Page 524 of The Sinner: James

16

RAIN

I countthe doors until I reach the third one on the right and knock lightly.

At first, comes silence, and then I hear her footsteps shuffling across the hallway.

I tip my gaze up, convinced she’s looking through the peephole.

“No way. Are you kidding me?” Eve exclaims, swinging the door open.

Her eyes widen in surprise as she sees me and hugs me.

“Rain... Oh, my God. What a surprise.”

I smile.

“What are you doing here?” she asks, taking in my shoulder bag.

“I, um... I wanted to surprise you,” I say, flicking my eyebrows up. “Can I come in?”

“Yes, yes. Of course.”

“Did I catch you at a bad time?” I ask, my gaze landing on the pile of fresh laundry on the sofa and the vacuum in the middle of the room.

She laughs, amused.

“It’s always a bad time when I’m cleaning up my place.”

“I was afraid you might be out doing something.”

She clutches her hips, throwing me a funny look.

“Really, Rain?”

“Yeah... It’s Friday night,” I say, sliding my bag off my shoulder and setting it on a chair.

“Since when does that mean anything in my world?”

“I thought you’d go out,” I say seriously.

“I thought that too, but it rarely happens,” she replies, chuckling.

“Do you want to go out?”

Her eyes go to my bag.

“Are you staying the night?”

“Yes.”

“Then, no. I have food in the oven. I didn’t plan to go out anyway. I want to stay home and relax.”

“Sounds good. Do you want me to help you with anything?”

“Sure,” she says, pointing to a bunch of clothes that need to be folded.

For about an hour, I help her tidy up her place.

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