Zoe's only wish is to be able to run barefoot through grass, but she knows it'll never happen. Ever since she was born, she's been unable to touch anything living without it instantly dying. It's a curse she would do anything to get rid of, but that...
She looked at the menu and bit down on her lip. It was a habit that seemed to mean that she felt insecure and unsure. It was also a habit that made it close to impossible to resist the urge to kiss her. An urge that became more and more frequent and also more intense every time.
"What do you want?" I asked and observed how her eyes darted back and forth over the menu. She still hugged the bear, but now it seemed more like the hug was to protect her than to protect it.
"I don't know. I... I usually don't eat this type of food."
It didn't surprise me, though it made my heart ache. The menu was of burgers and pizzas and hot dogs and similar. The generally type of trashy food that some people decided they didn't want to eat. But I knew in her case that she had never had the opportunity.
She really was an enigma. Where did she live? How was her upbringing, really? Had she just isolated herself all her life? My best guess so far was that she had grown up in a cult of some sort. Maybe something like Amish, though honestly it felt like it had to be something worse. At least from the conversation in the car, it seemed to be something much, much worse because what the hell was the place she worked at?
The idea that some idiots took advantage of her in that way, forced her to do things, made me angry like nothing else ever had. I wasn't an angry or violent person, but the thought made me want to punch them bloody.
"Is there anything you don't like?" I asked and smiled to hide my less pleasant thoughts from her.
"I don't really eat meat."
She looked away from me as she said that and showed her other tell-tell sign of nervousness. One of her hands had started fidgeting with the bear's fabric.
"Alright. You sit down. I'll order." I smiled reassuring. She hastily looked at me with a quick smile before turning to the tables.
They honestly didn't have many options that didn't contain meat, but I ordered some different pizza slices, fries, the one bean burger they had, and, most importantly, milkshakes. I got the milkshakes straight away and went to sit at the table Zoe had chosen for us.
I couldn't help sighing inwardly when I saw the table. There were some smaller round tables, very fitting for a couple. But she had gone with one of the booths and even though you could sit two on the same side, she had sat down in the middle of her side. I didn't know if it was a conscious decision or not from her part, but it made it clear that she wanted distance between us.
I partly wanted to push her by sitting down next to her. But I also knew that forcing her out of her comfort zone too much wasn't a great idea, so reluctantly, I sat down opposite her and handed her one of the milkshakes.
She had been sitting and holding the bear, looking at it intently with the ghost of a smile on her lips. But as I sat down, she put the bear on the side of the table and focused on the glass in front of her instead.
"What's this?" she asked and frowned at the glass.
"Milkshake. Try it!"
I watched as she took the glass and slowly moved it towards her. She looked down into it for a moment before taking a sip through the straw. It was very easy to see in her eyes when the liquid hit her tongue. They brightened up.
"Like it?" I asked.
She nodded. "Very!"
As she took another sip, I decided to try to get some answers out of her. I wanted nothing more than to solve the mystery that was Zoe.
"Did you ever say where you live?"
I watched her carefully as I asked. But really, I didn't need to watch her carefully to gain insights to her emotions. She bit her lip almost immediately.
"I don't think I have no," she answered and didn't continue with what was the obvious continuation.
"So can you tell me?" I smiled.
"Ehm, a very small town in South Carolina."
"Oh, which one?"
"It's honestly more of a village than a town. You wouldn't have heard of it."
We both went silent. I watched as she looked everywhere but at me during the silence. Finally, I sighed and broke it.
"You know you can trust me, right?"
She stopped looking away and met my eyes. But there was sadness in them.
"I know Felix. I..." She shook her head. "My life is just a bit of a mess. I just need to sort some stuff out and I need to sort it out on my own. And it's not that I don't trust you, I just don't want to get you involved in that mess."
"Zoe, I want to be involved."
I reached over to take hold of her hand. I expected her to pull them away, but she didn't resist. She let me take hold of her glove covered hands and comfort her the only way I knew how.
"I don't want you to get hurt," she mumbled.
My body became ice cold. In my head, a thousand possible scenarios flashed by. Each worse than the previous one. All of them ending with her severely hurt at the very least.
"Are you in danger, Zoe? You have to tell me if you are. Please trust that I can help you. I can protect you."
"I'm not. Really, I'm not. But you might be if you get involved."
"Does it have to do with you work?"
She sighed and nodded. "Can we not talk about it, though? I really don't want to think about it when I'm with you."
I wanted to push more. Her answers so often felt like just half-truths. As if she was afraid that I wouldn't be able to handle the whole truth. But I couldn't push her. And I didn't want to see her sad and upset. So if what she wanted was to not have to think about tough stuff right now, I would willingly comply with her wish.
"Okay. Actually, I have a question to ask you," I said.
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