In the Absence of Light

39

just wanted to wish you all a happy thursday 🥰 love you ❤️

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Isaac

"Oh my god," she mumbles, her mouth full of food. "This is so good."

"You like it?"

"I love it," she nods. "I can't believe I haven't tried this before."

"It's a pretty weird combination."

"No, it's great. I have to tell my mum about this."

"She likes coconut, too?"

"Not necessarily, but she loves food. She'd try everything except for seafood."

"What about you?" I ask her. "Are you a picky eater?"

"Not really," she hands me my plate back. "I just don't eat much."

"You can keep this is you want," I offer her my food. "I can just order some more."

"Oh, no, that's okay. It'll be too much for me."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," she nods. "This is more than enough for me."

All she ordered was a few slices of garlic bread and a salad. I got gnocchi but requested some coconut milk on the side. She'd never had coconut gnocchi before but was more than willing to try some of mine.

It's still a little early for dinner, but we've been sitting here for over two hours already and we hadn't ordered anything besides coffee. I have no idea how pricey this place is, but I'm trying not to think about it.

"Your family is Italian, right?" I ask her.

"Yeah," she nods. "None of us speak it, though. We're mostly just American."

"It's cool you know your background, though."

"Don't you?"

"Nah," I shake my head. "I'm pretty sure we're British or something, I don't know."

"Does your sister know?"

"Maybe," I nod.

"You should ask her."

"I might. I'm going over there for lunch tomorrow."

"Aw, that'll be fun. You like your nephews, right?"

"Yeah, they're pretty cute."

I just don't know why she invited me over. She usually just asks me to babysit, so to come for lunch is suspicious. She said she just wants me to bond more with Billy, but I don't know. Part of me thinks she's going to talk to me about mum, or even invite her to lunch, too—like a fucking ambush or some shit. I don't fucking know. I don't trust it.

Ivy puts her fork down, pushing her plate away from her. She leans back in her chair, letting out a sigh of relief. I think she might be tired.

"We've been here for a while now," I say. "It'll probably get dark soon."

"Maybe," she nods.

"Do you want to head home when we're done eating?"

"No, I'm okay. I can stay a little while longer."

"Are you sure? I don't want you to get uncomfortable."

"No, it's fine," she glances behind me, looking out the window. "By the looks of it, the sun hasn't even started setting yet."