Page 48
I blink. “Of course you eat meat.”
“I’m vegetarian. Have been for a while.”
“We had meat yesterday.”
“No, you’re mistaken.”
“But…”
“Koh, what’s wrong with you? Why are you so absent lately?”
I tilt my head, confused, and frown. I’m one hundred percent sure we had meat last night.
“You love steak. Always have.”
Luke grips the back of his neck, his wheat-blond curls spilling over his fingers as he sighs like I'm a lost cause. “I told you I have a kind of meat allergy. You remember, right? Oh no. You bought this?” He pulls the shampoo out of the bag and holds it up. “I told you not to buy this anymore. It makes my hair way too heavy.”
“It’s fine for me,” I mumble. After all, my hair is much thicker than his.
“Come on. It’s okay if you forgot my shampoo, but don’t act like you forgot I told you multiple times. I need the one for curly hair. Didn’t you write it down?”
“Why would I write it down?” I snap, slightly annoyed. “You’re being unfair. Go shopping yourself if it’s so important.”
Luke sets the shampoo down and turns away, sulking. “Why are you being so mean? You’re the one who bought the wrong thing.”
I don’t understand what’s happening. Luke is vegetarian? That can’t be right. This is a joke, isn’t it?
“We had burgers yesterday.”
Luke laughs. “Where did that come from? We had pasta.”
No, we didn’t.
Or did we?
“Oh, baby.” Luke comes closer, wraps a comforting arm around my back, and kisses my cheek. “Maybe you’re working too much. Your mind is playing tricks on you. What would you do without me? Show me your shopping list.”
I take out my phone and open the app. Luke takes it from my hand and turns away. “What kind of list is this?”
“The shopping list,” I say, collapsing into a chair at the dining table. I feel dizzy and have no idea what’s going on.
“Here. This is the right one. See? The shampoo is on it. And look—tofu isn’t checked off. You didn’t buy tofu?”
“I… maybe I should lie down,” I mutter, pushing myself up from the table. “I don’t know how that happened. I really thought…”
“Good thing I’m here,” Luke says understandingly. “What would you do without me?”
“Sir?”
I found myself lost in the dark, in a labyrinth of twisted lies and false accusations. It’s been a long time since I got lost in it, but after Luke’s name kept coming up these past few days, it doesn’t surprise me that I slipped back in.
“Sir? What can I get for you?”
Like a black curtain lifting and spotlights hitting me again, I find myself standing in front of the meat counter. A big guy with a mustache and bald head grins at me. An older woman stands beside me. When she accidentally bumps me with her basket and apologizes, I finally feel the cold air of the store again.
My breathing is shallow, my mouth dry, and the huge meat selection overwhelms me. I take a frightened step back. Everything spins.
What am I doing here?
