Porcelain

I Used Starbucks To Lie

"I don't like it."

Austin was adamant about driving us after leaving the salon, partially because he wanted to go somewhere else, and partially because I had asked where the brake was when I had started the car.

I brushed my fingers through my newly shorn layers. I had asked the lady to cut off a lot of inches (keywords that Austin had widened his eyes at) and to keep the cut flattering to my features.

"I think it looks nice on me.", I said.

He snorted. "Well, yeah. But it's so short."

I had considered coloring my hair, but Austin had convinced me otherwise. My hair now ran (or stopped short) at my collarbone.

"Hey, my hair's as long as yours now.", I joked. He grumbled and Malala barked at my laughter.

Malala had been a sweetheart, keeping me from freaking out in public. The ladies at the salon loved her, and now she was sitting in Austin's car like a perfect child.

Austin had a Hummer, a car I had been verbally disgusted with, and, for a moment, refused to get into. Big car for a big boy, I had insulted.

In this ugly, pollution-causing, emission-sharing car, I was now checking my hair at different angles, taking on a newly-found admiration of myself. Suddenly, I felt my phone vibrate. I was, of course, surprised, and so I checked the screen, only to see that a private number had texted me:

nice hair

My heart stilled, and my body tensed. I glanced at Austin, who was fiddling with the radio. I looked back down at my phone, and stowed it for the time being.

I cleared my throat nervously. "Hey," I asked. "Where are we going?"

He caught my anxiety. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I just don't wanna pee on your ugly car." I was a good liar; after all, I had learned all my tricks from Angel and James.

"Oh. I was gonna take you to lunch...but we can just do a quick stop at Starbucks or something."

I smiled. "I miss Starbucks."

He smiled back. "Starbucks it is."

He took a smooth U-turn, and I decided that if we were ever needing an escape car, Michael would be the driver. Soon, we were at Starbucks. He parked, and I held onto Malala's leash, walking in. I handed the leash to him and walked into the bathroom, not at all suspiciously.

I fiddled with my phone, sending a reverse hack to track where the private text had originated, because even if I did not understand technology and its trends, I was great at doing the things phones were not meant for. I walked back out and saw Austin with two cups in his hand.

I raised a brow. "You don't know my coffee order."

"I went with hot chocolate. You can tell me your order next time."

"Next time?"

He coughed, embarrassed. "Only if you want to."

I didn't say anything, and we walked back to the car. I checked my phone before sitting down.

The hack showed that the text had been sent from my own house. I sucked in a breath.

"Ana." I looked up to see Austin looking at me, concerned. I was about to make an excuse, but only apologized and climbed in. He sighed, and gripped the steering wheel.

He turned to me. "I know I rushed you leaving the house, and I didn't want to seem extra eager for you. I just...I want you to be comfortable with me, and the outside."

I could see he was struggling with his words. I waited; sometimes words were hard to find, and patience was required to handle those times.

When he spoke, he was solemn. "I've seen witnesses ruin their lives, Naniya. They hide forever, never getting married, never have kids. For a good while, I was stuck on the relocation team. People are ruled by fear. I just don't want you to be a statistic."

I touched his shoulder. "Thank you." I didn't know what else to say, but I was touched by his concern, and I hoped he understood my gratitude.

"Take me home?"

"I'd be glad to."

Thanks for reading!

I have finals this week, so I don't think I'll be updating too much. But I will definitely get to it next week because winter break will start. 

Vote, comment, share, etc.

~Amira.