Nia lowered herself into her chair. Her hands were steady now. That took effort. She saved the post. Then the images.
Then every visible comment. She took screenshots of the account name. Time stamp. Shares. Reposts.
Across the room, Trevor watched her. Maybe he expected tears. Maybe anger. Maybe a scene. Nia gave him none of them.
Instead, she created a folder on her phone. She named it Wellington. And for the first time, a question formed that frightened her more than the post itself. The photograph near Arthur's building had been taken on a street Nia had never mentioned to anyone at Wellington. Which meant somebody hadn't simply found her online.
Somebody had followed her there. By the time Nia left Wellington that evening, the rain had started again. Not the hard driving rain from the courtyard 36 hours later, but a thin Baltimore drizzle that turned street lights into blurred halos and made every passing car sound farther away than it was. She took the first bus in silence. Then the second.
Her phone stayed in her coat pocket the entire ride. She had already saved everything. The anonymous post. The photographs. The comments.
The time stamps. Trevor's expression when he'd raised his coffee cup across the classroom. Nia knew there was nothing useful waiting for her on that screen now. Only more people deciding what they thought of her before ever speaking to her. When the bus finally hissed to a stop near Harbor Street, she stepped onto the wet sidewalk and stood there for a moment.
Across the road, the little neighborhood diner glowed red through rain streaked glass. Naomi was waiting inside. Nia could see her through the window, sitting in a booth beneath a buzzing neon sign. One hand wrapped around a coffee cup. She had changed out of her EMT uniform.
Almost. The faded navy pants remained, but she'd traded her work jacket for an old black one. Nia crossed the street. The bell over the diner door gave a tired little ring. Warm air carried the smell of coffee, fried onions, and pie crust.
Naomi looked up. You're late. Bus. Both of them? Baltimore likes consistency.
Naomi smiled. It lasted only until Nia took off her coat. Then her eyes dropped. Sit down. Nia knew immediately what she had seen.
Naomi. Sit. There was no sharpness in her voice. That made it harder to refuse. Nia slid into the booth.
Naomi reached across the table and gently turned Nia's left hand. A faint purple mark curved around her wrist. What happened? Nothing. Naomi looked at her.
Nia sighed. Somebody grabbed me earlier this week. Who? It wasn't today. That isn't what I asked.
Around them, forks clicked against plates. A coffee machine hissed behind the counter. Outside, a bus rolled through standing water. Nia stared through the window. Trevor.
Naomi's hand became still. He grabbed your wrist? Yes. Why? He wanted my phone.