Page 32 of Alik

I sip at my water while my nervous energy sparks in the room. Alik doesn’t mention it as he sits down and leans back, his eyes pinned to me.

A minute ticks by.

Then another.

My water is half empty by the time he speaks.

“Did you mean it when you say you’d rather die than face your mother?”

Face her?

No.

Force myself onto her?

Yes.

I press my sweaty palms onto my jeans and chew on my cheek.

“I guess if you’re here instead of there, it must be true.”

I don’t respond. How is it possible for this man to make me feel so unsettled while at the same time, with him feels like the safest place to be?

“You’re a peculiar girl.”

Yeah… He’s weird too.

Really weird.

It’s part of why I’m drawn to him.

“We all have things that make us unique,” I say, tucking my hands beneath my thighs.

“Some more than others.”

Running my tongue over the back of my teeth, I look up at him. “So what’s unique about you?”

White teeth gleam when he smiles, and he leans back in his chair while he pretends to consider it. Alik’s most unique trait couldn’t be more obvious, but he doesn’t seem interested in pointing out his eye. Even though I’m dying to know about it.

“I can whistleveryloudly.”

A short laugh bursts out of me. “Is that all there is to you?”

He shrugs.

“Alik,” I say through a humored smile. When I let it fall, he does the same, sensing my serious question coming. “What happened to your eye?”

Seconds pass while he leans back, drumming his fingers on the tabletop. He stares at me so long that I start to squirm and regret asking the question. I knew it was a bad idea. I don’t know why I feel like it’s so important.

“You want to know something about me?” he asks, his voice low and menacing.

It seems like maybe I should say no. Shake my head and apologize. But I can’t help myself when I nod.

“In eight years, not a single person has asked me about my eye. Until now.”

My eyes lower. “Alik, I?—”

“You’re not afraid of me,” he says, nearly whispering. “Not for your life, at least. If you see me coming, you’ll run and hide in your apartment like a scared little mouse, but then you’ll ask me point blank to my face about a disfigurement not even my superiors have the spine to talk about in front of me.” He shakes his head. “You are so goddamn strange.”