Categories > Original > Romance > A Kitten In a Dog-Eat-Dog World
Chapter 5
“FOOD!” I cry gleefully, picking up the menu as soon as the waitress lays it down. She shoots me a dirty look and hands a menu to Adam, who picks it up like a civilized person.
“What would you like to drink?” she asks, with eyes for mainly Adam.
“Hot chocolate!” I yelp as Adam opens his mouth.
“We’ll both just have water for today,” he says smoothly.
“Will do,” she says with a smirk and walks off.
“What did you do that for?” I frown. “I want hot chocolate!”
“When was the last time you had water?” he asks. As much as I hate to admit it, he sounds like an intelligent adult…who has a point.
“At lunch yesterday,” I reply defensively and realize I’m really thirsty. “Oh.”
“Yeah. You need water,” he replies wryly. “What do you want to eat? And try to keep it down low. You’re acting like you’re a homeless teenager that hasn’t been in a restaurant in forever.”
“But I am a homeless teena-“ I start. “Oh.” They would find me.
He smirks amusedly. “Yeah.”
I look at the menu and bite my lip. “Hey, they have turkey!” I whisper excitedly. The site of food is making me happy already. “With gravy, and mashed potatoes…can I get it?”
He nods. “But eat it slowly,” he says.
I give him a look. “But I’m hungry! And I haven’t been starving for a million months! I had food yesterday.”
“You also had cereal today, but I’m not taking any risks. This stuff is rich,” he explains.
“How nice that you care,” I say suspiciously. “So I have a question.”
“We don’t like questions,” he says randomly. “We shy away from questions. No questions.”
“How can you afford this?” I ask, ignoring his creepy statements.
He stiffens. “I’ve got money saved up. I waited awhile to run away, when I was supposed to be a senior. I worked for three years to get enough money, and it worked.” His face contorts. I suspect he’s not telling me something.
“Why did you do it?” I ask quietly as the waitress comes with our waters.
He doesn’t answer. “What would you like to eat?” asks the waitress cheerfully. We order, she disappears again, and I take a gulp of my water.
“Answer my question,” I say coolly.
“You first,” he replies in the same tone. We glare at each other for a moment.
“That’s not fair,” I say. “I was the one to ask the question.”
He grins, but it turns into more of a grimace. “Life isn’t fair, kid,” he says.
“How old are you anyways?” I reply, offended. “I can’t be that younger- wait! No! Tell me your story.”
He sighs. “My mother died when I was born,” he murmurs. “And my father- he couldn’t handle it. He became an alcoholic, and abused me. I wanted to get out ever since I can remember.” His expression is one of regret. “And I did. I planned it well, too. I took defense classes, and a friend taught me how to hack into camera systems.” He stops. “I’ve said too much already.”
“Camera systems?” I ask disbelievingly. “What do you mean? Why would you need to-”?
“Wren,” he sighs. “Ignorance is bliss. Tell me your story.”
I purse my lips thoughtfully. “Well mine is basically reversed,” I reply. “My father died before I was born, before they knew my mom was pregnant. He died in a boating accident. My mom kept up pretending like she was happy until I was around ten. Then she got into drugs, and yesterday, I found her-“ My voice breaks and I swallow painfully. The hurt is rushing back all over again, as if I have to relive this moment. “She ODed. I had to do something drastic.”
He looks at me pityingly. I can’t stand it. “So, is your father still alive?” I change the subject. Well…kind of.
“He’s dead to me,” he says shortly, his eyes hard. “And I plan to never see him again.”
“I’m sorry, Adam,” I say, reaching out a shaky hand to cover his much larger one.
“Dang, your hands are cold!” he cries, and the moment is broken. The lady brings us our food. She hardly lays my plate on the table before I pick up the turkey leg and gnaw at it like…well…a caveman.
“Enjoy,” she says, looking vaguely disgusted at my manners, or lack of them. The turkey is covered in gravy, as are the mashed potatoes, just as I’d imagined, and were steaming. The only difference was that now, it was tangible, and I could actually smell the juices and flavors.
“Easy,” whispers Adam tensely. “Slow, please. People are staring.”
I force myself to take a small bite, and the savory flavors go through my mouth. I’m almost crying, it’s so delicious. “I think I’m in love,” I murmur with a moan. He chuckles.
“I feel the same way,” he says wryly. I shoot him a dirty look and continue to eat. I’m trying very hard to savor it, but somehow it’s all gone in a few minutes. I look up to see him staring at me with a mixture of disgust and amusement.
“What?” I ask, on my last bite of mashed potatoes. My mouth is very full, and the disgust in his expression overpowers the amusement.
“Nothing,” he says in a low voice. “Let’s go.”
“Don’t you have to pay?” I frown. He shakes his head.
“We pay up front” he smiles at me like I’m a child. I frown.
“Oh,” I reply, feeling foolish. “Alright.” I follow him to the front. We pay and then he raises his eyebrows, just before we’re about to leave.
He smiles. “Bathroom?” he suggests.
“Good idea,” I reply and we part ways. While in the bathroom, I wash my hair in the sink and coat my bare arms and legs with water. It’s the closest I’ll get to a shower for a long while.
After I’m done, I walk out. Adam is waiting for me, whether patiently or impatiently, I cannot tell. “Are you ready for your second night on the streets?” he grins in a low tone. “Don’t worry- I have blankets.”
I shudder. The old lady had said that too, and look where I ended up. Which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, considering all of my money would have run out eventually anyway. Who knows where I would have been while those horrid bullies were harassing Adam?
“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you,” he says seriously. He thinks I’m thinking about keeping safe in the dark, which is what I probably should be thinking about, I think to myself. Whoa…that’s a lot of thinks.
“I’m not thinking about that,” I say finally. “But thank you anyways. I actually was expecting that already. I figured that came with the territory of being allies.”
He grins. “Smart girl,” he praises.
“FOOD!” I cry gleefully, picking up the menu as soon as the waitress lays it down. She shoots me a dirty look and hands a menu to Adam, who picks it up like a civilized person.
“What would you like to drink?” she asks, with eyes for mainly Adam.
“Hot chocolate!” I yelp as Adam opens his mouth.
“We’ll both just have water for today,” he says smoothly.
“Will do,” she says with a smirk and walks off.
“What did you do that for?” I frown. “I want hot chocolate!”
“When was the last time you had water?” he asks. As much as I hate to admit it, he sounds like an intelligent adult…who has a point.
“At lunch yesterday,” I reply defensively and realize I’m really thirsty. “Oh.”
“Yeah. You need water,” he replies wryly. “What do you want to eat? And try to keep it down low. You’re acting like you’re a homeless teenager that hasn’t been in a restaurant in forever.”
“But I am a homeless teena-“ I start. “Oh.” They would find me.
He smirks amusedly. “Yeah.”
I look at the menu and bite my lip. “Hey, they have turkey!” I whisper excitedly. The site of food is making me happy already. “With gravy, and mashed potatoes…can I get it?”
He nods. “But eat it slowly,” he says.
I give him a look. “But I’m hungry! And I haven’t been starving for a million months! I had food yesterday.”
“You also had cereal today, but I’m not taking any risks. This stuff is rich,” he explains.
“How nice that you care,” I say suspiciously. “So I have a question.”
“We don’t like questions,” he says randomly. “We shy away from questions. No questions.”
“How can you afford this?” I ask, ignoring his creepy statements.
He stiffens. “I’ve got money saved up. I waited awhile to run away, when I was supposed to be a senior. I worked for three years to get enough money, and it worked.” His face contorts. I suspect he’s not telling me something.
“Why did you do it?” I ask quietly as the waitress comes with our waters.
He doesn’t answer. “What would you like to eat?” asks the waitress cheerfully. We order, she disappears again, and I take a gulp of my water.
“Answer my question,” I say coolly.
“You first,” he replies in the same tone. We glare at each other for a moment.
“That’s not fair,” I say. “I was the one to ask the question.”
He grins, but it turns into more of a grimace. “Life isn’t fair, kid,” he says.
“How old are you anyways?” I reply, offended. “I can’t be that younger- wait! No! Tell me your story.”
He sighs. “My mother died when I was born,” he murmurs. “And my father- he couldn’t handle it. He became an alcoholic, and abused me. I wanted to get out ever since I can remember.” His expression is one of regret. “And I did. I planned it well, too. I took defense classes, and a friend taught me how to hack into camera systems.” He stops. “I’ve said too much already.”
“Camera systems?” I ask disbelievingly. “What do you mean? Why would you need to-”?
“Wren,” he sighs. “Ignorance is bliss. Tell me your story.”
I purse my lips thoughtfully. “Well mine is basically reversed,” I reply. “My father died before I was born, before they knew my mom was pregnant. He died in a boating accident. My mom kept up pretending like she was happy until I was around ten. Then she got into drugs, and yesterday, I found her-“ My voice breaks and I swallow painfully. The hurt is rushing back all over again, as if I have to relive this moment. “She ODed. I had to do something drastic.”
He looks at me pityingly. I can’t stand it. “So, is your father still alive?” I change the subject. Well…kind of.
“He’s dead to me,” he says shortly, his eyes hard. “And I plan to never see him again.”
“I’m sorry, Adam,” I say, reaching out a shaky hand to cover his much larger one.
“Dang, your hands are cold!” he cries, and the moment is broken. The lady brings us our food. She hardly lays my plate on the table before I pick up the turkey leg and gnaw at it like…well…a caveman.
“Enjoy,” she says, looking vaguely disgusted at my manners, or lack of them. The turkey is covered in gravy, as are the mashed potatoes, just as I’d imagined, and were steaming. The only difference was that now, it was tangible, and I could actually smell the juices and flavors.
“Easy,” whispers Adam tensely. “Slow, please. People are staring.”
I force myself to take a small bite, and the savory flavors go through my mouth. I’m almost crying, it’s so delicious. “I think I’m in love,” I murmur with a moan. He chuckles.
“I feel the same way,” he says wryly. I shoot him a dirty look and continue to eat. I’m trying very hard to savor it, but somehow it’s all gone in a few minutes. I look up to see him staring at me with a mixture of disgust and amusement.
“What?” I ask, on my last bite of mashed potatoes. My mouth is very full, and the disgust in his expression overpowers the amusement.
“Nothing,” he says in a low voice. “Let’s go.”
“Don’t you have to pay?” I frown. He shakes his head.
“We pay up front” he smiles at me like I’m a child. I frown.
“Oh,” I reply, feeling foolish. “Alright.” I follow him to the front. We pay and then he raises his eyebrows, just before we’re about to leave.
He smiles. “Bathroom?” he suggests.
“Good idea,” I reply and we part ways. While in the bathroom, I wash my hair in the sink and coat my bare arms and legs with water. It’s the closest I’ll get to a shower for a long while.
After I’m done, I walk out. Adam is waiting for me, whether patiently or impatiently, I cannot tell. “Are you ready for your second night on the streets?” he grins in a low tone. “Don’t worry- I have blankets.”
I shudder. The old lady had said that too, and look where I ended up. Which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, considering all of my money would have run out eventually anyway. Who knows where I would have been while those horrid bullies were harassing Adam?
“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you,” he says seriously. He thinks I’m thinking about keeping safe in the dark, which is what I probably should be thinking about, I think to myself. Whoa…that’s a lot of thinks.
“I’m not thinking about that,” I say finally. “But thank you anyways. I actually was expecting that already. I figured that came with the territory of being allies.”
He grins. “Smart girl,” he praises.
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