I poured hot water into the mugs watching the tea bags turn it a deep brown.
Turning around to face her, I leaned my butt against the counter, my feet crossed at the ankle, contemplating how to start.
I decided to just bite the bullet. ‘Have you always been afraid of the dark?’
Fallon glanced down to her lap. Blonde hair falling like a curtain around her face.
I missed her pink hair.
Batting that random as fuck thought away, I stepped towards the counter and leaned over it to tuck her hairbehind her ear. Her head jerked up at my touch, her mouth parted on a silent gasp.
Her eyes held me captive for a moment before I cleared my throat and stood back up. Moving to a safe distance away.
‘You don’t have to talk about it.’ Anything that put that look of embarrassment on her face made a kernel of anger pop inside me.
She shook her head, a determined glint in her eye. ‘No. It’s okay. It’s just not an interesting story, I guess.’
I went to the fridge and pulled out a small container of milk. I gave it a sniff. Eh, it’ll do.
‘Is that an Easter egg in your fridge?’
I slammed the door closed. ‘No.’
Fallon smiled. ‘You have a block of cheese and an Easter egg.’
‘You’re forgetting about the dead lettuce.’ I pointed a finger at her.
She held up her hands in mock defeat. ‘I’m terribly sorry.’
I grinned, fixing up our tea and sliding it across the counter towards her. Staying firmly on the opposite side.
‘Do you need sugar?’ I asked.
She shook her head, taking a sip. Her nose scrunched up. ‘But milk that’s in date might be good.’
I frowned at my cup and took a sip. It wasn’t awful but it did have a slightly odd aftertaste.
I cringed. ‘Yeah, I don’t go shopping all that much.’
Fallon chuckled. ‘The fridge gave it away. It’s good, thank you.’
She took another sip, this one without so much as nose twitch.
‘To answer your question, no. I wasn’t always afraid of the dark.’
I took another sip of the subpar tea, letting her collect her thoughts. She ran a hand roughly through her hair.
‘I wasn’t that close with my brother and sister. Charlotte for the most part left me alone unless an opportunity to criticise me came up that she couldn’t resist. But Evan… he could be cruel.’
My mind jumped to the man who’d shaken my hand and wrapped his arm around his sister like they were the fucking Brady Bunch. She’d shrunk away from him.
‘In the way most siblings are?’
Fallon looked up from her tea; the sadness swirling in her eyes told me everything I needed to know. My fists curled up on the counter. ‘What’d he do?’
‘He wasn’t physically abusive or anything,’ She jumped in, as if she only just realised that the way she’d spoken made it seem like that’s exactly what he was. ‘He just liked to play… games.’
I swallowed past the lump in my throat, and took a sip of the godawful tea.
