A Tiny Problem

Chapter 5: The Mall

I thought houses were large.

Seán called it The Mall. He got stopped once or twice by people who watched his videos. I had to duck out of sight for those, but even then, I could still see out ahead of us. Now, I had stepped outside before, obviously, but my parents never let me leave when it was cold. Every time I chanced extending my sight, a piercing chill buried itself under my skin and made me retreat. It wasn't so bad in the stores, though. We stopped in clothes shops, candy rooms, and game stores. But it was the electronics Seán really wanted to show me.

"Ya'know," he muttered, so low I knew he could only be talking to me. "I did kinda want to try a point of view vlog, but didn't have a good way to do it."

"You still don't," I shot back, harsher then I meant to. The sad eyes I saw reflected in the display case made me wince. "Sorry, I just-- How would you explain that?"

My entire world shifted as he scratched his jawline. "Hadn't figured right now, but... we could at least try it?"

I wasn't sure how I felt about it. It went against everything I knew. Granted, just talking to Seán was that.

"Alright," I said after a long pause. "We can try it."

He didn't waste any time buying it.

Something about his grip on his credit card worried me. I don't know why.

We went back to the house after that. I jumped off his shoulder to the table and stretched.

"You... don't want to try it tonight?"

I shook my head, "I know I didn't do much, but it all was so... Overwhelming out there. I need to retreat for the night."

There was a weird sound in my ear as I made my way to the wall.

"Wait!"

Air left my lungs in a panicked shriek. Seán's fingers held me fast against his palm. The world shifted and whirled as he pulled me back, only to let go partway across the table. I bolted, not turning around until I was mostly hidden by the entrance to the wall. My throat was tight, and tears were welling up in my eyes when I looked back at him. He held the coats that hung on the wall so tightly his knuckles were white. A pit formed in my stomach.

Why did he look as terrified as I did?