I sighed in relief。 The anger was what I wanted to hear—false； fabricated
evidence that he cared； a
dubious gift from my subconscious。
Very few seconds had passed while I sorted this all out。 My little audience
watched； curious。 It probably
looked like I was just dithering over whether or not I was going to approach
them。 How could they guess
that I was standing there enjoying an unexpected moment of insanity？
〃Hi；〃 one of the men called； his tone both confident and a bit sarcastic。 He
was fair…skinned and
fair…haired； and he stood with the assurance of someone who thought of himself
as quite good…looking。 I
couldn't tell whether he was or not。 I was prejudiced。
The voice in my head answered with an exquisite snarl。 I smiled； and the
confident man seemed to take
that as encouragement。
〃Can I help you with something？ You look lost。〃 He grinned and winked。
I stepped carefully over the gutter； running with water that was black in the
darkness。
〃No。 I'm not lost。〃
Now that I was closer—and my eyes felt oddly in focus—I analyzed the short；
dark man's face。 It was
not familiar in any way。 I suffered a curious sensation of disappointment that
this was not the terrible man
who had tried to hurt me almost a year ago。
The voice in my head was quiet now。
The short man noticed my stare。 〃Can I buy you a drink？〃 he offered； nervous；
seeming flattered that I'd
singled him out to stare at。
〃I'm too young；〃 I answered automatically。
He was baffled—wondering why I had approached them。 I felt pelled to
explain。
〃From across the street； you looked like someone I kn