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She ate a couple of fries and took a bite of her burger.

He continued eating.

A few minutes later she linked her fingers and laid her hands on the table in front of her plate. “Are you going to answer me?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s better if you do not know.”

“No, Va’roush. It’s not. I deserve to know what’s going on inside you.”

“You do not want to know what goes on inside me.”

“I do.”

“No one deserves to know about that. It is not good,” he admitted quietly.

She watched him as he finished his last bite, then eyed the other burgers. “I made more than enough in case you have a big appetite. You can eat all of those if you want to. I have enough on my plate.”

He reached for two more burgers and put them on his plate, then a handful of fries, too.

“The only thing I regret is that you spent months watching me, when we could have been friends all along. And because you stayed hidden for so long, I’m confused as to why you went out of your way to find us a place to live. Even brought your friends to help me move all my things here. They even stacked all my stuff in the storage building outside, and helped us build pens and safe places for my animals.”

“You have many beasts,” he remarked, savoring his burger.

“I do,” she said.

“Why, though?”

He looked up at her. “Because you wanted them all?”

“No, not why do I have so many beasts, why did you hide from me all these months only to show yourself and organize your friends to help me when I needed it most. You pretend not to care, but then your actions show you cared so very much, but now you’re back to being distant again. I just want to understand why.”

He took another bite of his burger and chewed, not planning to answer.

“Va’roush, please give me something. Some clue so I’ll know if I keep doing something to offend you, or what is going on.”

He looked at her over the last bite of his second burger. “You will tell me to leave.”

“I will never tell you to leave. I made you promise to live here with me, remember?”

He looked down at the last burger on his plate for a while, before he finally spoke. “I am undesirable.”

“Says who?” she demanded.

Va’roush’s gaze shot up to her as her explosive response surprised him.

“Seriously! Who said that?” she asked.

“No words were spoken, but it was clear.”

“They’re idiots. You’re very desirable.”

“They were not idiots. They knew me, and still they didn’t want me.”

“Who is they? Whoever they is I’m feeling the need to have a little talk with them.”

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