Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 46344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 232(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 232(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
Get over yourself.
“Let’s move away from your denial. Tell me your troubles, honey,” he said, taking a seat.
“Don’t call me honey.”
Her dad called her that, and she didn’t like that word coming from Dwayne’s lips, especially as she didn’t think about him in any way that would ever be considered fatherly.
He held his hands up. “You’re the boss.”
“There’s no troubles, really. It’s my parents. They’re worried, like, all the time.” She tucked some of her stray hair behind her ear.
“They don’t want your kidnapping to take over your whole life. They do have a point.”
“And I get that, but being here with you, I have to make up lies, and I hate that. They’re talking about college, and prom, and how I’m going to be moving out soon. It’s all just too much. Now I have to tell them about my day at the mall with either a friend or they want to know what guy is interested in me.”
“Do you have a guy interested in you?”
“No. At least, I don’t know. No one has approached me at school, and it sucks. It all just sucks, and I like spending time with you. I know you’re, like, an old man now, but I do. You’re a lot of fun.”
“You didn’t insult me at all.”
“My parents said you were old. I kept asking about you. How they contacted you in the beginning. They wouldn’t tell me a thing and told me I needed to stop thinking about you. You have your own life and don’t need a teenage girl bugging you. Am I bugging you?”
“No.”
“Really?”
“Do I strike you as the kind of man that would lie?”
“Yeah.”
He laughed. “I guess you’re right. I wouldn’t lie about this.”
“But you would lie about everything else?”
“Of course. I’m not a saint. I never claimed to be one either. So, you’re tired of all the lies?”
“Yes.”
“You can either keep on lying, tell them your day was fun, but you’re tired, or stop coming here.”
“I’ll keep on lying. I don’t want to stop coming here.” She hated how desperate she sounded. “I find this fun. You know.”
“I wouldn’t describe this as fun.”
“Oh.”
“Not that it’s a bad thing thinking about it either. You’re a little sensitive today.”
“I’m sorry. I’m just stressed.” She smiled at him.
“I enjoy coming here. It relaxes me.”
“Do you work out often?”
“Yes. A lot. I need to. I need to keep in shape.”
“Do you rescue other girls like me?” she asked.
“No.”
“How come?”
“Your parents paid a lot of money to make sure you returned home safely. You do realize that the chances of finding you alive were slim.”
“Yes. Thank you for not giving up.”
“I had no intention of giving up. I got paid to do a job.”
He glanced down at his watch, and she knew it was now time to leave. “I better start heading back.”
“All right.”
As she grabbed her bag, they made their way out of the building. He typed in whatever the code was, and then he walked her to her car. She didn’t want to leave and would have happily stayed with him, talking.
“Next week?”
“Yes. Drive safely.”
“I will.”
She smiled at him and climbed behind the wheel. This time she didn’t linger. She didn’t watch him get into his car.
“You need to put some distance on this.”
Tapping her fingers against the steering wheel, she drove home. All the time she kept thinking about the past day. When he’d not turned up on time she’d been worried. What if he was late? What if he forgot?
The thought of not seeing him for another week filled her with a great deal of sadness that she didn’t want to talk about.
Arriving home, she pulled up into the large driveway. Her parents’ cars were already there, and she took a deep breath before heading inside. Keeping her bag on her shoulder, she entered her home.
Seeing no one around, she was about to make a run up to her room when her mother caught her.
“Hey, honey,” she said.
“Hey, Mom.” She turned to see her mother in the doorway.
“How was your trip?”
“It was good.”
“Buy anything special?”
“Nah. I had a milkshake and a burger, walked a little.”
“Who was there?” she asked.
“A couple of friends from school. I kind of broke away from the crowd though. Needed time to think.”
“Makes sense. Dad ordered Chinese food.”
“I’ll take my bag upstairs.”
“All right.”
This was how every single Saturday evening went. Her father loved Chinese food, and it was his night where he got to order whatever he wanted. Otherwise it was always healthy stuff or something her mother liked.
Putting her bag on the floor, she moved toward her window and looked out over her yard. Since she’d been back nothing had changed. Everything was always in the same position. The swing she used to spend hours on as a little kid in the back yard. The half-built tree house that her father promised her but never finished. All of it used to mean something to her, and now she saw how fragile it all was.