They disappear down the hallway, which is when Danny lets out a loud sigh.
“Poor kid. Most other kids his age would have been thrilled about getting a phone, all he cared about was the shower.” He shakes his head, but I’m not surprised. It was the same for me.
“Cell phones mean nothing if you have nobody to call,” I remind him.
“Well, he has us now,” he adds, making me smile.
“Very true. Now you might want to get ordering that pizza. Food will be the next thing he wants, then sleep. That’s all that will really matter. Is Chris on her way?”
I accept his hand when he stands and let him pull me to my feet.
“Yeah, said she’ll be about ten minutes, which was about ten minutes ago—” His words cut off when there is a knock at the door.
“And there she is.” He chuckles, moving to the door, checking the spyhole first.
As he swings the door open, I see a tall blonde walk in. Her sleek platinum hair is cut into a bob that skims her jaw, and when she looks toward me, I see she has the palest blue eyes I’ve ever seen.
“Hey, I’m Chris. You must be Viddy. I’ve heard a lot about you,” she greets me with a smile as Danny takes the bag she is carrying from her. I look at her other arm and the sling.
“I am indeed. It’s nice to meet you. You sure you’re up for it?” I nod to her sling, but she shakes her head.
“It’s no problem and to be honest, you’re doing me a favor. I’ve been going stir crazy sitting at home.”
“Hey, Chris,” Baker calls, making us turn when he heads toward the kitchen.
“He okay?” I ask him quietly.
“Yeah, I had to show him how to work the shower and where everything is, but he’s doing okay. He’s a tough kid,” he replies, grabbing a roll of black garbage bags from under the kitchen sink.
“I’ll wait until he’s done to bag up his clothes. I don’t want to freak him out any more than he already is, but you lady, need to strip.”
I roll my eyes at him. “I know the drill, but I’d really like something other than my underwear to wear home.”
“Oh, I brought you some things,” Chris interjects. “Danny said you were tiny, and well, I’m not, so I went for cropped leggings and a hoodie. It’s not much, but it should do until you get home.”
“Oh, thank you. That’s perfect, actually.”
I strip off the top I have on and shove it in the bag Baker is holding open, as well as the tank top beneath it before pulling on the soft gray hoodie Chris holds out for me.
“It’s only splatter. Think the sports bra will be okay, or do you want that too?” I ask, knowing the blood likely never even made it to the tank top, but it’s better to be cautious.
“Nah, you’ll be fine. Same with your underwear, but I’ll need your jeans, and I’ll take your shoes too. They are in a bag in the car with DJ’s, right?”
I nod while popping open the button on my jeans and lowering the zipper, shoving the jeans down my legs. The hoodie hits me mid-thigh and hides everything, but even if it didn’t, I know none of the people here are checking me out. Baker is just doing his job. I pull them off and slip on the black leggings and roll the waist over once. They are not cropped on me; they look like regular leggings.
“I have flip flops for you too, for when you’re ready to go.”
“Thanks. I’ll get everything cleaned and couriered back over to you.”
She waves me off as Danny hangs up his phone and steps closer.
“Okay, pizza is ordered. It’ll be here in twenty. We can leave as soon as DJ is out. I don’t want to bail on the kid while he’s in the shower,” Danny adds. I squeeze his arm in agreement.
“Okay, is there anything I need to know or tread carefully with? I don’t want to trigger something because I’m ignorant,” Chris asks, tucking her hair behind her ear.
“Just keep it light. No offense, but he won’t tell you shit anyway. He won’t trust easily, so don’t feel bad if he doesn’t say much,” I warn her.
She shrugs, not fazed. “It’s all good. I brought my Kindle and Xbox. I figured I could hook that up for him and read while