I nod again and then duck my head and continue walking. I have
no idea why I’m reacting this way. Like I don’t know how to hold a
normal conversation. When I’m several yards away, I glance back over
my shoulder. He hasn’t moved. He’s still watching me as I walk away.
We round the corner and I see Ryle waiting beside his car outside
the floral shop. His face lights up when he sees us approaching. “Did
you get my email?” He kneels down and begins to unstrap Emerson.
“Yeah, about the playpen recall?”
He nods as he pulls her out of the stroller. “Didn’t we buy one of
those for her?”
I press the buttons to fold the stroller and then walk it to the back
of his car. “Yeah, but it broke like a month ago. I threw it in the
Dumpster.”
He pops the trunk, and then touches Emerson’s chin with his
fingers. “Did you hear that, Emmy? Your mommy saved your life.” She
smiles up at him and slaps playfully at his hand. He kisses her on the
forehead and then picks up her stroller and tosses it in the trunk. I
slam the trunk shut and lean over to give her a quick kiss.
“Love you, Emmy. See you tonight.”
Ryle opens the back door to put her in the car seat. I tell him
goodbye and then I start to head back down the street in a rush.
“Lily!” he yells. “Where are you going?”
I’m sure he expected me to walk to the front door of my store,
since I’m already late opening it. I probably should, but the nagging
in my gut won’t go away. I need to do something about it. I spin
around and walk backward. “There’s something I forgot to do! I’ll see
you when I pick her up tonight!”
Ryle lifts Emerson’s hand and they wave goodbye to me. As soon as
I round the corner, I break out into a sprint. I dodge people, bump
into a few and cause one lady to curse at me, but it’s all worth it the
moment I see the back of his head.
“Atlas!” I yell. He’s heading in the other direction, so I keep
pushing through the crowd. “Atlas!”
He stops walking but he doesn’t turn around. He cocks his head
like he doesn’t want to fully trust his ears.
“Atlas!” I yell again.
invincible gmmral7
(invincible GmMRaL7)
#1