Lost Minds

10

Maybe, I've lost my touch.

Maybe, this was a stupid thing to do.

Maybe, Daxon isn't the right guy for my wants.

We hop out of Daxon's small minivan, by the forest. An old apartment building is slightly visible through the trees.

"You live there?"

He nods.

"It looks bad but it's homey." He shrugs, beginning his walk towards it. I trail close to him.

I didn't even know this existed in our town and I've lived here all my life.

My eyes wander to the trees on either side of the establishment as we walk on a narrow path through a dense forest.

Bugs buzz near my ears but I make no move to swat them. Some might be real and others might just be in my head, but I'm not going to keep smacking the side of my face to find out.

Dusk hangs in the evening sky as Daxon unlocks the door to his home. It opens and he flicks on the light and a case of old carpeted stairs is revealed.

"Do other people live here?" I ask as we head up.

"No, I'm friends with the landowners so they let me stay here free." We stop at another door at the top of the steps.

"Friends leave their friends to live in an empty apartment building surrounded by a forest?" Daxon unlocks the door, steps to the side, gesturing me to go in before him.

"The people who are after me, aren't stupid enough for me to just hide in plain sight." I move inside. into a dark black room.

The door shuts and I'm pushed further into the home.

Silence entraps the house, eerily and creeping, drowning us.

The lights finally turn on and Daxon stands inches away from my face, as I regain my vision.

"Boo." He spits at me, as I stare blankly at him.

"Maybe don't breathe so loud and I'll fake being scared or something," I say, pushing his face away from mine.

He gets so close, so often, I'm not even flustered anymore. I never was, to be honest.

I do like him closer than farther away, though.

I scan the room before me and my eyes widen at its simplicity.

One bed in the center, a counter and the stove to the left, and to the right a closet and a door I think leads to the bathroom.

A studio thing, pretty much.

I glance over at him as he hovers close to my side.

It doesn't seem like his style.

He walks around me, sitting on his bed and patting the space next to him.

"Are you just going to stand there?" He ask, slightly bouncing on the mattress.

It could be dangerous getting on a bed with this guy.

"Don't be all touchy or whatever. I'm not here for that." I walk slowly over.

I don't even know what I'm here for.

He smirks and leans back against his headboard. His eyes still hold the coldness they always do.

I don't know what he's agreeing with me for either.

"You want answers to questions and I'm here to provide. Sit."

I do, across the bed from him.

"Why are you helping me?" I ask. He pauses, as his gaze turns left.

"Why do you want my help?"