12:01

03:00

[unedited]

The two walked toward his house at a slow pace. Though it was November, the California heat was still there. Addison glanced at what she was wearing—shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. Immediately, she tried to cover the scars on her forearms with her hands. She glanced to her left, to see if Daniel had noticed, and moved further away from him.

She felt a blush coating her cheeks. Gosh, I hope it doesn't come to the point where I have to tell him he smells bad. They reached the front porch of his house, and Addison admired the flowerpots hanging from the patio. A swing canopy was to her left, and she stared at it for a long time.

Daniel cleared his throat and motioned towards it. "Do you want to sit for a bit?" Addison hesitated but managed to answer yes. Hopefully, in their next session, Dr. Martinez would be proud of her for genuinely trying.

She moved left and sat down on the bench. Daniel did the same. He didn't smell bad, as if he dosed himself with cologne. Still, she eyed the amount of area between them and leaned away, trying to give herself breathing space.

"Sorry," she mumbled. Addison looked up slightly, expecting to see a face scrunched up, trying to analyze her.

Daniel's face, however, didn't give away any secrets. He just gave her a lopsided grin and leaned back. "That's cool," he told her, as if this were the most normal thing in the world.

What was up with him? It was like he didn't even care if the world was going to end.

The door to his house swung open, making Addison jump. As Daniel's mother poked her head out, she wiped her sweaty palms on her shorts. His mother was beautiful, with olive tone and full lips. Addison could see dimples when his mother smiled, and she had eyes just like her son's.

"Ah! You must be Addison! It's so nice to meet you!"

Addison smiled. "It's nice to meet you, um..."

"Rosa," Daniel said. His voice seemed tight, anxious.

"Would you like some tamales?" his mother asked, holding a plate.

"Tamales." Addison blinked at the woman. Was there a motive behind this? There was no way someone could be this friendly. Maybe a few months ago, Addison thought there could be people in the world like that, but not anymore.

Rosa laughed. "A Mexican's favorite comfort food! Come on, you know you want one."

"I... yes, sure. Thank you." Addison held the plate that was now placed into her hands. Daniel's mother nodded in response and stepped back inside.

Daniel took one. "Want one?"

She didn't, not really. "M-Maybe later. So, you guys are Mexican?"

"Mom is, but Dad isn't. A lot of people just assume I'm white because of my light skin color, but I'm not." Daniel shrugged and his left leg started to bounce. They sat in silence, and Addison was glad that his porch had some distance from the road.

Did Jenna send you? she wanted to ask. She shook her head and gritted her teeth. The look on his face wouldn't give it away, and she needed to stop thinking like that.

"Do you mind if I call you Locks?"

Addison furrowed her eyebrows. "Locks?"

Daniel grinned. "Yeah, Locks for Goldilocks."

Addison scrunched her nose. "I think Addison would be better. I'm not very fond of Locks."

"What about Addy?" Daniel pushed.