The Years Between Signing and Seeing novel Chapter 448

Suzie went stiff. That was... that was Stewart's voice!

*Damn it, what is he doing here?!*

Realizing he wasn't right next to her yet, she pretended she hadn't heard anything and practically ducked back through the archway, speed-walking in the direction they had come from.

Jamie had been standing near the entrance, and when he saw Suzie rush back inside and break into a frantic jog, he was thoroughly confused.

He quickly matched her pace, his face dropping into a serious frown. "What happened?"

"If you don't want to get stuck to a leech, stay away from me," Suzie hissed without stopping.

Jamie's brow furrowed. "Who's bothering you? Tell me, I'll handle it."

Suzie opened her mouth to argue, but when she looked ahead, she slammed on the brakes.

Stewart was standing right at the end of the corridor, panting heavily, looking at her with absolute sheer joy.

Suzie glanced at her surroundings. There was another archway up ahead. Stewart clearly knew his way around the hospital and had anticipated her route.

"Are you in a rush? You were running so fast, I almost missed you again!" Stewart wheezed as he jogged the rest of the distance to reach her.

Once he caught his breath, he looked at her with puppy-dog sadness. "I knew I wasn't just hallucinating from my concussion the other day. I knew I saw you, but nobody believed me."

His gaze shifted to Jamie. "Hey, Jamie! Suzie's back, why didn't you tell us? Whoa, what happened to your shirt? Were you in a fight?!"

Seeing her icy demeanor, Stewart looked heartbroken. "You always used to treat me so well. Now you're acting like you don't even know me."

Suzie pinched the bridge of her nose. Stewart was younger than her, but he was still in his twenties and stood over six feet tall.

Yet the way he spoke, the way he acted—it was identical to how he was years ago.

Had his mental maturity just stopped developing entirely?

After a beat of silence, Suzie said, "I've been dealing with a lot of things these past few years. It's not completely sorted out yet, so don't tell the family you saw me. I have urgent business to attend to. You should go home."

"Don't leave!" Stewart pleaded the moment she shifted her weight. He scrambled to add, "Mom is in the hospital with a heart attack, and we're totally out of money. Ever since I got hurt, Ruby threw a fit over me asking for her paycheck and ran away from home. We literally can't survive much longer."