She spins away from me with another smile, moving toward the other booth. She's clearly sleep deprived but seems nice. Another ten or so minutes go by, and she sets a glass of water and my food onto the table with a quick "let me know if you need anything else." just before Rhys comes back inside. I didn't see him come back in but he flops into the booth across from me smelling like tobacco and smoke.
"You were outside a while." I take a bite of my fry, watching him watch me. We've never done anything like this before, something as mundane as eating in public. It seems like neither one of us knows how to act.
His arms stretch onto the back of his seat as he leans back, a smirk on his lips. "Tell me more about your Nana."
I swallow down my fry, picking my sandwich up with a slight shake in my fingers and a yellow glow in my ring. "Why are you so interested in her?"
He shrugs, eyes wandering over the other people in their booths. "I sit on her grave with you almost every day. Seems like I should get to know the lady."
Taking a bite, I consider his answer. I guess it makes sense. "I moved in with my Nana after the fire. I had only met her a few times before that, so it was weird at first, but my Nana was a very persistent lady. She burrowed and wormed her way into my trust. She was kind, probably one of the kindest people I've ever met. She was always trying to help people, always lending a hand whenever she could. I don't know how she did it, but she somehow made everyone feel important. She had a way about her that just called to people." I eat a fry, my gut feeling tight and nauseous over the conversation. "She made me feel wanted and loved and accepted from the moment I stepped into her life, even if it took me a bit to trust what I was feeling."
Rhys's eyes follow my hand as I grab my glass of water, flicking from my fingers to my face. "Why didn't you know her before that? Before the fire."
Setting the glass down, I trail my finger through the wet ring of condensation that's accumulated on the tabletop. "From what I could get out of Nana, she and my father weren't close."
"Why?" My chest pinches at his question, my eyes slightly narrowing. He knows this isn't a subject I like to talk about, and he's deliberately pushing my boundaries.
"I don't know."
His arms drop from the back of the seat, elbows resting on the tabletop. "I think you do."
I push my plate off to the side, no longer hungry because of the conversation. "How could you possibly know what I know? How could you know anything?" I realize my voice has raised to an inappropriate level with my anxious anger, a few heads turning my way. I force back a low breath to calm myself. I'm letting him work me up over nothing.
"You're telling me you really have no absolutely no idea?" He's goading me, a smirk twisting his face into something ugly and cruel.
"No. I don't."
He must hear the finality in my voice because he leans back again, lips settling into a line. "What started the fire then? If you're not going to give me the juicy details of your family drama, then you’ve got to give me something."
I huff, my eyes looking anywhere but at him as that knot in my stomach increases. "I don't have to give you anything, actually."
He flicks the side of my head, forcing my gaze. "Come on, Hadley, spill your dirty secrets for me." He leans over the table, his chest pressed into the edge so he can whisper into my face. "Who started the fire, weirdo?"
I jerk out of the booth the second the words pass his lips, and he cackles at my reaction, standing as I angrily grab my backpack and toss cash onto the table. Turning without looking at him, I stomp past all the other booths toward the exit. My waitress says something to my back, but I don't hear it, pushing outside into the cold. I know Rhys is following me, can feel him right on my heels, but I don't look. At least not until he grabs my wrist at the back of the parking lot and forces me to.
"Come on, you know I'm joking."
I stare at the zipper on his jacket, refusing to look into his face. I'm angry without a doubt but also confused by my reaction. I don't know why I don't want to answer his questions, but for some reason, I can't. I don't think I could get the words past my lips even if I wanted to. The thought alone makes me nauseous. "Well, it wasn't funny. Not to me."
His fingers pinch into my skin as he lifts my jaw, bringing my eyes off his chest and to his face. "I didn't peg you for a crybaby." I slap his hand away, trying to get away from him, but he doesn't let me. My hoodie is fisted at my chest, and I'm tugged up onto my toes, his angry dark eyes meeting mine. "Get your shit together, Hadley. If you lose it, we both do."
He lets go of me, letting me stumble forward as he steps out of my space and out of reach. He turns away from me without another word, disappearing from view as I stand there in the dark parking lot, wondering what the fuck just happened.