She turns and freezes the moment she sees me. 

Then, without warning, she screams. 

It's so loud I wince, stepping over a couple of flower bouquets to reach her. Once I do, I clamp a hand over her mouth. Even at that, the sound still claws its way out of her throat. 

"Jesus Christ, Hailey," I hiss. "You're gonna make your neighbors think you're getting kidnapped." 

I won't be surprised if they had already called the fucking cops from the first time the sound left her mouth. 

My plan with Matt did not include me getting arrested, and I'd very much like to keep it that way.

As if just...