"Is this seat taken?" a familiar voice from behind me said.
There was a time when no one could catch me off guard. When you let someone get behind you like that means a certain death. As a result, I became hyper-vigilant and acutely aware of my surroundings, including who was in them. Or, at the very least, I was. Now that I was home, a lot of things had changed.
But I was so preoccupied with making up scenarios in my head and making everyone look as sad as I was that I hadn't even noticed her come out to the patio, let alone stroll up behind me. I turned and looked into Dr. Emerson's huge, green eyes, dressed just as she had been the previous time we met at this place. Her auburn hair flowed in curls over her shoulders, and she wore no spectacles to conceal her stunning eyes. She wasn't
