“What doyouthink, Maui?” I asked the pineapple, returning her to her usual spot in the crook of the couch’s armrest.
Maui smiled her quiet slip of a smile up at me.
“No, I’mnotobsessing,” I told her, folding my arms. “Or… maybe I am. But this is kind of obsession-worthy, don’t you think? I mean, in the elevator he was all…” Widening my stance, I mimed the way he’d pulled apart the doors Incredible Hulk–style. “Then, with the scythe thingy he was all…” I grasped the staff of an invisible scythe before taking the same great swipe Reaper Man had taken at the blond man. “And then he just whooooosh!” I mimed an explosion of smoke with my arms.
Maui said nothing. Though, did her smile seem more knowing than before?
“Don’t give me that look,” I admonished, hands going to my hips. “It’s not like that.”
My phone rang, and I startled hard, eyes falling to where the device lay near the book.
I’d already spent two hours on the phone with my mom that day, assuring her that I really was okay. This call, though, wasn’t from either of my parents.
Instead, the name on the screen read “Peter.”
Peter. Gosh. What washecalling for?
Should I answer?
Maybe it was important. Maybe it had something to do with work. Or maybe…
“I should answer,” I said, speaking maybe to myself, maybe to Maui. “Mom asked about Peter…”
Lamented how I was no longer with him. Didn’t have anyone here to comfort me…
Before I could talk myself out of it, I rounded the couch, plucked up the phone, and accepted the call.
“Hello?”
“Helena,” said Peter, his voice warm, his tone concerned. “My goodness, darling. Are you all right?”
For a moment, I didn’t answer. I wasn’t sure what to say. Aside from the fact that I didn’t really knowhowI was, I still couldn’t piece together why he was calling me. Or why I’d been “Miss Hart” earlier and now “Helena” again. And not just Helena, but “darling.”
No matter what I’d been hoping for, this included, the whiplash stung. And rattled me.
Then again, maybe he was just being kind. There didn’t have to be a deeper reason behind Peter’s call. Probably best if there wasn’t…
Since he’d gotten off the elevator moments before it had taken me on aFinal Destination–style ride, maybe he just wanted to check on me.
“I’m okay,” I said. “Just… a little shaken.”
“A little.” He scoffed. “You had quite a fright today. Please tell me you’re not alone at home.”
I didn’t answer. Because I couldn’t tell him that I wasn’t.
Mom and Dad lived half a state away, along with half my undergrad friends—something he knew. My grad-school friends peppered the United States, and no one lived closer than a few hours’ drive.
After earning my MLS, I’d moved to Wyvern to take this job. And even after four years in the city, I still only had a few close friends.
Who were all married now…
“Iamthinking about getting a cat,” I said at last. “Does that count?”
“Youarealone,” he murmured.
I scowled. And maybe it was the pity in his downward-inflecting tone that stirred my anger. “I’m not alone, Peter,” I blurted out.
“Oh,” he said after a beat. “Brooke is there?”
