Elijah stayed where he was, but he hung on every word out of Will’s mouth. It was strange, this being told a story like he was being read to at bedtime. But the timbre of Will’s voice, and the way he described everything- it was mesmerising. And he had gone into a kind of zen state, forgetting all about how cringey he felt, until Travis sidled up to the cell and shattered it all.
He sat then, groaning. “Time to get it over with, I expect,” he said, rising from his cot. He reached out then, extending a hand to Will in a silent gesture that they were okay. A wordless thank you for the story.