When The Time Comes

chapter 11; Omar

Liberty returns to the car with a tissue over her arm. I can see where the crimson seeped into it and she catches me staring.

"Your fries in the bag," I tell her. "Are you sure you didn't want anything else?"

Behind us, I can hear Ben chew his cheese burger. Liberty mumbles a 'yes, thank you'.

When she doesn't open the bag, I turn back to watch the road outside the parking space. I think she senses the next question I'm about to ask so she finally pulls out a fry. It doesn't make it any less awkward to eat a whole ass burger while she nibbles on fries.

"You're not hungry?" I ask.

"No," she says, bluntly enough for me not to bring it up again.

When I'm done, I push the wrapper into the brown bag. Ben offers to throw the trash outside so I pass the bag over my shoulder towards him. The door closes after him and I briefly glance at Liberty who is still chewing slowly on her fries.

"You okay?"

She looks at me, although she's surprised that I'm still here. "Yeah, I'm fine."

I don't get another word in before Ben gets back into the car. I straighten up and refasten my seatbelt.

"Where to now?" I look up at Ben through the overhead mirror.

He wipes a smudge of sauce off his face before answering, "When do pawn shops close around here?"

"I'm not sure," I reply. "Never been to one."

"There's one off the interstate, do you have your phone on you?" Liberty asks, her hand already outstretched.

"Yeah," I unlock my iPhone and open the maps app. Her hand is still in front of me so I hand it over, hesitantly.

She types a name and gives it back to me, "It's a sixteen minute drive from here. And it closes in forty-five minutes."

"We can make it," Ben says a little too enthusiastically.

"Okay," I glance at the gas meter and reverse out of burger king.

When we get to the shop, I walk behind Liberty and Ben. I lug one of the bags, temporarily distracted by the set of watches in the glass cases. One of the tags read $1150 and I can feel my temptation slide away. It's a sweet watch but I don't have that kind of money. Even if I did, I'm not sure I'd want to spend that much. At least I don't think I would.

Liberty seems to know what she's doing, already grabbing the attention of one of the sales people. I join Ben's side and balance the bag between my feet. We have two bags still sitting in the car. We'll be lucky if we don't raise any suspicion with these two bags, one of which seems to be barely holding it together.

  The sales guy, with helmet hair and a Braves team hat, glances at Ben and I for a moment before returning to his conversation to Liberty. Ben takes some things out of his bag first and I'm slightly nervous. My palms are cold and clammy as they discuss the white G-shock watch which seems to have made the happy pile for Jayden.

Eventually, it's time for me to start placing on the glass. Jayden calls over another of the sales associates to help him. This does not help my heart which is now thumping loud enough to reach my ears.

Ben returns some of the things they're not interested in, back inside his bag. I clear my throat, putting a few decorative plates on the glass counter. For a second, one of them slips out of my hand, causing a loud clatter. I quickly stop it from oscillating back on the glass, unsteadily setting it on top of the other one.