“How come?”
“I dunno.”He tapped his fingers against the steering wheel as he drove on.“No time, I guess.More important stuff to do.”
Turning her attention back to the window, she watched the trees lining the highway fly by in a blur.“I’d love to see one of your doodles one day.”
“We’ll see.”
Sydney had exactly one tattoo on her body.A pair of angel wings adorned her left shoulder.They had a bit of a blue glow around them.At least she thought they did.She’d done it so many years ago, the color might have faded out of them by now.However, the memorial to her brother remained.
It’d been the only thing she had felt worthy enough to wear on her skin for the rest of her life.However, a picture Fink drew seemed like a perfect addition.He’d ignited a fire inside her, and she never wanted to forget him.
He was a bit of a flight risk.Considering he’d already attempted to abandon her once, she assumed he’d try to do it again.When he did, she wanted to have something special to remember him by.
People walked in and out of her life.Few of them made an impact.Her brother had, despite her barely remembering him.They’d been so young.Now Fink had, and he deserved to be remembered too.
“Why Sydney?”he asked, ripping her from her thoughts.
Stunned, she peered at him.
Since the first night they’d met, he hadn’t asked her a damn detail about herself.Well, nothing beyond superficial stuff.He hadn’t dug deeper.It was all first-date get-to-know-you junk.This inquiry was more nuanced, and intimate.Suddenly, he had an interest in learning more about her?She was flattered, but the way he worded it didn’t feel right.
“What do you mean?”she asked.His inquiry was odd.
Sydney was a real name.Common, even.It wasn’t a nickname.There was no reason for him to question it.Yet he had.Cocking her head to the side, she studied him.
“It’s not on your original birth certificate,” he revealed.
How did he know that?Her hackles rose, and her guard launched upward.
For some reason, her emotional shields hadn’t felt the need to engage around him.She’d enjoyed his company easily.Perhaps it was because he didn’t ask too many questions.Why now?
“So, what made you choose that one?”he asked.
Tightening her mouth into a thin line, Sydney brought her thumb to her lips.It was an old habit, awful really, but she’d engaged in it forever.Chewing on that nail soothed discomfort.She couldn’t explain it.
“Why?”she stalled.
“To learn more about you.”
Damn him for being logical.She wanted the same thing, but he’d fought her at every turn.He had shared nothing remotely personal with her.Fuck.That was a lie.He divulged a secret.It would only be fair if she did too.
She didn’t have to tell him the truth.She could make up some lame story about how she had a great-aunt who showered her with affection as a child, and when she died, Sydney honored her by taking her name.People did that kind of stuff.Didn’t they?
Probably not.
Did she really want to taint Fink opening up to her with a lie?
If she expected honesty from him, she’d have to give the same.There was no way around it.Whether they were murder buddies who fucked or something more, a foundation built on lies, no matter how trivial, was bound to crumble.
She had to explain it.
Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply, bracing herself to share personal details she never had before.With an exhale, she took the plunge.Staring straight ahead into the dark abyss of the long stretch of highway, she began her story.
“My birth name had a lot of bad memories.”Faint screams filled her ears.The smell of cigarettes and burning flesh stuck in her nose.She scratched at her arm, chasing the phantom marks that had long since healed.
He was silent, but she had his full attention.
“When I turned eighteen, I wanted to shed who I had once been and start over.A new name seemed like the best course of action.”
