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Bang! I jolt upright at the loud sound. “What in the fu—“ I trail off when I notice the sun streaming in through the living room windows. The side of my face is damp. I swipe my hand across my jaw and realize I had drooled. Makes sense, though, because a fantasy of Birdie is definitely drool-worthy, but that’s all it was—a fantasy. I get to my feet and pick up the walker that I had knocked over in my sleep. I head back to my desk because until I find the evidence of my uncle’s embezzlement, Birdie will remain a fantasy.

Against my better judgment, I find myself outside the laundromat later that day. Through the large glass window, I can see Birdie sitting behind a counter, her head bent over something. Her curly hair is piled onto the top of her head and she’s chewing on the end of a pencil. We never got around to discussing what she does for a living. I only guessed she would be here because she said that Higgins was her boss. A little internet search brought me here–the very place I shouldn’t be. Her boss’ grilling yesterday made me realize that getting close to someone means sharing secrets. I want to know everything about Birdie but she’s going to want to know everything about me, too.

And what can I share? I don’t want to lie to Birdie but I can’t tell her I’m on the run from my uncle who murdered my parents. If he finds me, Birdie will be in danger. Do I care more about getting my rocks off or do I care about Birdie as a person? I grab the fried chicken that Gran made, set it outside of the laundromat and drive away.

Chapter Ten

Birdie

I snag my books off the library desk, knowing that it’s almost closing time. Not that it matters. I’ve been staring at the same page for twenty minutes now without even reading it. I only came to the library to get out of my place. I thought a change of space would do me some good. Nope, I took my moping from my place with me to the library. It seems to follow you around like that. I’d sulked enough over the last few days and today I decided I needed to put a stop to it. At least I thought I would but it isn’t working.

Three days. That’s how long it’s been since I saw Nick. One second he was demanding that I come over and making jokes about us having babies and the next he was gone. I even got up the nerve to send a pathetic text yesterday, thanking him for dinner. I’d gotten a simple you’re welcome sent back and nothing more.

I don’t know what has changed. It has to have something to do with Mr. Higgins’ line of questioning the other night. Nick looked really uncomfortable with how in-depth Mr. Higgins was getting. Even though his smile had remained on his face, his mood had shifted. I remind myself that I know he’s hiding something. I heard his own grandma say as much. Still, I can’t stop thinking about him. Or why he decided now that he would go MIA. He’d been the one to pursue me, so it doesn’t make sense.

“Bye!” Charla the librarian chirps at me as I pass her desk. I give her a smile, blowing one of my curls out of my face.

“Crap,” I mumble, turning around, remembering I left my reading glasses on the table. I collide with a giant body. I let out a small scream as I start to fall but he wraps an arm around me, steadying me on my feet. I stare up into the same green eyes that I’ve been thinking about since he left me outside of my place. “Hey,” I say, looking up at him. His hand reaches out and moves a loose curl away from my face. I want to lean my face into him but I control myself.

“Hey,” he says back, giving me a half smile that doesn’t meet his eyes. I see he’s got my glasses in his hand. When he realizes what I’m looking at, he hands them over.

“Thanks,” I say, taking them from him. Was he in the library too? I wonder what he’s doing here. Maybe it has something to do with the secrets that he’s keeping.

“No problem,” he responds, still holding his arm around me. I don’t know how long we stand there but he just stares down at me. My thoughts are all over the place. Is he here because he was following me or maybe he randomly ran into me and he doesn’t know what to say because he’s been trying to ghost me? I don’t know the answer and it’s going to drive me crazy. Yet, whatever the answer is, I’m still happy to see him. I only wish that I understood what was going on between us. He was so persistent at first and now he’s acting strange. I straighten my shoulders and decide to walk away. The same way I had the day in the store.