Leo stepped out of the taxi and reached back inside the car to grab his wallet that had fallen out before pulling out a note.
"Thanks for the ride," he said as he tried to hand the note to the driver, but the man waved it off with a smile.
"Don't worry about it. Just keep working hard for Wigan, yeah?"
Leo laughed softly as the door shut.
"You're a nice uncle," he called after him.
The driver chuckled, gave a small salute through the window, and pulled away.
Leo turned toward the arrivals entrance and stopped just outside the flow of people coming through the doors.
He checked his phone once, then slid it back into his pocket.
A few minutes passed.
Families reunited, suitcases rolled past, and voices blended into a steady hum.
He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, hands hooking into the straps of his backpack, nerves creeping in despite himself.
Just as he turned away, thinking he might have missed her, he felt it.
That quiet sense of being watched.
