A minute passed between the two with a comfortable silence, passing by unnoticed as Liam closed his book and set it aside with careful motions, as Daniel reached ever so slowly, almost hesitantly, across the tabletop to bring one of Liam’s hands into both of his. He cupped the hand gently, caressing the top of it with the calloused pads of his fingers. Liam breathed in sharply at the touch, and their eyes jolted together in a meeting of shared surprise.
Following his family’s cue, Liam unbuckled and slid from his seat, maneuvering from the car with a speed reminiscent of a sloth, his eyes glued to the house with every movement. It had been quite a while since he had been here, seen this house, walked on this ground, breathed this air.
“Aw, come on, don’t stop now,” Liam protested
He enjoyed this, getting to learn about Daniel bit by bit with each conversation.
Banking on the idea that the kid probably wouldn’t be working on a weekend, at least not at a time that Liam could spare around his double shifts at The Nook, Liam waited until the following Monday to bother venturing into the uptown region once again.
It was slightly past a quarter after three
“What’s got you so worked up tonight, Li-Li?”
Liam raised his gaze from his carton of Chinese takeout, which he had only been poking absentmindedly with his chopsticks for the past several minutes, and glanced across the living room at his sister, Jezebel. Her head was quirked to the side, her short brown hair framing her face and showcasing her one raised brow that begged for some sort of explanation. It was rare for her brother to be this quiet, this silent, no matter the time or place. Even when he was sick and on strict orders not to talk, that wouldn’t even stop him from letting some words slip. He hated the silence.
There lay a touch of hope within his eyes. It was a glimmer of a sort really, a little sliver that required much reinforcement if ever to become a reality.
Liam continued along his stroll, smiling as a rush of unheard words that weren’t his own collided within his mind. A mother’s innate worries as she found herself stuck in traffic, a son’s unvoiced, juvenile hatred at not being allowed to hang out with his friends after school, a young girl’s pining thoughts as she tore the petals from a flower, one by one while seated on a bench beside the small park at the center of town. He heard it all, from high to low, from good to bad, from the happiest squeal to the most the lethargic inward sigh. His smile mirrored those of some of the people he passed, and how dearly he wished to reach out and hug some others, if only it wouldn’t have caused confusion for the unknowing receiver.
