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There was only one coffee shop with a red logo in a five-block radius of the campus. I pushed the door open, my eyes scanning the tables of students, some with laptops propped in front of them, looks of focus on their faces, or others huddled together in small groups laughing softly and talking in animated whispers. It all coalesced into a vibrant buzz of human activity that added to the worried static in my mind.
I walked between the tables at the front, craning my neck to peer into the back of the shop, my breath halting when I spotted Zakai sitting at a table with a blonde woman. Exhaling, I moved toward them, Zakai’s head coming up before I was halfway there, his eyes growing wide with surprise. “Karys?” he asked as I approached. “Is everything okay?” The beautiful blonde woman, her hair sleeked back into a neat ponytail, her lips plump and red, looked up at me curiously, but I ignored her, my gaze zeroed in on Zakai.
“Is everything okay with you? I just went by your house.” I couldn’t help the tremor in my voice.
He froze, storm clouds rolling over his expression, lightning flashing through his midnight eyes. “You went there?” His voice was the thunder as he came halfway out of his chair. He glanced at the woman and then back to me, relaxing slowly back into his seat though his expression remained turbulent.
“Yes!” I said. “What choice did I have? You don’t show up for classes. I can’t get in touch with you on the phone!”
The woman cleared her throat, picking up her phone from the table. “Zakai, I really should be going. Call me, okay?” She scooted a card that had been next to her phone closer to him and he picked it up, nodding and sticking the card in his pocket.
I stepped back as the woman stood and she gave me a tight smile, extending her hand. “I’m Giselle Blanchet by the way. Karys, I presume?”
I blinked at her, taking her hand and giving it a short shake before letting go. “Nice to meet you,” I murmured.
She continued to stare at me, her gaze discerning. “You’re stunning too.” She looked down, scanning me from head to toe and back again. Though her words were kind, her expression was not. “Too bad you’re not tall enough.” With that, she breezed past me, giving Zakai a short wave as she left.
I sunk down in the chair across from Zakai. “Who was she?” I asked.
Zakai sat back in his chair. “A friend. She owns a modeling agency. I met her here a few weeks ago.” Something shattered in the kitchen and we both looked in that direction momentarily as laughter erupted, and the server, who’d obviously dropped the item, stepped forward and took a bow. I was in no laughing mood. I returned my gaze to Zakai, his own face devoid of humor.
“A modeling agency?” I asked, picking up the conversation.
Zakai nodded, pointing to a large advertisement on the side of the building across the street featuring a man drinking an alcoholic beverage. “Like that,” he said. “That man in the picture is a model. They use his face to sell products.”
I stared at the smiling man with the glass of amber liquid in his hand. That man wasn’t nearly as beautiful as Zakai, but he was attractive and appeared to be enjoying his drink immensely.
“Just sit and let people take pictures of you,” Zakai murmured. “How hard could it be?” He did smile then, but there was no pleasure behind it. “I’m used to being watched, after all.” I recoiled from his bitterness. I’d known Zakai to be cutting, but I’d never felt like the target. Perhaps I was being overly sensitive, but I sensed the deep wedge building between us, and I didn’t know how to knock it loose, or what to do to keep it from growing.
Zakai sighed, grimacing slightly, and running a hand through his shaggy hair as he looked away. “Sorry, Karys. I’m just . . . tired. Who’d you talk to?” he asked. “At the house?”
“I don’t know his name,” I said. “A great big man with bad teeth and a worse smell.” You would have called him a demented frog once upon a time. You would have made me laugh. You used to make me feel so safe. Now I feel alone, though you’re right in front of me.
“Jeremy,” he muttered. “The only one at that place with a shred of decency if that tells you anything.”
I watched his face for a moment. “You’ve hated it there from the beginning,” I said.
He toyed with the empty coffee cup in front of him. “Nah, there’s just not enough freedom. I won’t be locked up again, Karys.” He looked away, out the window beyond where the street lights had just come on.
