Mary was sure she had set a new, personal speed record. She had bolted from the store, barged through the park and was now jogging up to her house.

The hair at the base of her neck was soaked. She could feel her cheeks glow. Despite her attempt to walk it off, she was still upset, though.

Lex hadn’t replied to any of her messages. Mary had sent quite a few this afternoon. She had practically begged Lex for a moment to talk. By phone. By chat. At her place. Anything!

But her request had been met with absolute radio silence. At first, Mary had gotten worried. Was Lex unwell after all? Was she so sick she couldn’t reply? No, that didn’t seem likely.

Later in the afternoon, Mary had started thinking that maybe she had pissed Lex off. Had she asked for too much? Was she unreasonable?

By the time the store had closed, Mary had gotten angry too. There was simply no excuse for Lex to completely ignore her. If she didn’t want to talk, she could just say so.

Mary wiped her cheek with the sleeve of her coat and almost tripped over the person sitting on the stairs leading down to her door.

“What the fuck?” she shouted, grabbing the metal railing.

“Careful!” the other person shrieked.