Page 35 of Recipe for a Curse

“Then let me feed you.” I tugged away from him to dig out sandwich fixings. “We bought plenty.”

But Rio’s gaze was on the floor instead of on me.

“Stay,” Zach said after a moment, making my heart flip over with hope. “It’s not safe for you out there. As long as we keep you fed, you’ll be safe.”

“Maybe,” Rio said quietly. “I never stay around others…”

“We’ll work it out. Just let us know if you need some space. If it gets to be too much.”

Rio still looked undecided, but he wrapped his arms around me, his face resting in my hair, seeming to breathe in the scent of me.

“It’s okay,” I said, not even sure of what was wrong. “I trust you.”

“I don’t trust me,” he said quietly.

I trusted him enough for the both of us. “Let me get you some food.” I tugged out of his embrace, missing his warmth immediately, but got to work on the meal. Food I could do. It was easy, predictable, and I had the answers to pretty much any possibility of issues that came up in the kitchen. It was Rio that I found confusing. Frustrating even. There was something they weren’t telling me. But I had plans to ask lots of questions, see if I could discern an answer even without asking them outright, which I didn’t think would help. I just hoped it didn’t make Rio want to run away.