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“Hey, Hunter!” Millie says cheerfully while taking a step toward me. “Long time no see.”
“H-hey, Milly,” I muster out, my gaze dropping to the floor.
“So you did quit Fitness Express.”
I don’t trust my voice, so I nod instead.
“That’s too bad. You seemed really good at the job.”
“Is there anything you want?” I rush out, hoping she says she’s only looking so I can return to hiding behind the counter far away from her.
I glance at her, watching her shrug while looking around at the shop. “No. Just looking.”
Thank God.
“My friend, Stacey, told me she thought she saw you here once.” Millie chuckles while I take another step back. “I didn’t believe her, but she told me it had to be you.”
I force a smile. “O-okay.”
I glance over my shoulder, finding the counter a mere five steps away. My gaze goes to Bob’s door, wondering how busy he is, and if I could ask him to help Millie. I can’t think of an excuse to give him. Maybe I can tell him I don’t feel well? That I’m about to pass out? It certainly feels that way. My vision is swimming. My heart is pounding in my chest so hard I can feel it in my ears. I’m sure he will give me a five-minute break.
“Well, if you need any help, just let me know,” I say while turning around, making my way toward the door. I keep my pace steady, not wanting Millie to think I’m running away from her.
“I do need help.”
I stop. My hands fist at my sides while I glance up at the ceiling, wishing I kept my stupid mouth shut. “And what can I help you with?” I ask, turning around, finding Millie crossing her arms, her smile gone.
Millie’s eyes narrow. “You can start by coming back over here.”
There’s something bitter in her tone. Nothing’s changed. She’s the same miserable woman who harassed me at the gym. I owe her nothing, yet she seems to think she owns me because she got high with me a few times.
“I’m fine right here, Millie.” I can barely feel my tongue move. My body has gone completely numb.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Millie juts out her chin. Her voice is louder. I’m tempted to look over my shoulder to see if Bob is coming out, but I don’t are turn for fear she will see right through me. Right now, we’re calm, collected. I don’t need her causing another scene and getting me into trouble.
“Nothing,” I whisper. “What exactly are you looking for, Millie?”
Millie rolls her eyes. She slowly strides toward me. It takes everything I have not to move, to remain rooted to the floor. “I told you. I was looking for you.” She stops right in front of me. Her finger reaches for me, but I dodge it, not wanting to feel her disgusting skin on mine. A shudder ripples through me like spiders crawling down my back. Millie has the audacity to look hurt.
“Why did you run away from me?” she asks while going up on her tiptoes, her lips a mere hair’s breadth from mine. “First you changed your schedule five times, then you quit.” She looks around at the shop and wrinkles her nose. “And now you’re working in this dump, when you could just give in to me and be mine.”
“I’m not something you can own, Millie. I’m in love with Rachel.”
Millie scoffs and places both hands on my chest. I flinch and it takes everything I have not to rip her hands off my body. But I know the moment I touch her, I’ve lost. She’ll scream and cry that I hurt her and then I will get fired.
And then my dreams of working at Lawson High School will all be down the drain.
“Rachel is nothing compared to you and I.” She grabs my chin and I close my eyes, fighting against the need to hurl. “We’re perfect for each other, Hunter. The sex we had was amazing. I haven’t had that kind of sex with anyone else.”
“That was almost four years ago,” I say, hating the whine in my voice, how weak I sound. I open my eyes and see Millie frowning up at me. “I’m in a long-term relationship. I love Rachel. What we had was fun, but it was never going to last, Millie.”
“You’ll never be able to get rid of me.”
With those words my blood runs cold. It’s true. If Millie found me here, she could find me anywhere in Aurora. The only way I could be rid of her is if I leave. But that means uprooting Rachel’s life. No Lawson High School. Seth would have to look for a new job. I couldn’t do that to them. It wouldn’t be fair. Especially since Lucas just bought the house. We have made a life here in Aurora. I can’t let Millie ruin that for us.
“Even if you leave,” Millie says with a manic smile, a giggle leaving her lips, “I will haunt you. I will follow you from town to town. There is nowhere you can hide, Hunter. You and I are bound together until the day we die.”
I wrench away from her. “Leave, Millie,” I say, keeping my voice calm. I stalk toward the counter. Like it will save me from her. Millie can easily walk around it.
