chapter 17
280 Words
Day seven.
Ryan left at seven. One car.
No flip phone on the counter.
I cleaned. Made the bed. Did laundry.
At noon, I ate. Bread. Cheese. Water.
At two, there was a knock.
Not the doorbell. A knock. Knuckles on wood.
I went to the door. Didn’t open it.
Looked through the peephole.
Man. Not a suit. Jeans. Jacket.
Dark hair. Dark eyes.
Ivan.
He wasn’t supposed to be here. The car was gone.
He knocked again. "Andrea."
Not my name.
I stayed quiet.
"I know you’re in there." His voice was low. Not angry. Tired. "Ryan told me you don’t know me."
I said nothing.
"But I need to see your face. Just once. Then I’m gone."
I stepped back from the door.
"Andrea, please."
My hand went to the lock. Stopped.
She doesn’t know him. Ryan’s words from two nights ago.
Find him before she does.
I didn’t unlock it.
"I’m sorry about the park," Ivan said to the door. "I waited. Two hours. I thought..."
He stopped.
"I thought something happened to you."
Silence.
"But you’re here. With him. So I guess I was wrong."
Footsteps. Backing away.
Car door. Engine.
Gone.
I stood there five minutes.
Then I went back to the laundry.
Ryan came home at seven.
He looked at the door. Then at me.
"Anyone stop by."
"No."
He held my eyes.
I held his.
He nodded. "Good."
We ate.
At nine, the locks clicked.
I checked them twice.
Ryan went to the office. Door shut.
I went to bed.
Stared at the ceiling.
I waited. Two hours.
With him.
Ivan thinks I’m Andrea.
Thinks I chose Ryan.
Ryan let him think it.
- Writer
