This floor is a large open room with a ton of conveyor belts and piles of fabric in the corners, all covered in dust and torn up. Animals must have gotten to a lot of it, and I’m surprised the homeless haven’t. There is plenty of material here to keep them warm, though the problem in this area isn’t necessarily keeping warm—it’s staying dry. And this material won’t help with that.
I hear something skitter across the floor, whipping around only to see a rat race out the door I just came in, and jump down the stairs.
If there’s one, there’s more. Good thing I’m not afraid of them… as long as they aren’t touching me, that is.
My phone vibrates when I’m halfway into the large room, and I keep walking as I pull it out to check the notification.
LMCYTTWACYAGG: You’re early.
One-handed, I type back.
Golden_Phoenix: Are you complaining?
LMCYTTWACYAGG: Not at all. Now I get to play with you sooner.
“My thoughts exactly,” I say out loud as I pocket my phone.
I thought he was in here, I’d felt his eyes on me, but now I’m certain of it. He could be in this room with me right now, hiding beneath one of the conveyor belts or in the cabinets. I keep walking, but I don’t feel eyes on me like I did outside, which makes me think my instinct is right… he’s up one more flight.
I take my time getting to the other set of stairs, not wanting to give him what he wants so quickly. I want him to wait for it, to earn it, toneedit.
The moment I step onto the third floor, I note it’s different from the first two. This one has multiple rooms, which will make exploring more difficult. I could get lost. I don’t know what’s around each corner. I assume this was an office floor, and not a production floor.
I step into the hallway and make my way into the first room that is relatively empty. I go over to the window and spot my car. A cool breeze blows in from outside, the storm getting closer. The smell of rain—petrichor it’s called, I recently learned—is strong.
But beyond that, there’s another scent, and I just know…
He was here. Standing in this exact spot.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Jaxon
I’ve been here for hours, watching and waiting for her to appear. The storm has come in stronger than anticipated, the rain pounding down, threatening to flood, and the thunder is shaking the building.
I saw her pull into the lot, get out of her car, and disappear downstairs. I’ve waited for her to make her way up here, right to me, and I know she will. She’s smart like that.
On my way here, I vowed that tonight would be the night I told her. I can’t hide from her any longer.
This shit with my mother has fucked me up more than I thought it would, and losing Vincent only made it worse. I have no one in my life, and I want her, and I don’t want it to be through lies.
Sailor texted me,me, on her own and asked if I ever lied to her. My answer was a lie in itself. I have been lying to her. I’ve been pretending to be someone else, just to be near her, to talk to her, to touch her.
It’s pathetic, but I don’t care. I wouldn’t change it, and I wouldn’t take it back.
Only, I want more. I don’t want to keep pretending. I’m tired of running and fighting. I’m tired of all of it. I’m too young for all this stress and all this bullshit. I just want… to be fucking happy for once in my life.
I can be that with Sailor. I know I can.
So, tonight, I’m telling her the truth. All of it. And I’m going to pray like hell that she doesn’t run away again. Because I know it’ll be for the last time.
I lose track of time, standing in the dark, trying to listen for her. The storm makes it impossible. When I pull out my phone to text her, I’m standing in the stairwell listening for footsteps and hear nothing. Once my phone is back in my pocket, I go to one of the rooms and hide in a dark corner.
The thunder is getting louder, the lightning closer. The winds are picking up, and the rain is harsh.
What a perfect night for this.
I swear I feel her getting closer, but I know how fucking crazy that sounds. Still, my body is so in tune to hers, like magnets pulling us toward each other. It’s been that way from the beginning, even if she denied it.
