Sage shrieked, her heart feeling like it had leapt from her chest, and dropped her groceries on the ground. Ezekiel rubbed the back of his neck, his expression apologetic. 

　　"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." 

　　"Then don't jump out at me like that," she retorted, putting a hand over her pounding heart. She laughed nervously at her own panic and crouched down to pick up her rolling food. 

　　Ezekiel knelt down also, helping her. Sage frowned. 

　　"What happened to your face?" 

　　He shrank back into his hoodie, trying to hide the left-side of his face. But the bruises were too bad to conceal. "Did you get into a fight?" 

　　...