Page 44 of Beautiful Scars

Maybe she’s not as weak as she looks. And I’m starting to think she’s not as innocent, either.

But she is small, there’s no argument there. Very small. She might not be weak, but she’s still no match for me. And I like that.

I cross the room without thinking and take the seat next to her.

She lifts one of her eyebrows into a perfect arch, and twirls the stir-fry around on her fork. “Sofa for two, is it?”

“Would you rather eat alone?”

She doesn’t reply, and instead puts a forkful of twisted up stir-fry into her mouth.

I watch her, fascinated.

Why the fuck am I fascinated by a girl eating?

I need to think of something to say to her. Anything to stop me staring. “So… how are you?”

She pretends to almost choke on her dinner. “Who, me? Never been better.”

I smirk at her. “Glad to hear it.”

“Well…” She hesitates, peeking at me through her thick, dark lashes. “I’m a little bored.”

“Bored?”

“Yes.Bored. There’s nothing to do down here. I’ve counted the dildos in the closet four times now.”

Now I’m the one almost choking. “We could play hide and seek?”

She gives me a look that could cut through concrete.

“Alright then. What’s your favorite color?”

“Green. Yours?”

“Also green. Because apparently black’s not a color.”

She smiles. “Favorite food?”

I shrug. “I like all food. If I had to choose, probably pizza. Yours?”

“Boerekos.”

I frown at her. “The fuck is that?”

She shrugs, grinning around her stir fry. “Farmer’s food, rough translation. Rice, potatoes, meat. Or, as the natives put it,rys, vlys, en aartappels.”

“You can’t beat a bit of tatties and meat,” I agree. She actually looks like she could do with a good few helpings of tatties and meat right now. I almost wish she was staying longer so I could fatten her up for the winter. “Favorite film?”

She looks me in the eye and says, “Hostel. Maybe Saw.”

I try to hide my laugh and fail. “Are you just saying that because…?”

“That really so hard to believe?” she asks, shoving another fork full of stir-fry in her mouth. “What’s yours?”

I shrug. “I don’t have much time for, or interest in movies.”

“You should watch Hostel. That’s some fucked up shit. Right up your alley, too.”