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My tattoo itched again and this time, I left it alone.
6
EMMA
Ifelt good again by the time I left Helen’s house.
Cora’s place was in the opposite direction to where I’d lived with Nathan, so I was still getting used to the layout of the streets. I drove carefully, navigating my way to the main road and then crawling at a snail’s pace as every set of lights seemed to turn red at the same time.
The traffic was heavy, so I decided to cut through the older parts of the suburb instead — the streets wound through houses that were built in the 1950s. It was a labyrinth, but at least there wouldn’t be as many cars.
Cora had made spaghetti bolognaise the night before, doubling the recipe so we’d have enough to eat today, and the idea of eating the leftovers when I got home made my mouth water.
Two kids were playing soccer on their front lawn, and I slowed down in case they chased the ball on the road. The younger one kicked the ball with all his might and it sailed past his brother, rolling over their next-door neighbor’s lawn until it bounced off a eucalyptus tree. He raced after it, fists pumping as he ran, and I felt a pang of jealousy as his brother followed.
I’d never had any siblings — my dad left my mom for another woman when I was two, and she never remarried. When I was younger, I used to get angry with my mom for not giving me a brother or sister to play with. But as I became older and understood how hard life was for her after my dad left, I felt bad for giving her such a hard time about it.
I drove past the kids and glanced back at them in the rear-view mirror. They’d resumed their game, and this time, the older brother had the ball, and dribbled it around the letterbox.
The intersections all looked the same and the next one I turned down took me around in a semicircle, leading back to the road I’d just come from. I turned left, annoyed at myself for making such a dumb mistake, and drove past the boys again.
This time, I kept going past the wrong turn, and took the street I’d actually meant to use. I glanced in my rear-view mirror again, out of habit, and I felt a pit of dread open in my stomach.
The car that had been behind me when I’d driven past the boys wasstillbehind me, even though I’d driven in a loop.
My hands shook as I changed gear and sped up, hoping the car would fall back. But it accelerated as well, and even though it was too far away for me to see the driver clearly, I recognized the car. Its blue body had paint peeling off the hood, which made it distinctive.
It was Nathan’s.
My mouth felt dry as I took a random turn to see what he would do. It was a back street that led past houses on both sides and joined a cross street near the school — not one that most people would have a reason to drive down unless they lived there.
The car followed me. And it was still behind me when I reached the end.
My heart thumped. What was I going to do? I couldn’t go home — Cora would be at work all day, and I didn’t want Nathan to know where I lived now. Nor did I want to risk being alone with him, not after the aggressive text messages he’d sent me.
I’d only been staying with Cora for three weeks. I wasn’t that familiar with the neighborhood yet and hadn’t made any friends, so I couldn’t go to anyone else’s house nearby.
There was only one place I could think of where I knew I would be safe.
I headed back to the main road and turned in the direction of the tattoo parlor.
7
XAVIER
Iwas shocked to see Emma burst through the door, her ice-blue eyes wild and her burgundy hair whipping around her face as she turned to look at the street.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you back here so soon,” I said. I’d been restocking our cabinets and was halfway through, with a pile of tattoo cream boxes on the counter next to me. “Is there something wrong with your tattoo?”
Emma’s breathing was heavy, like she’d been running. She took a moment to steady herself and touched her chest.
“It’s itchy,” she said.
Adrian and Jackson were both working on clients, but when Jackson saw Emma, he put down his gun, pulled off his gloves and came over.
“Want me to take a look at it?” he asked.
Emma nodded, and I ushered her behind a curtain to give her some privacy.
