Crooked Man

S I X T Y T W O

"You ask a lot. It gets annoying."

What he said didn't scare me. It was the way he said it. Like he had something important to hide. A big secret. He knew something. Something had happened that I didn't know of.

"I-I'm sorry." I say, trying not to look into his eyes, fidgeting with my hands.

He sighs. "That's alright. You'll learn." He smiles.

Learn what? I think. What else?

"So...tell me about your parents. Any siblings? A reason to run away?" He asks, trying to comfort me.

"I-uh...er well...I have a sister."

"No mommy or daddy?"

"Uh...n-no...I mean yeah! I have mom!"

"What's her name?"

"H-her name?"

"Yeah, your mommy's name?"

Should I tell the truth? Maybe I will get some answers!

"Veronica."

He stops and stares at me. "What about your sister. What's her name?" He asks suspiciously.

Hesitant, "A-anna?" I say, suddenly changing my mind. Maybe he has NO IDEA who I am and he probably won't judge me. Anna and Veronica are very commonly used names, right? That's because they're beautiful! He'll understand.

"You have no idea what your surname is, Melody?" He asks chuckling.

"I do! I know. But it's weird."

"Your surname can't be weird. I respect people's names and their families."

"No no no! That's not it." I take a deep breath and let myself absorb all the information. "It's weird that we have the same surname."

At the end of the meal, I was full and we both hadn't said a word after our talk about the surname.
He got up from his chair so I did too.

"Is it still okay that I stay with you? I'll totally understand if you don't want me to. I can find myself a---" He stops me. Holds my shoulder gently.

"No." he says. "No you won't find yourself a place. You are staying with me and that's final." He smiles a huge smile. A bit bigger than he probably should have.

He's probably excited to have company in such long time!

But we all know what happened the last time I spent the night with a stranger...