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“Let’s get your things while you fill me in. I don’t want to be here a second longer than we need to be. And we’re leaving your car here.”
I stomped in protest, and he cocked a brow in my direction as I laughed. “You just bring it out in me. How am I supposed to get to work?”
“I’ll drive you,” he said gruffly, moving to the closet.
I walked up behind him. “And then what? You sit there all day while I make lattes and serve sandwiches?”
“That’s the plan.”
“You’re being ridiculous,” I muttered, reaching for the last few shirts and a couple of pairs of jeans that I hadn’t shipped off to my parents’ house.
He opened the pink suitcase I had propped against the wall, and I put my clothes in there before wandering to the bathroom to grab my basket of toiletries.
“Now, tell me, what’s been going on?” He towered over me as I put the last few pairs of shoes and two pairs of pajamas in my suitcase.
I sighed before leaving the bedroom to grab the last few photos I kept in the living room, and that should be it. I’d officially have keys to turn in. The pale grey walls no longer looked inviting, and the tiny fireplace in the corner looked suddenly out of place without furniture surrounding it. The cabinets and glass shelves in the kitchen looked empty and sad. It was hard to believe how many hopes, ideas, and wishes for a fresh start were dreamt here.
I spun around to see Zach studying me. He wasn’t letting me out of his sight.
“There’s not much to tell, Zack. It’s probably all in my head. Over the last few weeks, I’d get this strange sensation that someone was watching me. Simple as that.”
“Where?”
I shrugged. “Everywhere. It would happen at the store, restaurants, the coffee shop… and every single time, I’d turn around to see absolutely no one.”
“And it’s been happening for three weeks?” His eyes narrowed on me, and I pushed away the tiny little fact that he always knew when I was stretching the truth to make things seem better than they were.
Because it had been happening for a lot longer.
Even when I was with Zack, I'd started to feel the sensation.
And then I heard from someone who had been silent for years.
I promised myself it was a coincidence, but I didn’t even know any longer.
Zack eyed me, and I knew I couldn’t lie to him.
Looking around my apartment, I let out a groan of annoyance.
My hands shot into the air and waved around. “No. Fine. It started about a week before I broke up with you.”
Horror washed over his face. “And you didn’t tell me?”
“Zack, I’m so tired of living in this head of mine, in this swarm of memories, that I didn’t even want to vocalize what I was sensing. I already feel crazy enough. It’s why…” I stopped myself. I didn’t need to go down that path with him.
“It’s why what?” he asked, stepping closer.
I tipped my face up to look at him closely and slowly breathed. “It’s one of the reasons I knew it was time to leave. To start over. I’m losing my mind, Zack. You don’t need to be a part of that.”
He straightened and looked around the empty apartment before returning to me.
“How do you explain that pile of shit in your bedroom? That’s not in your head. You didn’t leave it there.” His brows furrowed in frustration, and I suddenly felt guilty for letting him in on my secrets. “For some reason, you’re in someone’s line of sight, and it’s up to me to figure out—”
“No,” I interrupted. “It’s not up to you. I’m not your responsibility, Zack.”
He instantly closed the gap between us as his eyes locked onto mine. I tipped my chin up to see his intense gaze studying me. A wave of longing surfaced.
“You will always be my responsibility, Sadie. I love you. I can’t stop loving you.” His voice was gruff and direct like it always had been.
