Chapter 33
The restaurant on 5th Street was small, tucked between a laundromat and a closed shoe store.
The sign above the door said Marta's in faded cursive, and the windows were streaked with condensation from the heat inside.
Elijah parked across the street and sat for a moment, his hands on the wheel, watching the door.
He checked his phone. 6:58.
He got out and crossed the street. The air inside was warm, thick with the smell of garlic and tomatoes.
The walls were yellow, the tables covered in red-checkered cloths. An old woman stood behind the counter, her hands flour-dusted.
"Just one?" she asked.
"Meeting someone."
She nodded toward a table in the corner. "Sit. I'll bring water."
Elijah sat. The door opened a few minutes later.
Lisa walked in.
She was wearing a green dress that stopped just above her knees, the fabric soft, the color deep, the kind of green that made her skin look warmer, richer.
The dress hugged her—not tight, but enough to show the shape of her. Her waist was narrow, her hips curved, her legs long and bare below the hem.
She moved like she didn't notice anyone watching, but she knew.
Her hair was down, black and thick, falling past her shoulders in waves that caught the light from the street behind her.
It was the kind of hair that made you want to reach out and touch it, just to see if it was as soft as it looked.
Her face was bare no makeup except for something on her lips that made them shine and she didn't need any of it.
Her skin was smooth, the same warm brown as Elijah's, but richer, deeper, like earth after rain.
Her cheekbones were high, her jaw sharp, her nose small and straight.
But it was her eyes that stopped you. They were dark brown, nearly black in this light, but when she moved closer, you could see the depth in them, the warmth.
They were the kind of eyes that made you feel like she could see through whatever you were trying to hide.
She found him and came over, sliding into the chair across from him.
"Hi," she said.
"Hi."
The old woman brought water and menus. They ordered.
"So," Lisa said, "I know you were high at that party but you didn't seem like it."
Elijah nodded. "That was a different version of me and I don't remember most of it."
"I figured." She took a sip of water. "You were super confident and Loud than you quiet self."
"You know that about me," Elijah questioned with a smile.
"It's hard not to notice you with Frank and....." Lisa
"And what?." Elijah questioned.
"Those red eyes, many people call you a freak but most girl find it attractive." Lisa said pushing her hair beyond.
Elijah let out a breath. "Really, I never noticed."
"How could you, when you barely talk to them. But you did look at me a lot." Lisa spoke with a teasing smile.
Elijah who didn't know what to say, should he say it was nothing because he didn't want to sound like he was stoking her.
[Just tell her straight forwardly.] The system said
Hearing the system, Elijah knew that he couldn't lie his way and just sighed saying, "Well, your extremely beautiful, and alluring it isn't easy to look away."
Lisa's smile widen as She set her glass down. "I like this version of you."
"I heard your tried out for debate." Elijah questioned
Lisa nodded slowly. "My first year of high school, I tried out for the debate team. Made it, went to regionals. My father came to watch, and afterward he told me I was wasting my time, that debating wasn't going to put food on the table, that I should focus on something useful."
"What did you do?"
"Quit the team. Told myself I didn't care about it anyway." She smiled, but it was tight. "Took me three years to realize I was lying to myself."
"What made you realize?"
She shrugged. "I saw someone stand up to Mr. Harris. And then I watched them disappear. And I thought, that's going to be me if I'm not careful. So I started reading again. Started applying for scholarships, Started planning how to get out of this city."
Elijah looked at her. "You're getting out?"
"I'm trying." She met his eyes. "What about you? You going to stay in Blackridge forever?"
He thought about the question. About the gang he wanted to create and what his future with Kai is. "I don't know yet, Maybe or Maybe not."
They ate in silence for a moment.
"Tell me something funny," Lisa said. "Something that happened to you that's so stupid it can't be true."
Elijah thought. "Okay. When I was twelve, I tried to impress a girl by climbing a tree in the park. I got halfway up, slipped, and fell into a bush. The bush had thorns. I was picking them out of my arms for an hour."
Lisa laughed. "Did the girl see?"
"She saw me fall. She laughed. Then she helped me pick the thorns out."
"So it worked?"
"I mean, she helped me with the thorns. That's something."
Lisa was still laughing. "So, the twelve-year-old boy you was a charmer. "
"Your turn."
She thought for a moment. "Okay. When I was fourteen, I decided I wanted to dye my hair pink. My mother said no, so I did it myself with stuff I bought at the corner store. It came out orange. Bright orange. I had to wear a hat to school for three weeks while it grew out."
"No pictures?"
"My mother took pictures. She shows them to everyone who comes home."
"That's funny."
She grinned. "What about you? Any other embarrassing stories?"
Elijah leaned back in his chair. "When I was eight, I told my sister that if she ate the seeds from a watermelon, a tree would grow in her stomach. She believed me. She didn't eat watermelon for two years. When my mother found out, she made me eat an entire watermelon in front of Amy to prove nothing would happen."
Lisa was laughing so hard she had to put her fork down. "How long did that take?"
"Hours. I was so sick afterward. But Amy started eating watermelon again, so I guess it worked."
They traded stories for the next hour. Elijah told her about the time Kai convinced him to climb onto the roof of the school and they got stuck.
Lisa told him about the time she accidentally locked herself in the bookstore basement and spent three hours reading until someone found her.
They laughed at each other's stories, made up details that got more ridiculous as the night went on.
When the old woman came to clear their plates, the restaurant was nearly empty.
"We should do this again," Lisa said. "Without waiting for you to get high and turn into someone else."
Elijah smiled. "I'd like that."
They walked out together. The street was quiet, the shops closed, the only light from the streetlamps and the moon.
Lisa's car was parked a few spaces down. She stopped at her door and turned to him.
"You want to come over?" she asked.
Elijah's heart kicked. "Your parents?"
"They're out. My mom works nights, my dad's on a run. Won't be back until tomorrow."
She wasn't looking away.
"Yes," he said.
She smiled and got in her car. He followed her through the empty streets, his hands steady on the wheel.
Her house was small, the paint peeling, the porch light on. She parked and he parked behind her. She was waiting at the front door.
"," she said.
"I'm not saying no."
She unlocked the door and pushed it open. The house was dark inside, quiet. She reached for his hand and pulled him inside.
The door closed behind them.