Page 58 of When Fences Fall
“Damn it,” I mutter under my breath, shoving the woman back, maybe a little harder than I need to. She stumbles, looking surprised at first. But then her expression changes toannoyed, her face twisting into something angrier. Something that promises trouble.
“What’s your problem?” she snaps, glaring at me as she straightens her shirt.
“My problem?” I spit back, my voice rough with frustration. “My problem is that you’re not here for a damn inspection, and you just made sure to make a mess for me.” My eyes instinctively dart toward the window, where Nora’s window is in the direct line of view.
The woman follows my eyes. “Nora the Looney?” Her face twists with a disgusted laugh. “Please tell me you are joking, and I didn’t just waste my time here.”
The wave of anger that hits me is more powerful than I’ve ever felt. “You have no fuckin’ idea what you’re talking about.”
“Do you?” she asks with a raised brow. “That woman is the town oddball, and not in a good way. Everyone talks about her. Trust me, you don’t want to go there.” She takes a step toward me just as I take off toward the door. “All that woo-woo shit she wears on her like a Christmas tree can repel just about anything.”
“Thank you for coming, inspector,” I almost hiss through gritted teeth, too mad to speak normally.
She scoffs, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “Whatever, Jericho. I’ll see you next time you need something from the town officials.”
My teeth grind even harder as I speak. “Goodbye.”
“You are probably just as psycho as she is,” she says, throwing the last shot of poison before disappearing down the steps of my porch. “Good luck with your house.”
Yeah, that didn’t sound ominous at all.
As I watch her car disappear, I get a queasy feeling in my stomach. Like something big just happened but I can’t put a name on it. My eyes dart to Nora’s house—she’s nowhere to be seen. All the curtains on the side of her house facing mineare closed shut. She saw us, and it’s only logical to think what she assumed.
We are not a couple. But I’d like us to be… something. We don’t need to put a label on whatever this is. I’ll never be part of any couple. I prefer to stay single since I don’t know any other way. But somehow, deep in my chest, I know I’m lying. We’re not a couple, yes. But we are friends. Otherwise, why would we spend hours talking in the dark?
She saw us. She made an assumption I’d probably make too. What would I think if I saw Nora kissing a man in her house?
A sudden wave of rage bursts through my body, and I find my fists clenched by my sides. That was unexpected. Forcing myself to relax, I glance at her house one more time before disappearing inside my house.
I’ll be here tomorrow and see if she shows up too. She probably just needs time to forget what she saw. A night should be enough.
One night might not be enough, as I learn the hard way.
The next morning, I find Nora in the grocery store which is odd on its own because I know she’s supposed to be working at the diner this morning. Saturdays are usually busy, and they need extra hands, so I can’t imagine she’s slacking on that in favor of shopping. That’s not Nora—she’d never let her people be swamped while she’s off running errands.
Nora’s ravaging through a pile of apples, throwing them all aside. She appears to be wearing more crystals than normal, with several layered across her chest on chains of varying lengths in addition to her usual earrings.
I take a step toward her but pause, suddenly feeling nervous. Why the hell would I feel nervous? I’m not a fuckin’teen and I haven’t done anything wrong. So, disgusted with myself, I square my shoulders and keep heading her way with surer footing.
She doesn’t see me at first, or maybe she’s just pretending not to.
“Hey,” I start, stepping closer, but she shoots me a look so cold it freezes the words in my throat and then keeps going through apples as if they’ve personally offended her. “I thought you’d be at the diner.”
She shoots me another angry glare, but other than that, she keeps ignoring me.
Sighing loudly soshe can hear, I ask, “Is everything okay? I really thought you’d be at the diner.”
“So you could sneak out here without meeting me?” she murmurs under her breath, but I still hear it.
“What?”
“Nothing,” she replies louder. “I’m busy,” she adds flatly, not even looking up as she drops a few apples into her bag. Her movements are sharp, almost angry. The poor apples are getting quite a hit.
I bite back another sigh, trying to keep my voice steady. “You didn’t see what really happened last night.”
She finally looks up at me, and I’m met with a fire in her eyes, but it’s not the kind that warms someone. It’s the kind that burns them to ashes. “Really? So I shouldn’t believe my own eyes?” Then she returns to her apples, dismissing me. “Besides, it’s none of my business what you do in your own house. Or who.”
Grinding my teeth together just like I did the whole time the inspector was in my house, I fire back, “You’re right. It’s not.”
