Aurora Magazine 2018

her face. She stared at the tracks ahead. “Do you want to see a movie later? You know, just the two of us?” The man just stared straight ahead of him as he strode forward. He appeared not to have heard her, but a moment later he responded. “Can’t. I’m busy tonight.” “With what?” “Just stuff.” The girl glanced toward him again. “What kind of stuff?” “Important stuff,” he shot back, his voice lowering threateningly. “Right. Whatever.” The pair walked in silence. Every once in a while the man would pull out his phone, checking for messages. The girl caught him, then glanced up catching his eye. He looked for- ward quickly and pocketed his phone even quicker. She tried to shake off the feeling his action left in her gut. “So…” she began. She trained her eyes on a crooked tree up in the distance, fearing that she would falter if she saw his clear blue eyes. “Are you waiting for a call?” The man stumbled slightly, taken aback by her ques- tion. Recovering himself, he cleared his throat, “Nah, not really. I… kept thinking it was vibrating…” His voice trailed off, bored. Nonchalant. The scenery changed from bare, grassy hills to woods. The pair walked through deep shadows cast by the trees. They were forced to slow down, cautiously picking their way over the broken railroad tracks. “Do you love me,” the girl prompted. Again the man stumbled. “What? Oh, of course I do,” F I T T O N

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