Leave {z.m.}

Three

My black vans crunched in the gravel along the road. There were a few cafes and restaurants around here. She couldn't have gone too far. The beams from the sun caused me to squint; surely the sun would start to go down soon though. 

Dusk comes quickly and I thrive in it.

A vast number of cars drove past me and the wind would have caused me to shiver if I could have actually felt the cold air. I spotted a middle-aged man smoking a cigar beside a trashcan and I made my way over to him. He had to have some sort of information about the people who had visited this area. He did not seem to have anything better to do in his spare time.

"Have you happened to see a young woman around here with long, dark, wavy hair and big, brown eyes? American. Quite short. Rather animated." 

The man shook his head instantaneously; he was not even paying attention to me. I took the cigar from his pudgy hands and tossed it in the trashcan before glaring at him menacingly. 

"I asked you a question and I expect a real response. Now."

The man who owned a single patch of stubble on his chin glanced up at me with fear in his eyes. 

"She went in there." 

He pointed to a restaurant to the right of him and I nodded before jogging over to it. My eyes regarded the sign on the front of the restaurant's roof. She wasn't lying; she must've actually been craving Italian food.

I entered and the aroma of tomatoes filled my nose. I searched around and eventually found where Adelaide was sitting in a peaceful corner; I prefer to use full names rather than shortened ones. She was not facing me and her long, wavy hair cascaded behind her. I remembered how she made it clear that I rarely asked questions, so naturally, I was going to ask one to prove her wrong. 

"May I join you ma'am?" I inquired politely. 

"Sure," she shrugged before sipping a cup of lemonade.

A waitress came up to the table and wondered what I would like to drink. I told her "water" as I did not drink anything else, nor do I eat. 

"What a boring choice," Adelaide teased lightly.

I sighed and waited for the waitress to return. As soon as I was given the glass of water, I thanked her by saying, "Thank you, Miss Julia." Adelaide, of course, was surprised. 

"You know her name?" 

The waitress, Julia, appeared to be blushing as her heels clicked away. 

"She was wearing a name-tag," I explained to Adelaide bluntly. 

"I didn't notice."

"You are not as observant as I am." 

Adelaide sighed softly. 

"Do not fret," I added, "I am peculiar. Most are not as observant as myself." 

"Did you just indirectly apologize for how rude that last comment sounded?" 

I shook my head, "No, of course not."

Why would I apologize? I feel no sorrow or remorse. 

"I believe you did," she smirked to herself and took another sip of her lemonade.

"I am not interested in arguing with you," I responded, fidgeting with my hands.

"What are you interested in exactly?" 

"Nothing." 

"You're wrong. Everyone is interested in something," she pointed out as her eyes illuminated.

"I am not 'everyone'. I am different."

"I know." 

I cocked my head to one side, "You do not seem to know." 

She smiled as she lowered her eyes, "I do though. You're very different. That's why I'm interested in you." She realized how that had sounded and tried to correct herself as fast as humanly possible.

"I meant I'm interested in knowing more about you." 

I stared at her with no emotions showing on the surface and she drummed her fingertips on the tabletop. 

"You're hiding something. Something big, but you won't tell me," she speculated.

I shrugged and she rolled her eyes. 

"Are we back to this?" She complained in defeat.

"Back to what?" 

"Back to you being silent and me wanting to figure out why." 

I shrugged again, "I suppose so," and she shot me a fixed look of fierceness.

"I'll find out soon. You can try to push me away, but I'll keep fighting and coming back." 

"You do realize that we are practically strangers. You are leaving tomorrow and we will never see each other again," I reminded her. 

"I won't leave then," she brought the straw to her lips and I watched the lemonade go up the red and white striped straw.

"You are ridiculous." 

"So?" She challenged. 

"Did you order something for yourself?" I changed the subject and she seemed to pick up on that but didn't fire back a remark. 

"Yes, are you going to?" 

"I am not hungry."

"Oh, but of course. I should've known that. You never want anything." 

"I want you to go." I studied her facial features and watched as the hurt seeped in. 

"You're alone. You don't want that. Not really." 

"I do, in fact. I want you to go right now," I countered.

"Well, I guess it sucks for you because I'm not going to. I'll reschedule the flight just so I can stay here a bit longer and continue annoying the hell out of you, because clearly someone needs to so you can finally let your emotions out that you're holding back. You're not taking the easy way out, Zayn."

"I cannot 'let my emotions out'. I have none. I feel nothing." 

"No, you feel everything. You're just denying it to me and you're denying it to yourself." 

Julia came back to the table and handed Adelaide a bowl of steaming fettuccine. 

"Anything for you, sir?"

I scowled at Adelaide and snapped, "No," to Julia before rising and heading out of the restaurant.