"Holy shit, what are you doing?” she yelled, standing up so quickly that the piano bench crashed behind her, spilling out all of the sheet music that had been stored inside.
I held up my hands to ward off her fear. "I didn't want to interrupt!" I called through the glass.
"How long have you been there?" she demanded
I didn't know what to say. "You're really good," I called, trying to stall.
"How long have you been there?”
Her eyes were shining like she was about to cry. I looked at her, then looked down helplessly at my hands. "I actually have no idea.”
"What do you want?"
I winced. “I wanted to… find out what song that was.”
She pressed her hand to her forehead. “Oh.” She waved to the door. “Come in, it’s unlocked.”
“Yeah?” I pushed open the door and tried not to betray how happy it made me that she invited me in.
She took another look at me. “Why do you look like you’re heading out into the wilderness?”
I looked down at my clothes. I hadn’t bothered to change when I got home from the falls. Or shower, even. Mud still clung to my damp shoes and there was a rip at the hem of my shorts that I hadn’t noticed until now. ”Just came back, actually,” I lied. "I went on a hike."
She raised her eyebrows. ”Oh yeah? Where to?"
“Up the falls. "
She narrowed her eyes. “When you say ‘up the falls’…”
"Yes," I nodded. "Meaning, I climbed them."
“With your bare hands?”
"There are ropes," I laughed.
"Are they safe?"
"I'm still here, aren't I?"
She looked skeptical. "I suppose you are," she said. "But that doesn't mean that they wouldn't break any second."
"They haven't broken in the long time I've been doing this hike." Then I looked at her more closely. "You've never hiked up the falls? And you grew up here? Wait, are you sure you grew up here?"
She laughed. "You know damn well I grew up here. I'm just not a hiker."
“Well you’re fit enough to be one.”
She stared at me and I realized I’d just confessed to looking at her body.
I looked away, embarrassed.
When she spoke again, her voice had taken on a different quality. "You should take me," she said. "Since you know so much about that hike."
“I should.”
She fixed me with her gaze for a second, and I was forced to stare right at her face. Yesterday, I had been certain her eyes were blue, but today I saw they were the same color as the lake on a cloudy day.
“So I hiked, what about you?” I heard myself say. “How did you spend the day?”
“Figuring out who I am.” She said it so lightly that it took a moment for the gravity of her words to take effect. She ran her hand along the piano. “Music helps.”
“So did you figure yourself out?”
She didn’t look at me, but she did stand up from the piano and square her shoulders. “No,” she said softly. “But I’ve decided I’m staying here until I do.” She turned to face me and I was surprised to see the tears in her eyes. “I need to stay here Derek.”
“Yeah, you’ve said that.”
“You can’t make me leave, okay? I’ve got no place else.” She looked away. “I need it more than you do.”
I balled my fists at my sides. “How do you figure?”
She eyed my hands warily.
I unclenched them.
She closed her eyes and exhaled before speaking. “You have friends here. I know you do. You’d barely notice the move. But this is the only place in the world I know is mine, so…” She drew closer with every word until I could feel her breath pass across my cheek as she whispered, “Please. I need you to go.”
Her eyelashes fluttered as she looked back down again. I could smell her shampoo and feel the warmth rising off her skin. Her hair tumbled all around her, shielding her face like a curtain. I had to tilt my head down and to the side just to see her.
She inhaled sharply and looked up.
The tremble of her lower lip was captivating. I wanted to stop its quiver so badly that I was inches from her face before I caught myself.
But she’d already shied away.
“I wasn’t going to…”
“Don’t…”
“I won’t.” I shook my head. “But tell me one thing.”
She blinked.
“Did he do that?” I brushed my hand just over her side.
She stiffened. “Who?”
“The guy you’re hiding from.” I would regret sending that anonymous email until the day I died. I’d used my skills to hack her boyfriend’s phone and then I’d used what I found there to hurt her. Why?
I no longer had a clue.
There was nothing I could do to change what I’d done. But maybe now I could use my skills to help her instead.
“What are you talking about? What guy?” She lifted her chin bravely.
"You don't have to tell me anything. But he won't do it again."
“How can you know that?”
“Because I’m going to keep you safe.
The slightest whisper of a gasp was all the thanks I needed. “I have nightmares sometimes. That he comes back. "
The idea made me growl. "It would never happen. You're safe. "
“Here? With you?"
I swallowed and let myself take her hand. “Yeah,” I realized. “You're safe with me."