Page 224 of Skate the Line

“There’s been a woman who has been looking for you over the last month or so,” she says.

“Nana mentioned that, but I wasn’t sure if she was confused or not.”

Jamie pats her scrubs. She pulls out her phone and searches. “She gave me her number, said her name was Andrea.”

Andrea Tarvo.

Shock ripples through me.

“Oh,” I say. “Would you mind if I give her a call on your phone? I forgot mine.”

Forgot it…disconnected it…doesn’t matter the difference.

“Sure, sweetie. I’ll be at my desk when you’re done.”

I smile and wait until she’s out of sight.

I press the call button and nibble on my thumbnail while I wait.

“Hello?”

“Andrea,” I say her name quietly, like Nicholas is somewhere nearby, ready to become irrationally angry with me that I’m talking to her like before.

“Oh my god. Finally,” she sighs loudly. “I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for over a month.”

I apologize to her, and she brushes it off, telling me she understands.

Of course she would.

She, too, had to disable her number at one point.

“I take it that you already know what I’ve been trying to tell you.”

I press against the wall and continue to nibble on my nail. “Nicholas is in Chicago. Yeah, I sort of ran into him.”

“That is not a coincidence.” Her voice brims with a seriousness I’ve only heard a handful of times.

She and Atlas are a lot alike. Fun, goofy, and carefree. It wasn’t until the divorce that she grew grave when it came to her ex-husband.

“I know,” I say quietly. “I left.”

“He’s still there,” she says. “I have a private investigator.”

I don’t blame her.

“How is Atlas?” I slide down against the wall and sit on the floor. Standing seems too hard with the gravity of the phone call, and I’m exhausted from the fear.

“He’s good.” I hear the smile in her voice. “He’ssogood, Ally. He misses you.”

“I miss him.”

I picture his face. He’s a good kid, just like Ellie.

“He is at the age now where he understands a little more about his father.” There’s a pause on the other end of the phone. “You know, he said he would testify if you ever changed your mind.”

I’m quick to repeat the same thing I said a year ago. “I’m not putting him through that.”

“Then you need to extend the protection order,” she urges. “He’s been watching you for months, Ally.”

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