Page 119 of Offside Angel

The car rounds the corner, moving closer to the building, and my heart is a wild thing in my chest. Nervous energy zips through my body. Every part of me wants to duck and run for the hills.

It’s just a car, I tell myself. Other humans exist in the world. They’re not all out to get you.

The car rolls to a slow stop along the curb. In my peripherals, I see Evan’s door open. But he’s too far away. He can’t see what I’m seeing.

The flick of dark hair.

A flash of white teeth.

The interior of the car is dark—so dark I can barely see through to the driver’s side—but that doesn’t change the fact that I know exactly who I’m looking at.

For years, I’ve been running from him, but now, all I can do is sit here. Wait.

Tremble.

“Who was that?” Evan asks.

The car slithers away along the curb, and I’m afraid to move in case he circles back.

Evan pulls out his phone and points it at the car. It takes me a second to realize he’s taking a picture of the license plate.

Suddenly, the car stops, and I wait for the flash of the reverse lights. He’s going to come back and finish me off.

But it’s Daniel who moves.

It happens fast. Daniel turns his head, smiles at the person inside the car. He takes one step and then another.

Desperation overrides my panic, and I croak out. “Dante.”

Evan tenses. “What?”

“I-it’s Dante. It’s—” I regain control of my body all at once and jump up, my chair tipping over behind me. The table rattles and my chai latte goes flying. “Daniel!”

Daniel turns towards the sound of his name just as Evan grabs my arm, blocking my view.

I don’t know what he’s doing; all I know is he’s in my way. I try to shake him off, squirming to get past him. “Daniel,” I gasp. “You need to help Daniel!”

Evan starts to move me towards the coffee shop door. “You’re my priority. I need to get you somewhere safe.”

“Daniel!” I scream again.

It doesn’t matter. The car is already screeching away. I fight and claw against Evan’s hold, but he doesn’t budge. In the end, that doesn’t matter, either.

Daniel appears over Evan’s shoulder. “What the fuck was that about?”

Relief overwhelms me. Tears prick my eyes and I shove past Evan and wrap my arms around Daniel. “Are you okay?”

Dante was so close. He could have?—

I can’t let my mind go there. Can’t think about how helpless I was to do anything at all.

“Are you okay?” he asks. “Why were you screaming?”

“That car—” I point at the empty space where Dante was idling a second ago. The car is gone. I don’t even know which direction he went. “That car stopped and you?—”

“I gave him directions,” Daniel finishes. “He was lost.”

Maybe I am crazy.

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