Darcy shakes her head. “Maybe after we eat. I’m starving.” She then picks up the ramen and fork and starts to eat.
I stare at her a moment longer before the movie starts. I still don’t know her real name. But I feel like it’s going to take some time of getting her to realize I’m not a bad guy to ask her something like what her real name is. Hell, to get to know her whole story. I’ll have to get that alcohol because I need to know what’s happening here and, if she’ll tell me, who I need to kill to make sure without a shadow of a doubt she’ll never have to fear for her life again.
We finish our ramen as the movie plays. I can’t help but smile, I haven’t seen the film in a while and it’s nice to have a chance to breathe and watch it. It’s been a while since I could come here, and though this isn’t time off?I still need to contact my father and offer an excuse of why I haven’t killed her?being able to forget and enjoy the movie is very much needed after the amount of work I’ve been doing, and now this. I did not see this job going like this, but I just knew after getting intel on her, I couldn’t murder this woman. Not for any amount of money, she didn’t do a single thing that would make me think she’s a garbage human. And Bancrofts only take out the garbage of the world.
She nudges me and I look over at her.
“Why is this your favorite movie?”
I look back at the screen. “I don’t know. I saw it as a kid. I had a crush on Molly, but I also relate to Ducky. I’m still pissed he didn’t get the girl in the end. I wish we could see the alternating ending where he was supposed to get her, but Molly chose Andrew over Jon and the director went with it.”
A smile spreads across her face and she looks like she wants to laugh but suppresses it. “You related to Ducky? But you’re attractive, not an ugly duckling.”
Her cheeks turn pink as if the words left her fingers before she could fully process them.
I laugh. “Good to know you think I’m attractive, but that wasn’t the case in high school. I had to work to get to this level and it wasn’t easy. I had acne and my body was lanky over being filled out. I didn’t reach something akin to good-looking until my sophomore year of college and that’s only because I had a girlfriend who taught me how to be confident. Before her, I was always a friend but never a lover kind of guy.”
She cocks her head to the side and she squints at me. After a moment, she shakes her head. “There’s no way. You’ve always been hot. You just want me to believe you were Ducky when you were actually Steff.”
My nose wrinkles. “Steff? I’m not a douchebag. Do I come off like a douchebag?”
She holds up her thumb and index fingers before pinching them together. “Little bit.”
I sigh. “I make a girl ramen and this is how she treats me. I don’t know what I did to deserve this kind of treatment.” I lean back and put the back of my hand to my forehead.
A wisp of a laugh leaves her, and she covers her mouth before more can come out. She seems insecure about her voice. It makes me wonder if her being mute is a psychological or a physical condition. She's been taught ASL, so I'm assuming physical, but who knows.
"I guess I see the Ducky comparison, you're both whiney."
My jaw drops. "Did you just call me whiney? And who do you relate to, Andi?"
She looks back at the screen and sighs before shaking her head. "I did at one point, before everything. I was into fashion, wanted to design for New York's fashion week when I became an adult, and be onProject Runway. I never liked the fashion that was popular in the moment. I would throw together random outfits. Wear funeral hats, gloves, whatever I felt like. And she looked like me, the film may have come out before I was born, I still love it. But I think I'm Iona now, old and bitter."
I nudge her. "You are not old. Out of the two of us, I'm the old one. You have a full life to look forward to. You're not even twenty-two. You can still get into fashion if that's what you want to do. You live in New York, there are connections to fashion all over. You'll be starting a whole new life."
She sighs and shakes her head. "No one is going to want to work with me, not when I have to hide my scars under clothing. I can't wear chic stuff. They'll question my taste from the way I present myself."
It's now that I notice that she hasn't taken off my jacket yet, even though it's warmed up in here since I turned the power and heating on. She can keep it on for now. I'm not going to make her think that I want her to undress. The last thing I need is her clamming up around me because I'm a threat. The more clothing we both have on, the better.
"You won't know unless you try putting yourself out there. People are more open-minded now. If you create good work, they won't care what you look like."
A frown pulls at her lips, her green eyes turn their gaze onto the bed under us. She swallows hard and nods.
* * *
A half an hour later, the movie finishes and she claps lightly.
I move to open one of the drawers I know has sweats and sweaters in it. "Do you want to watch another one, or go to sleep?"
Her lips twitch as she frowns. "Can we fall asleep to a movie? I can only fall asleep in a bed if there's the glow of a TV. You can turn it off once I fall asleep."
Whatever works to help her feel comfortable. I still plan on curling up on the little sofa. "Sure. I'm going to take a fast shower and get cleaned up before going to sleep. I'm going to get up early to get groceries for the place, so write up that list while I'm in the shower. Going over to the bookshelf I pick up the pad of paper and the pen, I toss them on the bed. "Don't forget to put what brand of tampons you like. I don't want you to run out at a time when I might not be here."
She nods and picks them up, she then looks toward the shelves of movies again.
I head to the bathroom and shut the door. Going under the sink, I pull out my soaps and my shaver. I stare at it for a long while. I should shave, but I really don't want to. I look at myself in the mirror. A few more days of growth and I'll have a nice beard. I just need to clean up the edges so they aren't so messy.
Stripping, I fold up my clothes and lay them on the counter for the morning.
