Chapter 13 #3
He leans back against the booth. “The waitress.”
“What about her?”
“Kai.”
“What?”
“She was flirting with you.”
I stare. “No she wasn't.”
“She absolutely was.”
“She was being polite.”
Ash gives me a look usually reserved for particularly stubborn children. “No.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“She works for tips.”
“She also thinks you're attractive.”
I laugh. “You're serious.”
“I'm very serious.”
I shake my head. “You're reading too much into it.”
“I'm really not.”
I think back through the interaction. She smiled. Asked if I was new. Said she'd remember me.
… Oh. “No.” Ash watches realization slowly spread across my face. “Oh my God.”
“There it is.”
“I thought she was just…”
“Being friendly?”
“Yeah.”
He actually laughs. Not the amused chuckle I've gotten used to. A full laugh. His shoulders shake.
I narrow my eyes. “Stop.”
“I can't.”
“This isn't funny.”
“It is a little.”
“I genuinely didn't know.”
“I know.”
“That's embarrassing.”
“It's adorable.”
“I don't want to be adorable.”
“You don't get a vote.”
I cross my arms. “I refuse.”
“Denied.”
The waitress returns carrying two mugs of coffee. She sets mine down first. “There you go.”
“Thanks.”
Her eyes flick toward me again. “If you need recommendations, breakfast is always the right answer.”
“I'll keep that in mind.”
“I make excellent recommendations.”
“I believe you.”
She smiles again before walking away.
The second she's out of earshot, Ash raises one eyebrow.
“What?”
“You smiled.”
“I was being polite.”
“You smiled.”
“She brought me coffee.”
“So?”
“I like coffee.”
“You are unbelievably oblivious.”
I hide behind my menu. “I'm choosing not to participate in this conversation anymore.”
Ash snorts.
We spend the next several minutes studying our menus. Everything comes with either pancakes, waffles, hash browns, biscuits, or all four somehow. The portions look absurd.
I haven't realized how hungry I am until now. Actually, that's not true. I haven't allowed myself to notice. Yesterday morning I drank coffee. Then everything happened with Noah. Then Ash found me. Somewhere in there, food had quietly stopped existing.
My stomach growls loudly enough that Ash glances up. I immediately pretend not to hear it. He definitely hears it. His expression changes. Not dramatically. Just enough.
“When was the last time you ate?”
I keep looking at the menu. “I don't know.”
“Kai.”
“I had…” I stop. Coffee doesn't count. Neither does the protein bar I'd picked at yesterday morning. “I honestly don't remember.” The words come out quieter than I intended.
Ash doesn't say anything for a moment.
When the waitress comes back to take our order, he lets me speak first.
“I'll have…” I scan the menu one more time. “The giant Belgian waffles.”
She nods. “They're huge, you sure?”
I hesitate. Then another thought occurs to me. “Can I actually get two?”
The waitress blinks but doesn’t question my choice. “Absolutely.”
Ash orders eggs, bacon, hash browns, toast, and enough coffee to keep a small office building awake.
When she leaves, silence settles comfortably between us. I wrap both hands around my mug. The warmth feels nice.
“I didn't realize.”
Ash looks up. “What?”
“That I hadn't eaten.”
He watches me carefully. “I figured.”
“I wasn't trying not to.”
“I know.”
“I just…” I search for the words. “I forgot.”
His jaw tightens almost imperceptibly. “I know.”
He doesn't make me feel guilty. He doesn't lecture me. He simply reaches across the table and nudges the little basket of jam packets toward me for no reason whatsoever. The gesture is so unnecessary that I almost laugh.
Twenty minutes later, the waitress returns balancing an enormous platter.
She wasn't kidding. The waffles are gigantic. Golden brown. Covered in butter. Dusted with powdered sugar. A little pitcher of warm maple syrup sits on the side.
My stomach immediately growls again.
I pour syrup over the first waffle. Then the second. Steam rises into the air. The first bite nearly makes me close my eyes. “Oh.”
Ash chuckles. “Good?”
I point my fork at him. “You knew.”
“I did.”
“You absolutely knew.”
“I've been saying that.”
I take another bite. Then another. Somewhere around the halfway point of the first waffle, I realize I'm eating faster than I have in months. Not because I'm trying to. Because my body suddenly remembers what hunger feels like. I finish the first waffle. Then immediately start on the second.
Ash hasn't said much.
I eventually glance up.
He's watching me. Not in a strange way. Just…watching. And there is something unexpectedly soft in his expression. Something so openly fond that it makes my ears grow warm. “What?”
He blinks. “What?”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I'm not.”
“You are.”
He smiles into his coffee. “I just like seeing you eat.”
The simple honesty catches me completely off guard. I look back down at my plate before he notices how hard I'm blushing.
For reasons I can't explain, the second waffle suddenly tastes even better.
I don't realize where we're going until Ash turns into the parking lot of an old movie theater.
The marquee stretches across the front of the building in faded red letters, advertising three different films. The horror movie title takes up the center in giant white lettering beside a poster of a pale woman with black eyes standing in the middle of a church.
I stop walking. “No.”
Ash looks over his shoulder. “That's funny. I could've sworn you were arguing with me.”
I point toward the poster. “Nothing good has ever happened to a woman with eyes like that.”
Ash's grin spreads immediately. “I've been waiting six months for this.”
He opens the front door and gestures dramatically. “After you.”
“I don't like how excited you are.”
“I know.”
“I think you're enjoying my suffering.”
“I absolutely am.”
I sigh loudly enough that the teenage employee behind the ticket counter looks up from his phone.
Ash buys our tickets before I can offer. Then popcorn. Then two drinks.
By the time I realize what's happening, he's already carrying everything toward Theater Three.
“Is this the punishment?”
“You wish.”
I glance sideways.
He shakes his head. “This is just entertainment.”
“That somehow makes me more nervous.”
Ash laughs as he pushes open the theater door.
The room is completely empty. Not mostly empty. Empty. The giant screen glows with pre-show advertisements while rows upon rows of seats stretch into darkness.
I look around. “Where is everyone?”
“It's eleven-thirty on a Wednesday.”
“Oh.”
“Most people have jobs, ya know?”
“I have a job.”
“Yeah, but we're skipping it.”
“Right.”
Ash chooses seats almost exactly in the middle of the theater. Perfect viewing distance. Unfortunately. I settle into the reclining chair beside him while he places the popcorn between us. “This is creepy already.”
“The lights are still on.” Ash chuckles. “You look worried.”
“I'm assessing my escape routes.”
He laughs. “You'll be fine.”
“You don't know that.”
“I do.”
“How?”
“Because you're with me and because ghosts aren't real.”
The simple confidence in his voice settles something restless inside me before I have time to question why. The lights dim. Movie trailers begin. Most of them are for other horror films.
Wonderful.
By the time the actual movie starts, I've already decided I dislike every person involved in making it. The opening scene is set inside an isolated farmhouse. A little girl starts talking to someone her parents can't see.
I lean toward Ash. “I don't like children in horror movies.”
“They're usually possessed.”
“See?”
“They're very efficient.”
“I hate that you know that.”
He smiles without looking away from the screen.
The movie spends its first twenty minutes building tension. Nothing particularly frightening happens. Which somehow makes it worse. The family moves into an old church rectory. People begin hearing voices. Doors open by themselves. Mirrors reflect things that aren't standing behind anyone.
I keep telling myself none of it is real. Unfortunately, my heart doesn't seem interested in logic.
Ash notices before I say anything. “You okay?”
“I'm judging your taste.”
“You haven't answered my question.”
“I'm surviving.”
“Barely,” he snorts.
“I'm doing great.”
“You've been gripping the armrest for fifteen minutes.”
I immediately let go. “I don't know what you're talking about.”
His smile grows.
The movie continues. A priest discovers old journals hidden beneath the church floorboards. Someone whispers from an empty hallway. The music grows quieter. Then quieter still. The camera slowly pans toward a dark doorway.
I know something is about to happen. I know it. Every horror movie follows the same rhythm.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
Something explodes onto the screen with an inhuman scream.
I jump so hard I nearly spill my drink. “Oh, come on!”
The words leave my mouth before I can stop them. Beside me, Ash bursts into laughter. Pure delight.
“You're enjoying this?” I question.
“I really am.”
I sink farther into my seat. “I walked into that one.”
“You absolutely did.” He wipes at one eye. “I haven't had this much fun in weeks.”