Page 100 of The Scientist

I stopped short when I noticed there was a man standing on my porch very near the door. The evening had grown darker, and I couldn’t make out who it was from this distance, but my heart started pounding. There was no one else around, and my mind started calculating the distance between him to me and me to my car.

“Hadley?” I heard Lex saying on the phone. He could hear my heavy breathing. “What is it?”

I was frozen to the spot. “There’s a man on my porch,” I whispered.

Chapter 23

“Hang up and call the cops,” Lex said sternly. “Get back to your car. I’m on my way.”

Just as he said those words, the man walked out from under the shadow of the porch. I recognized that face instantly.

My eyes widened with shock. “It’s Garrett.”

“What?” Lex said, sounding just as shocked. “As in your ex-boyfriend Garrett?”

“Hey, baby,” Garrett called out to me, smiling as he walked down my porch steps.

“Baby?” Lex said with quiet fury.

“I’ll call you back.” I hung up before things got worse.

“What are you doing here?” I asked right before he swept me up in a hug and spun me around.

“I’m so happy to see you,” he said in my hair.

“Garrett, what are you doing here?” I asked again, extricating myself from his grasp.

“I came to see you, of course!” He said it as if it were a ridiculous question.

“I haven’t heard from you in almost five months,” I said. “Why would you just show up here?”

“I was trying to give you space. I thought that’s what you wanted.”

“We. Broke. Up.” I couldn’t believe I was having to spell this out for him.

“I realize that, but…” He looked around at some of my neighbors walking up the sidewalk to their homes. “Look, can we go inside and talk? There are some things I want to say to you.”

I sighed. I guess I owed it to him since he came all this way. “Fine,” I said, leading the way. “How did you even know where I lived?”

“My sister gave me your address. She had it from when she mailed you that stuff for your mom.”

Sophie. I forgot I had given her my address so she could send my mom some essential oils that were supposed to be for healing. I really didn’t believe in all that crap, but I figured it couldn’t hurt.

As I got to my porch, I noticed a suitcase sitting next to the door. “Really?” My eyes rolled in frustration. “You were planning on staying here?”

“Well, yeah. I flew all the way to California to see you.”

I shook my head as we walked inside. “Garrett, you should have called.”

“I wanted to surprise you,” he said, shutting the door behind him. “And besides, I thought you’d say no if I told you.”

Irritation spread down my spine, and I fought the urge to lash out at him.

“If you thought I’d say no, then you shouldn’t have come,” I said more calmly than I felt.

He looked over my face as we stood in the foyer of my home. “I’m sorry.” He pushed his sandy blonde hair out of his eyes before stuffing them in his pockets. “I really was trying to give you space. I guess I was hoping you would change your mind. It’s been tough for me not having you anymore to talk to every day. You were my best friend. I miss you, Hadley.”

My heart squeezed sympathetically. “I’ve missed your friendship too, Garrett.” I chose my words carefully, not wanting to give him an inkling of false hope.

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