Ursanthropy
13. Questions

Doreen

Upstairs at Bertha’s apartment, Vic and I had been talking some more. Not anything in detail, but just about how I have been living my life, and what kind of trouble I had faced during that time. And with trouble I meant the lack of money, food or shelter, not my father’s guards.

I am so much trouble for these people here, as it is already, all because I just couldn’t keep it in. My mouth had blurted somethings out, before my mind realised it. Vic reassured me that there was nothing wrong with me, and listened to every single word I had to say.

And after an hour or so, when I was calmed down again, we went downstairs. I had grabbed my bag, without talking to jack, as he was sitting across from Bertha, and Vic guided me past them, pushing me outside.

“Why are you guys being so understanding and caring towards me?” I asked Vic as I turned up the heat in the car.

It’s not like Vic is troubled by the cold, as her tall body and voluptuous, but not overweight size, kept her warm assumedly.

“It’s just the way we are. We care for people we care about.” She simply said.

“But I have been here less than a week! How would you truly know that you care about me?” I asked her.

Besides me still not knowing about the fast communication part, or the fast hair growth that Jack seemed to have, it was also confusing me that they actually seemed to want to keep me safe. And that at such a short notice, even without them knowing all about my past.

Vic stopped the car around the corner, looked around, to see if there was no one here. She was going to tell me something that she wasn’t supposed to tell at all, and I was getting more curious by the second.

“Doreen, was there ever a moment in your life, where you couldn’t explain with logic reason what had happened in that moment? Something that wasn’t entirely possible to even occur?” She asked me, while looking me straight in the face.

I wanted to scream that I had plenty of those moments, in the last few days alone! But I couldn’t, I couldn’t let her know that I was curious about several things that I had seen. Even though she was asking about it directly now, it would make me look like a crazy person.

“Yes, maybe.” I hesitated, lifting one of my brows quizzingly.

“And were you frightened by it, by not knowing how it could be?” She asked me now.

“At first yes, but now I’m actually curious.” Which wasn’t a lie.

Vic sighed, she wanted to tell me more, a lot more I assume. But then she looked around again, to check if there still wasn’t anyone in our near vicinity.

“Could you maybe, I don’t know, stay a little longer curious about it, and trust us without asking questions? Could you trust us that we have a strong connection to you, and that that’s the reason we want to protect you?” She asked me now, which only perked my curiosity even more.

“What kind of connection?” I asked her.

She looked at me, tilting her head slightly, letting me think about what I just asked.

“Right, stay a little longer curious.” I said, copying her words. “Fine, I will.” I sighed defeated.

I will find another way, to get me some answers to my questions. This will not end here.

“Good.” Vic said and started driving again.

Day in day out everything went as if I never had the conversation with Vic.

As promised, I didn’t ask questions, and nothing strange had happened either.

Almost three weeks had passed where I worked with Bertha every day, except for the Sundays, so I could hang out with Vic on the night before. It had actually been Bertha’s idea for me to go out on Saturdays because she thought it would be good for me to socialize with Vic.

“It is important to have a good friend, who you can talk to about everything or nothing.” She had said, and I agreed to that.

We had fun, we drank a little, talked about my troubles in the past, laughed about those same troubles as well, but we also connected on a level of trust that got me comfortable enough to forget about my dangers every now and then.

Which was frightening me too.

Because what if I’m not at the top of my game, and not alert enough to spot one of my father’s guards in time? I mean, I’m here for more than three weeks already and normally I would make plans to leave the current town and search for another.

I quickly scanned the road outside the diner, to see if they would be standing there right now. Which would have been an odd timing, but still, the moment that I thought about this, I just needed to check.

A silent sigh left my throat, good, no strangers to see.

Suddenly, as if it was right on cue for my stressful thoughts, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I screamed, tossed the plate with chocolate waffles in the air, stepped aside and looked behind me with scared eyes.

But as sudden as my scream appeared, as sudden was I laughing now.

“I-I’m sorry!” I stammered and chuckled, while I quickly took some tissues from the table next to me.

Completely standing still, draped with everything from the plate I had carried, there stood Jack…

With his face covered in whipped cream and chocolate sauce, while one of the waffles slowly slid down his cheek, dragging the chocolate sauce all over himself. His shirt was covered in powdered sugar and whipped cream as well, and I guess I just ruined his day.

But I still laughed.

“I don’t think you are sorry at all.” He said, licking up some of the chocolate sauce from his finger, attempting to act casual about the situation.

“What? No, I truly am!” I said, failing completely at stifling another laugh. “What can I do to make it up to you?” I asked him and he lifted one of the corners of his lips.

Oh no… no, no, I don’t mean it like that! He can’t be thinking what I think he is right?

The last couple of days he has become more determined to get me to go on a date with him. I know he said that he wasn’t going to let me go that easily, but asking me out on a date wasn’t something that I was ready for. He has asked me several times, and each and every time I had rejected him. Coming up with another stupid excuse.

So far, I had started, of course, with something like that it is too much for me right now; Or that I couldn’t do that to him in case the ‘bad guys’ show up. But the next time he asked me, I said it was because I had to work, even though Bertha would grant me a day off without giving it a second thought; And the excuse after that, was because I had not been feeling well, at which he had laughed at me. He had laughed!

What if I really was ill? Oh, who am I kidding, I never get sick, so he saw right through my lie!

His face was almost clean now.

“You can’t talk yourself out of it now.” He whispered to me.

My cheeks turned red and my eyes grew wide. He was thinking about it! But he was right too, I had asked him what I could do for him, so I had foolishly walked in to my own trap. Maybe he had spooked me on purpose, to get me to say yes to a date with him!

I looked him in the eyes, and noticed that he was standing really close to me. Then suddenly, I caught this sweet scent, other than the whipped cream or chocolate sauce. It was something alluring, something enticing and really, really delicious!

“On one condition.” I said.

“Name it.”

“It doesn’t involve any whipped cream.” I said, as clear as day.

I don’t know where I got this boldness from, but I surprised myself with it! Did I really just tell him that I agreed on a date? And even dared to say it has to be without the whipped cream? As if I would imply with that, that I didn’t want any fondling or sexual actions!

I could have decided to not mention such a thing at all, and just keep myself at bay when the actual date was happening. Why did I say this?

Jack

Due to the fact that I was covered in sweet stuff just now, I couldn’t detect that delicious scent from her immediately. But it had definitely been there! Only for a slight moment, but it really was there! The moment where she was saying that thing about the whipped cream, it had been present, but almost right after, it had vanished.

How could it be gone now?

She was standing right in front of me, after grabbing the medallion from her necklace from behind her neck, while having a blush on her face. She had been surprised by her own actions as well, but turned back to the woman that had no bold moves on her mind.

But I wouldn’t let this chance go to waste.

“Agreed, I could always use ice cubes instead of whipped cream.” I said while taking a little step forward, towering over her height, making her look up to me.

If that blush on her face could have become any redder than it was now, it would have amazed me. I chuckled inwardly, knowing that she is so easy to rattle.

Even though she is tiny, she is beautiful and cute, even with that red face of hers.

“I’ll pick you up, at the end of your shift on Saturday.” I said and walked away.

I could hear her trying to say something, to come up with another excuse, but I wasn’t having any of it. Vic already knew that I was going to try again, and that the possible outcome would be that her night out with Doreen would be cancelled. This date was going to happen, whether Doreen wasn’t sure if she wanted to or not.

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