One Shots

All That's Been Left Unsaid

As bad as my current mindset was, the people pleaser in me would've felt worse for not taking the man's hand. So, I did that and slowly stood up.

I felt myself sway a little. I was uneasy on my feet. The stranger noticed and was quick to wrap an arm around my shoulders. He guided me to his still running car. He opened the passenger's side door and helped me sit in the seat.

Once I was settled, he closed the door softly, just hard enough to close completely.

If I were feeling more lucid, I never would've gotten into a stranger's car. I wouldn't have let them lead me there in the first place. But I still wasn't in a good headspace, so caution was thrown into the wind.

Whatever the man had in mind couldn't be worse than what would've happened if he hadn't slammed on the breaks.

He sat in the driver's seat and put his seatbelt on. He looked my way. Noticing that I made no effort to put my own on, he leaned over me, grabbed the seatbelt, and clicked it into place.

He really didn't need to do all this fussing, especially over me of all people. He didn't have to do a thing. I didn't deserve it, and I was nothing to this man. We're strangers. We don't even know each other's names.

I didn't have enough energy or care enough to say any of that out loud.

Without a word, the man started driving.

After a few minutes of silence, I muttered, "You never asked for an address."

"Yeah," the man responded, not saying anything else.

I stayed quiet.

Just as I noticed the radio was off, he turned it on. He made sure the volume was low, so as to not disturb the peace of the night or something.

Neither of us said a word for the duration of the drive. I zoned out until I saw him pull into a parking lot. I looked around without moving my head and came across a Denny's sign. Ah, the liminal space that is Denny's in the middle of the night.

"It's the only food place open 24 hours around here," he said. I wonder if I was making a face. He turned the car off and faced me. "C'mon, let's get something to eat."

I didn't move. I guess he took my numbness as reluctance because he undid my seatbelt before getting out of the car.

I moved at a snail's pace. I let the seatbelt retract. I opened the car door and stepped out. I pushed the door shut and slowly followed behind the man I still didn't know the name of.

I couldn't find the energy to ask for his name. But he never asked for mine either, so maybe we're even.

He held the door open for me even though I don't feel like I deserve it. I don't know what I did to gain this random man's kindness, but I definitely didn't do anything to deserve it.

"Table for two," he spoke quietly to the hostess. It was empty, except for the employees and one or two tables taken by questionable characters.

But who was I to judge?

The tired hostess grabbed two menus and led us to a table by the window. She set the menus down while we sat. I gave her a small nod, while the stranger across from me thanked her verbally.

He took one of the menus. When I didn't move to take the other one, he picked it up and handed it to me. I weakly took hold of it and put it down flat on the table. For some reason, it felt too heavy for me to hold up at the moment.

Instead of looking at the menu, I looked outside and stared at the empty road.

I wasn't sure how much time passed before the man across from me waved a hand in my face to get my attention.