Page 46
Forty-Six
T he hallway hadn’t changed, but everything about it felt different. Dimmer. Closer. As if her building had aged without her, exhaling dust and memories with each step she took.
She reached Alice’s door and paused, her knuckles hovering. What was she even doing? Lying. Inventing. Pretending to still belong here.
She knocked.
It took only seconds before the door creaked open.
Alice blinked at her from behind thick glasses. Her face went pale.
“Leonie?”
“Hi,” she said, offering a small, uncertain smile.
Alice’s hand flew to her chest. “Oh my God . Leonie—where the hell have you been?”
The older woman reached out without waiting, pulling Leonie into a hug that smelled of lavender fabric softener and boiled potatoes. It was grounding. Human. And Leonie had to close her eyes to keep from falling apart.
“I thought you were dead, ” Alice said shakily. “They declared you missing. You vanished—your flat was searched, everything?—”
“I know,” Leonie interrupted gently, drawing back. Her throat was tight, but she forced the words out. “It was… sudden. An emergency. I had to go to Australia. My grandmother—she got very ill. I needed to care for her.”
Alice’s face twisted in disbelief. “For three months ? Without calling anyone? No email?”
Leonie winced. “It was rural. Remote. And things happened so fast—I know it sounds bad. I’m sorry. I really am.”
It wasn’t a lie that hurt—it was the truth that she couldn’t tell.
“If you’re in some sort of trouble,” Alice said, voice lowering. “I can help you. I won’t tell anyone.”
Leonie’s heart twisted. These people—ordinary and flawed—had still looked for her. Hoped for her. Cared.
“No trouble,” she lied with a smile. “Just bad timing and bad luck.”
Alice’s frown didn’t leave, but she nodded slowly. “Well. You gave us all a scare.”
Leonie took a breath. “Would it be alright if I used your computer?”
A pause.
Then, a gesture toward the small kitchen table. “Same password as before. Just open the fox thing.”
Leonie sat down at the familiar battered laptop. The keys clacked beneath her fingers as she logged in to her social media accounts. The pages loaded slowly, but when they did, her breath hitched.
Notifications.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
Messages on every platform. Friends. Coworkers. Uni mates she hadn’t spoken to in years. People asking where she’d gone. If she was okay. If she was alive.
We’re worried about you.
Please come back.
Have you seen Alfie?
Her eyes stung. She scrolled quickly, heart racing. So many people. And she hadn’t been able to reach out to a single one.
Not then.
But maybe now.
She glanced over at Alice. “Do you know what happened to Alfie? I mean—did anyone see him after I left?”
Alice cocked her head. “You said something about a sitter, right?”
“Yes. I left him with someone. But then they just… went dark. I couldn’t get in contact. I was so worried.”
“That’s strange,” Alice said, brows drawing together. “Because Alfie showed up here. About a week after you went missing. Just waiting outside your door.”
Leonie’s pulse jumped. “He did?”
Alice nodded. “He wouldn’t budge. Poor little guy. We fed him. Waited for the police to do something, but they didn’t know what to do with a dog. And none of us wanted to turn him in. Just in case.”
Leonie’s hands clenched over the edge of the table. “Where is he now?”
“Darius took him in. You remember him, right? Lives upstairs. Bit of a loner, but kind-hearted. He’s been walking Alfie every morning, feeding him. Says Alfie sleeps by the window, still looking out.”
Something in Leonie cracked open.
Her dog had waited for her.
Her neighbors had protected him.
These flawed, chaotic humans—so often selfish, messy, imperfect—had cared for her life when she wasn’t here to do it herself.
“I can’t believe it,” she whispered. “Thank you. Thank you for that.”
Alice softened. “You were one of the good ones. None of us forgot.”
Leonie glanced at the glowing screen. Her friends were still out there. Her life was still out there.
“I’m not staying,” she said quietly. “I’ll go see Darius and get Alfie. And then I’ll go to the police, ask them to close the case.”
“You’re not staying?” Alice echoed. “Where are you going?”
“Australia,” Leonie answered. “My grandmother still needs me. And… I need a fresh start.”
It sounded paper-thin even to her ears.
Alice didn’t press, though her eyes remained sharp and skeptical. “Well. You should at least take care of your things.”
“I will. Just a few days.”
Leonie stood and gave the laptop one last look.
She would need a new computer. A proper one. She had to find a way to write back. To explain things in some form—maybe not now, but eventually.
Surely, she thought, Karian can do that for me. With all his power, all his technology—surely he can get me something as simple as a connection.
Some thread that would bind her to this world, even when she left it again.
As she stepped out into the stairwell, her hands trembling, she felt the weight of everything. Every memory in this place, every kindness. And also every goodbye waiting to be said.
She wasn’t sure which hurt more.
Table of Contents
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