I watch him until he's out of my sight, then slowly turn to the door he's left open for me.

So... they knew that I would come? Are they expecting me? Should I come back later? It's lunch time, so they're probably eating.

But as I start to turn, something stops me. Something deep in my gut that forces its way up.

I need to know if it was me.

I suck in a breath through closed teeth, letting it out through my nose in a small part of the calming technique I found online. My feet turn around as my heels leave the floor. The roots that tied me up were cut as I walked into the other room.

There's a couch, well, there's thousands of couches, but the one in the back corner is the one that grabs my attention.