Page 72 of Hide From Me

I reach for the café door just as a guy with a towel wrapped around the handle opens it for me. I nod gratefully and step inside.

“What’s the surprise?” I ask.

“Dinner,”she says, too casually.

“I know it's last minute, but I don’t know your schedule too well,”my mother starts. I stand at a comical distance away from the counter, looking over the items on the menu. I can already sense it coming. She's about to bribe me into doing something, which means I'm about to hear…

“Is that my little Ray? Give me the phone, Tess!”My father booms from the background.

“Oh my God, Joe—wait!”

“Rayray! You’re coming tonight, right? You have to come. Gary’s going to start talking about his nonfiction books again, and I need a buffer.”

My mother's and father's voices mingle, but I'm still able to make out the words. The sun beams through the window, warming my back. It feels as if there’s nothing wrong in the world at this moment, like everything is how it's supposed to be.

“So it’s not just a dinner? It’s another party?” I tease, and my father laughs—a sound so deep and warm that my shoulders square with pride.

“It’s more of a gathering! You can bring that boy you were—”

“Bring the man, Rayray!”My father cuts off my mother again, and I swear that just by the sound of her growl, I can already see her dainty fingers curling into her palms and her foot stomping.

I roll my eyes and move toward the counter, already sensing that this is a trap.

“I don’t know—”I start, but I fall silent as the line goes quiet. I have to pull the phone from my ear to check and see if they’re still on the other side. Once I take note that they are, I let out a heavy sigh.

“Please.”It’s one word from my father, but it adds such a weight to my shoulders that I don’t think I’ll be able to stomach anything as heavy as coffee right now.

“Yeah, okay. We’ll, uh…” I rub my hand over my face in frustration. “I’ll see if he can make it.”

The second I hang up, I call Moe before I can second-guess my decision and he answers on the first ring, his breathing ragged.

“Sunshine?”

Oh, hello.I grin, twisting the handle of the café door again, but it’s already being pulled open from the other side.

“Is everything okay?”Moe asks, his tone more stern than confused, surely due to my random call.

“Don’t sound so shocked. I know how to work a phone too–” My steps come to an abrupt halt as the door swings the rest of the way open and I'm suddenly face to face with someone I promised myself I’d never see again.

“You missed me,”Moe teases, but I can’t focus on the drawl in his voice as my gaze slowly drags up worn blue jeans and a gray t-shirt to deep brown eyes that are narrowed. I can’t move. I’m frozen in place, even though my mind is begging me to stumble back or at least push through the man.

He watches me the way he used to, as if I’m something he already owns. I scan the café—three staff members and two patrons. No one seems to notice him standing there, or me frozen in the doorway as if I’ve forgotten how to breathe.

“Did I lose you?”Moe's voice breaks through my thoughts. Slowly, I keep my body as far from Lance as possible and slip through the door, never once letting my eyes stray from his.

“I, uh—” I swallow hard, my heart racing so fast that I swear I can hear it in my ears, overpowering the clinking sounds in the background of Moe’s line. Assoon as I step out onto the pavement, Lance calmly enters the café without once looking back in my direction. I’ve never been shot with a taser, but I can imagine this is how it feels—so painful that you can't even think of moving, making your body wish it could curl in on itself.

Steadying my breathing, I quickly turn on my heel and rush back toward the apartments.

“My parents,” I say, clearing my throat and hoping Moe can’t hear the lump forming in it.

“They’re having a get-together tonight. Come with me.” I don’t mean for it to sound like a demand, but I need this conversation to go by as quickly as possible.

Jack steps out of the apartment, juggling his keys between his hands with a bright smile that quickly fades as soon as he sees the look on my face.

“Text me a time, and I’ll pick you up!”Moe says, just as enthusiastically as I had expected. I move to hang up as he adds,“Don’t worry, I’ll wear something pretty for you.”

How can a day that begins so perfectly turn so wrong in such a short amount of time? It feels as if my whole body goes numb the moment Jack's hands curl into my shoulders, his mouth moving, but I can't hear the words coming out.

---