A Silent Hope

Chapter Ten

Mackenzie

"So, what do I want?" I asked as I sat down at the bar counter the next night.

Thalia lazily raised her eyes from the book she read, seeing as tonight had literally two customers. "What?"

"You said I want something. What do I want?" I repeated, my elbows sat on the counter and palms at my cheeks.

The woman's right cheek popped out as her tongue pushed against it. "How should I know?"

"Because you said so." I mumbled and squinted my eyes at her. "Can I have a mountain dew, please?"

Thalia got me my drink and placed the glass on a coaster. "Anything else?"

"Straw, please." I smiled, face still held by my hands.

Brown eyes narrowed in on me. "They're right next to you."

"I don't see them." I fibbed.

"To your left Kenzie. You just have to reach out." She gritted, annoyance visible.

I huffed. "I'm a paying customer." I could see her eyes glaring at me so I chuckled and behaved. "I'm kidding, sorry."

"You weird human." Thalia muttered and went back to her book.

I grabbed a straw and tore off the paper, rolling it into a tiny ball. "What are you reading?" I put the straw in the glass and sipped.

"The Alchemist." She quietly answered.

"I've never read it." I sipped again. "I love mountain dew. Do you?"

"No." She replied shortly.

"What do you like then? To drink?"

The brunette sighed. "Tea." She muttered then added, "and silence."

I shut my mouth and left her to read then. Tapping my fingers to my glass and feeling the coldness on my skin, I casually sang softly. I looked up to the screen mounted to the wall and smiled when I saw Scooby-Doo showing. I leaned back and linked my hands behind my head as I watched.

"Scooby dooby doo, where are you? We got some work to do now. Scooby Dooby Doo, where are you? We need some help from you now. Come on Scooby Doo, I see you, pretending you got a sliver. But you're not fooling me, 'cause I can see
The way you shake and shiver." I rocked my head to the song, enjoying the beat and shaking my body a little.

I halted when a sound made me freeze. I moved my gaze to see Thalia with her hand over her mouth, eyes quickly moving down on her book. But the crinkles at the corner of her eyes told me I didn't just imagine that soft giggle. She was still smiling beneath that hand.

"Are you smiling? Did you just giggle?" I leaned forward and slapped my hands to the bar counter, eyes wide and jaw dropped.

She cleared her throat and composed herself. "Shut up, I'm trying to read here."

I grinned smugly, whispering to myself. "Way to go, Mac."

I continuously stole glances at the mysterious woman in front of me throughout her reading and my watching the television. No more customers came in, so I had enough time to study her in silence.

Thalia was dressed in a tight top and jeans that hugged her frame. One ear held some hair away from her face, lashes brushing her cheeks and lips quietly mouthing the words she read. Her index finger skimmed the edges of the pages, elegantly dipping between them to flip onto the next page. Thalia's hair was a bit messy from her hand repeatedly finding it. It didn't run through, she'd grip a fistful and let her head rest against her fist.