It was him...wasn’t it?

Yes, it was definitely him. Sure, it’s been almost ten years since we’ve seen each other, but there is no doubt in my mind. I wouldn’t forget his face. Not in a hundred years.

Rafe goddamn Nolan.

Of all the apartments in this town, he has to live in mine...right next door?!

Maybe he doesn’t live there...I say to myself, trying to find a situation in which my mind is not entering full panic mode. Maybe he was just dropping in on a booty call.

But no...that patrol car has been parked outside since I moved in. And I do know he’s a cop now. I do know that much.

A few years back...on a whim and for no good reason at all, I did a little social media dig on him. I just wanted to know if he was struggling as much as Ezra was. He didn’t have much on social media, but I did find him in the news, getting promoted to sergeant. I wanted to be sick.

Of course he was a cop. He certainly didn’t hesitate to throw Ezra under the bus when he had the chance, and without any remorse at all.

The three of us graduated high school together in Newport. Rafe was out there for only the second half of his senior semester, but the three of us clicked immediately.

Our friendship carried after high school. I was doing classes at the community college while Rafe and Ezra were busy making stupid choices. Those two had their ideas...ways they could beat the system, get ahead, make a name for themselves.

I thought most of it was just talk. Until it wasn’t.

Ezra spent two years in jail for it. Two years in jail alone. And now the man responsible was currently my next door neighbor.

The visit at the Thomas house only takes about five minutes. I’m in and out like a cat in the night. When I get back in the car, I notice it’s almost four. It almost feels too late to try and sleep now. I’m up, so I might as well stay up.

Not like I could sleep with the way my mind is going a mile a minute. Can I even keep living in my apartment? I love it too much to leave, but can I even enjoy it now? Our balconies are next to each other. He can practically climb over into my room.

Ten years ago, I would have loved that. But now...now I’m thinking about taking Ezra up on his option to carry a weapon.

Right now, all I want to do is go inside, crawl back in bed, and listen to ocean waves, hoping for a few more minutes of sleep before the alarm goes off.

Coming off the elevator, I nearly scream when I see the heap on the floor next to my door. Rafe is lying, slumped against the door as if he passed out there. For a moment, I think he might be dead...and what luck of mine if he were. But when I lean forward, I hear his breathing against the carpet.