Page 52 of Falling Backwards
Then her brow furrows, and she crosses her arms as she regards me thoughtfully once again.
My hopes and heart rate have lifted and dropped right along with her expression.“What?”
“I have an idea.”
“But you were only excited about it for a second?”
The crease between her eyebrows softens as her eyes go over my face.“It’s…well, to say the least, it’s shaky.”
“So is my entire body, Joy, so I’m happy to hear any suggestion you’ve got.”
Her smile is tiny.She puts her hands back on my shoulders and blows a raspberry.
“Okay, keep an open mind.”
L U K E
I wouldn’t say I’m limping, exactly, as I finish my short walk to Merritt’s from the convenience store across the street.Hobbling?Maybe I’m hobbling.In any case, I’m going more slowly than usual.After the run I went on this morning, my legs absolutely hate me and refuse to carry my ass around with their usual smooth strength.
Am I doing it wrong?Running, I mean?The attempt I made the other morning didn’t go very well, but I thought another try would be a good way to start my day today; I didn’t have to work and the hours were full of potential, so a bit of exercise sounded nice.I’m regretting it now, though.Are you supposed to build up to this kind of thing somehow?I kicked it off with a jog before upping my pace, but that doesn’t seem to have helped much.All it did, really, was give me a less painful cramp in my leg than my first run.
One thing is for sure: I’ve got gummy worms in my pocket anda mixed drink waiting for me, and theywillhelp.
Eager though I am to get out of the cold and get settled at whatever table Paxton has claimed for us, I don’t give in to the temptation to hurry to the bar’s wooden double doors.I’ve taken it easy all day, and I fully intend to chill and be lazy here, too, especially since it’s not likely I’ll run into Maggie.The bar’s Hump Day Half-Prices thing will be the perfect end to my quiet day and the perfect accompaniment to Paxton’s good news.
Still, even each careful step nearly makes me groan.
I guess if I’m going to try to exercise whatsoever, I should read up on how to do it in a way that won’t hurt me.I didn’t think it was a big damn deal to just go for it, but obviously—
“Luke!”is a stage-whisper on the air the moment I enter Merritt’s.
I pause walking and look to my right, puzzled by the instant greeting…and I see an all-too-familiar girl huddled in the old payphone alcove set into the dark wall.
I do groan now.“Magno—”
“Pleasecome here and be serious for a minute.Luke, I’m scared.”
Her words just about surprise me out of my irritation.
She’s…scared?
I straighten up and look around this front area.We’re the only two in it.The main room lies beyond the next double doorway, which is open as usual, and everything appears to be in normal order.I can hear chatter and laughter and a bit of music; I can’t tell that anything weird is going on in there.
Maggie’s pinched expression of anxiety is real, though.
I shuffle over to her, glancing around again as I go.“What are you scared of?”
She swallows hard, peeks out of the alcove and around the room, too, and then slinks back in.“A guy who’s in the other room.”
My eyebrows shoot up.She’s scared ofsomeone?Has someone been bothering her?
Or worse, has he tried to harm her?
Is shehidingfrom him right now?
Even more questions are building in my mind, becoming a clutter—including the question of why she’s tellingmethis, of all people.
