SNEAK PEAK OF FALLING IN REVERSE

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     I walk the cobblestone streets, saying hello to people I know as I pass towards my apartment. I have a brown grocery bag in one hand, a piece of bread in the other. I munch on it as I walk, admiring the world around me.
    A woman approaches me, and while her face looks kind of familiar, I can't really place it. She's wearing a large coat, despite the fact that it's summer, and sunglasses, and stops in front of me. I watch her face twist into surprise, maybe sadness, as she pulls the sunglasses down. I realize who it is.
    "Emily?" I say. It has been years since I had seen her. She doesn't seem happy or excited to see me, and her lips don't turn up in a smile.
    "Andy?" She says, even though she knows it's me. I nod.
    "How did you find me here?" I ask, looking around.
    "Garcia." She answers, and I nod again. Makes sense.
    "Why... Why are you here? What brings you to Italy?" I ask, dropping the bread into my grocery bag.
    "It's Spencer." She says, and I feel my heart boom in my chest. Spencer. It has been too long since I've heard that name.
    "What about him?" I ask, suddenly nervous.
    "He's gone." I blink.
    "What... What do you mean he's gone? Like, gone, gone? Like..." I can hardly bring myself to say it. "Dead?" She shakes her head.
    "No, I mean he's missing, he's gone. He didn't come into work one day. No one's heard from him in a week." I sigh with relief as she explains this to me.
    "So what do you need from me?"
    "Well, some of us just assumed he'd come here." I don't know what to say. I look away, trying not to make eye contact.
    "Spencer doesn't know I'm here." I answered flatly, the truth. I didn't tell him where I was going. I didn't want to.
    "You haven't heard from him at all?" She asks, looking somewhat confused. I shake my head.
    "No. I haven't heard from him since I left." She pulls something out of her pocket and hands it to me. I flip it over. "A plane ticket?"
    "Come home, Andy." Emily says, looking me right in the eye. I take a deep breath and look around.
    "Emily, this is my home."
    "Come home, Andy. I know you still pay the rent on your apartment in Quantico. Just... come with me. Come home." I blink, feeling the emotion rising up in my throat.
    "Okay."

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