A Fresh Start (37 page)

For now, she could make sure she remembered how they got to wherever they were heading.

So, with her eyes were closed, she paid attention to everything her ears were receiving.

She could tell when they left the highway. The noise from all the cars’ engine got more distant and soon, there was nothing but the monotonous whir of the air conditioner within the car.

There hadn’t been many turns since they were last on the highway, so it probably wasn’t a densely populated area.

The question she had was how isolated it was.

She could run, she could easily run over five miles continuously. Not many people, even men, could do that.

And she was fast.
 

But all that wouldn’t matter if they were in the middle of nowhere.

“We’re here.”

The car came to a stop and she opened her eyes, looking at the house ahead of her.

A two story house with brownish walls and dark gray roof, contrasted with white window grills stood in front of the car. She breathed out through her nose as she stared up at the house.
 

She took a quick glance around the area and forced a smile even as she battled her tears.

Daniel definitely picked the right place.

From the car, she couldn’t see any neighbor. Just their house and a road leading to an open field of nothingness on one side and trees on the other.

Short, achievable goals.
She needed to get out of the house. There was no way Daniel would let her out, but it didn’t matter. As long as she could see another person, there was a chance.

First step, goodwill.

She turned to Daniel and flinched back against the window. She’d been so caught up with her own thoughts that she hadn’t noticed the gun Daniel had pointing at her.

“I’m not going to hurt you, but I know you love to run. I can’t risk you running away. You understand that, right?”
 

His soft, gentle tone was back. But in his eyes, the same hysteria was clear.

She quickly nodded.

“Take off your shoes.”

She kicked them off.

“Stretch your hands over.” Daniel reached into the compartment by the door and pulled out a handcuff.

Her first instinct was to reach for the door and run.
 

Instead, she shook her wrist, bringing her watch back in place and stealing a quick peep at it. Nearly an hour and a half had passed since she closed her eyes on the highway.

Then she stretched her hands over, locking the muscles in her arms to stop herself from withdrawing them.

With a deep breath, she swallowed the scream that was already at the brink of her throat.

She needed goodwill, she needed to show that she was compliant. She allowed Daniel to cuff her without any struggle, not even when the cold, hard metal cut into her skin.

“All right, ready to see the house?”

The sudden change in his expression was remarkable. A wild spark of excitement twinkled in his eyes that had inched wider, and a broad smile showcased his teeth. Still, despite the delight he had, a sense of frenzy lingered behind those eyes.

She knew she had to match his excitement.

She wasn’t a good actress, but she was an avid reader of all sorts of books.

Body language 101, a fake smile would never reach the eye. So she imagined herself without the handcuffs, imagined the person before her eyes was Justin, and imagined they were going to look at the beautiful colonial house she saw on his computer.

“Absolutely.” She grinned.

Her method worked.

The gun disappeared from her eyes as Daniel bounced out of the car, heading over to her side and opening the door for her.

“Come, take a look. I searched really long for this place.”

He helped her out of the car, placed a hand on her back, then jammed the gun against her rib as he pulled her closer toward him.

Paige clenched and released her fists, quelling the urge to shiver and push him away from her. “When did you buy this?” Her voice trembled a little at the end of her question. She cleared her throat and straightened her back. “Was it expensive?”

“Don’t worry about the money, dear.”

She clenched and opened her fist again. “So when did you buy it? Did you renovate it yourself?”

“So many questions,” he said, enunciating each word in a low, skeptical voice.

Twirling the ring on her index finger, she smiled back at Daniel as if it was still Justin standing before her. “I’m curious, I always have been. You should know that about me.”

“I do,” Daniel said. “I know everything about you.”

He took her hand just as the tremble she could no longer suppress ran through her skin.

Thankfully, he was so electrified that he didn’t seem to notice.

Pulling her into the house, he glanced over his shoulder and beamed at her.

She wanted to shake her head at the insanity of it all.

His blissful smile at her, despite her hands being cuffed and the gun in his other hand. The way he tenderly held her hand as if they were a young couple deep in love, thrilled about starting their new lives in the new house.

It was so tiring to pretend.

She was tempted to snatch her hand from his and deliver a slap across his clueless smile to wake him up from the ludicrous world he imagined he was in.

But the moment her eyes noticed the living room Daniel was now showcasing, her heart fell to her stomach, and she almost lost it. Almost.

The clash of normalcy and insanity was stark.

The living room was a replica of her living room back in her house in New York.

The beige couch with a white fleece throw neatly draped over its arm. The wrought iron coffee table overlaid with a glass surface, sitting over a large white rug that had the same design as the one her mother had chosen for her. Even the light brown curtains had the same flower imprints and another translucent curtain within it.

She stepped onto the rug and ran her finger down the arm of the couch, the way she did before she left her house.

She closed her eyes, feeling the sting behind her lids returning.

Everything appeared normal. Everything except the dozens of photo frames.

Every single flat surface area, except for the coffee table, was clustered with photo frames filled with photos of what used to be Cole and her. All the photos had been edited, replacing Cole’s face with Daniel’s own face.

Except it wasn’t really Daniel.

Daniel didn’t use to wear those thin, half-rimmed, gray spectacles. He used to wear thick, black plastic rims that had grown popular in the recent years.

Daniel didn’t used to have ginger hair either. His hair was dark brown, almost black.

Yet now, he looked exactly like Cole and was even wearing the same design of clothes that Cole always wore.

“This is my favorite,” Daniel said when he noticed her staring at the photos. Lifting one of the frames off the shelf above the fireplace, he smiled sweetly at the photo as if he was reminiscing the memory of that day.

He turned the photo over with a wide grin. It was a photo of Cole proposing to her.

Not only was Cole’s picture edited out, her own face had been edited to another where she was smiling.

She was certain that expression never appeared that day. Surprise or shock, maybe, but not that.

“You remember? You were so happy when you saw the ring.”

She forced her lips into what she hoped was a smile even as her mind reminded her of what she’d done with the ring. How was she going to explain things when he asked about it?

She pretended to scan the room, trying to buy some time.

“Of course I remember.” She moved toward the same shelf and picked up another photo frame. “I remember this, too.” She smiled at him and continued. “We both got a raise and we were out celebrating.” Then, hoping to conclude the conversation, she yawned softly.

“Tired?”

“A little. My head is feeling kind of weird, but I want to see the rest of the house.”

“And you should eat something.”

She didn’t know how she was going to stomach any food, but nodded anyway.

“Come, I’ll show you the kitchen. You’ll love it.”

Even before walking in, she had an inkling of how it’d look like.

And she was right.

The same dark brown cabinets, the silver fridge and oven. Besides the difference in the dimensions, resulting in larger cabinets, the design was another replica of her own kitchen.

She didn’t even bother checking if the fridge and oven were of the same brand, she was certain it was. “It’s beautiful.”

“See, I know exactly what you like.”

She nodded with a small smile. “Yeah.”

“What do you want to have?” He opened the freezer’s door and stepped aside for her to see the stacks of frozen food within.

Junk food.
 

She laughed as she heard Justin’s voice in her head.

“What’s so funny?”

She shook her head and mustered a genuine smile. “I just really love those pizzas. I’ll have the four cheese pizza.”

“All right, sit.” He gestured toward the same dining table she’d bought from Pottery Barn.

She sat without saying anything and tried to remain casual as Daniel came over.

Unlocking one of her hands from the cuff, he hooked the cuff over one of the table’s leg.

He took out a pizza from the fridge and placed it into the oven, then washed a glass and filled it with water.

While he was busy across the kitchen, Paige took another look around the place.

He couldn’t have been in her house only once. He knew every detail of her living room and kitchen.

She didn’t dare think how her room would look like.

When that thought entered her mind, she had to clarify and set her mind at ease. “Daniel, I know we’re engaged and all, but I don’t believe in moving in together.”

“I know, I know,” he said, moving over with the glass of water in his hand. He set it down on the table before her. “You have your own room. I love you, I won’t do anything to upset you.”

She smiled, at least that was one less thing she had to worry about.

“Drink.” He gave the glass a nudge. “I’m sure you’re thirsty.”

She twirled the ring around on her finger and stared at the glass, contemplating if it was safe to drink.

Daniel must have sensed her skepticism. He picked it up and took a gulp.

“There’s nothing inside. I wasn’t sure how you would react just now. I want you to trust me from now on, all right?” He grinned at her, his eyes creasing. “We do have to live together for the rest of our lives. It’s much easier that way.”

Tugging at the handcuffs, she questioned, “Then this?”

“I took a gulp of water to prove to you that I didn’t put anything in there.”

“So you want me to prove that I won’t run? I can’t prove anything if you don’t give me the chance.”

Daniel narrowed his eyes.

“You don’t trust me at all, do you? Why do you want to live with me if you don’t trust me?” She turned away because she couldn’t get herself to cry. She was a terrible actress.

She tried hurriedly to think of something sad, to try and get some tears or redness in her eyes. She shut her eyes and thought about the moment she saw her giant of a brother lying in the hospital bed with half his leg missing and tubes of all sorts stuck into him.

She blinked as her eyes watered.

What she would give to have Justin, Andrew, or her mom at her side right now.

She tipped her chin and tilted her head back as she drew in a deep breath.

She could do this.
 

The control is yours,
Justin reminded her.

“All right, don’t cry.” Daniel reached over and brushed his thumb down her cheek.

She shut her eyes tight and froze, willing herself not to flinch at his touch. Then she heard the click and felt the pressure across her wrist disappear.
 

She looked down at her freed hand and rubbed at the line imprinted on her skin.

“Why didn’t you tell me it was too tight?”

“I didn’t know it could be adjusted. I’ve never been arrested.”

“You’re not arrested. You’re the love of my life, and I’m yours. We belong together. But Paige, if you try to leave, if you ruin everything, I’ll kill us both.”

She swallowed hard, then quickly smiled. “I’ve no intention of leaving.” She lifted her freed hand. “And now I can prove it to you.”

She sat dutifully and ate her dinner. She kept away from the water until she finished her pizza. Sufficient time had passed. If there was something inside the water, the effects would have shown in Daniel.
 

When they were done, Daniel led her up the stairs and showed her the bedroom.

The room lived up to her expectations. Every piece of furniture was like her own room in New York.

But as she moved over to the dresser, she felt the air rushed out of her.

Every item, down to her makeup was exactly the same, placed the same way she did back home. She moved over to the wardrobe and saw the same clothes, hung exactly the way she arranged.

Tops were arranged from the shorter sleeves to the longer sleeves, then from the lightest shade of color to the darkest shade within the same category. Dresses from the shortest to the longest, then by sleeve length, and lastly, color shade.

OCD, Andrew had called it.

She twirled the ring around on her index finger, trying to stop herself from thinking how many times he’d been in her house without her knowing. She moved over to the window, hoping to get some fresh air.

“The grill is locked.”

She nodded without turning to look at him and tried sliding the glass window pane across. “Is it all right if I slept with the window open?”

“Yes, of course. Whatever makes you happy,” he answered. “And, to show you that I can be trusted.” He stepped forward toward her and lifted her hand, dropping two keys into her palm. “These are the keys to your room. So you can lock your door and don’t have to worry about anything.”

“Thank you.”

He leaned in and she shut her eyes again, her thumb clenched tight over her ring. “Goodnight.” He kissed her on her cheek and left the room.