Page 11 of He Sees You When You’re Sleeping

But then I catch sight of my reflection in the window, and reality comes crashing back. I see myself as I truly am—a man living a lie, pretending to be something I’m not. The guilt rises in my throat like bile.

Chloe must sense the shift in my mood. “Everything okay?”

I force a smile. “Yeah, just remembered I have my shift I need to get to. I should probably get going.”

She nods, looking slightly disappointed. “Of course. Well, it was really nice talking to you. Maybe we’ll run into each other here again sometime?”

“Yeah, maybe,” I say, knowing full well I’ll be here every Tuesday, Wednesday, and occasional Friday, like always. “I come here a lot,” I add to make it not so obvious how obsessed I am.

As I stand to leave, Chloe reaches out and touches my arm lightly. “Thanks again for helping Mr. Haven. It’s good to know there are still people like you in the world.”

Her words are like a knife to my heart. If only she knew the truth about me, about why I was really there that day. I mumble a goodbye and hurry out of the cafe, the bell above the door jingling cheerfully behind me.

Outside, I lean against the brick wall, taking deep breaths of the cool morning air. What am I doing? This isn’t me. I’m not this creepy stalker, this liar. I’m a firefighter, for Christ’s sake. Chloe’s right. I am a good person. I am.

But as I start walking to work, I can’t shake the image of Chloe’s smile, the sound of her laugh. I tell myself this is the last time, that I’ll stop coming to the cafe, stop following her.

Okay . . . I’m a liar.

I miss her already.