She seems to consider her next words but doesn’t look away. "I just had to leave."
Annoyed, I run a hand through my hair. "So you had to leave your mother, but you won’t tell me why?" I summarize while wondering what I’m even doing here.
She nods while chewing on her bottom lip.
"What’s your name?"
Her lip is almost bleeding as she finally lets go of it to answer my question. "Sophie."
"And where do you wanna go?"
Now she does look away, which only highlights the truth in her next words. "I don’t know."
Great. Fucking great.
At a loss for words, I look ahead while I try to sort through my thoughts. Dark clouds hang low, and dusk will soon set in. The road ahead snakes through the bleak woods, leading to everywhere and nowhere.
"What’syourname?" Sophie asks after a few moments of silence.
"I don’t see why I?—"
"Idid tell you what my name is," she declares boldly, and I look at her in surprise.
After several seconds, I avert my gaze while shaking my head, and reach into the center console for my cigarettes. "I’m Cole."And I really need to calm down so I can decide what to do next, but unfortunately, I don’t have any whiskey on hand right now.
After lighting the cigarette and taking a deep drag, Sophie’s voice reaches my ears. "Aren’t you afraid of dying?"
Slowly, I look at her again. She’s now turned fully toward me and looks me dead in the eye with a hint of curiosity, paired with skepticism.
"Excuse me?"
"You smoke. Smoking kills," she states naturally and points toward my cigarette with a slender finger.
Is she for real?
"No, I am not. Are you?"
"Am I what?"
"Afraid of dying."
She frowns. "Why do you ask me this?"
I have to suppress a grin and shake my head instead. "I don’t know what’s gone on in your life, but surely, you were taught not to talk to strangers, and certainly not to get into their cars. For all you know, I could be a deranged serial killer."
Her frown deepens before she continues speaking with a seriousness that’s almost amusing. But only almost. "Areyou a deranged serial killer?"
Something’s terribly wrong here. Who is this girl? And why is she acting like she’s the first human on Earth?
"JesusfuckingChrist," I mutter, closing my eyes and rubbing my face in frustration.
Sophie gasps.
"What now?" I prepare for the next stunner. And she doesn’t disappoint.
"You… swore.«
When I open my eyes again to look at her, hers are widened in shock.
