THE PRODIGIES

Chapter VIII

I don't know what to say. Even though Chance and I are away from everyone, I still feel like they'll hear every word I say. Like there's a hidden microphone, and they're all waiting for me to spill all of my secrets. I can't tell him. Not now. Not here. This is already stressful. He's not making it any better, but I know what will.

I lean closer to him, and he follows my lead. I place my hand on his thigh, and he instantly tenses up. He looks at me. Confusion is in his eyes, even though he's smiling. I put my other hand behind his neck to bring his face closer to mine. My lips are an inch away from his. He licks his lips, waiting for me to continue.

"UNCLE BRIAN SAID COME AND EAT!"

We both jump and end up bumping our heads. And with that, our moment is ruined. The incident is comical. I instinctively start laughing. I look back to see a little girl standing a few feet away from us, smiling. I'm sure she's proud of herself.

"Okay, we're coming." Chance shoos her away.
"So, what were we doing?"

I stand up, a bit amused.

"We were going to get something to eat." I extend my hand.

He sighs but stands up to grab it. We walk in silence. It's not an awkward silence. I just have nothing to say, and I don't think he does either.

Once we battle our way through more questions and kids trying to tackle Chance, we get our food. I haven't eaten today, and my stomach isn't afraid to let everyone know. No one says anything, but I'm positive they heard it. My stomach is literally singing opera right now.

I grab a bottle of water, and go back to our designated area. We sit down and start eating. I don't waste any time. I eat everything in five minutes. Hamburger? Gone. Beans? Gone. Macaroni? Gone. Chicken? Gone. Even all of my water is gone. I was starving. It felt like I hadn't eaten all week.

"Damn, was it good?"

Chance is looking down at my empty plate.

I shrug my shoulders. "It was alright."

I look at him, and we burst out laughing. At that moment I realize, I should give him a chance. I try to go over the reasons in my head for why I never did, but I have none. My brain is empty. I never gave him the time of day simply because of myself. It was nothing he did. It was all me. I was the problem. I still am the problem. Through all of the short responses and the ignored text messages, he still came to pick me up today. He didn't have to do that, but he still did. I'm disappointed in myself for not trying to get to know him sooner. Even now, the reason I'm here is simply because I didn't want to be around my sisters, not because I wanted to spend time with him. That's slowly changing though.

My attention is directed back to Chance when he offers to take my plate and water bottle to the trash. I give him both, and then I place my feet on the bench, bringing my knees to my chest.

When he comes back, he sits closer to me than he was before. He swiftly wraps his arm around my waist and caresses my side. I lean into him and place my head against his shoulder. We stay like this for a while. Neither of us saying a word. I feel at peace. This is the calmest I've been in days. No weeks. Maybe even months. I am in a completely different state of mind just being next to him. I don't want this moment to end, but all good things come to an end. That's just how life is. I just try not to rush it though.

"You never told me about what happened and why you lied."

Ugh! He had to ruin the moment.

I sit up. I'm sure there's annoyance all over my face as I give him a stare down.