enters as well.


“…no, I thought the rules said it the other way,” Laura argues lightly.

Wyatt rolls his eyes as he reaches into the kitchen cupboard for a glass. “Well I’ve always played it this way.” He glances into the other room. “Hey, Ty, grab that rulebook next to you and check that out, will ya?” He laughs. “I can’t lose this battle.”

Ty can feel the feat creeping up the back of his neck again. He’d thought he’d gotten past this for the night. Was Wyatt intentionally putting him in this position? As far as Ty knew, Wyatt was still clueless, and it was just as well. But how could he just refuse to do what he’d just been asked? It would seem so silly.
He reaches down to the Scrabble box and takes out the rulebook. He’s about ready to toss it to Laura, but she gets up to join Wyatt in the kitchen to get herself something to drink as well. He stares at the book in his hand. “Hey, I think I’m gonna turn in,” he calls.

Wyatt looks at him in surprise. “I won’t stop ya, but you don’t want to stick around for ice cream?”

Ty shrugs. He really did want to stick around…this small group was fun to be with. “I don’t know.”

Wyatt grins. “At least look up that rule before you go so you can witness me proving Laura wrong.”

“I…” Ty looks back at the thin booklet, the heat now reaching his face. “I don’t know where to look. You could probably do it faster.”

“It’s on page 5,” Laura calls with a laugh.

Ty flips over 5 pages and looks at the words. Wyatt comes over and slaps him teasingly on the shoulder. “There are only 10 pages. Whatcha doing, memorizing it?”

Ty stands abruptly, his embarrassment taking over. “Look, I do think I’ll head to bed. I’m not feeling so great.”

Wyatt furrows his brow in confusion. “What, I…” he stops mid-sentence as he hears the pickup pull up outside. “Whatever, but the others are back.” As Ty wanders to the window, Wyatt glances down at the rulebook. Something was really odd.



“Rosetta, it’s Jill.” Her voice proves the relief she feels. “I’m so sorry to bother you this time of night, but I’ve got to talk to Mick, and I lost his cell phone number. Is there any way you could go get him?”