Good people...
623 Words
Later that afternoon, the sun hung lower in the sky, casting long golden stripes across the parking lot behind Velvore Foods. Most of the office had emptied out for the weekend, the air quieter now, punctuated only by the hum of vending machines and the soft clicks of shoes echoing down the corridor.
Rowan leaned against the hood of his car, scrolling idly through his phone. He looked up at the sound of approaching steps, Delaney.
She crossed the lot quickly, her cardigan tossed over her shoulder and her arms crossed tight. Her face was unreadable until she got close. "Hey," she said, voice low and tight.
Rowan straightened. "Hey." They stood there for a moment, silence stretching between them. Delaney glanced back toward the building, then back at Rowan. "That was weird," she said finally.
Rowan exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah. It was."
Delaney frowned, her arms hugging tighter across her chest. "I mean... was that normal? Is he always like that?"
"No," Rowan said quickly. "Not like that. He's usually awkward, yeah, but not..." He paused, struggling for the right word. "Not off."
Delaney laughed once, sharp and bitter. "He was more than off. That felt like a threat wrapped in a philosophy lecture."
Rowan looked at her, brows furrowed. "You think he meant it that way?"
"I don't know," she said, brushing her hair back from her face. "But the way he was watching me. The tone. I don't know, Rowan, it creeped me the hell out."
Rowan didn't disagree. He hadn't liked it either. But part of him was also stuck on how easily Malrick had returned to that calm smile, how no one else in the restaurant had even seemed to notice the switch. Like they'd all hallucinated it. "He's... complicated," Rowan offered, though the words felt hollow even as he said them. "I mean, the guy inherited a company. Grew up in his dad's shadow. Maybe he just—"
"Rowan," Delaney cut in, voice sharp now, "I'm not asking for excuses. I'm asking why you didn't say anything."
Rowan blinked.
"Back there," she continued. "When he was going off on me. Talking about how good people get destroyed, how the world takes things, it was so clearly about me, and you just sat there laughing at my stupid jokes. You didn't even look at me when he got weird."
He swallowed. "I didn't know what to say."
Delaney stared at him for a long moment. "You always do that," she said quietly.
"Do what?"
"Disappear," she said. "You're there, but not really. When something gets uncomfortable, you just... slip into the background. Like if you don't react, it'll pass."
Rowan's jaw tightened. "That's not fair."
"Isn't it?" Delaney asked, her tone softer now, sadder. "We've known each other for years, and I've seen you do it a hundred times. With your dad. With your old boss. Now with Malrick." She paused, glancing down at her shoes. "I needed you to say something, Rowan. Just once. Something."
The silence that followed was heavy, and Rowan didn't break it for several seconds. When he did speak, his voice was quiet. "I didn't want to make it worse."
Delaney looked up at him, her expression hard to read. "Sometimes, making it worse is better than pretending it's fine." He looked away. She turned then, walking toward her car. "Tell Seren to text me later."
"Delaney," Rowan called after her.
She paused, hand on the door. "I am a good person," she said, without looking back. "But maybe I need better ones around me."
Then she slipped inside and drove off, leaving Rowan standing in the fading light, with only the weight of everything unsaid for company.
- Writer
