Page 177 of Texting Dr. Stalker

Ah well.

At least I had seventy-two hours of freedom before the grind began again.

And the first thing I was doing was crawling into bed and forgetting about everything.

* * * * *

I woke sometime around two a.m.

Hunger pangs cut through my belly, causing enough discomfort that I couldn’t get back to sleep.

Exhaustion clung to my thoughts as I hauled myself unwillingly out of bed and stumbled down the stairs to the kitchen. Yawning, I checked the fridge and lack of supplies, settling on a bag of grapes that I’d bought last week and completely forgotten about.

Rinsing them under the tap, I stuck them in a bowl, grabbed the rest of the cheese slowly cultivating its own penicillin, then carried my midnight snack out to the living room.

A crescent moon hung in the sky, dotted with silver stars. No lights shone in any of the houses. No foot traffic or car traffic. Everyone was fast asleep.

Shoving a few grapes into my mouth, I bit off a corner of cheese and sat in the chair by the window. The view angled right into Sailor’s front yard, revealing she’d mowed the strip of lawn at some point and yanked out a few offending weeds.

How was she going with the renovation?

Was she still painting the living room and deleting Milton’s presence?

How’s her mental health going?

Seeing her appearing occasionally on my cameras between surgeries wasn’t enough to know if she was happy. Alive yes, but anything else…I had no idea.

Movement caught my attention as I worked my way through the grapes and cheese.

Sailor.

I froze as she stepped out of her front door and headed toward the swinging egg chair by the railing. Scooting onto the swing, she nursed a cup of something, wrapping both hands around it as if it was snowing outside and not hot enough for crickets to chirp.

Her face tipped toward my place. I couldn’t make out her features in the gloom, but I swear she stared exactly where my front camera was. Shrinking into the shadows, I hoped she couldn’t see me.

What was she doing up so late?

Had she had another nightmare?

A panic attack?

My heart pounded at the thought of her struggling on her own. I should never have cut contact with X. What if she still needed to vent? To talk to a faceless stranger and get rid of all the darkness inside her?

Fuck.

Putting my empty bowl down, I padded back to the kitchen where I’d left my phone.

Swiping on the device, I scanned a text from Colin and my younger sister before clicking on the thread with Sailor.

I couldn’t let her sit out there alone.

It just wasn’t possible.

I’d text her as Zander.

I was her neighbour, after all.

I’m allowed to spot her out the window without it being creepy.

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