Sunny was certain, when she caught herself making the bed for lack of anything better to occupy her time, that if they didn’tdosomething they would both find themselves in a home for the gently deranged.
Leaving the bed half-made, she sprinted to the top of the stairs. “J.T.”
He was currently trying to keep himself sane by building a city of cards. “What?”
“Let’s drive to Portland.”
Jacob’s attention was fixed on a particularly intricate arrangement. He thought the structure was beginning to resemble the skyline on Omega II.
“J.T.”
“Yeah.” With fingers that were rock-steady, he added another card.
“I guess it’s too late,” Sunny murmured, and sat down to the west of the city. “He’s already gone around the bend.”
“Do we have any more of these?”
She sighed at his dwindling stack of cards. “Nope.”
“I was thinking of a bridge.”
“Think shock therapy.”
“Or maybe a skybelt.”
“A what?”
He caught himself and put another card in place. “Nothing. My mind was wandering.”
She snickered. “What’s left of it.”
“You were saying?”
“I was saying let’s get out of Dodge.”
“I thought Medford was the closest town.”
She opened her mouth, closed it again. “Sometimes,” she said at last, “I’m not sure if you belong on the same planet with the rest of us.”
“It’s the right planet.” A portion of his pasteboard roof fluttered. “Breathe the other way, will you?”
“Jacob. If you could spare a moment of your valuable time.”
He glanced up then, and he had to smile. “You have the sexiest pout I’ve ever seen.”
“I don’t pout.” When she caught herself doing just that, she hissed between her teeth and blew down a building.
“You’ve just murdered thousands of innocent people.”
“There’s only one person I’m going to murder.” Desperate, she grabbed a handful of his sweater. “J.T., if I don’t get out of here I’m going to start bouncing off the walls.”
“Can you do that?”
“Just watch me.” She leaned closer. “Portland. People, traffic, restaurants.”
“When do you want to leave?”
With a huff, she sat back again. “Youwerelistening.”