Page 154 of Hello Stranger

But I didn’t have to just stand frozen there like a gazelle and let him pounce. I wasn’t some prey animal. As soon as I saw him making his way toward me, I started making my way toward…what?We were on a roof. It wasn’t like I could catch a city bus and disappear into the night.

But I had to try, anyway.

I headed off toward the far corner, like maybe if I could dart around behind the mechanical room and break his line of sight, he might lose me.

As I sped up, he sped up.

I’d gotten pretty good at speed-walking in these postsurgery weeks, so for a minute there, I was actually starting to lose him… until he broke into a run.

“Sadie!” he called, like that might slow me down.

Wrong. It sped me up.

“Sadie! Wait!” he called again as I rounded the corner.

Rounding the corner did help—for about one second.

Until, as soon as I got there, I realized it was a dead end. A dark dead end with—actually—a fabulous view of the downtown skyline.

I didn’t come to this side very often.

I slowed down, defeated, and then walked to the far edge of the roof, leaning against the railing as if gazing at the view had been my urgent purpose all along.

No escape now, I thought as I heard Joe’s running footsteps approaching behind me.

I took a long-overdue deep breath, felt it swirl in my lungs, and willed it to give me peace.

And then… Joe showed up next to me at the railing.

I felt him land before I turned.

“Hey,” he said, a little breathless.

I pretended I didn’t hear him. Like that glittering skyline had soenraptured me that commonplace things like human interaction didn’t even register.

But he wasn’t deterred. “Could I talk to you for a minute?” he asked, standing so close and looking at me so hard, I had no choice but to respond.

He wanted totalk to me? Hadn’t this night been agonizing enough? “Do you have to?” I asked.

He frowned like he wasn’t sure how to answer.

“Why are you even here?” I asked. “Sue’s not your friend.”

“Mr. Kim invited me.”

“That was an accident.”

“Okay,” Joe said, not too interested in Mr. Kim. “But I’m also here because I got your voicemail.”

I held still. Mybest wishesvoicemail.

Joe waited for a response while I kept my eyes on the city.

“Did you listen to it?” I finally asked.

“Yep.”

“All of it?” I asked.

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