Reaching out to people sometimes doesn't work out the way others intend it to. Inez faced the brute force of those consequences when beginning to tackle the wall that was Sebastian.
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Plagued by loneliness since childhood, seventeen-year-old Inez...
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I Don't Know What I Think
"Inez, why the hell is he walking with us?" Chrissy grumbled.
I looked behind us to see Danny with his hands in his pockets. He was walking behind us for the time being since Chrissy wanted to talk. She wasn't happy about the fact that I let him come to the café with us.
"I couldn't leave him behind," I admitted.
"Damn you and your righteousness. Do you have no brain cells, woman?"
"Of course I do," I huffed, "He came to the park alone. If he had something to do, don't you think he wouldn't have asked to go with us?"
"He probably came to hit on anything that moves," she spat.
"Well, then he would've tried to hit on the bear," I snickered.
"Jesus, Inez," she sighed.
"I'm kidding."
"Whatever, just use your superpowers and read him."
Taking a look at someone and seeing their current mood is something Chrissy and I have sort of developed for sport. She thought it was a nice way for me to practice figuring out others' emotions, and to see who we can trust. Believe it or not, there have been people in the past who've wanted to cause problems for us. One of them being Jake.
Chrissy was also really nosey. A key part of her motives behind having me watching others was her love for gossip. And what kind of best friend would I have been, had I not given her the freshest of drama?
"It's not a superpower. It's analyzing body language people provide," I argued.
"I don't give a shit what it is. Can you tell how he feels or not?"
I turn my head carefully to look at Danny behind me. He tilted his head towards the sky, the golden light beaming down on his flawless face. The light dusting of freckles on his cheeks and the bridge of his nose were more noticeable now. His eyes were bright, and a smile graced his lips. My eyes widened.
There's pain in the way he smiles. A great deal of it.
Chrissy must've noticed my expression because she sighed in defeat before throwing her arms back behind her head. She was done arguing, and let him be. As my best friend, she understood that what I saw was never wrong. It was also a mystery to her how I managed to do things like real people. I tried teaching her, but she said she didn't get it.
"Is that how it is?" she asked me quietly.
"Yeah," I whispered, turning my head back towards the front.
"Do you know what it is exactly that might be causing him to look like that?"
"No. I can only tell that he seems hurt by something. His eyes hide it well."
