flew me to places I've never been
Ever didn’t look at her coat, instead, he just pointed toward the rack. "There’s space," he murmured, quietly confident; there was space, because he'd ensured earlier that there would be.
Once she’d settled, he moved to the kitchen. "I haven’t gone out," he said, as he carefully poured the water into the cups already waiting. One had a blue rim; that one was hers. He used to joke that it matched her eyes. Now it was just a system, a habit. "I wrote a list of places I might go, eventually. I ranked them by distance. And noise level."
He didn’t sound embarrassed. He just said it plainly, like any other fact. As he stirred in her sugar—one spoon, counter-clockwise—his fingers trembled slightly, but he didn’t stop. He brought the cup to her, setting it down precisely where the coaster had been angled.
"I still remember where you like to sit," he added quietly.
He didn’t sit across from her. He went to the far side of the table, the corner, and folded his hands neatly in his lap. His gaze dropped to her hands, not her face. "You can leave whenever you like," he said, because he hadn’t known how else to respond to her earlier comment. "I’m alright with whatever you decide." A small pause. "I won’t take it personally."
Once she’d settled, he moved to the kitchen. "I haven’t gone out," he said, as he carefully poured the water into the cups already waiting. One had a blue rim; that one was hers. He used to joke that it matched her eyes. Now it was just a system, a habit. "I wrote a list of places I might go, eventually. I ranked them by distance. And noise level."
He didn’t sound embarrassed. He just said it plainly, like any other fact. As he stirred in her sugar—one spoon, counter-clockwise—his fingers trembled slightly, but he didn’t stop. He brought the cup to her, setting it down precisely where the coaster had been angled.
"I still remember where you like to sit," he added quietly.
He didn’t sit across from her. He went to the far side of the table, the corner, and folded his hands neatly in his lap. His gaze dropped to her hands, not her face. "You can leave whenever you like," he said, because he hadn’t known how else to respond to her earlier comment. "I’m alright with whatever you decide." A small pause. "I won’t take it personally."
but now I'm laying on the cold hard ground
