Page 36 of Thorns and Ashes
“Shut up,” I toss back, but there’s no bite.
He smiles and takes another sip. “Then what is so damn funny?”
“That’s not coffee from the cafe.” I bite my lip, amusement filling me as I anticipate his reaction to what I’m about to say to this self-proclaimed ‘coffee connoisseur’. “It’s Folgers.”
I stifle another laugh as he looks at his cup like it’s the biggest insult he’s ever received in his life. I pull out my phone and take a picture, knowing I’ll treasure this forever.
“I feel like my whole life is a lie. Everything I thought I knew.” He shakes his head in utter disbelief. “Really? Folgers?” he asks, sounding disappointed in himself.
“I’m afraid so.”
I finish my coffee in a satisfied silence. After he finishes his as well, he hands me the cup with a sigh. Still not over the betrayal of‘all he thought he knew’. After putting them in the sink inside, I grab more bird feed and come out to him, saying bye to Ellie.
“I’ll be back later to check on you.”
“Why don’t you take her with you?” I ask, refilling the bird feeder.
He tips his head back, eyes closing like he’s holding something in. “It’s complicated.”
“Right.” I let it go since I have no reason to pry, and everyone is entitled to their secrets.
“You actually refill that thing?” he asks. I try not to let the surprise in his voice bother me, but of course, it does.
“Since I’m the one who bought it, yeah,” I retort, a sense of tension finally seeping its way back into our conversation.
“Hmm, guess you really are better with animals,” he grumbles.
“It would appear that way.”
All the ease from this morning is gone, and I’m not even sure how it happened so quickly. Any progress of neighborliness, completely down the drain. Great.
“Ah, there she is,” I say, turning around as my bird flies back from wherever she’s been off to this whole time and lands on her feeder. “This is Robin. She showed up one day about a month after I moved in and has come and gone ever since.” I admire her reddish-orange colors as an idea comes to mind. “Hey, you know, I could watch Ellie for you today if you don’t want her alone all day. I have to run to the grocery store, but I’m sure she’d enjoy the walk.”
I turn around to face Levi, expecting him to be happy or at least considering my idea. Instead, he appears to be shooting daggers at me the moment I turn around.
“Or not? What the hell is that look for?” I demand.
“Is this some sort of sick twisted joke?” he barks at me, glaring with narrowed eyes. Rage pours off him, but I haven’t the slightest idea as to why.
“Excuse me?” I cross my arms, standing my ground, no longer amused by his certain brand of rudeness as my heartbeat thuds harder in my chest.
“You think this is funny?” He looks at me with disgust, his nostrils flaring and lip curling. “You have nobody who gives a shit about you, so you get off on hurting other people?”
Pressure builds behind my eyes, and my vision blurs at the edges as his words land sharply with perfect precision, hitting their mark.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Tears threaten, and I blink hard, angry at myself for it. “I wasactuallytrying to be nice, but you just had to shit all over that, didn’t you? Couldn’t help yourself. But you said it. No one gives a shit about me. So why should I care, right?”
A tear falls, and I quickly swipe it away, but not before Levi sees it. The second he does, his whole demeanor shifts like someone stuck a pin in an overinflated balloon and brought his dumb ass back to earth. The fight seeps out of him, but it’s too late. I turn toward my door and am at the handle when he grabs my arm.
“Wait, I didn’t mean,” he starts, but I yank my arm from his grasp so fast it hurts.
“Don’t touch me,” I yelp.
Turning my icy blue eyes on him, I drop my walls and reveal every emotion I’ve been holding in since my whole world came crashing down around me, not just from the loss of money, but from my house, my friends, my safety. I glare back at him with all the pain that comes with being utterly alone, cast out of a world that turned against me and into a world that doesn’t want me. I let him see it all, because for once, I know I didn’t do anything to deserve his callous words.
He takes a step back, like I’ve hit him.
Good.
