Page 24 of Heartless

Especially when he disappears and reappears three more times before the seven pm end of my shift. By the time I’m grabbing my keys and waving goodbye to Martha in her office, I’ve come to the conclusion that he’s stalking me.

And the conclusion that it really should bother me more than it does.

In the little employee parking lot I glance around, expecting to see him, only for it to be as empty as it usually is by the time I leave. I’m the only one that gets off at seven, since Jeremy prefers to stick around and do his homework at a table as the diner starts to empty out around eight.

“Maybe I’m just being weird,” I murmur to myself as I slide into the driver’s seat. But part of me is relieved. I hadn’t quite known what to say at the table, and for the whole day I’ve been on edge, though it only really hits now that the adrenaline is fading.

Cassian had beenright therealmost all day. Seemingly every time I’d looked up, I’d caught sight of him somewhere nearby with a view into the large glass windows of the diner. I sit back against my headrest with a huff and close my eyes hard. A groan leaves me, but I thank my own forethought that I’d taken Friday and Monday off. Normally, Martha might have been hesitant, but she’d known my reasoning without me having to say a thing.

An idea hits me and I tug my phone out of my pocket to tap the word MOM in my contact list. But when it takes her longer than two rings to answer, I start to wonder if she’s going to pick up at all.

She does, at the very last second, and my heart sinks as I hear the rush of noise in the background. She’s not home. “Hello?” Her greeting comes out around a pant, and she sounds like she’s walking fast. “Winnie? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I just umm…” God, I feel stupid now. I drum my fingers against the steering wheel, already knowing there’s no need for me to go on. Since I know what her answer will be. “I just got off work and I uh, took Friday and Monday off. So I thought we could, I don’t know, do something fun? I know it’s lame, but you remember how Lou said they’re doing movie nights during October of Halloween movies and snacks? I thought?—”

“I would, honey.” Mom is clearly distracted as she interrupts me, and I close my eyes hard. “But I got called away again. It couldn’t wait, and there was no one else who could go. You understand, right?”There’s a touch of apology in her tone, but it doesn’t feel sincere.

It never does, anymore.

“Yeah. Okay.” I can’t help but wonder if she’s telling the truth, or if she’d been looking for any excuse to be away from home again. “When will you be back? Maybe when you’re back we could…”

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to disappoint you.”She murmurs something to someone, and at their request for her ticket, I realize she’s at the airport. “I won’t be back until the first week of November.”

“What?” My stomach twists and I open my eyes. “The first week of…Mom that’s like, three weeks away. You told me you weren’t going to stay away that long anymore, after last year.” I hate how defensive I sound.

And worse, I hate how she makes me feel.

“I know and I’m sorry. But the London office really does need me, Winnie. We can’t all just take off whenever we want from a job that has no real responsibilities.”The sharpness in her tone makes me frown. If I push her on this, she’ll turn it around on me.

“Is this because of people dying this year?” My words are slow and quiet, and they’re met with a deafening silence that’s more telling than it should be.

“I have to go, okay? I’ll text you when I’m at my hotel. Security is a bitch here tonight, and I’m going to have to put my phone down.”She forces out a laugh. “I’ll take pictures for you and send them your way. Sorry I can’t do movie night!”Mom doesn’t even give me a chance to reply before hanging up.

“Whatever.” I won’t give myself time to sulk. At least not right now in the parking lot. Throwing my car into gear, I whip out of my parking spot and completely forget to look around to see if Cass is still around.

Chapter

Twelve

The house is dark and quiet when I get out of my car and slam the door a little harder than necessary. I’m not upset, exactly. My mom being gone means no pressure on me, so I can do whatever I want whenever I want. Hell, she isn’t even around to critique my taste in pizza or my milkshake obsession.

And I can order as much delivery as I want without her reminding me we have food in the fridge and not to waste my money. Still, there’s something like loneliness creeping up my spine to invade the space between my ribs. Sometimes, no matter how hard I work to convince myself otherwise, I don’t want to be alone.

Tonight is easily one of those times.

On the porch I stop, staring down at my black and white sneakers with scuffs along the toes. They’re worn in and comfortable, and I shift my weight on the welcome mat Mom brought home from a trip into Akron last week.

It is, of course, not Halloween themed at all.

The hair at the back of my neck prickles, and before I can think of what I’m doing, I turn to look behind me, toward the street.

Somehow, I’m not surprised when my eyes find Cass. He’s leaning against a sleek back car, and even though he’s too far away for me to see the details of his face and the setting sun has cast him in shadow, I still know what he’s looking at.

Me.

I tell myself the only reason I’m doing this is because my week has been a bitch and I’m lonely as hell. I tell myself he won’t do anything, anyway.

I tell myself it’ll be fine when I leave the door open behind me and stride into my mom’s two-story, cookie-cutter suburban home. It isn’t quite like Lou’s—there’s maybe a two hundred square foot difference—but it’s similar enough that I’m pretty sure the same designer worked on both.

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