My eyes drifted to him and he looked at me. For the first time in the last twelve years, he had finally looked at me again. Thanks, dad ig?
"What do you think of that, Mark?" his mother asked him
"I'd love to," he said, smiling a little
She looked at me, waiting for my answer. I didn't want to go out. That's the last thing I want to do right now. But it's better than sitting here and getting deadly looks from my mother.
I just nodded and his mother's lips twisted into a smile again. This family sure smiles a lot.
Mark got up from his seat, walked to the door, and stopped to wait for me. I got up and followed him until we were in front of the house. He avoided my gaze and I thanked him in spirit. The pity in his eyes for me was unbearable.
"So, do you want to go out for ice cream? Or can we go out to eat?" he asked me
My mouth was numb. Nothing was coming out of it. I blinked my eyes trying to process his question.
He patiently waited for me and I wanted to give him a big hug for this.
"I just wanna go out of this neighborhood." my voice came out low but it was audible enough for him to understand
"Sure." he smiled a bit and led me toward his car.
The car drive was silent. My eyes were glued to the cars passing by. I felt comfortable around him somehow. But he was always like this. I don't think anyone can get uncomfortable around him.
"Do you like hamburgers?" he asked me
I looked in his direction and thought for a second.
"Yes." "Then ham burger it is" He stopped the car in front of a cafe.
It had a big billboard on it displaying
"visco's hamburgers."
I followed him inside the cafe. The waiter scanned us and then looked around.
"Take them to the couple's table," he said to the waiter next to him and I felt my cheeks getting rosy. Mark looked back at me having a slightly uncomfortable look on his face. We followed the waiter and sat down at the tables. Mark told the waiter our order but I didn't understand a thing he was saying. The waiter finally left assuring us that we will get our order in some minutes.
"So um, which major are you taking?" he asked me trying his best to make me speak something
"Literature." I kept my voice low but he heard it somehow
"That's cool. Are you aiming to be a writer?" he asked me, his eyes filled with spark. If I am not wrong he was in literature too. But we go to different colleges.
"Not exactly. I just love reading." I replied
"Well me too. It's kind of stupid but I have always wanted to be a writer."
"Yeah I remember you always carried books with you," I said recalling the memories with him, there weren't many though
"Yeah, it always has been a thing for me."
I nodded looking around. I was feeling comfortable with him. More than I expected.
"What's your current read?" I looked back at him and thought.
"I am not reading for now. Just completed It Happened One Summer and I needed some time to process that." He raised his brow at me and a chuckle escaped my mouth. Please, did I just laugh? It felt like it's been ages.
A smile formed on his face too.
"You dont seem like someone who would read that."
And it was my turn to raise a brow at him. And he chuckled. I felt like a burden from my shoulder was lifted off.
"And why is that?" I asked him half smiling
"Just saying. I remember when I read that. It emotionally abused me honestly."
I laughed a bit again. "I understand."
He chuckled and so did I. I felt like my heart was smiling too. The waiter served us our hamburgers.
Just a minute before I didn't feel like eating. But after functioning like a human for five minutes I do want to eat.
"Thank you," he said to the waiter and he left
I held my burger and started eating it. As I took the first bite, Its taste filled up in my mouth. The spices traveled down my spine. Is that how you feel after not eating for two days straight? I sipped the water before chewing it any further and began to eat again. I felt him smiling at me and when I looked up he looked away but he was still smiling. Before I knew my lips curled up into a smile too.
I haven't had a time like this in months. It felt something different and new.
"Do you want to get ice cream after this? It's all on me," he asked me smiling a bit
I began to think and he looked at me with hopes.
"I usually don't treat people to food, you are the first one," he said snapping me out of thoughts
I smiled a bit. I wanted to be out for some time. To get me out of the mess that I didn't even make.
"Okay." I smiled before taking the last bite of my burger
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
