Chapter 3 Rooftop in The Middle of the Night

║Chicago, Illinois, US║

I still couldn’t believe what had just happened to me.

My breath was uneven, and I could feel my heart pounding after I ran from the rooftop to my apartment unit.

Oh God, how could someone have been there without me noticing? And how could I end up meeting the very person I was hoping never to see again?

No.

I didn’t like this.

This morning had been chaotic enough for me, and I didn’t want to relive it.

That man was clearly the same person—he didn’t have a twin as I had hoped.

Maybe I should avoid the rooftop for a while, even though I loved that place.

Maybe I could write in my notebook in my apartment with a cup of hot chocolate and—

Wait a minute…

Where’s my notebook?

I smacked my forehead as I realized I had forgotten something—something quite important, obviously.

How could I forget that notebook when I’d just bought it? And the worst part was, I had already written part of a story in it, which would be terribly embarrassing if anyone read it.

That doctor already knew my status and full name. He knew about my problems, and now… should he also get to know the story inside my notebook?

I should’ve known journaling was a bad idea.

I should never have gone along with that silly thought just because I saw a box full of my old journals in my apartment.

Damn it, I didn’t have a choice.

So, I decided to walk out of my room and head back toward the rooftop.

Silence greeted me again, just like the first time I’d come here.

My eyes scanned the area. This time, I didn’t want to miss anything like before.

And thank God.

I finally found my notebook.

Unfortunately—or maybe stupidly enough—it was currently cradled in the arms of a man lying at the far edge of the wall with his eyes closed.

That doctor was still there, wearing the same shirt I saw him in this morning at the hospital.

Dear God, what was he doing here? Why was he everywhere?!

But… wasn’t he asleep?

Nothing would happen if I took my book without making any noise that might wake him up, right?

So, I stepped forward quietly—doing my best not to make a sound.

I got close enough, and all I had to do now was retrieve my book.

I carefully tugged on the notebook, and I almost had it when a pair of hands suddenly grabbed my wrist.

“ARGH!” I screamed loudly.

My foot moved instinctively, and I tripped over a chair nearby.

My butt landed painfully, and I didn’t have time to catch anything to stop myself from falling awkwardly.

“Oh God,” someone rose from where he was and immediately jumped toward me.

Of course, I knew who it was—there were only the two of us here.

“Are you okay, Annalise?”

The doctor offered his hand, and I accepted it right away.

I patted my butt twice to dust off any dirt that might’ve clung there, then nodded briefly at the man standing in front of me.

Hell, he even still remembered my name.

“It’s Ann,” I shrugged.

No use pretending—what’s done is done, right?

“It’s just Ann.”

“Nice to meet you, Ann.”

The doctor handed me my notebook, and I took it immediately.

“My name’s Daxton,” the man said.

My eyes couldn’t leave him—he was staring straight at me as if studying every inch of my face.

Damn it, could he stop doing that?

It made me uncomfortable, especially since my mind still remembered this guy as the man I’d met at the bar yesterday.

I nodded slightly. “Sorry for disturbing your sleep. I didn’t think anyone was here.”

“I didn’t think so either. No one likes this rooftop because it’s so run-down, so I like sleeping here. But it seems this place isn’t just mine anymore.”

I let out a short laugh. “You can keep it, Daxton.”

“Nah, I don’t mind sharing.”

Daxton glanced toward the spot where he had been lying.

“Do you have time? It might be nice if you sat there. I promise it’s the best spot on the whole rooftop.”

I followed the direction of his gaze.

We were two grown adults used to the freedom of city life.

This is Chicago—a big city with a free-spirited lifestyle.

There was no need to worry just because I had once slept with him and happened to share a few of my secrets.

Apparently, I was the only one being dramatic about this.

Daxton seemed totally at ease with our surprise encounter.

Maybe I should start relaxing too.

“Do you live here?”

I walked toward the spot Daxton had pointed to and found that the chairs I thought were abandoned weren’t actually that bad.

We could still sit there, and they seemed sturdy enough.

“Yeah. Looks like you’re my new neighbor.”

We’re neighbors now?

What kind of coincidence is this?

“Sorry, I read your notes,” Daxton glanced toward the notebook now sitting on my lap.

Well, I knew he must’ve read it and just pretended to be asleep to fool me.

“It’s fine. You already heard my story too.”

Daxton nodded. “Glad to hear you’ve landed the new job you were dreaming of.”

“Ah, working at a bakery!” I exclaimed with a soft laugh.

Compared to my previous career, this one was obviously very different.

I used to work at a law firm, and now I was baking pastry in a kitchen.

Thanks to my father and Alban, who were both prominent lawyers in our hometown, I had a smooth career at a law firm. But I chose to leave those two bastards and my old life behind to start a new one in Chicago.

“This is my first month here, but I’ve already had so much luck. I guess I should’ve come here sooner.” I let out a long sigh.

“Nope, I think this is the perfect time. Nothing’s ever too early or too late. But tell me, why did you choose Chicago?”

I looked up at the darkening night sky and repeated Daxton’s question in my mind.

Why Chicago?

“I don’t know. After hopping from one city to another, this was the only place that came to mind as my next destination.”

I had already given a similar answer to Daxton last night, but I didn’t want to bring that conversation here again.

“You know what? I broke up with my ex a year ago after being together for seven years. That was the biggest heartbreak of my life.” Daxton exhaled as he gazed up at the night sky like he was letting his thoughts drift into it. “You know why I chose Chicago to run away to?”

I shook my head. “May I know why?”

“Because it was the only place I could think of. I wanted to go home, see my mom again, and stay in my sister’s apartment for months without doing anything because everything hurt too much. She cheated on me and asked me to stay with her. Does that make any sense? I kept choosing to stay, again and again, but I couldn’t take it anymore. So I left—ran to a place where she couldn’t reach me because my sister would claw her face off if she ever came to Chicago.” Daxton paused for a moment, then turned to me and gave me a brief smile. His expression changed as he looked at me—his eyes felt familiar, and I didn’t know why.

Maybe because… I saw that same look three months ago when I first decided to run away.

Hell, we both ran away and chose Chicago as our destination.

“I wish I had a sister like yours.”

“Yeah,” Daxton nodded. “She’s the best. I know I can always go to her and hide behind her back.”

“Then you have to always be there for her, too, whenever she needs you.”

“Of course. She’ll always have me. You might be a little shocked if you ever meet her. My sister has a thousand quirky, ridiculous thoughts. She never works because she can’t do anything on her own, not even brush her own hair. Still, she’s always been the best sister and always there for me.” Daxton laughed, and I found myself admiring his laugh from the side. “But what you did was amazing—choosing this city even though you didn’t have anyone here.”

No one, huh?

When have I ever had someone I could run to like Daxton did with his sister?

All I’d ever done was hide. This was the first time I’d decided to run.

“Why are you telling me all this?” I raised one eyebrow and hugged my notebook tightly.

“To make us even,” Daxton shrugged. “Now you don’t have to worry about being the only one who’s shared a secret with a stranger. You see, I did the same thing, right?”

I looked at him in disbelief.

If Daxton said his sister had quirky, unique thoughts, then I could say he was just the same.

“I think we’re going to have a fun game. How about we make a deal to share one secret every time we meet?”

I couldn’t help but laugh, then raised both hands and shook my head. “That’s a terrible idea.”

“That sounds fun!” Daxton grabbed my hands and laughed with me. “We never know when we’ll see each other again.”

Our meeting should’ve been awkward, but Daxton made it feel easy and pleasant.

“Well, it won’t be hard to find you when I know you live in the same apartment building.”

“And will you spend your whole day knocking on every door on every floor?” He raised one eyebrow. “We don’t know when we’ll meet again. But if it happens, be ready to share a secret with me.”

Sharing secrets, huh?

“I didn’t even want to share my name with you,” I stared at him for a moment—acknowledging my own limits.

“Well, you might have to accept that I don’t need you to tell me your name. I got it my way.”

I snorted. “That was just a coincidence,” I said calmly. “A coincidence that I needed an OB-GYN to handle my issue and that you happened to be… the OB-GYN.”

“Alright, how about we bet on the next coincidence?”

I raised one eyebrow. “After asking me to share secrets, now what else are you going to offer?”

He looked at me deeply—seriously and inquisitively, as if he was still considering what he wanted to say. “You get to choose,” he said.

“So you’re going to give me a choice,” I clicked my tongue. No one had ever given me a choice… except someone I hadn’t seen in so long. “Go on.”

Once again, I reminded myself that he was a stranger and I shouldn’t be responding to him like this. But… tonight, I felt like I needed someone to talk to.

“If there’s another coincidence where we meet again, choose between sharing a secret… or sharing a bed with me.”

Shit. This man just made my heart stop for a second.