To Live Is To Fight (#2)

Chapter 4

I was starving; full out stomach roaring style. All I could remember about the dinner I "ate" last night that I barely touched before Adam waltzed in and kicked me out.

Wow, I actually felt more offended by the fact that he kicked me out before I got to actually eat anything than the fact that he kicked me out, period.

So there I was, sitting alone in a depressed looking corner with a depressed looking table on a depressed looking chair, feeling depressed. My hoodie was covering my face from view and it gave me a sense of isolation and privacy, if that even made sense.

A waiter came to take my order and I spent a whole 3 minutes just going through the menu because nothing looked appetizing enough to eat. Goddamit stomach, make up your damned mind.

Finally, I settled for Bolognaise spaghetti and blanketed mozzarella with French fries on the side.

What can I say? A girl's gotta eat what a girl's gotta eat.

The waiter left and checked in my order while I decided to let myself look around and stare as I please. People think I'm rude for staring but I honestly couldn't find it in me to care anymore. I was too tired and too carried away with the depressed mood of the surrounding that was covering me to even think about what would be running in their heads by then.

Something in the corner of my eyes caught my immediate attention though; a familiar hair color that I couldn't possibly forget.

I was impossible to forget the shade of his hair even if it was styled then. She quickly turned her whole body to scrutinize the man who was walking past the restaurant with three little kids in his arms. A little boy was sat on his shoulders and pressing his tiny fingers onto the man's forehead to the point that the area were starting to turn white.

A girl was being held by the hip and was playing with the fabric of the man's shirt. His left arm was circling her small waist and he hugged her close to his build. His right hand was linked to a slightly chubbier little boy's hand. The kids looked around with their innocent and oblivious eyes while the man's eyes were cautious and weary.

While his grip on the kids seem to be loose and his strides weren't going on a frantic pace, his eyes darted everywhere a few times as if to make sure that they weren't being watched. I casually placed my menu up and slid my body down on my chair slightly to hide my face and still get a peek at them.

I kept on watching them through the restaurant's window while they strolled past by me. The little girl tugged slightly on the man's shirt and pointed somewhere to their right.

My eyes followed where their line of sight and saw a park with an ice cream stand near it. I saw the man nod and with a slight disbelief, watched them cross the road to get some ice cream.

I didn't know what I was expecting but it definitely didn't include the, what I thought was a maddened and cruel, man to comply to the little girl's demands and actually buy all three of them a cup of ice cream each.

After buying the ice cream, they kept walking and turned a corner, disappearing from my sight. I released a breath and looked to my left where the waiter was looking at me weirdly with a tray full of my order on his hands.

My stomach grumbled angrily at the sight of it, demanding to be fed as soon as I get my hands on the food. The second the waiter set the food on the table, I took the laid out utensils and started wolfing down on it. While chewing, I tried to savor the taste and think about what I saw earlier at the same time.

Surprisingly, the food in my mouth didn't turn bitter at the thought of the guy who forced me into joining the competition that might claim my life. The sight of the children clinging on him softened a part of me that saw him as the enemy; the part that hated him for drawing a threat to my family and to Adam's.