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“Wait, Sadie,” Nora’s voice called out. “Connor sent me to take you back to your apartment. He said you might be here.”
My stomach did a little somersault and I swallowed hard, bemoaning the fact that Connor seemed to know me so well. I turned back to Nora and kept my face carefully blank, and said quietly. “Thank you, Nora. I can find my own way back.”
“Not on my watch,” Nora told me and shook her head, her brow wrinkled. “I’m not letting you walk the streets alone. I don’t know what happened between you and Connor, but he still wants you safe and so do I.”
I sighed, hoping that Connor wasn’t hiding somewhere inside the car to talk to me, and got inside. The seat was cold, and it felt odd to be without Connor in the car. I was hoping Nora would just let it be one quiet, last ride together, but I couldn’t fault her for wanting to know what happened.
“So,” Nora cleared her throat. “Did you two have a fight?”
“We’re broken up,” I said shortly, watching the city pass by the window.
I could hear Nora’s little, sad breath of air. “That’s a shame, then. I’ve never seen my Connor so very happy.”
I stayed quiet after that, wiping silent tears from my cheeks, and trying not to make a sound as I cried. I jumped from the car as soon as it stopped, and I heard Nora pull away. I froze in front of the old brick building, staring at the new, shiny royal blue awning that was snapping gently in the cold wind over the double doors. I walked under it slowly, staring up in disbelief as I opened the door to the lobby. Inside, it was like stepping into an alternate universe. The once cramped and dim room had been given all new furniture and bright, golden overhead lights that cast the room into a comfortable sort of glow. Bright, happy pictures hung on the walls and fluffy rugs had been laid out in various areas. The landlord sat at his desk, but the tiny, ancient TV had been replaced by a flatscreen.
“What the hell?” I said aloud, voicing the only thought that rose to mind.
My landlord shrugged, looking bored. “I know. That Lennox sure as hell has money to burn. Better him than me.”
“Lennox?” I asked him in a small voice, my fingers digging into my thighs. “A Lennox did this?”
“Yeah, Sandy,” my rude landlord replied. I rolled my eyes as he called me by the wrong name for the thousandth time. “That Corey Lennox came by here a few weeks ago and had everything fixed up. Weird as hell but I’m not one to complain.”
I stared at him for a moment, and I wanted to scream at the confusion of it all. Which side of Connor was his true nature? At this point, I had no idea. I shook my head and my landlord shrugged carelessly as I ran up the brightly lit stairwell. At my apartment, someone was waiting for me and when my mind jumped to Connor, I wanted to run the other way. The man then turned and with relief, I realized it was Alex. He was standing in front of my apartment door with his hands in his pockets.
“Hey, Alex,” I said quietly, keeping my voice low. I hoped that he didn’t want to take any footage and I wondered if he knew about the show. I knew that Emily had headed there as soon as she left the diner and I assumed that Connor knew by now. Hopefully, no one wanted to talk to me about it.
“The producers told me, Connor told me—” Alex shook his head, shoving his hand deep into his pocket and tugging out a thin square. “Look, whatever happens, you need to watch this. You need to see for yourself before I send it to the producers for the final cut.”
“I… What?” I asked him, confused even as he pushed the memory card into my hand. “What is this?”
“Just trust me, okay? Watch it on your laptop tonight and then decide,” Alex told me quickly. With that cryptic message, Alex turned on his heel and left down the stairwell.
I stared after him for a minute, and then turned with a sigh and opened my apartment door. The doorknob was cold under my fingers as I turned it. Inside, my dull apartment was just the same as it had always been, only now a lot of my things were back at Connor’s place. I wondered when he would send them over. Maybe I could just replace them. I hoped that I would never have to look at him again and wonder about his intentions. I would rather just be done with it and go back to my old life before Games of Love. Classes would be starting again in a week and I would have that distraction to keep me sane. I would be working at the coffee shop too, so at least I would have that. Oliver’s New Year’s Eve party was this weekend.
