Adam might try to slip away again, and I just had to find out what the hell was going on.
"She's pissed," Adam said, leaning back in his chair and taking a gulp from the soda can.
I slid into the seat across from him.
"Yeah. Hey, were you following me last night?" I asked, leaning my elbows on the table.
His eyes were like two chips of ice as they examined me. He sighed.
"No. If I had been, don't you think I would have stopped those guys earlier?"
It made sense. But it felt like the answer I'd given to Jenn. It was the truth, but only from a certain perspective. Sort of like how history was always from a certain perspective, and couldn't really be trusted unless you tried to find a few more ways of looking at something to get an image that really approached what actually happened.
"Hey, want to go grab that lunch now? The sandwiches they do here are pretty good," Adam said.
The more we talked over our sandwiches, the more mysterious Adam became. Yes, his family was just as old as any in the area. Yes, it was his family's money that built the Arnold building.
I remember Jim talking about all the weird stuff in the area, including mentioning something about the Arnolds.
Adam did actually loosen up a bit, smiling and even laughing as we both did our Dr. Hackett impersonations. My throat hurt trying to imitate the scratchy gravel-voice the old man had.
It could have just been that he'd saved my life. Or at least saved me from something almost as bad as getting killed, but I couldn't get him out of my head. I liked the way the little wrinkle formed between his eyebrows when he frowned. I liked his smile a lot.
I tried to tell myself that I couldn't let myself like (as in, really like someone a lot) a guy. Especially not a guy like him, but he was different. Different from all those flakes and skin-deep jerks who used their family's money to exclude people. Adam just felt more real than them, and I'd only really known him a few hours.
For a minute, I wondered if those dumb romcoms had something right about instant attraction.
I realized I was just sort of sitting there, looking at him as I thought about my own feelings. I had to say something.
"So, are you guys witches or something? Someone told me you guys are cursed," I asked right before popping the last morsel of my turkey sandwich on white into my mouth.
Adam's smile died, and he picked at the last little bit of crust on his plate.
Damn it! I killed the mood, I knew. It had been too long since I'd really been out with a guy.
"Adam..." I said, wondering if I should apologize. It was Jenn rubbing off on me, and her attitude towards people. It might be okay for her to say whatever was on her mind, but I knew that talking before thinking often led to hurt feelings.
Clearly, he had many issues with his own family history. But he had such a cryptic face. Though I'd only really seen him a few times, I got the impression that he didn't smile very much, or laugh. It felt like earlier, before I ruined it, had been special.
The only really expressive part of him was his eyes. At that moment, those were downcast.
I felt like I'd kicked a puppy.
"I should go. More midterms..." he said, thrusting his chair back behind him so that it squeaked against the floor. The blonde girl and the cashier both looked back to see what the noise was.
It was all slipping away through my fingers.
"I know how it feels," I said, reaching out to grab one leather cuff. God, this was so hard. The words didn't seem to want to come up through my throat.
"My mom has cancer," I managed, whispering the words so quietly I barely heard myself.
He stopped and looked at me. He searched my face, and I let him, holding my eyes in place so he could see the truth of it in them.
When he did, he sat back down, pulling his chair back in with a bit more tact than when he'd shoved it out.
He listened quietly as the story poured out of me. I told him about when she first learned about it, about deciding
"She's pissed," Adam said, leaning back in his chair and taking a gulp from the soda can.
I slid into the seat across from him.
"Yeah. Hey, were you following me last night?" I asked, leaning my elbows on the table.
His eyes were like two chips of ice as they examined me. He sighed.
"No. If I had been, don't you think I would have stopped those guys earlier?"
It made sense. But it felt like the answer I'd given to Jenn. It was the truth, but only from a certain perspective. Sort of like how history was always from a certain perspective, and couldn't really be trusted unless you tried to find a few more ways of looking at something to get an image that really approached what actually happened.
"Hey, want to go grab that lunch now? The sandwiches they do here are pretty good," Adam said.
The more we talked over our sandwiches, the more mysterious Adam became. Yes, his family was just as old as any in the area. Yes, it was his family's money that built the Arnold building.
I remember Jim talking about all the weird stuff in the area, including mentioning something about the Arnolds.
Adam did actually loosen up a bit, smiling and even laughing as we both did our Dr. Hackett impersonations. My throat hurt trying to imitate the scratchy gravel-voice the old man had.
It could have just been that he'd saved my life. Or at least saved me from something almost as bad as getting killed, but I couldn't get him out of my head. I liked the way the little wrinkle formed between his eyebrows when he frowned. I liked his smile a lot.
I tried to tell myself that I couldn't let myself like (as in, really like someone a lot) a guy. Especially not a guy like him, but he was different. Different from all those flakes and skin-deep jerks who used their family's money to exclude people. Adam just felt more real than them, and I'd only really known him a few hours.
For a minute, I wondered if those dumb romcoms had something right about instant attraction.
I realized I was just sort of sitting there, looking at him as I thought about my own feelings. I had to say something.
"So, are you guys witches or something? Someone told me you guys are cursed," I asked right before popping the last morsel of my turkey sandwich on white into my mouth.
Adam's smile died, and he picked at the last little bit of crust on his plate.
Damn it! I killed the mood, I knew. It had been too long since I'd really been out with a guy.
"Adam..." I said, wondering if I should apologize. It was Jenn rubbing off on me, and her attitude towards people. It might be okay for her to say whatever was on her mind, but I knew that talking before thinking often led to hurt feelings.
Clearly, he had many issues with his own family history. But he had such a cryptic face. Though I'd only really seen him a few times, I got the impression that he didn't smile very much, or laugh. It felt like earlier, before I ruined it, had been special.
The only really expressive part of him was his eyes. At that moment, those were downcast.
I felt like I'd kicked a puppy.
"I should go. More midterms..." he said, thrusting his chair back behind him so that it squeaked against the floor. The blonde girl and the cashier both looked back to see what the noise was.
It was all slipping away through my fingers.
"I know how it feels," I said, reaching out to grab one leather cuff. God, this was so hard. The words didn't seem to want to come up through my throat.
"My mom has cancer," I managed, whispering the words so quietly I barely heard myself.
He stopped and looked at me. He searched my face, and I let him, holding my eyes in place so he could see the truth of it in them.
When he did, he sat back down, pulling his chair back in with a bit more tact than when he'd shoved it out.
He listened quietly as the story poured out of me. I told him about when she first learned about it, about deciding
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