the life I had fled had followed me through the clouds.
“I didn’t tell him,” I said.
Adrian studied me.
“Tell him what?”
“That I was coming here.”
“Who knew?”
“My cousin Marisol. My attorney. My mother, although she’s in Arizona.” I swallowed. “And the airline, obviously.”
“Anyone else?”
“No.”
The landing gear struck the runway.
Lily stirred.
I held her closer.
Adrian said nothing for several moments.
I appreciated that.
He didn’t tell me not to worry.
He didn’t promise that everything would be fine.
People said those things when they wanted to make themselves feel useful.
Finally he asked, “Do you feel unsafe around Ethan?”
The question was simple.
The answer wasn’t.
I looked down at Lily.
“Not exactly.”
Adrian waited.
“He’s never hit me,” I said quietly. “He’s never threatened me. He doesn’t shout much. Ethan doesn’t need to shout.”
Something changed in Adrian’s expression.
Not alarm.
