The numbness spread across my chest and up my neck as if I was going into shock. I wasn't certain how we made it back to the house, but in the afternoon light, it looked like a haven. Yesterday I would have been afraid to walk up and knock on the front door. I had been afraid. Today I wanted to run inside and hide. Jade had remained level-headed even when I'd suddenly stumbled and panicked in the middle of the street. She hadn't asked questions. She'd acted out of instinct, bringing me here where she could protect me. But while she had guided me patiently through the maze of tourists and shoppers, the second we were through the gate, she scooped me up and carried me into the house.
Setting me on the counter, she grabbed a glass and filled it with water. Jade waited a moment while I drank it out.
"Are you okay?" She finally asked.
"I saw—" But the buzz of my phone alarm caught me off. It was noon.
Lunchtime.
It dawned on Jade as I silenced my phone. "You need to eat."
"I'm fine." Eating was the last thing I felt like doing. Not while my stomach was a tangle of nerves and knots.
"This is non-negotiable," she informed me.
"You wanted falafel. It will only take me a few minutes to run up the street and grab it."
(Picture below if you don't know what falafel is.)
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"There's going to be a line, Jade" I said. It was Saturday at lunchtime. She wouldn't be back for an hour, and the thought of being separated from her that long scared me. Almost as much as being alone right now.
Jade shook her head. "I can be very persuasive. Ten minutes. Or I could make more eggs?"
"Falafel sounds good." Our first day back together needed to be about us. It needed to be normal, not weighed down by the past. Telling her that I thought I saw my ex-boyfriend on the street was at best silly and at worst paranoid.
"Are you sure?" Her gaze searched my face for a sign as to what had happened.
"This is what happens when I give Lauren the day off. I have to choose between taking care of you and feeding you."
"Feed me," I ordered, pushing her toward the door.
Thankfully I could occupy my time with exploring my new home. Over the last few months I'd become adept at distracting myself from things better left in the past. I could apply that skill to seeing Zayn if I'd seen him at all. The fact that I'd agreed to live here with Jade was definitely distracting.
The living room was spartan and comfortable at the same time. Once we got some more furniture and rugs in here it would be quite cozy to sit by the fireplace. There were other things we could do by the fireplace as well.
