Page 88 of The Chemist

There was something in his eyes. An uncertainty that didn’t usually appear on a man normally so sure of himself.

Once they were locked in their seat, a strange look fell across Diesel’s face.

Was he… scared?

Diesel’s knuckles were white as he gripped the bar that sat across their lap.

“You’re not afraid of heights, are you?” Zero finally asked, questioning whether he had unknowingly forced the poor guy to confront one of his worst fears.

“No. I… I’ve just never been on one of these things before,” Diesel chattered between clenched teeth. “How high does it get?”

Zero looked around and up, shrugging his shoulders as he wasn’t sure exactly how high they were off the ground.

“Not really sure. We’re almost at the top, I guess.”

“And then what happens?”

Wow, the poor guy sounded so nervous.He found it hard to believe that Diesel had never been on a Ferris wheel before.

“So when was the last time you were at a fair?” Zero asked, sliding his arm around the uncomfortable guy and pulling his body tight against his. Perhaps the feel of his body against his might help to relax him.

“Actually, I’ve never been,” Diesel whispered. The tension in his body seemed to lessen the longer Zero held him close to his body.

Zero’s head snapped up. “What? You’ve never been to a fair? Not even when you were a young boy?”

“Hey, my mother was poor and an alcoholic, and my stepfather was a mean old bastard who didn’t give two shits about his kids.”

“Oh, so you have siblings?” Zero asked, surprised by this revelation. “I don’t know why I always pictured you as an only child.”

Diesel shrugged his shoulders.

“Yeah, my stepfather had a son a few years younger than me.”

“That must have been cool having a sibling. I’ve always wanted one,” Zero added, placing his other hand on Diesel’s forearm.

“We never really got along.”

“How about you and your mom? Were you two close?”

Zero felt Diesel’s body begin to tense. It was hard to ignore the way his fingers gripped the bar and squeezed.

This wasn’t fear. This was anger.

If the bar had been a throat, the person would be dead by now.

“It’s hard to be close with someone who had you arrested for a crime you didn’t commit.” Diesel’s eyes had darkened, and he stared out in front of them.

“Wait! What?” Zero asked, jerking his body forward so that he could turn to face the tattooed man sitting next to him.

The seat they were in swung forward against his sudden movement.

Zero stared into Diesel’s sullen face.

He was shutting down again.

No, Zero wasn’t going to let that happen. He needed to know. He leaned back and pulled Diesel in against his side once again. He began rubbing circles along the surface of his arm. The smooth touch seemed to calm him.

Slowly, color returned to Diesel’s knuckles.

---