12
W hen Emily awakened the next day, she instinctively reached across the bed to feel for Ava, but the space beside her was empty. She opened her eyes and glanced at the clock on the nightstand—it was already past nine. She couldn’t believe Ava had let her sleep so late. Hastily, she got out of bed, threw on yesterday’s clothes, and made her way to the kitchen.
Standing in the doorway, she took a moment to absorb the heartwarming scene. Roman stood behind Ava, perched on a chair, diligently mixing ingredients in a large bowl. Emily couldn’t help but reflect on how Gabriel had never done such things.
Roman looked up and met Emily’s gaze, prompting her to smile and say, “Good morning.”
Hearing her mother’s voice, Ava glanced up, her face lighting up with excitement. “We’re making pam cakes!” she exclaimed.
Roman chuckled and gently corrected her, “Pancakes.”
“That’s what I said,” Ava said.
“You should have woken me,” Emily said, going to the coffee machine.
“I figured you could use the sleep,” Roman said.
Emily poured herself a cup of coffee, “Yeah, I guess I did.”
They enjoyed a hearty breakfast of pancakes and bacon. Roman reached for the plates in her hands as Emily began clearing the table. “I got it,” he said. “You and Ava go play.”
Emily gently took the dishes back. “I insist. I need to start earning my keep around here,” she replied. “Besides, don’t you have some things you need to take care of?” She cast a meaningful glance at Ava.
Roman nodded. “Yeah, I do.”
Emily playfully shooed him away with her hands. “All right then, get going.”
“Okay, I can see when I’m not wanted.” Roman made his way to the doorway. “I’ll probably be gone for most of the day. I’ll pick up something for dinner on my way home.”
Emily smiled. “Sounds good. Don’t worry about us; we’ll be fine.”
“I’ll see you later,” Roman replied, walking out of the kitchen. Moments later, Emily heard the front door close.
As Emily did the dishes and tidied up the kitchen, Ava asked, “Is today a school day?”
Instead of explaining to Ava that it was a school day, but she wouldn’t attend, Emily simply said, “Not today, honey. Do you want to go outside and play?”
Ava clapped her hands, “Yay! I want to play outside.”
“Okay, but first we need to change your clothes.” Emily took Ava by the hand and led her back to the bedroom. She rummaged through Ava’s backpack, pulling out a spare set of clothes. It was then she realized that Ava would need more clothes soon.
Once Ava was dressed in fresh clothes, Emily made the bed before they stepped outside. They discovered an old sandbox on the property. Emily settled into an Adirondack chair and watched as Ava happily entertained herself, playing in the sand for a couple of hours.
“Do you need to go potty?” Emily asked, noticing Ava holding herself and wiggling in her pants.
“No, Mommy!” Ava insisted.
Emily got up from the chair and walked over to the sandbox. She extended her hand to Ava and gently said, “Come on, let’s go inside and use the potty.”
“Okay,” Ava said reluctantly.
As they headed towards the house, Ava suddenly exclaimed, “Uh oh!”
Emily quickly scooped her up and sprinted towards the door, but it was too late—Ava had already wet herself.
“It’s okay, honey,” Emily reassured her, bringing Ava into the bathroom. She carefully removed Ava’s soiled pants and underwear and placed her on the toilet. “Stay here,” she instructed. I’m going to put these in the washing machine.”
When she returned, she held the last pair of spare panties from Ava’s backpack but found no spare pants. “You’ll have to go without pants until the wash is done,” she informed Ava. “How about we watch some TV in the meantime?”
“Okay, Mommy.”
They went into the living room, where Ava climbed onto the couch as Emily turned on Ava’s favorite cartoon. Emily took a seat beside her but soon grew bored of the Dora the Explorer episode she had seen countless times before. Her eyes wandered across the room to a bookcase.
Maybe I’ll read a book , she thought, rising from the sofa and heading towards the bookcase.
She spotted a photo album on the shelf and had a better idea. Taking the album from the shelf, she returned to the couch and nestled beside Ava. She opened the album, and a smile spread across her face at the sight of a family having a picnic by the lake. In the distance, she recognized the very cabin they were staying in.
She flipped through the pages, watching as the summers progressed and the family of four grew older. Additional kids appeared in the photos, likely friends, she surmised. Emily came across a picture of two teenage boys, carefully removed it, and turned it over. The back read: “Travis and Roman, 1995.”
She turned the photo back over and brought it closer to her face. This time, she immediately recognized the familiar features of Roman’s face.
She placed the photo back in the album and continued flipping through the pages. Her heart stopped when she reached the final pictures, and a chill ran down her spine. She suddenly realized that Roman’s friend Travis, the owner of the cabin, was the same man she had met at the bar that night—the person responsible for drugging her.
Bile rose to the back of her throat. Emily jumped up from the couch, letting the album tumble to the floor, and sprinted to the bathroom, where she barely made it to throw up. She was leaning over the toilet, dry heaving, when Ava’s voice came through the door, “I’m hungry, Mommy. Can we have lunch now?”
Emily wiped her face on the back of her hand and said, “Sure, honey. Mommy will be right out.”
She flushed the toilet and went to the sink, rinsing her mouth and washing her face and hands. As she looked into the mirror, she silently confronted herself: What does Roman have to do with this ? Her thoughts swirled with disbelief.
She went into the kitchen and prepared Ava’s lunch. With no bread in sight, she rummaged through the pantry and found a jar of peanut butter and a box of crackers. She made Ava some peanut butter crackers.
“Aren’t you hungry?” Ava asked, noticing her mother wasn’t eating anything.
Emily’s appetite had vanished after what she had just discovered. “No, Mommy’s not hungry. I’m going to go put your clothes in the dryer.”
Emily spent the rest of the day in a distracted haze, her mind racing as she tried to devise a plan to get answers and find a way out.
At five-thirty, Roman returned to the cabin with a pizza in hand. “Honey, I’m home,” he called out jokingly as he walked through the front door.
Glancing up from the book she was pretending to read, Emily said, “Oh, hey,” before quickly returning to the pages.
Ava, who had been playing with her toys on the floor, exclaimed excitedly, “Pizza!” She eagerly followed Roman into the kitchen.
Emily set her book down with a sigh and got up to join them in the kitchen.
Roman placed a slice of pizza on a paper plate, giving Emily a sideways glance as he set it in front of Ava, who was already seated at the table. “Everything okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, fine,” Emily replied, opening the refrigerator. “Do you want something to drink?” she asked, sounding casual.
“I was thinking of having a glass of wine. Care to join me?” Roman offered.
“No, thanks,” Emily responded, taking a can of Coke from the fridge. She opened it, and Roman asked, “Did I do something wrong? I feel like you’re mad at me.”
“No, you’re fine. I’m not mad,” Emily replied, picking up her plate from the counter. She carried them over to the table and took a seat.
Roman joined her at the table and said, “I got your luggage,” his tone eager to please.
“Thank you,” Emily replied, taking a bite of her pizza.
“So, what did you guys do today?” he asked, trying to make conversation.
“Ava played in the sandbox. She had a little accident. I used the washer and dryer. I hope that was okay.” Emily said.
“Of course,” said Roman.
They got through dinner with a bit of small talk. Then Ava, putting down her half-eaten slice of pizza, announced, “I’m done. Can I go play?”
Emily picked up a napkin and wiped Ava’s hands and face. “Yes, you can play for a little while, then I’ll give you your bath.”
Emily waited until Ava climbed down from her chair and headed into the living room. Once she was out of earshot, Emily asked Roman, “Did you see Gabriel today?”
“Yeah.”
“And?”
“He didn’t see anyone. Just work and home.”
Hoping to learn more about Roman’s friend, Emily shifted the conversation. “Tell me more about the owner of this place. What did you say his name was again, Travis?” she asked, fully aware that Roman had never mentioned his name and watching closely for his reaction.
Roman turned away quickly, bringing his plate to the trash can, but not before Emily caught the fleeting look of a deer in headlights on his face. “What do you want to know?” he asked, attempting to sound nonchalant.
“I don’t know. What does he do for a living? Does he live nearby?”
“He lives in the area. Only about twenty minutes from here. He’s a research scientist for Merck Laboratories. Why the sudden interest in him?”
Shrugging, Emily replied, “I don’t know, just curious. I’d love to meet him one day and thank him for letting me stay here.” With that, she left the kitchen. “I’m going to give Ava her bath now,” she added as she walked out.
After bathing Ava, Emily joined Roman in the living room, where he was watching TV. Ava was wearing one of Emily’s T-shirts, which hung to her ankles.
“I’m going shopping tomorrow,” Emily announced as she settled onto the couch. “Ava needs some clothes.”
Turning to face Emily, Roman said, “I can take care of that for you.”
“That’s okay,” Emily replied. “I want to get out. I’m tired of being cooped up in the house.”
Roman frowned. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Em. What if someone recognizes you or Ava?”
“They won’t. I’ll wear a disguise if it will make you feel any better,” Emily insisted.
Seeing that he wasn’t going to change her mind, Roman sighed and said, “Okay, but let me watch Ava. That will lessen the chance of someone recognizing you.”
Emily nodded, “Okay.”
Ava came over to Emily and asked, “Can I watch cartoons?”
“Why don’t you play with your toys?” Emily suggested. “Roman is watching TV right now.”
Roman stood up and said, “That’s okay. She can watch them. I’m going to take a shower,” he walked away.
Emily picked up the remote and changed the channel. As she replaced the remote on the coffee table, she noticed Roman had left his phone behind. She watched as Roman went into the bedroom, grabbed a change of clothes, and then headed to the bathroom. She waited until she heard the shower running before grabbing his phone and entering his PIN. Quickly, she navigated to his contacts and sent a text to Travis.
“We need to talk. Meet me at Deli Delight at noon.”
Holding her breath, she stared at the phone, anxiously waiting for the three blinking dots to appear. When they finally did, she read his response: “OK.” She let out a sigh of relief. Quickly, she deleted her message and his response, then placed the phone back on the coffee table exactly where she had found it.
A few minutes later, Roman emerged from the bathroom and joined her on the couch, seemingly oblivious to what she had just done.