Concentrating on each step, I put one foot in front of the other and walked into a little shop directly in front of me. And only then did Max drive off.
“Can I help you?” a man asked from behind the counter. “Before you demand it, I don’t have more than thirty bucks in the register.”
“Oh, I don’t want—no, I—” I huffed, and only regretted my wardrobe choice for a second before remembering it was necessary. “I just need to find Knox Alexander.”
Like Max had done, the man squinted as he tried to see in the hood. “Know him, don’t know how to get in touch with him. Sorry, little lady.”
I nodded and thanked the man, then went to the next shop, only to get similar results—that time complete with a death glare from a girl standing in the store. The next place over, which was half coffee shop, half bookstore, had at least a dozen people in it and made me feel a little more hopeful. But I was now swaying again from how long I’d been standing. I wasn’t sure how I’d been able to make it all the way to the front of my neighborhood earlier when I could barely stay standing for a few minutes now.
I was breathing heavily by the time I forced myself over to the counter. There was a pregnant girl probably around my age standing behind it, and her eyebrows rose when she saw me.
“Hi,” she said awkwardly. And while she didn’t try to look into my hood, she kept giving me close looks, like she was worried about what I was going to do. “What can I make you?”
“Nothing. I need—”
Her eyes widened with dread, and her hands instinctively covered her swollen stomach.
“No, no I don’t want to hurt you,” I said. The hoarseness of my voice made my words sound weak and whiny, but that also could have had something to do with the fact that I knew I didn’t have long before I couldn’t keep myself upright, and I wasn’t getting any closer to finding Knox. “I just need to find Knox Alexander. I have to talk to him. Do you know him?”
The pregnant girl relaxed and shook her head. “You and every other girl in this town as well as the surrounding cities. Sorry, but you’re going to have to get in line with all the other women trying to find him again.”
Her words hurt, but what did I expect? I’d known he’d tried to forget me. I’d made him do that; I hadn’t waited for him.
“Do you know where he is? Or how to get in touch with someone who does? Or can I just use your phone?” I was desperate, and I knew I’d already tried that, but I was hoping enough time had passed that he’d answer now. “I was with him today. He will come get me, and I need to see him.”
She huffed, but she didn’t sound annoyed; there was pity behind it. “Well, now I know you’re lying. And, no, I’m not letting you use the phone, and I’m not giving you his number.”
Tears slid down my cheeks, and I wanted to scream. She knew him; she knew where he was. I was so close, and she wasn’t going to let me get any closer. “I have his number, I just need a phone. Please!”
The pregnant girl now looked at me closely, just like everyone else had—eyebrows pinched and eyes narrowed. “If you have his number, why don’t you use your own phone?” she asked, but her question sounded genuine.
“I don’t have it.”
“And why not?”
“I-I . . . I just don’t,” I whimpered, and swayed. “Please, it’s so important for me to find him as soon as possible.”
The girl tried to lean closer to me, but her swelling stomach wouldn’t allow it. After a few silent seconds, she quietly asked, “What’s your name?”
I wasn’t sure why it mattered, but I found myself answering her anyway. “My name is Harlow.”
I’d barely gotten my entire name out before her eyes widened and she rocked back on her heels. “Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my . . . shit. Anne!” she yelled. “Anne! I need to go home! Right now, I’m leaving right now. I’m sorry, I’ll make it up to you tomorrow!” She’d been taking off her dark apron as she talked, and she gave it to a woman—Anne, I presumed—without stopping. She rounded the counter and grabbed my hand to tow me outside with her. “Come with me,” she said when I stumbled after her.
“Look, I don’t know how you know Knox, but I don’t have time for this.” Or the strength, I thought lamely. “I really—”
The girl whirled on me and wrapped her arms around me. I stilled and bit back a cry of pain. “I always knew you’d come for him.” When she pulled back, her eyes were glistening. “Stupid hormones. Get in the car; I’ll explain.”
Knowing I didn’t have another option, I followed her to her car and slid into the passenger side. My face twisted in pain, but I knew my hood hid it.
Once we were driving, she started talking. “I just realized you might not know me. But I know everything about you, and everything about you and Knox. I have for years.” She glanced at me quickly and flashed a smile. “My brother is one of his best friends and roommates; my name is Grey.”
Oh no. She was going to drive me as far away as she possibly could. “Grey, as in Graham’s sister?”
Her eyes widened. “You do know me?”