“Honestly, the idea of selling it brings me so much relief.” The thought hadn’t crossed her mind before this moment, but considering it now gave her a huge sense of peace. It was as though a huge weight had shifted from her shoulders, and she could finally see a way forward in her life again.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Jessica’s keys had been in her purse when she’d arrived at work that morning—she was certain of it. She always put her keys away in the same pocket inside her purse whenever she parked her car. It was a habit she’d developed at sixteen when she first learned to drive. That way, she was never confused about where they might be. And yet now, she couldn’t find them. She dug through the purse again, checking every pocket, as she stood beside her car in the empty lot.
All of the other teachers had left for the day. She’d stayed back to do some grading. It was almost dark. Although there were a few lights in the parking lot, it gave the place an eerie, twilight feel. She wasn’t accustomed to the school being so quiet. Even the football team had passed by earlier on their way to their showers. They were no doubt joking around in the locker room at that moment, although she couldn’t see that part of the school from where she stood. To her, it seemed as though she was entirely alone on the campus.
She glanced up with a shiver as the cold of the evening breeze pierced through her light coat. She hadn’t expected to be outside for this long and should’ve worn something warmer. It was the middle of fall, and even though the weather here wasn’t as cold as it would’ve been back home, it was still enough to make her wish for a fireplace and some hot cocoa.
That was exactly what she needed — the thought warmed her a little. She’d go home and put her feet up with a cup of hot cocoa. There was some leftover soup in the fridge too—that would be dinner. She didn’t need to cook every night now that she was living alone and wasn’t sure she liked it. She’d lived with her parents and siblings for most of her life, and then the busy college dormitory, followed by an apartment with roommates. There’d always been people around. She didn’t much like coming home to a quiet house. But at least she had the kitten now and less cooking to do.
There was the sound of scraping, as though someone was walking over the loose gravel by the edge of the soccer field, and she glanced up to see the figure of a man standing on the side of the parking lot. He was beneath a tree, in deeper darkness outside of the glare of the streetlights. He seemed to be wearing a dark sweater with the hood pulled up. His hands were pushed into his jeans pockets.
She startled, her heart immediately jumping into an accelerated rhythm. Her breathing sped up too, and she searched even more frantically for her keys with blind grasping as she kept her eyes fixed on the figure.
A key poked the end of her finger, and with relief she tugged it out of the purse, sending her lip gloss and compact flying. She was torn between the desire to flee and not wanting to lose the compact her parents had brought her back from Ireland. The jaunty green clover leaf on the back of the mirror almost glowed against the pavement.
She squatted and scooped up the mirror and lip gloss, then stood and spun around to unlock the car. But he was there. Standing right beside the car. Between her and the door. Far too close. So close that she cried out and took a step back.
“Hi, Jessie.” Hilton’s voice sounded cold when he spoke. She hadn’t seen him in months and had begun to think she wouldn’t have to face him again, that he’d given up on pursuing her. She’d been happy.
“Hilton, what are you doing here?” She just had to get by him, reach her car, and shut the door. But he was in the way.
“I came to see you. Aren’t you happy to see me?”
She had to be careful. Her entire body vibrated with tension. “Of course. It’s nice to see a familiar face again. But I didn’t know you were coming. You should’ve let me know.”
“You changed your phone number.” He smiled slowly, moving towards her.
“Oh, yeah. That’s right.” She stepped backwards.
“I thought we could spend some time together. I’ve missed you.”
“Um… well, I have plans tonight. But maybe some other time…”
“I drove all this way. Surely your plans aren’t that important. Not as important as spending time with an old friend.”
Is that what he was? At least he’d stopped calling himself her boyfriend. That was something. “I guess I could cancel.” She had to think of some way to get out of there. As far as she knew, he didn’t have her address, although how he’d found the school where she worked was a mystery.
“How did you find me?”
He shrugged and peered over at the school. “Your photo was on the website.”
“The school website?”
“Yep — under ‘Our Staff.’” He chuckled. “You didn’t really look like yourself, but at least it gave me a place to start. And here you are. I was beginning to wonder if you weren’t in today.”
“I had to work late.”
“You’re always the busy little bee. So, let’s grab some dinner. I’m not sure what’s good around here, but I’m sure we can find something.”
“Okay, tell me a restaurant chain and I’ll meet you there.”
He cocked his head to one side, studying her. “No need. I’ll ride with you.”
She cleared her throat. “What about the restraining order, Hilton?”
His brow furrowed. “It’s not for Georgia.”
