“Well, not if you don’t want to. You could leave it with me,” she suggests. “I’m sure Chris doesn’t want the fear. And I would bury it someplace no one could ever get to it. No one would suspect me, either. Most people don’t even know we’re friends.”
I consider it for all of five seconds before I shake my head. “No, I can’t do that. I don’t want to put you in danger. It’s bad enough that I involved Chris in all this.”
“I’d do it willingly, love.”
I smile. “I know you would. But I just… If I’m leaving, I’m leaving with a clean slate.”
Freya frowns. “But what if he suspects you’re planning on running?”
“Once he has his phone, he’ll have no reason to come after me.”
“Unless he thinks you’ll go to the cops,” she argues.
“He knows I won’t.”
She frowns. “You talk as if you know him. As though you know each other.”
I bite my tongue to keep from confirming what is probably written all over my face. There are moments when it really does feel like I really do understand Anton, and he really does understand me. Like our souls speak a language no one else can translate.
Freya is about to say something else when her phone beeps. She reads the text quickly. For a second, I think something’s wrong. Then she smiles.
“Sorry about that,” she says. “Um… I might have to bail right after we pay the bill.”
“Oh?”
She gives me a secretive smile. “I sort of… met someone.”
“Freya!”
“Don’t get excited,” she says quickly. “It’s purely casual. But I like him. He’s a good distraction.”
“I’m glad.”
“If you need me, though—”
I hold up my hands. “I’m good. Don’t worry about me.”
She nods. “Okay, but you’ll call me if you need anything?”
“Of course,” I say, even though I have no intention of disturbing her tonight. She deserves the distraction she’s looking for.
Heck, so do I.
But I already know that nothing will distract me from the change I’m about to make. We pay the bill and walk out of the restaurant together.
“You’ll tell me when you’ve made a decision about what you’re going to do?” she asks.
“I think I’ve already made a decision,” I admit. “But yeah, I’ll tell you. Don’t worry.”
She pulls me in for a hug.
“I expect to hear details about this guy later,” I tell her when we pull apart again.
She laughs. “I’m not sure you want these kinds of details.”
I wrinkle my nose. “Good point.”
“Stay safe, Jessa,” she says before walking down the road. I watch until she disappears around the corner.