Сумерки

           "Idon’twanttobeamonster."Hisvoicewasverylow.

           "Butanimalsaren’tenough?"

           Hepaused."Ican’tbesure,ofcourse,butI’dcompareittolivingontofuandsoymilk;wecallourselvesvegetarians,ourlittleinsidejoke.Itdoesn’tcompletelysatiatethehunger-orratherthirst.Butitkeensusstrongenoughtoresist.Mostofthetime."Histoneturnedominous.

           "Sometimesit’smoredifficultthanothers."

           "Isitverydifficultforyounow?"Iasked.

           Hesighed."Yes."

           "Butyou’renothungrynow,"Isaidconfidently-stating,notasking.

           "Whydoyouthinkthat?"

           "Youreyes.ItoldyouIhadatheory.I’venoticedthatpeople-meninparticular-arecrabbierwhenthey’rehungry."

           Hechuckled."Youareobservant,aren’tyou?"

           Ididn’tanswer;Ijustlistenedtothesoundofhislaugh,committingittomemory.

           "Wereyouhuntingthisweekend,withEmmett?"Iaskedwhenitwasquietagain.

           "Yes."Hepausedforasecond,asifdecidingwhetherornottosaysomething."Ididn’twanttoleave,butitwasnecessary.It’sabiteasiertobearoundyouwhenI’mnotthirsty."

           "Whydidn’tyouwanttoleave?"

           "Itmakesme...anxious...tobeawayfromyou."Hiseyesweregentlebutintense,andtheyseemedtobemakingmybonesturnsoft."Iwasn’tjokingwhenIaskedyoutotrynottofallintheoceanorgetrunoverlastThursday.Iwasdistractedallweekend,worryingaboutyou.Andafterwhathappenedtonight,I’msurprisedthatyoudidmakeitthroughawholeweekendunscathed.