Broken Trains And Exposed Veins

5 | Salmon Sandwiches And Dimmed Lights

        “To all passengers; we’re sorry to announce the rescue teams are being held back by the storm. The train won’t be able to move any further before tomorrow morning. For any extra questions you can go to wagon three,” the creaky voice from the speakers shakes me awake. Logan and I are still sat in the same position we were earlier this evening - when I cried my eyes out.

        Logan now opens his eyes and groans a bit. As he realizes the position we’re in, he starts blushing and removes his arms from my body, surprisingly to my displeasure. He coughs and shoves himself a bit away from me. I start blushing too at the thought of him soothing me with his sweet words and his warm breath against my skin. It was so intimate, yet we didn’t do anything.

        “Uh, I’m getting a bit hungry, you?” Logan says, obviously trying to clear up the air and make the situation less awkward.

        “Yeah, same here,” I reply, averting my gaze to the ground.

        “Shall we check out the café in wagon three if they have any proper food?” He suggests. I nod in approval and we stand up to make our way to wagon three - where we got our free hot chocolates earlier. As we enter the wagon, my attention is immediately drawn to the man in the suit who we saw when were on our way for the hot chocolates. He still looks as grumpy as he did then, only he now is sipping from a plastic cup of coffee.

        “Look who we have here!” The overly-excited women with the colourful clips beams at us as if we’ve known her for years. She walks towards us with open arms and when she reaches us, the woman embraces us in a hug, squeezing us together.

        “Hello Ma’am,” Logan says politely and I chuckle as the woman looks at him with a confused face.

        “Oh, dear, call me Mary,” she smiles and playfully hits Logan’s shoulder.

        “Well, Mary, do you perhaps have any food here? We’re kind of starving,” Logan asks jokingly. At the mention of food her face lits up - if that is even possible seeing she is already beaming with joy. Mary gestures us to walk with her and leads us to the bar in the middle of the wagon.  After a few seconds of searching behind the bar she exultantly holds up two seperate sandwiches packed in foil.

        “Free of charge, since you kids didn’t ask for all of this and you two look adorable together,” she says as she hands them to us and sends us a wink. Then she gives us each another plastic cup of hot chocolate. “Enjoy.”

        “Uh, thanks Mary,” Logan and I mumble and send her a smile, before returning to our cabin to have a romantic dinner consisting of salmon sandwiches and hot chocolates. As Logan and I are sitting crossed-legged on the ground again - I honestly have no idea why we aren’t sitting on the chairs, but okay - we start to eat our respective sandwiches. They’re not much seeing the only thing on them are one slice of salmon and some lettuce, but right now they’re the only option of a proper dinner.

        After a few minutes of silently eating our food, Logan finally breaks the silence.

        “Do you like being here?”

        For a second I’m confused, what is he talking about?

        “What do you mean?”

        It seems to take a second for him to think of a proper answer. I look at him, waiting in suspense. He doesn’t look back at me, his gaze is averted to the sandwich in his hands. The curls on his head are sticking in various angles, but somehow it doesn’t look strange or weird. It seems to be a part of him and it suits him. His crisp white shirt is hanging around his frame, his veiny hands holding the half-eaten sandwich.

        “Do you like being here. In the train,” he speaks slowly, almost whispering, as if he’s ashamed or rather scared to say it. Suddenly he looks up and as our gazes meet, his eyes seem greener than usually. “Do you like being here with me?”

        As he speaks his sentence, my heart skips a beat. Logan’s eyebrows are slightly furrowed and in the yellow light his pale skin seems almost light gold.

        “Logan, I-,”

        “To all passengers; the lights will be dimmed within a few minutes to save energy for tomorrow. Have a nice night.” The creaky voice makes both Logan and I jump, almost spilling my hot chocolate. Frustrated my eyes grow big, did the creaky voice say the lights will be dimmed? But then it will be nearly dark inside ánd outside. I start to shake and my breathing starts to fasten. I wrap my arms around my knees and start to feel tears well up. As soon as the first tear falls, Logan quickly scoots over to me and wraps his arms around me, soothing me like he did before.

        “It will be alright, Lily. Don’t be afraid, I’m here,” his warm voice resounds in the cabin, somewhat calming me down. After around five minutes and the lights are dimmed, Logan softly pushes me away from his warm hug, holding both my shoulders. He then carefully tips my head a bit higher, so I’m meeting his eyes, which still seem magnificent in the dimmed light.

        “See? There’s nothing to worry about,” he softly whispers. Suddenly his mouth forms into a small smile and I feel his thumb wiping away my tears. Our eyes are still locked together. His lips suddenly seem extremely soft and I have a desire to crawl my hands through his messy hair. I feel Logan leaning in and his warm breath feels comforting on my skin.

        “So, do you like being here with me?” Logan asks in my ear, giving me goosebumps.

        “Of course, lover,” I say and even though my eyes are still glazed with tears, I break out in a smile.

        And before I know it, his lips are pressed against mine and I can’t help but think how happy Mary would be if she would see us now.