It didnāt take much to notice he wasnāt making much eye contact anymore, instead tracing his gaze down to her hands. Instinctively, she left them palm up and loosely open on her lap, showing she had nothing. Part of her wondered if it was her scars, or if he had been..Ā
Her brow scrunched more, concern and worry clearly deepening as she tried to figure this child out.Ā
āI understand if you donāt wish to talk about it, but you.. do not appear to be as fine as you claim.ā Eyes darted down the streets for a moment, making sure there were no suspicious characters watching the interaction.Ā āItās rather hard to get by with just anĀ āIām fineā when Iāve heard it about 10 million times over the years.āĀ
She suddenly paused at the smallerās question, mulling over an answer that didnāt seem roundabout. When Russell added on with his statement, it sent another bundle of red flags up.Ā āI care about children and youths such as yourself, especially when things seem to not be going to well for their health and safety.ā If he was going to be blunt, she might as well be too.Ā
āIāve raised hundreds of children, and when you do so, especially in a war time, you tend to pick up when a child is not doing well, no matter how many times they repeat that theyāre fine.ā She added, trying to figure out how to respond to the comment about death.Ā ā..There are dangers to it, but itās certainly not pointless. After all, if you care about someone, youāve likely had good memories with them, or are able to, yes?āĀ
Russellās eyes had practically become glued to the otherās hand, watching them carefully even as she exposed she had nothing. Russell hadnāt shifted an inch since they started to talk, the young child still rather stiffĀ in his spot- a single wrong movement would likely send him off on his way, although likely wouldnāt send him bolting.
After all, he had little realĀ concern watching this woman. She didnāt seem ill-willed, and even if she was, heād likely survive whatever happened- just like every other time. And if he didnāt?
Well, he didnāt mind that much either. His gaze finally tore from her hands, instead moving to look back into her eyes again, face still devoid of emotion as he listened to her.
He appreciated the bluntness, in the very least. This adult wasnāt a filthy liar like so many others in his life- he trusted, for the most part, that she believed what she was saying. However, her words didnāt seem to have any impact at all on the child, the blonde staring at her blankly, as if they flew over his head.
āMy health and safety is noneĀ of your business.ā If he didnāt care about it most days, neither should she; he only did really care in the moments he feared it was about to start. He knew heād hesitate and linger outside of his home when he finally left, knowing what to expect behind the door. He glanced away for a second, watching as the sun slowly seemed to sink along the sky.Ā āGoodĀ memories are silly too. Thereās no point in thinking about dead things, and things that will die. You shouldnāt get yourself involved in my life. Itās for the best.ā
And he couldnāt say heād understand the idea of caringĀ too much, anyhow- the only thing heād ever gotten attached to was his rabbit, and that was long gone. Just like his rabbit, this woman was likely pitying him- an empty, useless thing to do.
