With that, I turned and walked toward the bedroom, locking the door behind me before he could say anything else.
***
I tore another page off the countdown calendar when I woke up in the afternoon. There were five days left.
I got a message from my professor, asking me to look for him to discuss the publication of my recent SCI paper, which had just been released in a major journal.
Vincent, however, called out of the blue. I said I had to go to my university and he said he would be right downstairs and send me.
Zoe was already sitting in the passenger seat when I got to the car.
I hesitated for just a second before silently getting into the back.
Zoe’s laughter broke the silence. “Claire, don’t be upset. Vincent’s always let me ride up front. Back when he used to drive my dad’s car, I’d always sit in the passenger seat. They say sitting in the back makes it feel like you’re treating the driver like a chauffeur. It’s rude, you know? So, I got used to it.”
I was not upset. In fact, I smiled warmly. “You can sit there if you want.”
Vincent glanced at me several times through the rearview mirror, searching for a conversation starter.