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She avoided the elevator, hesitating briefly before banging open the stairwell door at the end of the hall and jogging down the steps, the black bag easily carried in her hand She took the hts quickly; time seemed to be a valuable commodity At the bottom she paused, took a deep breath and pressed the exit door open, stepping into the light

Vanosis popped into Jeremy’s mind when he saw her reaction to the sun She swayed briefly, froze, and squinted--see in one briefon his truck, and htly

The sensation of being outdoors is so I am not prepared for You don’t realize how much damn activity, noise, and s as simple as stand on a public street I have been shut away too long The gritty feel of pave shoes--my feet feel heavy and hot My nose recoils fro of warht from the sun, harsh and powerful tothe cover and protection of a vehicle Jeremy’s truck is at the curb, and I step unsteadily toward it

He beatsa jacket and box off the seat and grabbing sorin Ionto the truck and sit on the warm vinyl seat The outdoor world briefly distracts hts before es and rass with Su my focus Jeremy climbs into the driver’s seat, starts the truck, and a roar fills the air, the truck shaking briefly before settling into a constant vibration The lack of protection in the truck unnerves e to ing into Ralph’s hard drive, to look for anything that I arble of words in the background that I tune out All ofto her as soon as I can I feel so the finger, to the hand, to Jere to talk to you"

"Don’t touchoccasional docu?"

"I need to visit soet there as soon as possible"

"Why don’t you have your own car?"

"I don’t leave the apartment A car is an unneeded expense"

"Why don’t you leave the apart to your car as quickly as possible"

"I’ you take my truck"

"Why not?"

"Can you even drive?"

"Yes What do you want?"