Page 119 of Mine Again
I wrap my arms around myself. I’m still wearing nothing but Luca’soversized shirt. One of those soft, lived-in ones that hangs past my hips but does absolutely nothing to protect me from the cold.
Dammit, I need more clothes.
Teeth chattering, I duck back inside and scan the entryway. No way am I going back to his bedroom for anything. I won’t.
A narrow outline catches my eye, a vertical seam in the wall beside the door. Almost hidden. Maybe a storage closet?
Again, no handle. What is it with him and handles?
I press my palm against the smooth surface. The panel slides open without resistance.
Inside hang a couple of black parkas, a beanie, and on the bottom shelf, a pair of rugged boots and trail shoes.
All of it is too big for me, but I don’t care.
I grab the first coat and shove my arms through it, nearly swallowed by the heavy fabric. It falls almost to my knees. The boots are stiff, and I have to jam my feet in. I slide around inside them, and they clunk awkwardly when I move, but at least they’re warm. Next, I tug the beanie down over my head to cover my ears.
Behind me, the front door shuts again. I step back toward it and press my palm to the scanner.
The system hums and the door slides open again, smooth and silent. Like it’s nothing. Like I’m free to come and go as I please.
The ease of it unsettles me.
He’s really letting me walk out?
For a second, I hesitate, but then step through the door anyway. Because if he thinks I’ll stay and play the good little captive, he doesn’t know me at all.
And how could he? He missed the last five years.
I’m not the naïve, obedient girl he grew up with. That version of me died, little by little, starting the day he disappeared. And I don’t miss her. She was a pushover.
Cold air rushes over me as I step out onto the landing. I brace for the bite, but the too-large coat does a surprisingly good job of keeping me warm. At least one thing is working in my favor on this shitty day.
The house is surrounded by gravel, stretching out in every direction. A deliberate buffer between the building and the wilderness beyond. No grass. No trees near the walls. Just wet, gray stone crunching underfoot.
A security measure, probably. So no one can sneak up without being heard… or seen by the cameras I spot, strategically placed around the place.
I bet he’s watching me now.
I circle the house, refusing to look at the building itself or admire how well it blends into the rugged terrain. My gaze surveys the edges, scanning the shrubbery for any sign of an opening, a way out.
My borrowed boots slip a little with each step, but I’m starting to get the hang of them.
Eventually, I find a narrow path that disappears into the forest.
I don’t stop to think. I just keep going.
Even if I have to walk for hours, even if there’s no one else for miles, I’d rather be alone in the woods finding a way out than trapped inside with Luca.
The cold wraps around my bare legs and drifts upward, prickling my skin with every gust of wind. I keep walking, pulling the jacket tighter around me. It’s not enough, but it’s something.
My thoughts drift back to Luca, to the bombshell he dropped without flinching.
There was a time when I wanted nothing more than to be married to Luca.
For so long, we both counted down the days to my eighteenth birthday, the day we could finally be together, forever.
Even after he disappeared, I held on to that dream. I pictured our wedding over and over, convinced he’d come back and we’d have this big, beautiful reunion… like something out of a movie.
