Post by crypted on Apr 27, 2023 4:29:53 GMT
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She didn't seem to catch on that his answer didn't have any real substance, which was good. He hadn't actually told her anything of value, besides the part about being in Montana. While the story wasn't rehearsed it was generously filtered to ring hollow to an actual listener. But Adelyn clearly wasn't in the business of listening too hard. That was fine by Todd.
That is, until she mentioned the inevitable.
He could lie. He hadn't told a soul about his parents, not since Arlo. It was a secret that had died with him. Todd really wanted it to stay that way. Pity tended to get on his nerves, although with Adelyn, it was less pity. She seemed to have her own sad thoughts, a kind of kinship. Not formed in actual tragedy but in the potential for it. He didn't think he could bring himself to lie to her about it, but here, in a public park, was not the place to bare his soul to anybody.
"Eh, it doesn't really matter," he said, in the tough-guy way that made it seem like the feelings were long behind him. "I was on my own by nine and I don't remember much of them anyway."
Truth was, he had enough memories of them to know he was happy leaving all that in the past. Did he get sad about it sometimes? Sure. And obviously once he'd started showing... symptoms, he'd wanted to look into the situation, see if he could find anything in his past. If it explained anything. But in the time since he'd learned that he wasn't the only member of his family to get the cold chill in his bones, or even the first to really indulge it. He was just the first to put it to good use.
There were more people here, but now the smell and chatter didn't get under his skin nearly as well. A woman with her hair dyed a painful green chatted with a man in fake flannel and jeans that were way too tight, both drinking canned beer with an artistic label. Todd actually found it in himself to nod to them as he passed now. They were coming to the edge of the park when he remembered something.
"Do you have a bus pass or anything? I can pay cash, I just want to make sure before we get there."
That is, until she mentioned the inevitable.
He could lie. He hadn't told a soul about his parents, not since Arlo. It was a secret that had died with him. Todd really wanted it to stay that way. Pity tended to get on his nerves, although with Adelyn, it was less pity. She seemed to have her own sad thoughts, a kind of kinship. Not formed in actual tragedy but in the potential for it. He didn't think he could bring himself to lie to her about it, but here, in a public park, was not the place to bare his soul to anybody.
"Eh, it doesn't really matter," he said, in the tough-guy way that made it seem like the feelings were long behind him. "I was on my own by nine and I don't remember much of them anyway."
Truth was, he had enough memories of them to know he was happy leaving all that in the past. Did he get sad about it sometimes? Sure. And obviously once he'd started showing... symptoms, he'd wanted to look into the situation, see if he could find anything in his past. If it explained anything. But in the time since he'd learned that he wasn't the only member of his family to get the cold chill in his bones, or even the first to really indulge it. He was just the first to put it to good use.
There were more people here, but now the smell and chatter didn't get under his skin nearly as well. A woman with her hair dyed a painful green chatted with a man in fake flannel and jeans that were way too tight, both drinking canned beer with an artistic label. Todd actually found it in himself to nod to them as he passed now. They were coming to the edge of the park when he remembered something.
"Do you have a bus pass or anything? I can pay cash, I just want to make sure before we get there."