Chapter 32: First Eat Then Talk
Klaus’s head slowly turned to Trina, and he asked, "What is the inspector talking about?"
Trina shivered, still unwilling to look at him.
He stepped closer to her and asked in a low yet clear voice, "Why didn’t you tell me?"
For a long while, silence descended between them.
"Ahem!" Inspector Henry broke the stifling silence with a cough and said, "Mrs. Elten, although I would love to question them further, I don’t think that girl is in a state to answer me."
Mrs. Elten looked at him with confusion and annoyance and muttered, "What are you trying to say?"
Henry stood up from his chair.
"What I am saying is that we delay the further questioning for now."
"What?!" She shouted and shot to her feet. "It’s been days since my Dustin has been missing, and you want to delay finding him?!"
"You have my condolences and prayers, but I cannot force them to answer in their current state."
He turned his gaze to Trina and said, "She is a witness, give or take a suspect, but not the culprit. Not yet."
Mrs. Elten’s face twisted, but before she could spiral into fury, Erick pulled at her wrist and demanded with a childish smile, "Mommy! I want to go out!"
"O-Okay." Her fury vanished; she caressed his face and shot Henry a hateful glare before walking away with her younger son.
Erick stared at Klaus with a smile as he left the station.
Ronnie and Denis were the next to leave the place.
Klaus stood silent before Trina for a long while.
Inspector Henry watched them for a few minutes and then added, "You two leave. Solve your personal issues outside. I am not a couples therapist."
Klaus nodded and brought his hand before Trina.
"Let’s go."
Trina finally raised her head and looked at his hand.
"Take my hand, gym leader," he said with a smile.
She nodded slightly and lightly held his hand, then the two of them left the station.
Neither of them spoke during the walk to the parking lot.
"You should have told me," Klaus mumbled as the two stepped into the parking lot.
"I didn’t want you to get into any more trouble because of me," she whispered, her voice heavy and barely audible.
"Ah-huh. I can understand that," he said as he sat on his bike and added, "Get on."
She complied without any resistance and climbed on his bike.
"Grab onto me," he said as he turned the accelerator and sped out.
"Slow down!" She yelled and instinctively wrapped her arms around his waist and chest.
He laughed as he drove. Trina tightly shut her eyes and grabbed onto him like a koala, a faint smile creasing her lips.
A few minutes later, the bike came to a screeching stop before a fast food joint.
"Let’s go," he mumbled with a smile.
She stepped down from his bike, stared at the fast food joint, and mumbled, "Why are we here?"
He gave her a deadpan look. "To eat?"
For the first time today, she looked at his face and asked in a confused tone, "Are you not going to question me?"
He chuckled and walked toward the fast food joint’s entrance. "I am too hungry for that."
She stared at his back, and a chuckle escaped her.
He stopped a step away from the entrance and added, "And if you trusted me, you would have told me the first day."
"Nonetheless, we’ve only known each other for about two weeks, so that’s to be expected."
Trina looked at him with a troubled expression.
"Let’s eat first. We can talk afterward if you still want to."
He stepped inside, and she followed behind him.
They shifted over to the nearest table, and Klaus began to check the menu.
Trina watched him with a complex expression, thinking about what to say.
Even though they had only known each other for two weeks, they had become very close friends.
Which could be proven by the fact that the only few people who knew about her dream were her parents, Sarin, and Klaus.
She didn’t have many friends, and she didn’t want one of the few she had to see her as a burden.
"What do you want to eat?" Asked Klaus.
His voice pulled her out of her thoughts, and her lips parted to speak about the incident, but before she could say anything, Klaus cut her off.
"I am having a large bucket of fried chicken, a double-patty cheeseburger, french fries, mac and cheese, and a chocolate milkshake with two scoops of vanilla."
All the thoughts that Trina had vanished, and she stared at his face with her jaw wide open.
"You are going to eat all that stuff...?"
Klaus shrugged. "I eat more when I am stressed."
She blinked a few times, still unable to believe that someone could eat so much.
"I’ll just have fried chicken and a large Diet Cola."
"Alright."
Klaus stood up and went to the counter.
Trina watched him with a faint smile and mumbled, "Maybe I worried for nothing."
Klaus returned a few minutes later with the meals.
She smiled wryly at the amount of food before him.
"You sure you can eat all of that?"
He picked up a piece of fried chicken and said, "Heh. Don’t underestimate me."
His teeth tore into it, and he added while chewing, "Eat it before it gets cold."
She nodded.
The two ate silently and slowly, or at least Trina did while the food seemed to vanish upon reaching his hands.
After about half an hour, Klaus downed the milkshake and let out a burp.
"That hit the spot."
Trina chuckled and mumbled while spilling her cola, "I didn’t think you’d be able to eat all of it."
He leaned back in his chair and muttered while grinning, "Skill issues."
She shook her head and spoke while looking at her soda cup, "That day after you left, Dustin and the other two followed me."
"You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to."
She met his gaze and stated in a determined tone, "I want to tell you. There are many reasons why, but the best I can think of is that you value me and my dream and believe that I can help you achieve yours."
"Heh," He smirked. "So you are happy that I am going to use you as a tool?"
She smiled softly. "No, it’s the opposite. I will be using you to achieve my dream. Make sure not to fall for me when I do that. I’ve heard some people like being at the bottom."
Klaus burst into laughter and then added, "I’ve always dreamt of the top."
She blushed faintly and continued, "Anyways. The three of them came to me, and Dustin began to threaten me, saying he had sent his men to take care of you, and if I want you safe, I have to do whatever he says."
’Oh shit,’ he remarked inwardly and asked, "What did you do?"
"I asked him to prove it. He then made a call, but no one picked up, and instead of backing down, he started spewing bullshit, so I threw a punch to his face."
She slammed her fist into the table and muttered, "How was I supposed to know that he’d get knocked out in a single punch?!"
"Yeah. How were you supposed to know that... It’s not like you are the top taekwondo athlete of your university."
Trina’s face turned red.
"Shut up!"