The Truth About Kian

19. Blew down the doors to let me in

:: C H A P T E R N I N E T E E N | BLEW DOWN THE DOORS TO LET ME IN ::

I woke up with a dry mouth and an aching stomach and the sun shining in my eyes. Davina whacked me on the arm on her way to the bathroom, and I rolled over. Meg was still curled under her covers with her back to me, and Liam's cot was empty, his sheets neatly pulled over the mattress.

As I gingerly crawled out of bed in my rumpled clothing from yesterday, I realized that none of us had brought extra clothing or toiletries. I was dressed in a cotton t-shirt and striped grey leggings from yesterday, and I felt sticky and gross.

"We're going to have to buy clothes," I said as Davina exited the bathroom.

She sniffed her armpits and wrinkled her nose. "Definitely. Yuck."

The door opened and Liam reappeared with a bag of groceries. He didn't acknowledge me as he brushed past my bed to set the food on the table in the corner, but I didn't care. I had told him that it hurt to be around — shit, what had I said last night?

"I brought breakfast," he said without meeting my eyes as set out a bundle of bananas, rice cereal, a small container of milk, styrofoam bowls and plastic utensils.

"We need to stop at Walmart," Davina told Liam as she filled up her bowl. "You're buying me a whole new wardrobe, Sinclair."

"Walmart?" Meg had thrown her blankets to the floor and was sitting on the edge of the bed with an ugly look on her face. "Isn't that where the homeless go?"

Davina rolled her eyes. "I never said that we'd go shopping together. Trust me, Tuxford, I don't want to be holding up a dress and asking you if it goes with my hair. Reed and I will get our clothes, and you can parade around in a garbage bag for all I care."

"A garbage bag is preferable to Walmart clothes." Meg thrust her nose in the air, and daintily unpeeled a banana.

"Yeah, well all that Gucci and Prada shit you wear doesn't really do a good job of making you tolerable. I'd say it's your face, but we all know it's your personality. Money can't make a doorknob charismatic."

I felt the bed sink next to me as Liam thrust a paper bag in my hand. "I thought this might be a bit easier on your stomach," he muttered, staring at the grey carpet.

"Thanks." I smiled slightly in his direction as I pulled out a container of oatmeal from McDonald's and some dry toast. I felt him shrug as he moved back to sit on the edge of his cot.

We watched Meg and Davina bicker for a few more minutes before Liam eventually got tired of their bitter insults — I personally thought that Dav was wiping the floor with Meg, but that might have just been me — and yelled at them to shut up. "We'll go to Walmart," he said, and I could tell that he was forcing himself to stay calm. "The clothes are just to get us through this week."

Five minutes later, we'd checked out and were driving to the nearest Walmart. "It smells funny in here," Meg commented as we wandered along the aisles. "Like sweaty armpits and old shoes."

"Toughen up, bitch," Davina snapped. "I don't have time for your first world problems." She grabbed my wrist, dragging me towards the clothing section. We both picked out a few outfits before moving onto the toiletries section where we ran into Liam and Meg. She gingerly cradled a few clothing items while Liam had a basket piled full of snacks and drinks.

We finished shopping, brushing past a young woman pushing two children in a cart. Meg wrinkled her nose.

Davina shot a grin at me as we found an empty till. "Never thought that Sinclair of all people would buy me clothes."