We The Forlorn (Book #2) (Completed)

5. Repeat Message

Bo chewed on a piece of beef, delighting in the flavors of food that she hadn't tasted since leaving her town. She'd been living on dried provisions and whatever was sold in stalls on her journeys. More often than not, this kind of food was past its prime and tasted like either nothing or a foot. Somehow, Khan had managed to make a delicious dinner, and Bo wasted no time devouring her entire plate as well as a second serving.

"So what's your story?" Helga asked.

Bo swallowed her mouthful and wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve. "I was kidnapped many years ago."

Helga raised her eyebrows. "Go on."

"He was wrong to do it, but while I was with him I learned that he'd never known love. He had no idea how to act around anyone, and I think it was his stupid way of having company in his empty house."

"A love story between kidnapper and victim?" Khan asked, giving her a sideways look.

"Something like that. His life was torture and I felt like I was the only thing that had ever offered him any kindness in the world."

"What happened?" Helga asked.

Bo shrugged. "Fear and hatred. We couldn't be together."

Khan sighed and shook his head. "Sad," he said with a frown. Helga remained silent, but Bo snuck a glance at her and saw a knowing in her eyes that Bo felt uncomfortable seeing. She quickly looked away.

"What about you two?" Bo asked, hoping to steer the attention away from her.

Helga inclined her head toward Khan. "This one has a limp that he claims ruined his life."

"Hey!" Khan protested. "If you say it that way it sounds like nothing!"

"It is nothing. You can barely notice it."

"Yeah, well a brace can do that for a person!" Khan said.

Helga rolled her eyes. "I think you just play it up to get the girls to pity you."

Khan narrowed his eyes and pointed his fork at Helga.

Bo waved a hand to break the intense stare-off. "Tell me about your limp, Khan."

With narrowed eyes directed at Helga, Khan cleared his throat. "I was born with a crooked right leg. When I was little, the orphanage put me in a brace to try and straighten it, so I wasn't able to run or play around like all the other kids."

"So tragic," Helga said.

"It was, for a kid," Khan retorted. "But, anyway, that wasn't what ruined my life."

Though he'd said it in an off-hand way, Bo could sense that hidden behind his banter with Helga over his limp was an actual wound over whatever it was he was about to reveal. She got the impression that Khan was the type of person to hide everything behind jokes and an attitude of unaffected glibness. It was a good defensive strategy. Bo knew all about it. If nothing bothered you, others would eventually grow bored with trying to find something that could truly hurt.

Helga twirled her hand in the air. "Well, continue."

"The orphanage that raised me eventually couldn't stay open as it was anymore. We had to find... alternate ways of finding the money to keep all the kids fed and clothed," Khan said. "So, the man in charge of the orphanage decided that he could use all the young hands as pickpockets out in the street. We were to steal anything and everything we could get our hands on. Only problem was that I couldn't run away from any problems, and my brace made it hard for me to blend in or sneak up on anyone. So I was relegated to begging, but even with a bum leg no one was interested in sparing any precious resource."