He takes one out and sets it on a napkin without coming too close. Then another.
“Eat.”
I hesitate for maybe half a second.
Then I take it and bite in.
Sugar hits my tongue so fast it almost hurts. Soft dough. Sweet glaze. My whole body seems to wake up around the taste of it.
I eat too fast. I know I do. Three desperate bites and half of it is gone before I remember he is there watching me.
Heat crawls up my neck.
“Sorry.”
His face goes still.
“For what?”
I look down at the donut in my hand, powdered sugar on my fingers.
For being hungry like this. For taking something without waiting to be told how much it costs. For looking like I have not eaten properly in years.
“For… nothing,” I mutter.
His voice drops lower.
“You don’t ever have to apologize for anything in front of me.”
Something twists low and sharp in my chest.
I say nothing.
Just take another bite and try not to feel how much those words matter.
He looks away first, gives me that mercy, and opens the other bag.
Black leggings. Gray long-sleeved shirt. Socks. Underwear still in the package. A toothbrush. A hair tie.
I stare at them.
“I didn’t know your size,” he says. “Did my best.”
Nobody has bought me anything in a long time without making sure I knew I would pay for it later.
My throat tightens.
“Thank you.”
He nods once like it is nothing.
Then he lifts his coffee.
“We need to move soon.”
The sweetness in my mouth turns thin.
“Why?”
