Page 8 of Hot Man

Maybe that’s just fate. Maybe the smell is imaginary, or it’s triggering some kind of deja vu, like my brain or some higher power is cluing me into the fact that she’s my soulmate. As if I didn’t already know. Although, if I don’t find her right now, something tells me I might never see her again.

Before I even get dressed, I send my brother, Michael, a text to ask him to find what he can on Chloe. Truthfully, I don’t want to know how he does it, but he’s an expert at finding details on people, even with the smallest amount of information. Almost immediately, he replies with a thumbs up emoji.

With him on the case, I hastily get dressed before rushing through my house, checking every room for any sign of her. When I don’t find a note or any item she left behind, I grab my car keys and head out. She had to have left on foot, andwhile Blackwood Falls is a pretty tight-knit community, the town spans several miles. And that doesn’t even touch on the hiking trails. I just hope that Chloe hasn’t gone far.

I only get a few blocks away from my house, my eyes scanning the streets for any sign of my girl, when my phone vibrates in the cupholder. I pull over and check, relieved to see a text from my brother. He wasn’t able to find a ton of information, but my eyes zero in on an address.

I furrow my brow in recognition. Her address is the same as the Blackwood Falls Children’s Group Home. She must have just turned eighteen if she’s still living there. At least, I hope that’s the case and that she was telling the truth about her age. Otherwise, I’m going to get a lot of heat as a thirty-five year old chasing after a teenager.

Whatever. I can worry about that later. For now, it’s just important that I find her. So I head to the address to find her and talk to her.

It doesn’t take me long to get there, but I’m still frustrated that I don’t see her on the drive. I tell myself that’s okay. Depending on when she left, she might already be here already.

As soon as I walk inside the group home, the director recognizes me immediately. She gives me a smile, waving me to the front desk. It’s obvious that she’s surprised to see me here, but it’s not like I haven’t stopped by before to drop off supplies for the kids.

“Dax,” she says when I step up to the desk. “I didn’t know there was a fire inspection today.”

“There isn’t,” I say, forcing myself to keep my tone polite. “I’m actually here to ask about someone that’s staying here. I was hoping you could help me.”

“Of course. I hope they aren’t in any trouble,” she replies.

“No, no,” I say, because if I think logically, Chloe very likely isn’t in trouble.I’mthe one in trouble if I can’t find her. “Nothing like that. I’m just checking up on someone. Her name’s Chloe. She’s eighteen, so I imagine she’ll be moving out of here soon.”

“Ah, yes,” the woman laughs, completely ignorant of my mounting distress. “She actually just texted me a few minutes ago. She asked me to arrange a transfer to the shelter in the city.”

“The city?” I ask, balling my hands into fists. “She can’t leave Blackwood Falls.”

“That’s what I told her,” the woman at the front desk sighs. “She’s a delight to have here. I was willing to bend some rules so she could stay until she had enough money to get her own apartment in town. It’d give her a leg up in the real world, but she seemed very insistent. I’ll try to talk some sense into her when she gets back; after all, she just started a new job yesterday.”

I practically growl at the thought of my girl leaving Blackwood Falls and staying in ahomeless shelter. My jaw clicks when I clench it and the force is enough that I’m surprised I don’t break a tooth.Whywould Chloe want to leave, especially after we finally found each other?

“I can take you to her room, if you like,” the woman offers, her tone placating, like she’s worried I’m about to turn into a wild animal and tear this place apart. “She might have come back by now, and that’s where she’d be. Or she might have left a note with some explanation.”

“Please,” I grit out, forcing my shoulders to relax.

I’m just going to have to talk some sense into her. She’ll see reason, I’m sure of it. She must have just gotten spooked.

When we get to the room that Chloe has been staying in, I stop in my tracks. The door is open, and there’s no sign of her. The director clicks her tongue and steps inside, glancing around as if Chloe might be hiding in the corner. Slowly, I follow her in.

The room is fairly unassuming. There aren’t many personal possessions lying around. What I do notice though, are a few things that look an awful lot like mine. There’s a keychain that I lost two years ago sitting on her desk. Next to it, a Blackwood Falls Fire Department name tag – the same kind that we use when we’re interacting with the community – with my name on it. It’s the same one that I got chewed out for losing, the one that always went in the same spot in my house whenever I took it off.

There are other trinkets that I know to be mine strewn across the room, but the name tag is the most damning. I knew that I hadn’t misplaced it, but that seemed like a more logical explanation than the alternative: a burglar breaking into my home and passing up my television and computer for a worthless name tag. As it turns out, that’s exactly what happened.

Some part of me always knew someone – Chloe – was coming into my house. My things would sometimes be jostled, or my bed made when I didn’t remember making it. And there was always that lingering smell of her perfume. I never felt uncomfortable about it, though. Those visits when I wasn’t home provided me a sense of companionship, like a friendly ghost or guardian angel was looking after me.

I can’t lose that. I can’t loseher. And now that I know what she’s doing, I think I know exactly why she wants to leave.My girl was afraid of my finding out that she’s obsessed with me. What a silly fear. If she hadn’t run off so quickly, she’d know that I’m just as obsessed with her. Now I’m the one poking around in her room, after all.

Now I have to find her before she leaves and tell her. Sure, I could just track her down once she moves to the city, but I’m not letting her get away that easily. She’s mine, and I need her to know that.

The director is saying something, but I cut her off, my mind going a mile a minute, to ask, “Do you know where else she’d be?”

She blinks at me, surprised at being stopped, and maybe a little afraid of whatever she sees on my face. After a moment of thought, she murmurs, “I’m not sure. Chloe never really did spend much time here.”

“Was she hanging out with friends or something?” I ask, even though I already know she likely spent a lot of her time away from here at my house.

“Not really. She’s always been a bit of a loner. I used to think it was because her parents passed away, but now I’m pretty sure that’s just her personality. She’s still a sweetheart if she lets you in, though,” the woman says.

God, I hate how conversational she is. I’m about to snap. I can feel the last bits of my patience wearing thin.

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