Little Blossom

"Oh yeah, sure. I'm also certain that a bear would beat a lion in a fight."

The arguing continued as two boys walked into the Little Blossom Cafe. They seemed unfazed by the sudden punch of the coffee aroma or the calming neutral tones present in every piece of furniture. It was like the mirror that brought in light went unnoticed, or the way the couch matched the backsplash behind the counter. The hint of cinnamon that wafts slowly through the air from all the fresh baking in the glass case. Thankfully it was nearly empty, so they didn't cause much of a ruckus.

"Theo I cannot believe you think that's actually feasible."

"Feasible? Since when did you read the dictionary."

"Dictionary? What game is that?"

Theo laughs and turns toward the counter. Out of the corner of his eye he spots a girl typing away at a laptop. Her hood is up and she's hunched down.

"Hey Benson, I'll be right back," Theo walks off and approaches the girl. Her eyes glance up at him but she makes no effort to fix her posture or move her head.

"Theo," he sticks out his hand. She glances down at it before putting hers out as well.

"Amelia," her voice is quiet as if she doesn't want to be heard.

"What are you up to? You look pretty devoted to whatever it is you're working on," Theo sits at the chair opposite of Amelia. She's a little shocked by his forwardness but doesn't reject it.

"Just writing out emails," Amelia's answers are short and to the point but not necessarily cold. Theo eyes at her confused.

"Oh, do you work corporate or something?"

"Yeah."

"I see," Theo sits there for a minute in silence. She keeps glancing up and at the counter.

"So, do you come to this coffee shop often?" Theo's looking for anything to keep the conversation going, even the smallest amount.

"Yeah I guess, I know the staff really well so I like to stop by as much as I can," Amelia nodded towards the counter but kept her eyes fixed on her laptop. It wasn't until a couple seconds after that she continued her pattern of glancing up and at the counter. Theo can't wait any longer. His mind is racing with what could be so anxiety inducing about this situation.

"Is everything alright?" He cuts into the silence. For the first time since he introduced himself, she looks up at him and makes eye contact. Her eyes held an emotion he couldn't quite place. Was it panic? Was it fear? Could it have been hopelessness?

She glances up at the counter before leaning in and saying, "I'm actually here hiding from an abusive ex-boyfriend. He said he was planning on coming to my house so I decided to stay away from home all day," Her voice wasn't even a whisper. So quiet it was almost drowned out by the soft jazz playing lightly over the speakers. Theo had to take a second to process the sudden load of information dumped on him.

"Oh," he paused, "well if you need I can give you my phone number. I'll gladly help you if you want."

She looked him in the eyes again. She studied his face for a second before deciding she could trust him. She passed him a sticky note and a pen. After writing it down, he hands it back and smiles.

"I better get going because my friend is waiting, but please text me if you need," he walks back over to Benson. The two resume their argument and Benson doesn't question Theo's intentions. After getting their coffees to-go, they step out into the frigid spring air. Theo grabs his with both of his hands to try to break the shock. He gets into the passenger seat of Benson's car and immediately cranks up the heat.

"Hey, hey, hey! Chill it with the heat!" Benson pauses and then bursts into laughter at the irony of what he said. Theo laughs as well, but feels his phone buzz. He feels his stomach drop as he reads the text from an unknown number.

"Do me a favour and leave your friend in a ditch somewhere."