In Between Seasons

Chapter 20

Shortly after Hunter left I gathered up the courage to go down to the store. I stood up straight and took a deep breath as I prepared myself for a verbal attack and headed into the living room. I knew it was illogical to think these women would have anything to say to me when they didn't even know who I was, but I still moved to the door with three large strides. I slid in before shutting the door behind me and closing my eyes.

When I opened them they widened at the massive room brimming with clothes filled shelves. I stepped forward as I took in the stacks. They were well organized, starting with lingerie and under garments, going all the way to workout clothes then jeans and tees, each section separated by sizes. This must have been what a mall looked like back in the day.

My head turned to see the opposite side of the room was lined with men's clothes, but there was far less variety. The men had boxers, boxer briefs, dark wash jeans, and black shirts.

I made my way deeper into the room, running my hands over jeans of every kind—jeans with holes, skinny legs, and wide legs, dark wash and light wash—and a wash that looked like they had already been rolled in dirt. I stopped, stooping down to grab my size in the dark wash jeans, including a pair of skinny jeans. My pulse quickened as I moved to the under garments.

I blushed as I looked at them, gazing over my shoulder before grabbing for the black lace ones, then a red set trimmed with black and a fuchsia set that was barely there. I stared down at them on top of the pile of jeans before moving to the shirts and grabbing the closest one of my size to throw over them. It barely covered them, and I found myself picking up more and more of them with their fancy graphic designs and bold colors. It was amazing to not have to just wear white.

I bounced on my toes as I headed towards the pile of lingerie. I had no use for it, but I couldn't help but tilt my head in wonder.

"Never seen that before?" a voice interrupted, sending me skittering into the shelf as I turned with my pile of clothing pressed tight against my pounding chest.

"Oh, hi! I didn't hear you," I said, blinking at her.

"The name's Amy," the young woman said with a snort as she crossed her arms and wriggled her eyebrows.

"Ummm...Kate."

"The POW, yeah, I know," she replied as she arched a perfect black eyebrow at me. She tossed her curly cindered hair over her shoulder.

"I'm not sure you have much use for lingerie unless you have a crush on your capturer?"

"I....oh goodness no...no, not at all. I've just never seen it before," I said as I straightened my back. "But I should...get going."

"There's not much to do around here, Kate. Why don't you put that stuff away in your room and join us in the common room for beer, popcorn, and a movie?" Amy suggested, throwing me an artificial smile before heading to the door. She winked as she closed it behind her.

I rubbed my hand over my face before heading out. Amy had an arm thrown over the couch, and she watched me as I shot her a smile before heading to the hallway.

There was no way I was going to escape that woman. I gritted my teeth as I put the clothes in Hunter's closet and grabbed something to wear for now.

When I got back downstairs Amy patted the empty seat on the couch next to her and handed me a bottle of beer.

I took it, but her hand remained on it as she tilted her head. "You're old enough to drink, aren't you?"

"Who gives a shit, any ways?" I shot back, and she released the glass bottle with a shrug.

I took a deep sip and tried not gag at the taste. It was like combining a bag of dirty socks with acid and then letting it rot for months.

Absolutely disgusting.

"We don't, so I guess it doesn't matter. You're over eighteen, right?" Amy asked.

I locked eyes with her. I wasn't going to be her toy. I had had enough of being toyed with. "What do you think?"

It worked and she looked away with her jaw tight. "I shouldn't have said anything."

"Exactly," I replied, grabbing a handful of the popcorn she was eating.

"Bitch," she muttered under her breath.

"Yup," I fired back as I grinded my teeth. Over the two month journey through the woods I realized I had lost my patience for stupidity.

"Huh?"

"I'm a bitch, thanks," I replied, taking another sip of the vile drink and wondering why anyone would ever consume it purposely.

She turned her head slowly until her glare met mine.

I watched from the corner of my eye as the other women's attention was drawn to us.

"You're a spit fire now, aren't you?" she asked.

"Aren't you?" I returned.

"Alright, I won't treat you like a baby—we won't treat you like a baby," she said, looking around the room at the other women who looked away from me.

"From what I can tell none of you are much older than me, so we can get off that subject real fast, mhmm?" I replied, my fingers biting into my palms at my side.

"I'm twenty," Amy replied as she tossed some popcorn into her mouth.

"Exactly, not much older than me," I said, taking a deep breath. "What are we watching?"

"The whole Twilight Saga," Amy replied as she nodded her head so the girl handling the remote turned the TV on. "We've seen it a few times...since there are no actors anymore, it's not like we get new material."

"What's it about?" I asked as previews flashed across the screen. I wanted to watch them, but I didn't want to appear as if I'd never seen a movie before.

I hadn't.

"You've never heard of Twilight? It's a classic; the first movie came out in 2008," Amy explained.

"That was a long time ago," I replied as I put my beer down on the table with no plans of ever touching another one again.

"It may be old, but it's still awesome!" Amy said.

I tried to hide my skeptical look from them as I watched a deer running across the screen. The music, I had to admit, already had me enthralled.