Broken Hearts (Light in the Dark 5)

It’s amazing how many people are buried down here.

It’s even more amazing to me how many people a year visit this place to gaze upon them.

People have always had an astounding curiosity with death. We like to pretend death doesn’t exist, that we’ll live forever, and yet we’re drawn to places like this where death surrounds us.

The tour ends all too soon, but I got a decent amount of pictures and that counts for something.

“I’m starving,” Jace announces as we step outside into the daylight.

Both of us blink rapidly, growing accustomed to the sunshine once more.

“Me too.” My stomach rumbles as I think of food.

We catch another taxi and get dropped off in the heart of the city where there’s more action.

Hand in hand we walk the streets, browsing the menus until we settle on a little café. It’s not too expensive and the food and coffee smell like heaven from the outside.

We head inside and manage to get a table by the windows.

We order two coffees while we look over the menus and decide what we want.

I roll my neck and let my hair down. I’ve let it get too long and now when I have it up for too long it starts to give me a headache.

“Are you okay?” Jace asks, picking up on my actions.

“I’ll be fine once I get some coffee.”

Coffee fixes everything.

He nods and turns back to his menu but continues to watch me from the corner of his eye.

I feel better with my hair down.

I lift the menu and squint.

I should’ve taken a second language in high school.

The French on the page before me makes no sense.

I pull out my phone and turn to trusty Google and hope it can help me decipher the menu.

The server drops off our coffees and I mumble a polite, “Merci.”

It’s practically the only word I know in French other than bonjour.

Jace and I finally settle on something to eat and order our meals.

I prop my head in my hand, my elbow on the table, and turn to him. “This would be much easier if one of us knew French.”

He chuckles. “Where’s the fun in that? I like the surprise of not knowing everything. It makes the adventure more exciting.”

I absorb his words, taking them in. I nod. “That’s an interesting take on it.”

I pick up my mug of coffee, steam billowing off of it, and take a sip. Coffee, no matter where it’s from, is a necessity of life.

Jace watches me drink my coffee with a little smirk on his lips.

“What?” I set the mug down. “What are you looking at?”