“Zoe?” his voice interrupted her thoughts.
“Sorry,” she mumbled. “If you’re still in the area later maybe we could get together? If you want to?” She hoped her voice was as casual as she meant it to be, even if she wasn’t feeling casual at all.
“You’re not going to...” he hesitated. “You know.”
“I don’t know,” she admitted. She cleared her throat and stood up straight, feeling a bit indignant that he asked her to begin with. “I don’t have an answer for you. It’s complicated.” He nodded silently.
Just say something, anything! she screamed at him in her head. From nowhere there was a storm of thoughts and emotions inside her, each one fighting to come to the surface. She needed to figure things out. He hadn’t told her everything she wanted to know, but then again maybe he didn’t have to? Who was she to know anyway? True, he saved her life, but that in no way obligated him to explain his world to her. It was a distraction on her part, she decided. He had pulled back the curtain on a whole world of information she couldn’t process all at once and she needed time to figure things out for herself. And yet she wanted him to say that he would be around, or would come back.
He put the glass device into one pocket and pulled a set of keys from the other. That was it. He was leaving.
“I would really like to see you again soon, Zoe,” he finally admitted.
Her insides lit up. “As would I.” A string of tension manifested in the space between them. She wasn’t ready to not see him again, and it had more to do with him than with wanting answers to her questions.
“I’m staying at the Canary Hotel, in case you need me.”
She nodded. “I’m familiar with it.”
“I guess I’ll see you later then.” He took a step towards her, the string of tension tightening in the atmosphere around them. . She watched in prickling silence as he slowly closed the gap of space between them until they were mere inches apart. She had to lift her chin to look up at him. Up close he radiated heat, the warmth making its way to her body as he stood in front of her. His hands found her arms and gently rested there a moment before moving up to her shoulders, his thumbs resting lightly at the ends of each collarbone. Her lips parted slightly to allow the air she had been withholding to escape. His face move imperceptibly towards hers and her chest rose up with an intake of air, holding in the oxygen. His intense green eyes seeped into hers, and she felt like time itself had come to a standstill. She wondered if that was also one of his abilities.
His eyes left hers and looked to where his hands rested on her shoulders. His thumbs made soft lines over her collarbones, feeling them with a touch so delicate she wasn’t sure it was even happening. His face relaxed ever so slightly as his hands went back to his sides.
“I’ll see you soon,” he whispered. His eyes made their way back to hers again before he took a step backwards, followed by another, until he backed his way around the coffee table and walked towards the front door.
Zoe watched as he opened it to the morning sky outside. He turned when he was halfway out the door and smiled a handsome smile that might have taken her breath away if her lungs weren’t hoarding the oxygen as though they might run out. The door closed shut and he was gone. She exhaled and sat back down on the couch, still feeling the sensation of his proximity on her skin. The ignition of his rental car turned over, and a small burst of engine fired as he backed out of the driveway and turned onto the residential street.
The house was quiet again. She was alone for the first time since meeting him. The night sky faded away into early morning light and all around her the home was bathed in golden light. Time quickened back to its usual pace. It was a new day.
Her eyes found the box of macarons on the table and she realized she could still taste the faint sweetness of strawberry in her mouth. She took another and bit into it. Her mouth curved into the tiniest of smiles as she chewed, thinking of the way the lights of Paris reflected in Evan’s green eyes.
Chapter 6: A Foreign Visitor
The morning sun was in full bloom by the time Evan pulled into the parking lot of the Canary Hotel. Absent was the morning fog and it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. The symmetry of the weather and Zoe’s change was not lost on him. It was a new day for her and he sensed she would make different choices. He felt certain she would not attempt to take her life again.
Her change in mood was subtle but still exceptional. He wanted to stay with her longer and felt, or at least hoped, that she felt the same. Yet, despite the tiny and unfolding attachment to Zoe Thanatos he knew he must be careful, if nothing else.