Page 207 of On a Fault Line

“You were at the waterfront?”

“I’m everywhere your fear takes you.”

Placing my face into my palms, I rock back and forth.

Go away, go away, go away…

My heart rate picks up, and I feel like I’m going to hyperventilate.

So much is happening at once, and my emotions are getting the best of me.

When I pick my head up to look at the man…

He’s not there.

Where did he go?

I walk over to the rail and look over. He’s gone.

It’s like he vanished into thin air.

Stupid, pathetic girl…

I’m a stupid, pathetic girl.

Walking back into the main building, I see a security guard standing at the end of the hallway.

“Did you see someone walk out onto this balcony”—I point behind me—“in the last five minutes?”

“I haven’t seen anyone else, ma’am. I was going to come out and join you, but you looked like you needed some time alone.”

“I am going crazy.” My words are barely a whisper.

“Come again?”

I shake my head. “Never mind.”

My eyes scan the area for a way to get out of here.

“Elevators are down the hall to the right,” the guard offers, predicting my dilemma.

“Thanks.”

My phone vibrates in my handbag, which I ignore.

I just need to get out of here, before my own fears suffocate me.

Hitting the button for the elevator, I enter the car when it arrives and then smack the button for the first floor.

My legs feel like they are made of sand, barely strong enough to transport me outside and onto the streets of Portland.

I hail a cab and shove my body into the back seat.

“Where to, miss?”

41

COLLINS

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