Page 9 (1/2)

"So are they gonna let you come back to school?" she asks

What’s with the "let you" part of her question? Since as I not allowed back at school? That has to be attached to so back"

I haven’t really decided whether or not I’ll be enrolling tomorrow, since I failed to do it today It really all depends on ht, but it seeive the people what they want, which is le thing everyone has said abouteveryone with no one to spread rumors about

"You suck, man," my cashier says quietly as he re it would take her to realize her na it for two months now and I had dibs on three You just lost h He hands me back the debit card and I place it in my wallet "My bad," I say I pull out a twenty-dollar bill and hold it out to him "Take this, because I’m pretty sure you would have won"

He shakes his head, refusing to take the twenty

I’ the money back into my wallet when I notice out of the corner of irl has co at et my attention in the same way that Shayna/Shayla tried I just hope this chick doesn’t start up with that saet a quick look I really wanted to avoid glancing at her, but when people are staring you down it’s hard not to make eye contact, if even for a second But the second I actually do make eye contact with her, I freeze

I can’t look away now, even though I’ in front of me

My heart stops

Time stops

The whole world stops

My quick glance turns into a full-on, unintentional stare

I recognize those eyes

Those are Hope’s eyes

It’s her nose, her irl is Hope Out of all the tiirls ht now I’m so sure about it that it completely inhibits my ability to speak I don’t think I could say her naed h ry or elated or freaked the hell out

Does she recognizeat each other and I can’t stop wondering if I look familiar to her She doesn’t snize Hope’s smile anywhere

She tucks in her chin, darts her eyes away, and quickly turns around to face her cashier again She’s obviously flustered and it’s not in the sairls like Shayna/Shayla flustered It’s a completely different reaction, which only makes me all the more curious if she just remembered me

"Hey" The word rushes loudly out of my mouth involuntarily and I notice her flinch when I speak She’s hurrying her cashier at this point, grabbing her sacks in a frenzy It’s alet away fro to run fronize nize me, ouldn’t she be happy?

She exits the store in a rush, so I grab et outside before she drives away I can’t just let her go again I head directly through the exit and scroll over the parking lot until I spot her Luckily, she’s still loading her groceries into her backseat I pause before walking up behind her, hoping I don’t coht now

She’s about to shut her door, so I take a few steps closer

I don’t think I’ve ever been this scared to speak

What do I say? What the hell do I say?

I’ve i idea how to approach her

"Hey"

Hey? Jesus, Holder Nice Real nice

She freezes midmovement I can tell by the way her shoulders rise and fall that she’s taking a cal because ofat warp speed and thirteen years’ worth of pent-up adrenaline is hfor her for thirteen years and I very well may have just found her Alive And in the sa about Les and how I know she prayed every single day for thisould find Hope and now I’ve found her and Les is dead If this girl really is Hope, I’ll be devastated that she showed up thirteen months too late

Well, ot that word is on reserve But I’ll be pretty daht ather and tell her how sorry I as because she’s looking at me like she has no clue who I am I just want to screarip the back of my neck and try to process this whole situation This isn’t how I pictured finding her Maybe I fictionalized it and played it up all these years but I thought her recovery would be way ht she would have way more tears and way more emotion and not appear to be nearly asinconvenienced?

The look on her face right now doesn’t register as recognition in the least She looks terrified Maybe she doesn’t recognize me Maybe she appeared flustered inside because of the idiotic way I was staring at her Maybe she appears terrified now because I practically chased her down and I’ here like a creepy stalker and I have no idea how to even ask her if she’s the girl I lost all those years ago

She eyesto ease some of her fear with an introduction "I’aze to my extended hand and, rather than accept the handshake, she actually takes a step away from me

"What do you want?" she says sharply, cautiously peering back up to my face