Ten Minutes

Sparky snickered and nodded at Ryan. "Uh-huh. Sure is."

"Hey now!" Hunter folded his arms. "Whose side are you on anyway?"

Sparky thumbed toward Ryan. "I'm on the winning side. And right now... you're losing. So Ryan's my bud for the night." 

Hunter laughed, his eyes twinkling as his gaze shifted to Ryan. If he could take a picture to capture how she looked right now, he would. But a photo would never do justice. It would never capture what he saw. Laughter. Fun. Life. "Careful," he warned Sparky. "She likes to turn on you at the last second."


"I cannot believe you just did that!" Dylan turned his head to see Ashlee's face, just inches from his. "You are so mean." 

"Draw four, whiner," Jeff teased. 

Dylan's eyes narrowed. "She doesn't need any help." He sat up to reach over and grab four more cards, then returned to using Ashlee's shoulder as a backrest. "Oh sure." He didn't care if she saw his cards, and he showed them to her, proving he didn't have anything good. "If I ever win a game sitting next to you, it will be a miracle." He rearranged his cards anyway. "If someone plays a reverse, I don't even have anything bad to throw your way."


Levi cocked his head as he listened to Karla. He'd known she led a quiet life, but something told him it wasn't all just her choice. Whether it was lack of money or lack of friends, he felt a little bad for her. The look in her eye said she missed the band, and missed doing things besides going to the library. 

With the tables turned, he gave her a sheepish grin and chuckled. "I...work." He munched on another chip as a bit of color came to his cheeks. "Mom says I need to rest more. Dad says I need a life. They're probably both right." He shook his head and took a sip of water. "I guess... I dunno... I've been a loner most of my life. Maybe that's why I work so much. If I stop and sit for too long, it... gets kinda lonely." Maybe he hadn't even realized it until he'd just said it out loud. Sounded kind of pitiful now that he thought about it. And here, he was feeling sorry for Karla. 

As their food came, he let the subject drop and said a quick prayer before they ate. Taking a bite of his quesadilla he nodded his approval. "Mmm...this is really good." He took a moment or two just to eat before looking back over at Karla. "So since you and I are so busy doing nothing when we're not at work, we should try doing nothing together sometime." He gave her a teasing grin. "If you can forget for ten minutes that you work for me."


"No!" Gunner yanked his arm away from the nurse's grasp and remained firmly seated on the bench. He'd been sitting under the tree for two hours, silently minding his own business, and he didn't want to go inside to talk to any loony counselor. "Leave me alone," he growled. 

The nurse sighed. Julie had warned her that this patient could be a handful on his bad days. "Come on. Please? You don't want me to have to bring help do you?" 

"I don't care." Gunner stuffed his hands back in his hoodie pockets.

"Alright... have it your way." She left him alone, just to return a few minutes later with two male nurses. 

Gunner's whole body tensed and he didn't look up. He just wanted to sit and be alone. Who cared that he'd skipped lunch? It was rotten food anyway. He didn't hear the words that were said to him, but as the hands reached down to take his arms, he lashed out...

...Sitting in the corner of his room on the bed, he sat with his knees pulled up to his chest. He had a black eye, but it had been an accident that he'd received an elbow to his face. He would have won that fight if a third man hadn't joined in. At some point he'd been given a shot, and now felt so sleepy and lethargic, he didn't want to do anything. He didn't know why he'd fought so hard. He was just...angry. And now his door was locked, and his freedom was gone. It was his own fault. But he just hated this. All of it. He rubbed his bandaged hand. At least he'd dodged having to talk to the counselor today.