Scarlett

Chapter 9: A shady place

"Scar, we haven't got all day." Mark tried to pressurise me to eating my burger at an uncomfortably fast pace. I had ordered a grilled chicken burger. The juicy chicken breast was the best thing I had in a long time. We had halted for a quick break at a local cafe by the road. I spent a considerable amount of time in an attempt to savour the food served to me. Mark, on the other hand, had ordered a club sandwich with fries that he managed to finish within a few minutes. 

"Don't be mean, I want to savour every bite." I said as I licked the cheese off my finger. I knew that I ate like a child but I did not care. There were times when I wished that I  looked and behaved my age but there were also moments when I did not care. It was one of those moments and I was comfortable enough to eat like that in front of Mark.

"Don't lick your finger like that." Mark told me as he covered his face in an attempt to prevent laughter.

"Why?" I raised an eyebrow, with confusion clear in my voice.

"You're too innocent to know." Mark chuckled. It was true. I was innocent. I did not understand what Mark meant or why he laughed at me.

There was so much I still wished that I knew. I felt a little irritated when Mark laughed at me. It reminded me of my childhood. It reminded me that I did not have a proper childhood at all. It made me feel small. It made me feel less than the rest. I tried not to express the annoyance but I was confident that my face expressed it exceptionally well. It made me feel weak. Annoyed by Mark's undoubtedly rude remark, I walked out of the cafe with the half eaten burger still in my hand and headed towards our car outside.

I waited patiently for Mark to arrive while I chomped on the burger. I stood there for more than five minutes after which I began to lose patience considering the reversal in our roles. I was the one who waited for him while he still remained inside the cafe. He arrived after ten minutes when I had already finished my burger. I glared at him as he walked towards me with a paper bag in his hand.

"I thought that we are getting late." I rolled my eyes and looked away.

"We are. But I figured that I could get you another grilled chicken burger. You clearly loved it." He handed over the bag with a smile.

I looked at the bag in his hands and then at his face. I flushed at his generosity and felt embarrassed as I was too quick to judge.

"I... Well..." I fumbled. Everything suddenly seemed like a tongue twister.

"You're welcome. There is a little bit right there." Mark grinned. He gently brushed away the crumbs from the corner of my lips and made his way towards the car.

"Thank you Mark." I told him with a smile as I pulled open the car door. I was slightly taken aback by the touch of his cold hands on my face.

"For?" He asked when both of us were inside.

"For? Um..For the burger. And for wiping my face also. But mostly for the burger." I fumbled and an awkward silence followed.

We drove through the highway without any halt for the next four hours and crossed three towns on our way. It soon began to get dark outside. The night came before us sooner than we realised and the glimmer of the towns that we passed by in our car caught my attention. I watched people, so many of them, busy in their life. The aesthetics of the towns appealed to me. 

I could sense that Mark was tired after the eight hours long drive. Mark and I decided that it was necessary to spend the night at a motel before we continued our journey on road on the next day.  Our phones had poor network connection as we drove through the highway. We decided to stop by the first motel that we would come across on our way. I closely kept an eye on the road, in search of a motel or place for dinner.