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  “Maybe I don’t think of you as my kidnapper,” I told him honestly. “I mean, I guess I did at first, but not now. Now I see you as the guy who saved my life…not once, but twice.”

  He smiled. “Well, let’s hope I don’t have to do it again.”

  I grinned back. “Yes, let’s.”

  “All set?” he asked, offering me his arm the same way he’d done the first time we’d left the room.

  “All set,” I responded, slipping my arm through his. My heart skipped a beat as we headed into the hallway together. With each stride, my excitement grew like a flower blooming. The heels of my shoes clicked on the floor in a steady beat.

  It was odd knowing that I wouldn’t see this house again. Kind of bittersweet. As much as I’d hated this house for the weeks I’d been trapped here, I’d liked some aspects of it too. I’d enjoyed the moments in the study and the times out in the garden with Jasper. I’d even liked our card games. After glancing around the room one last time, I allowed Jasper to guide me outside.

  The sun was bright in the sky, and it beat down on my face. It seemed fitting.

  My car sat in the driveway, front end smashed in. Still, the familiarity of it made my heart swell. When we reached it, Jasper halted.

  “I’ll drive you to the road, and then you can take it from there,” he explained.

  I nodded in response, knowing this would happen. Last time we almost left he had made it clear that I couldn’t know the way here. And I was okay with that. I had no intention of leading anyone back here.

  “Jasper,” Nina’s voice rang out, startling me. My head snapped up to where she stood in the doorway of the house. “You’re really going to let her leave?”

  “Yes,” he responded.

  “You really think that’s smart?”

  “I think it’s what I should have done weeks ago,” he said.

  She came toward us, her eyebrows knit together in concern. Her gaze never left Jasper’s face. “But once her family finds out, it’ll ruin everything.”

  “I won’t tell them about you if you don’t want me to,” I said earnestly, clutching Jasper’s arm tighter.

  Nina snorted in disbelief. “And where will you tell them you’ve been all this time?”

  It was a valid question, and it gave me pause. My gaze shot between Nina and Jasper, searching for the right answer. The one that would ensure I could leave. I was so close. But last time I had been as well.

  “That’s enough, Nina,” Jasper said. “She’s going home. End of discussion.”

  Nina’s lips trembled in anger. She pointed a finger toward Jasper. “I have spent your entire life protecting you, and I won’t let her destroy that.”

  “I won’t,” I said. “Nina, please believe me. I wish neither of you any harm.” It was the truth, and I was desperate for her to believe it.

  “I’m not a fool,” Nina snapped. “Unlike Jasper, I’m not going to be sucked in by your pretty face and your manipulations.”

  Anger ignited in my gut. I never asked to be here. I never asked for any of this. And yet she was treating me like it was all my fault. Like I showed up out of nowhere to mess with their idyllic life.

  “I’m not manipulating anyone,” I spoke firmly. “Nina, I’m appreciative of you and Jasper for saving my life. And I’m grateful that you took care of me. And that’s what I’ll tell my family if they find out about you. Whether you believe it or not, that’s the truth.”

  Jasper placed his hand on the small of my back and ushered me forward. “Nina, we’re leaving now.”

  “You’re making a mistake,” she hissed.

  He opened the passenger side door. I slipped inside quickly, wanting nothing more than to get out of here before Nina could stop us.

  “I know you’re scared, and I know you’re only trying to protect me,” Jasper’s muffled voice traveled into the car. “But this is the right thing to do.”

  A second later the driver’s side door popped open and Jasper plunked down in the driver’s seat. As he closed the door behind him, I glanced back toward the house. Nina was heading back inside shaking her head. I had planned to say goodbye to her, maybe even thank her for caring for me. But I could tell that wouldn’t go over well. Besides, it’s not like she did any of it out of the kindness of her heart. She was forced to help me. It was Jasper who deserved the gratitude, not her. If it were up to her, I’d be locked up for all of eternity. I was convinced now that my imprisonment was her doing, not Jasper’s. He may have went along with it, but it was her words, her fear, her prompting, that drove him to do it. If anyone should be punished, it was her. Unfortunately, I knew it didn’t work like that. If I told my family I’d been kidnapped, Jasper would suffer, and I didn’t want that to happen.

  I had the feeling that Nina wasn’t only worried about my family coming after them, though. It seemed that she was protecting him from something else. I got the impression that they’d been in hiding all of Jasper’s life.

  Jasper hadn’t turned on the car yet, and I knew why. Turning my head, I faced the passenger window.

  “You can go ahead and put on the blindfold now,” I instructed.

  He hesitated. “No, it’s okay. I trust you.”

  His words pierced my heart. I sat forward as he started the car and headed down the driveway.

  “What is Nina so afraid of?” I asked.

  “You know what we’re afraid of,” Jasper spoke softly.

  “What I told Nina was the truth. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

  “I believe that your intentions are good, Layla, but your family is going to want answers.”

  “I’ll tell them that you saved my life and took care of me. You’ll be a hero, not a villain.”

  He chuckled, his gaze sliding over to me momentarily. “Not everyone is like you, Layla. You see the good in everyone.”

  “My family is like me, I think.” I scrunched up my nose. Once the words left my mouth, I wondered if they were true. Sure, there were aspects of my personality that came from my family, but I was always the odd one out. My brothers teased me about it relentlessly.

  “When I saw you in that car, bleeding and injured, I knew I had to help you. There was no way I could get you to a hospital in time. You needed immediate medical attention. And I knew that Nina could provide that. It was your best chance of survival.”

  “So, Nina really is a nurse then?”

  He nodded. “So, I took you to my house, and Nina did make you better. But that was where things got complicated. We both knew that we were risking a lot by having you in our home.”

  “But why? What are you two hiding from?”

  Silence filled the car, and I could feel the tension. There was more to this story. Something huge that I didn’t know.

  “We’ve talked about this before,” he finally said. “If anyone were to find you lying in my home, injured, they’d assume I hurt you.”

  “Who was the woman in the photograph?”

  His head swung toward me. “What photograph?” The car bounced over uneven ground as we wove through trees. Glancing out, I couldn’t see any sign of the road. The blindfold would’ve been pointless. I would never be able to make it back here. I’d always been directionally challenged, which became painfully obvious when I tried to escape and ended up in a stream.

  “The one on the end table.”

  “Oh.” He stared out the front windshield, gripping tightly to the steering wheel. “That’s my mom.”

  I recalled the sad look on his face when he stared at the picture, and my heart pinched. “You never met her, right?”

  “No. I just have the one picture.”

  Without thinking, I reached out and placed my hand over his free one. He flinched as if startled, but then relaxed. “I’m sorry.”

  He didn’t say anything, but his jaw clenched as he continued to drive. Clearly, his mom was a topic he didn’t want to discuss. Seemed he was full of those. The mystery surrounding Jasper only added to my already curi
ous nature. The road appeared up ahead. We were almost there. I sat up straighter, my heart picking up speed and my palms clamming up. Until this moment, there was a part of me that worried I wouldn’t make it out of here. But now I was starting to fully believe.

  Jasper pulled the car up to the side of the road and then pushed his foot down on the brake. Once the car stopped, he offered me a sad smile.

  “It looks like it’s my cue to skedaddle.” I’d ever heard someone use the word “skedaddle” in real life, and it caused me to giggle a little.

  Leaving the car running, he stepped out of it. I leapt out and went to him.

  “How will you get home?” I asked. We’d been driving for awhile. Their house wasn’t super close to the road.

  “I can walk. I’ve done it plenty of times before.”

  We were quiet a minute, both staring at each other as if we had no idea what to say.

  Finally, Jasper spoke. “I guess I should take off and let you get home.”

  It hit me then that I’d probably never see him again. Even if I wanted to, I wasn’t sure I could find his house hidden in the forest. And after everything I’d gone through, I most likely would never come back here. I trusted Jasper, but not Nina. If I randomly showed up at their doorstep one day, I was sure she wouldn’t be too happy.

  Standing before Jasper for the last time, my heart ached. I stared into his eyes, wanting to memorize their gorgeous color. I even wanted to remember his face. A face I was so frightened of weeks ago.

  Stepping forward, I flung my arms around his neck. He stiffened beneath my embrace as if I had shocked him. And I was sure that I had. My actions had surprised me a little bit.

  “Thank you for everything,” I spoke into his chest.

  “I should be the one thanking you.” Drawing back, he looked into my eyes. “The last few weeks have been the best of my entire life.” He paused, his eyes darkening. “I know that sounds really awful based on the fact that I forced you to stay.”

  “No.” I waved away his words. “I understand what you meant. And I had a good time with you too, Jasper.”

  “You did?”

  Sometimes Jasper reminded me of a child. Other guys his age didn’t wear their heart on their sleeve the way he did. “Yes,” I said honestly.

  “Too bad we didn’t meet under different circumstances,” he said sadly. “But I will cherish our time together for the rest of my life.”

  “Me too,” I said, and I meant it. As bizarre as this whole arrangement was, I had grown fond of Jasper.

  He paused, his face conflicted as if struggling with something. “I’m really sorry about what I put you through.”

  “Apology accepted,” I said, knowing he needed to hear that.

  His head bobbed toward my car. “Now get outta here. Go see that family of yours.” He said it in a nonchalant tone, but I heard the emotion under his words.

  Nodding, I bit my lip. “Okay.”

  “Goodbye, Layla.” He stepped backward. “And good luck.”

  “Goodbye, Jasper,” I whispered, my heart cracking as I watched him walk away. Opening my mouth, I wanted to say something else. I wanted to call him back. But I didn’t know what I’d say. Besides, my behavior was puzzling. I’d been dying to go home for weeks. Now I had my chance. I should be burning rubber, tearing down the road, not standing here calling after Jasper.

  Coming to my senses, I hurried into the car. It was still running, so I threw on my seatbelt, put the car in drive and headed down the road. Jasper had done a good job of getting it back in working condition, even if the windshield was still cracked and the front end was smashed in. Reaching out, I decided to test the radio. To my surprise, it worked. I blasted it as I drove on. It felt weird being back in my car, and it caused my mind to travel back to the night of the accident.

  In some ways it felt like no time had passed. I was wearing the same dress, the same shoes. When the same song came on the radio, it added to the creepiness. But in other ways it felt like a lifetime had passed since that night. I couldn’t have been in that house for more than two months, but I’d changed. I wasn’t the same girl I was the night Jasper found me.

  Even though being there was at times lonely and scary, I was glad I’d experienced it. The thought of never having met Jasper was painful. He’d impacted me. His friendship felt like the purest I’d ever had. I knew it didn’t make sense. Our friendship had been contrived, forced, manipulated. He’d locked me in a room for selfish reasons. I should’ve hated him. But I didn’t. I cared about him more than I should.

  10

  THE RETURN

  THE DRIVEWAY WAS filled with cars when I arrived home. I recognized two of them as my brothers’, which meant that they were still in town. I wondered if it had to do with me. Sitting in my car, I stared up at my giant house as it loomed overhead, and I released a sigh. As excited as I’d been about seeing everyone again, now that I was here, I was nervous. The prospect of my homecoming was a lot different than reality.

  Anticipating all the chaos and questions made my chest tighten. I’d spent weeks in solitude, and even though I’d resisted it at first, eventually I’d gotten used to it. Entering into a world of noise and excitement caused agitation to rise inside of me.

  On the surface, it appeared as if nothing had changed. But I knew it had. When I walked in that house, my family would be different. My time at Jasper’s had irrevocably transformed me, but it would be naïve of me to think it hadn’t also changed my family. We were a tight-knit group. No doubt they’d been scared to death at my absence.

  As hard as this was going to be for me, I had to face it.

  Turning off the car, I palmed my keys and stepped out of the vehicle. I felt naked without my purse and phone. But I was grateful for the heat. It was much warmer here than in the woods. While I made my way up the driveway, my heels clicked on the pavement, and my hair lifted slightly from my shoulders as a warm breeze whisked over me. It brought with it the scent of roses. We had them lining the yard. It reminded me of Jasper’s garden. Our house had obvious beauty - expert landscaping, clean, crisp lines. On the surface, Jasper’s house was ugly, in need of repair. But there was hidden beauty to be found when you looked hard enough.

  Much like Jasper himself.

  The front door was unlocked, so I walked right in. The foyer was the same, and out of habit I dropped my keys on the little table to my right. They joined several other sets already sitting there. The familiarity of it pinched my heart. It was almost like any other day when I’d come home from school or hanging out with friends. Catching my reflection in the mirror on the wall, I took in the bump on my head and fading bruises on my face and arms. They were a stark reminder that this wasn’t simply another day. This day was significant.

  “Is someone there?” Mom’s voice rang out, startling me.

  I whirled around. Mom entered the foyer. She’d been holding a glass of water. Upon seeing me she dropped it, and it crashed to the floor. Water and glass sprayed over my feet.

  “Layla! Is that really you?” She rushed forward, her hands on my face and in my hair.

  “Mom?” Kevin called, footsteps nearing us. “You okay?” He appeared in the doorway, his mouth gaping. “Layla?”

  “She’s home,” Mom cried, still holding me close and petting me as if I was an animal. “She’s really home.”

  “Dad! Grant!” Kevin called out. “Get in here now!”

  When Mom released me for a moment, Kevin swooped in, drawing me into a bear hug. I hung limply in his arms. “Oh, my god. Are you okay? Where have you been?”

  “Layla?” Dad was next, hurrying forward and pushing Kevin out of the way. When my dad’s eyes met mine, tears filled my eyes. He’d aged a hundred years since I’d seen him last. His shoulders were stooped, and there were lines around his eyes that hadn’t been there before. The pain he’d felt over my absence was written all over his face. I lunged forward, wrapping my arms around him.

  “Daddy,” I said into
his shoulder as he stroked my back.

  “I’ll call my parents and let them know she’s been found. Then I’ll call Dr. Wolfrey,” Mom said before hurrying from the room.

  I pulled away from Dad. “No, Mom, I’m fine.”

  “Nonsense.” She waved away my statement. “You’re clearly injured.”

  I opened my mouth to protest again when Dad shushed me, placing a hand on my back. “Just let her do this. We’ve been worried sick about you, Layla. And she’s right. You do need medical attention.”

  “I can’t believe you’re back.” It was Grant’s turn. His hug was so fierce it stole my breath. He never did know his own strength. It had been his problem since we were kids. “Where have you been?”

  I’d been thinking about this question the entire drive. However, I was no closer to coming up with an answer than I had been when I first set out. Dad and Kevin looked on expectantly. Mom chattered on the phone in the other room. I sighed, rubbing my temples.

  “I’m tired,” I said, honestly. “And thirsty. Can I get some water, please?”

  “Of course.” Dad grabbed my arm and ushered me into the family room. “Sit down. I’ll get you some water.”

  The family room was large and bright, all the windows open. I sat down on the couch, and its soft cushions enveloped me. The room smelled like vanilla and potpourri, a huge contrast to the stuffy, mildew smell at the house in the woods. Mom paced while on the phone. Dad headed into the kitchen. Grant and Kevin sat in the recliners opposite the couch. Both stared at me as if I’d sprouted eighteen heads. I shivered under the scrutiny of their gaze.

  When Mom hung up she whirled around, shoving a stray hair out of her face. “Your grandparents are so relieved. They wanted to drive over right away, but I told them to hold off until you’ve settled. But Dr. Wolfrey will be here soon.” Her nose scrunched up as her gaze traveled my body. “Oh, dear. We really need to get you in the shower and find you some new clothes to wear.”