“Did I miss you?”
The masculine voice on my left pops my eyes open, my neck snapping straight before whipping over to the man sitting patiently, his arms stretched over the nearest chairs as if he’s bathing in the dim track lighting.
It takes a few moments of blinking. But I recognize his gelled blonde hair and brown eyes from the library.
I swallow to wet my mouth, swatting the curl from my face. “Oh, uh, no. Sorry, I wasn’t on the schedule tonight.”
His brows raise, sweeping down the shakes I’m trying to tame. “Do you need to sit?”
“No, I’m okay,” I rush, stashing my hands into my pockets to hide them while putting on my best smile. “Can I help you? I could go get-”
“Oh, no,” he insists, quickly getting up from a red velvet seat.
Dropping the performance from my pulsing face, I take a step back, eyeing his adamant walk toward me.
“I just… wanted to see you,” he smiles, bumping his shoulders coyly.
“Why?”
I don’t like this…
Stopping maybe a foot away, he starts blushing, to the point where he’s wiping down his grin and looking off. “I’ve been watching you since last summer. I thought…” He rolls his head, puffing out a mouthful of air. “I thought seeing you in the library was fate. Since I had never seen you outside of here. You don’t even have social media. But, uh, yeah.” He rattles a laugh, rubbing the back of his neck with his attention on my silence.
My eyes burn, so badly my lids feel like sandpaper as I blink, trying to return the moisture I need in order to see clearly. “Oh, wow.”
“Wow?” he hikes a brow. “Just wow?”
“I’m sorry, I’ve just never-”
“Noticed me?”
My eyes pin, drawing my bottom lip within my teeth to appease the hum of saws vaporing up my throat.
I nod, hoping my silence is enough and that I don’t have to audibly tell someone I can’t see faces through the tears I’m forced to hide.
His lips press together tightly, and he nods, accepting the truth that appears to be brutal for him. “Is Bunny even your name?”
“Y-yes.” I take another step back, cautiously tracking every faint movement of his.
“Hmm.” Replenishing the distance, he loads his hands in his pockets, twisting his lips contemplatively. “What’s your last name?”
Oh, no.
Right as my heart starts to calm, he wants to ask me a question that drugs me with fight-or-flight. I don’t know my last name. I don’t even know my actual birthday outside the one Razor gave me. And I’m sure my hesitance isn’t going to convince him of my answer. “I don’t give that information out.”
But what if he can help?
Is leaving what I want anymore?
My stomach pits, becoming too overwhelmed to breathe, let alone worry about his analytical eyes sneaking closer.
“Bunny, no last name, no social media, or evidence of life outside ofVore. That’s really weird. A face like yours should be everywhere, not stuck in a tent at an amusement park.”
The backhanded compliment needles the whites of my eyes.
He observes the welling water and sighs deeply, his broad chest rising through the white fabric stretched to accommodate him. “I’m sorry. I… I really don’t mean to make you upset. I’ve just become, I guess, a little obsessive and looked forward to seeing you last night. But you guys were closed.”
My hand waves on its own, taking accountability for my emotions. “No, you’re okay. This is a common problem for me.” I try to smooth this over with a lighthearted grin, but as I blink, the streams are slipping free and racing down my cheeks.
