Page 51 of Doc's Decision

As I'm waiting for my food, a voice from the past cuts through the 90s alt-rock playing over the speakers.

A voice I hoped to never hear again. "Amanda, how ironic it is to be running into you again?"

My blood turns to ice in my veins.

No.

It can't be.

Why the fuck is he here?

Slowly, hardly daring to breathe, I turn...and find myself staring into the cruel, glinting eyes of my stepfather.

God, I can see even better now how the years haven't been kind to him.

His face is more heavily lined, his hair grayer and thinner.

But that cold, calculating gleam in his gaze is the same.

It still makes my skin crawl, even after all this time.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I demand, my voice trembling only slightly.

I'm not a scared teenager anymore.

He can't hurt me now.

A smirk twists his thin lips. "I live here, sweetheart. Just bought a condo in this building. Nice place." His eyes flick over me, assessing. Judging. "You visiting someone? Or do you live here too?"

Unease prickles along my spine.

I don't want this man knowing anything about my life, especially where I live.

My boyfriend...

"I don't live here," I snap. "My boyfriend does."

There.

Let him chew on that.

I have someone in my life now, someone who would happily beat this abusive prick into the ground if he tried anything.

But even as a small measure of smug satisfaction washes over me, my mind is reeling.

How can he afford to live in a swanky building like this?

Last I heard, he'd gambled away every cent and was in debt up to his eyeballs.

Cirrhosis of the liver should've killed him by now with how much he drank.

Yet here he stands, looking as arrogantly confident as ever.

None of this adds up.

Just then, the barista calls my name.

I turn to grab the cardboard tray holding our hot chocolates and the paper bag full of food.

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