Sapphire Bones

Veins

Updated: April 25, 2019

L

After breakfast, Cole, Roddy, and I headed to the nearest store. If we were going to pass as normal people we needed to make me look more like a regular person and less like I crawled out of a sewer and was raised by a family of rats. Roddy pawed through the racks, fingering each hanger every second or two. While Cole searched the other half of the store for supplies required to keep traveling without the need to stop in any more towns, I kept close to Roddy.

"Pants? Or another dress?" He murmured while flipping through a shirt rack. I watched him as he looked, half-willed. Hangers sliding across the metal bar made a high-pitched scream that only lasted a second but each of them sliced through my head. That, and the soft melodies from above, my ears overloaded on sounds that Roddy's voice was just a whisper amongst everything else.

"It doesn't matter," I shrugged and touched near where his hand was. My fingers caught the fabric, and I wrapped them around the soft cotton. Without knowing what it looked like I pulled it off the hanger. Roddy didn't seem to notice, however, because he stopped shuffling through the rack and turned to face me.

"You're allowed to have an opinion, L," he scolded. "What's that?" He took the shirt from my hand and held it up in front of him.

"Do you like it?" I turned my head up to look at him, but he didn't' answer. He turned the shirt around in his hands and then tossed it back to me, not expecting me to catch it but I grabbed it out of the air without hesitation.

"Aren't you supposed to be blind?" He asked, chuckling. "Let's get you some pants."

"Then why'd you throw it at me?" I asked, and when he didn't answer I added: "so you like it?"

"It's gray," he shrugged. "It's simple and that's what we're looking for. Good find," he patted my shoulder with one of his large hands and took off down the aisle with me in tow. Roddy didn't think to look behind him, to make sure I was still following. He weaved through the racks with ease.

"We need to get moving," Cole mumbled from behind me. I spun around, ready to run if need be but the familiar shape of Cole's towering form eased the hairs on the back of my neck. "Did you find something?" He asked.

"We found a shirt; I think Roddy is grabbing a pair of pants now," I said with a shoulder dip. It didn't matter what they dressed me in, I wouldn't be able to see it anyway.

"I picked up a pair of shoes for you; I figured you were a size seven by your footprints," Cole handed them to me, making sure to guide my fingers around the shoes.

"Thanks," I held them close. "It's been a while since I've had fresh clothing."

"We can imagine," Roddy said, stepping up beside his mate. "Jeans, T-shirt, and shoes should be good." He handed me the rest of the clothing, and placed a pack of socks on top of the small pile forming in my hands. "I figured Cole would forget about these."

Cole didn't answer, but scoffed and headed toward the front of the store. I followed quietly, Roddy as my guide while we made our way through the store. After waiting in line Cole handed over his money and we left the store after several people handed me looks either describing pity or disgust. Without the ability to see their faces I couldn't figure out which.

We headed out of town, away from the way we came in, and made a line for the trees. Once far enough into the woods Cole and Roddy both formed a human shield around me.

"How are you feeling?" Roddy asked from his place in front of me.

"Better," I said, "stronger." I pulled the jeans on, buttoning them. They were thin around my ankles, and lifted relatively high over my hips but otherwise fit fine. I tossed the tattered dress on the ground and replaced it with the shirt I found, which fell a little long for my taste. The shoes slipped on easily, scrunching the bottoms of the jeans up just a little bit. "The clothes fit," I said, making them turn.