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“Yeah, maybe, but that’s the disease talking.”
“I hope you’re right.”
I nod to her, turn away, and walk toward the exit.
My palms are sweating. My heart’s racing. I haven’t seen Katherine in so long and the thought of running into her now—it’s enough to make me nervous.
Me, fuckingnervous, like a little kid again.
But even after all this time, I still haven’t forgotten. I still haven’t given up. I’ve only waited patiently and now I’m getting my chance.
It might kill me. Hell, it might finally break what little shred of humanity I have left and send me crawling back to my family.
I don’t care. None of that matters. There’s only Katherine, and she’s my north star now.
I head through the lobby and linger near the doors. I have a good view of the parking lot from my position and I stand there, not moving, until a car pulls in and parks. It’s an old Camry, beat up and rusty, but a girl steps out. A girl with auburn hair. Pale skin. Full figure. A beautiful girl, like sunshine on legs, wearing tight jeans and a loose top, her hair up in a messy bun, looking like she’s been working all day but still absolutely radiant.
Fuck, I haven’t seen her in months, and she still takes my breath away.
I take a second to calm myself as she approaches the sidewalk. I know she can’t see me yet and I take the opportunity to enjoy looking at her before I take this risk.
Then I walk forward, through the doors, and step outside as she approaches.
Her eyes widen when she sees me. I look back at her, head tilted to the side like I vaguely recognize her but can’t quite place her name. She looks like she’s about to panic and starts glancing around as if someone might jump out from behind the bushes.
“Hey,” I say and tilt my chin up. “You look familiar.”
“Uh, Ford—”
“Are you here visiting someone?”
She pauses and crosses her arms protectively over her chest. “My mom.”
“That’s nice. I was just seeing a friend in there. My name’s Ford, by the way.” I hold my hand out.
She stares at it like I sprouted tentacles and started speaking in a foreign language. My hand hangs there between us, breaking the space in half, trying to close the gap but not quite making it. She doesn’t move.
“What are you doing?” she asks.
“Introducing myself. This is the part where you say your name.”
“Ford. This is weird. You know who I am.”
I keep on staring and, god, she’s beautiful, so fucking beautiful it breaks my heart. “I was thinking, maybe we’ve never met. Maybe you’re the daughter of a friend of mine and we just happen to bump into each other here.”
“Did you know I was coming?” she asks, her eyes narrowing. “I thought I said—”
“No,” I say and keep my hand extended. “Like I said, I was just visiting a friend. If we happened to be scheduled back-to-back, you can blame her for that.”
Kat’s expression softs. “Mom,” she says and bites her lip as she stares at my palm. “You said your name is Ford Arc?”
“That’s right.”
“I hear the Arc family is pretty awful. Lots of assholes.”
“Different Arc family. I’m an orphan now.”
A little smile twitches at her mouth. “Sorry to hear it.”
