I knew that. He left not long after I did. Will had texted me the day he left. I was happy for him. I’d wanted him to pursue his dreams, and now he was doing it.
“Yeah,” I told her, “but who knows if he’ll decide to come back, to see his family or whatever. He still owns the apartment, and the program in France is just a year, I think. I’m worried if he ran into me, it would be uncomfortable for him.”
Naya sighed. “I don’t think that’s an issue. Ross hasn’t come back even once.”
That surprised me. “Does he still talk to you guys?”
“Will calls him once in a while, but that’s about it… And I’ll tell you one thing: you should put Jack aside and think about you. I don’t want you just sitting around there spinning your wheels, OK? The spring semester hasn’t started yet, you’ve still got a few weeks to register. I know I’d love to have you back here.”
“I’ll think it over. But I’m not promising anything.”
“Cool!” She sounded so legitimately excited that I could have hugged her. “When you do decide to come back, I want to be the first to know!”
“You always are!”
“Thank you, bestie!” she said.
I could imagine her smiling, and I told her, “Call you tomorrow, Naya. I’ve got to have dinner.”
“OK. Hug your grandmother for me!”
“And you hug everyone else for me. But be careful with Sue. I heard she bites.”
“I’ll put on a hockey mask and a bulletproof vest,” Naya said.
After hanging up, I looked at my phone for a few seconds before coming back to reality. I loved talking to Naya. She was my oasis. With her, everything seemed easier, as if my problems weighed less and my joys lasted longer. Maybe that was why she was the first person I thought of when I felt bad, and I liked knowing that went both ways.
But my good mood vanished as quickly as it arrived. It was an intuition—I didn’t hear anything, but a shiver ran up my spine. I looked up and to my horror found myself face-to-face with Monty.
He was standing at the gate with his hands in his coat pockets and a hard-to-read expression on his face. All I could think was that I needed to take off running, now.
I stood and pointed at him, and before he had a chance to open his mouth, warned him, “Don’t come a step closer.”
Monty sighed, stepped back, and said, “Jenny, I only want to talk.”
“I’ve got a restraining order against you, so I hope you feel like talking to the police.”
I was too scared to turn my back, so I edged slowly away, my hand reaching out to grab the door.
“Stop running away, please.” His tone didn’t change, but he took a step toward me, and I got really scared. “I told you, I just want to talk.”
I ignored him. I’d finally reached the door. But the worst thing I could have imagined just then happened: it was locked. And I hadn’t thought to bring my keys with me. Dammit! Usually, when this happened, my grandmother would come out in five minutes or so to see what was taking me so long. But I’d talked to Naya for close to an hour, and she hadn’t peeked out once.
In a panic, I rang the doorbell. I hit it three times while Monty was walking over with his hands raised to show he was harmless.
“I told you, stay back!” I wished I could sound less scared. I rang the doorbell again desperately. By now, Monty had climbed the stairs. What should I do? Jump off the porch and run down the street? I was a phys ed teacher, so I could manage that, couldn’t I? But could I outrun him? Could I even get past him? Or would he trap me with those long arms of his?
I wasn’t sure, so my best option seemed to be standing my ground and begging him to go away. Monty was close now, hands still raised, looking almost sad that I was so afraid of him. And that fake sympathy only pissed me off worse.
“Go,” I grunted.
“I heard you were having problems with your parents,” he said, now lowering his arms.
“Just leave! I don’t have anything to say to you!”
“I don’t know if you heard, but I’ve been helping out your brothers in the garage sometimes to make some extra pocket change,” he went on as if he hadn’t heard me. “I guess your mom really appreciates that, and…”
“I don’t care!” I pleaded. “I don’t want to talk to you—is that really so hard to understand?”
