Page 15 of Breaking News

As I picked up my purse from the floorboard, I was distracted by a man in dark clothes walking a dog down the jagged sidewalk. He stopped in front of my neighbor’s house, smokinga cigarette while the dog lifted its leg to pee on the shrubbery. I bit my bottom lip. Being around unfamiliar men in the dark made me feel a little uneasy. I turned to Graham, preparing to ask him if he wouldn’t mind walking me up to my house, but he was already unbuckling, eyeing the man on the sidewalk.

“Be right back,” he told Olivia.

“See you next week, maybe,” I said as I opened my door.

“Yeah, I hope so!”

“Thanks for walking me up to the house,” I said as Graham met me on the sidewalk with his hands in the pockets of his khaki pants. He nodded in response as we made our way up the steps, and I blurted, “Okay, who’s Richie?”

He answered with a sound that was a cross between a sigh and an elongated grunt. “Her boyfriend. He’s a little twerp.”

I giggled. “Hey, maybe they fought and broke up tonight? I hope whatever happened, she’s okay.”

“I think she’ll be okay. Hearing her cry on the phone, though… I think my heart stopped beating for a second.”

We reached the first landing on the sidewalk, where I’d meant to plant flowers in the spring but never got around to it. “It’s great that she trusts you enough to call you when she’s having a bad night. She’s how old?”

“Fifteen.”

“She’s fifteen and you’re still her hero. I think that’s awesome.”

He glanced over at me, his expression unreadable at first, but then the corners of his mouth tugged up in a subtle smile. I couldn’t help but grin back at him, but that was only because the crinkles in the corners of his eyes were too cute to ignore. “I’m her hero right now, but just wait. I’ll say the wrong thing tomorrow and ruin her life.”

“Do you know how many times I told my dad he ruined my life when I was a teenager?” I asked as we made our way up the widesteps to my porch. “But he’s still my hero, in every sense of the word. A girl never stops needing her dad.”

“I’ll have to remember that the next time she slams her bedroom door in my face,” he said, furrowing his brows at my Edward Cullen welcome mat, a gift from Meghan with too many layers of inside jokes to even begin to explain. “What—?”

“Don’t ask.”

“Okay,” he said, taking a step backward now that he’d escorted me to my destination. But he stopped at the edge of the porch with a concerned scowl. “How’s your pain?”

That was a difficult question to answer. I always had some level of pain, but sometimes it was just easier to ignore. Knowing he didn’t want that whole explanation, I simply said, “A lot better now. Thank you for bringing me home, Graham.”

“Yeah, of course. And hey, thankyoufor sparking an interest in journalism in my kid. I’ve been trying for years.”

I titled my head with a smirk. “What can I say? I’m very influential.”

He shook his head at me. “But just remember, when she starts roasting you for not understanding her Gen Alpha slang, you’re the one who asked for this.”

“Maybe I’ll learn a few things.”

Graham let out a quiet chuckle, stepping onto the first stair. As he did, his twinkling blue eyes lifted to mine, and I caught the subtle bob of his Adam’s apple. “Goodnight,” he said in a strained voice. His lips parted again like he had more to say, but no words came out.

As his eyes held mine, I felt my stomach dip like something exciting was about to happen—the same way it would if I were anticipating a kiss at the end of a first date. It took two or three seconds longer than it should have for me to remember how to speak. “Goodnight,” I finally managed, hoping he couldn’t pickup on my sudden awkwardness. I unlocked the door and hurried inside before I could make this any weirder.

“What the fuck was that?” I muttered aloud, speaking to no one but the half-dead fern by the front door. Another gift from Meghan. I almost pulled out my phone to text her about the awkward moment I’d just shared with Graham and how he’ddefinitelybeen ogling my legs, but she’d make a big deal out of it. Or tell me to shut up.

So I texted Xander instead.

Jill:Made it home safely. Going to have a bath and then head to bed soon. Am I missing any fun shenanigans?

He didn’t answer. But if I knew Xander, his phone was probably abandoned on the patio table while he and Owen threw a variety of objects on the fire and called it “science.” We’d talk tomorrow.

I took a bath and changed into silk pajamas, checking my phone one last time before settling into bed. No response.

The pang of missing out hit harder than I expected. Not just because I wasn’t there, but because this was becoming a pattern. Tapping out early. Waking up exhausted. My body working against me no matter how much I tried to push through.

With a sigh, I turned off my lamp, knowing I needed to heed Meghan’s advice and talk to my doctor about this again. But the truth was, as much as I feared they might make some scary healthy discovery, what I feared even more was that they wouldn't find anything at all and they’d just send me on my way again.

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