Slade (The Protectors #6)(34)

The ride to the DMV was silent. All Jill could think about was taking the test she was surely going to fail because she couldn’t read without it taking her hours, and remembering the questions was going to bring up memories of what Slade did to her body as he quizzed her. As Steve would say, she was screwed.

Adam pulled into a empty parking spot. Dillon followed in his car, parking beside them. Once they were all out of the cars, Adam stopped Dillon and Steve from walking. “Why don’t you guys stay here? I’ll go in with Jill.”

As they made their way inside, Jill was relieved Adam had told Steve and Dillon to stay outside. She was a nervous wreck and really didn’t need an audience for her humiliation. Having Adam there was bad enough, but out of the three, she’d rather have Adam with her. The woman behind the counter stared at them as they walked up to the counter. “I need to take the written test.”

The woman continued to stare until Jill gave her a look. She fumbled with a paper, stood, did something and came back. “Take this and go to computer number four.” She handed the paper to Jill, still staring. “After you finish the test, bring the paper back up.”

Taking offense at the woman staring, Jill sneered, “Is it my mismatched eyes or do I have something on my face?”

The woman was taken back for a second. “Ah, actually you do.”

“Do what?” Jill’s tone was not polite.

“Have something on your face.” The woman pointed. “It’s black.”

Jill’s hand flew to her forehead then brought it back down, nothing was on her hand. “Do you have a bathroom?”

The woman nodded toward the right. “Over there.”

Jill headed toward the bathroom, pushing the door open hard. Going directly to the mirror, she laughed. Hell, no wonder the woman was staring. She looked like total shit. The whole side of her forehead was splattered black and her hair was pushed back and standing straight up from the blast of the paintball gun. She had a large bump where she’d been hit. Specks of black was scattered all across her face. Turning on the warm water, she bent over the sink, bringing water to her face and scrubbed. After a few minutes, she looked up into the mirror. It wasn’t totally gone, but at least she looked a little better.

Grabbing the paper, she looked at it and her stomach dropped. She was going to fail this test, she knew it. The words on the paper were jumbled to her eyes. She just hoped she saw some familiar words and could figure it out on the test. Slade said it was multiple choice so at least she had a slim chance of picking the right one. With one disgusted look in the mirror, she turned and walked out. Adam sat in one of the metal chairs. He gave her an encouraging smile as she headed toward the computers.

Sitting down, she saw notes posted on the computer figuring it was instructions on how to start. Hitting a button next to the note, the computer made a loud noise, which she figured indicated she had hit the wrong button. Hot embarrassment swarmed her body. Closing her eyes, she gave herself a quick pep talk. She could do this.

“Hey, you can’t go over there while she’s testing,” the woman called out.

Jill opened her eyes to see Adam heading her way. “Just let me help her get started. She’s dys—”

“Adam.” Jill shook her head with warning.

Adam walked over, hit a button and a screen came up with more jumbled up words. “You can do this,” he told her before walking away. “Just take your time.”

While Adam knew she was dyslexic, he had no clue how bad it was. “Thanks,” she managed to say with a calmness she didn’t feel. She was freaking out. It was like she was back in school and being asked by the teacher to stand up and read.

Jill didn’t know how long she sat in front of the computer. Some of the words made sense, but her dyslexia was severe and was going to prevent her from doing what she wanted most in the world. She heard the door buzz as someone came in, but she ignored it. She didn’t want to see whoever came in because her pride really couldn’t take it. Three people had come in since her, taken the test and left. She couldn’t even bring herself to look at Adam. She had hit some buttons figuring she was taking the test, but she really didn’t know.

A chair scraped against the floor toward her. Looking over, she saw Slade turn the chair backward to straddle it. “What are you doing?” she whispered, shocked, looking back at the woman behind the desk. “You can’t be over here.”

“Yes, I can.” Slade was looking at the computer screen as he reached over using the mouse. Then he turned around. “Can you please start this test over?”

Watching the woman get up quickly to do what Slade asked, Jill frowned. “You know her or something?”

“Nope, but she knows Sloan.” Slade scooted closer, still looking at the screen, then looked at her, his eyes going to her forehead with a frown. “How’s your head?”

“Sore.” Jill sighed, “Slade, what are you doing? You can’t take the test for me.”

His eyes searched hers before he spoke, “I’m not taking the test for you. I’m going to read the question. Give you the options for answers.”

“How did you even know I was here?” Jill was actually relieved, despite her discomfort. She wasn’t a dumb person, but having him read to her like she was a five-year-old made her feel less than.