Page 135 of How to Walk Away

“He asked me not to. He didn’t want to freak you out.”

I tried to absorb the idea. “Did he? Check in?”

She nodded. “He did indeed.”

Off her tone, I said, “A lot?”

“About once a week.”

“Once a week!” She was enjoying this reveal too much. “He called you?”

“Mostly just email. Also, you know all those articles I sent you?”

The plane sped up on the runway. “The ones I’m pretty sure you never read?”

“They were from him.”

He’d sent the articles! That explained a lot. But why? “How did he sound?”

“Like a concerned professional.”

“Did you ever talk about anything else?”

She shook her head. “Mostly just your health. Pretty dry.”

The nose of the plane lifted. I nodded. “Okay.”

“But my personal opinion? He still likes you.”

“He never liked me.”

“I disagree.”

“He told me in no uncertain terms,” I said. “He never liked me. It was all just me being delusional, and he let it go on so I’d have, you know, a reason to live. Trust me. If there were any possibility for hope, I’d have found it.”

Kit shrugged, like,Okay. Have it your way.The plane left the ground now, rattling and shuddering as it rose. I touched my fingers to my necklace.Courage.

Kit said, “There is one other thing, though.”

I looked up.

“He started following me on Instagram.”

I took in a breath. “Is that why you always take a million pictures of me?”

She nodded, looking very pleased with herself. “And guess what else? He’s never posted a picture, and he doesn’t follow anyone else. He doesn’t even have a profile pic. I am theoneperson he follows.”

I tried to process the idea of Ian using Instagram. “He saw the picture you took of my scars?”

Kit nodded very slowly.

“And the one this morning in the airport?”

Kit nodded again. “Assuming he checks his phone.”

“So he might know we’re headed to Europe.”

“He might.”

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