Page 23 of Yolo

I heard his feet hit the pavement, and said, “Thanks for looking for me.”

He caught my hand again and started leading us back inside.

“Could file a police report,” he offered.

I contemplated it.

Really, I did.

But in the end…

“I can’t,” I replied as a heaviness centered in my chest. “That’s like inviting him to fight back. And to do that, he’d insinuate himself into my life even more. And I don’t want anything to do with him. It’s best to just…forget it.”

“Can you forget it?” he asked as he tugged me to a stop. “Door. Step up.”

I stopped and waited for him to give me the go-ahead, then stepped up as I headed inside.

“Are we in the back stairwell?” I asked.

“Yes,” he answered. “Now answer my earlier question.

“Can we take the stairs?” I asked. “I’ve never taken them, and I want to give it a try with someone before I try on my own.”

Gee steered us backward toward where I assumed were the stairs.

He lifted my hand and pressed it against the door that led us outside and said, “This is where the door is.” He kept my hand in his as he guided it along the wall then downward to the handrail. “This is the start of the stairs. There are two flights and a small landing in between each flight that leads you up to the next floor. What floor are you on?”

“Four,” I answered. “You?”

“Five,” he said as he started us up the stairs.

He let my hand go, but he stayed behind me as I moved, just in case.

I was appreciative of his help, and that he let me do it on my own without trying to overcompensate for me.

“I appreciate you not trying to take over,” I admitted as I climbed slowly, counting the number of stairs. “Is this the floor?”

“Yes.” He brushed his hand against my back and pushed past me. “Walk toward me threeish steps. There. This is the door to the landing.”

I reached for it and tugged it open. “If I remember correctly, we’re directly opposite of the elevator on the other side, correct?”

“Yep,” he said. “What number are you?”

“Four D,” I answered.

“That’s directly below me.” He chuckled. “Sorry if I annoy you in the middle of the night, I don’t sleep a lot.”

“I can’t hear a thing,” I admitted. “I mean, if I was awake, I would. But I sleep like the dead.”

“Not a good thing when you’re alone,” he mused as he said. “You’re on the right side of the hallway when coming from the stairwell. You’re two doors down, same as if you came from the elevator.”

I smoothed my hand toward the doors, stopping when I came to my door and pressed my thumb to the knob where it read my thumbprint.

“That’s a good addition,” he said. “Mine doesn’t have that.”

“I think since they’re trying to advertise for the blind,” I said as I pushed the door to my apartment open wide, “they’re trying to have all the accommodations.”

“I hadn’t realized that they were advertising as that,” he admitted. “But it makes sense with all the upgrades.” He paused. “A couple of months ago, the owner’s daughter was in a serious accident that left her momentarily blind. She’s gotten a lot of her vision back, but the owner had to make the building safe for her to use in the interim. That’s probably why.”

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