“That’s wonderful. Can I see?”
“Sure.”
She unlocked the door and turned the handle. Evelyn stepped in, smiling. She had a book tucked under her arm. It looked like a fantasy, but Naomi couldn’t see the title.
“You look perfect!”
Naomi pulled out an angled eye shadow brush. “I don’t know why you say that. I’m not going anywhere. Why did you even give me this?”
“I told you—for your birthday. That, and I know you want to look nice for tonight.”
“What’s so special about tonight? I’m not going anywhere.” She swept the brush across a shade of light brown and began applying it to her eyelids. She looked at Evelyn. “Am I?”
Evelyn laughed. She was wearing a deep purple sweater. She looked good in purple. It made her skin luminous. “We’re letting you go out into the backyard,” she said with a sly smile. “I thought you’d want to look nice for Jesse. We know you have feelings for him.”
Naomi struggled to keep her lips from turning up into a smile. Her plan was working. Maybe she wasn’t so much of a coward after all. She remembered the night Jesse had held her while she fell asleep. He had told her she didn’t have to worry about anything, and he had been right. He had only wanted to comfort her. She finished her right eye and moved on to the left. “I think he’s nice,” she said, shrugging.
It was true. He was very nice, but it was more than that. She liked the crispness of his shirts over his muscled chest, the way he tied his shoes in perfect bows. He had the warmest smile of anyone she knew, and every minute she spent with him was beginning to feel more relaxed. Those things made it easier to pretend she was falling in love with him. She was sure it was what they wanted. She would twist their game to her own needs. She imagined Brad’s face. She could almost feel his arms around her again. He must be missing her like crazy. But in a way, that thought seemed shallow.
Then she realized what Evelyn had said. She dropped the makeup brush and it clattered across the counter. “Did you just say you’re going to let me into the backyard?”
“Yes, I did.” Evelyn laughed and set down her book to pick up the brush. She ran her finger across the bristles. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes!” Her heart beat so fast she thought it might burst. She would give anything to breathe fresh air. None of them ever opened any windows. They seemed nervous that she might start screaming for help in hopes someone would hear her. She just might.
“Calm down, sweetie.” Evelyn handed her the makeup brush and Naomi glanced at the book on the counter. It was something she didn’t recognize, but definitely fantasy. Why did Evelyn have to be so cool? Was cool the right word? It was just that she loved yoga and good food and reading. She was beautiful and nice. Why did she have to be a criminal?
“It’s only the backyard,” Evelyn said. “It’s entirely fenced in, and if you make any move to scream or run, Eric will—”
“I know.” She looked down. “I know.”
“Eric’s going to grill some steaks when he gets home. The weather is finally nice enough, and I know how much you’ve been dying to get outside. This is the closest we can give you. I hope you understand.”
She nodded. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She reached up to sweep a lock of hair from Naomi’s forehead. “Are you alright?”
“What do you mean?” She held her breath and stared at Evelyn’s reflection in the mirror, at her perfect hair and clothes, at the scar beneath her makeup.
“It’s your birthday. Aren’t you upset at all? Memories and everything?”
Naomi tensed and took a step back, closing her eyes. Her life was this house now. She read books Jesse let her choose from the den. She slept and ate and pretended to know nothing about pool so Jesse could keep teaching her how to play. She stared out the window and watched the elderly neighbors take walks with their little white poodles. If the house was empty, she screamed at them, but no amount of noise ever made them look up.
“I’m fine,” she said as a lump formed in her throat. “I’m definitely fine. My mom and dad never did anything for me on my birthdays, and Brad—”
She lowered her eyes to the makeup palette. The colors blurred. Brad always gave her roses on her birthday. She had dried them all and kept them hanging upside down in her closet. Sometimes she found dusty petals on the floor.
“I’m fine,” she repeated as she straightened her shirt with trembling hands. “Really.”
“Uh-huh.” Evelyn folded her arms again. “I don’t believe you. There are always tear-stains on your pillow cases. You cry every night and don’t let us hear it. Why? Why are you hiding all your pain from us? We want to help you.”
What the hell? Were they completely stupid? They were
kidnappers.
She tensed the muscles in her arms and then relaxed them as she counted to twenty. She reminded herself that Evelyn wanted her here probably more than anyone.
“If you want to help me, then let me go.” She opened her eyes and glared at Evelyn. “I didn’t see anything in that parking lot. I don’t even know your last names. How can I lead the cops here? I’ll deny everything, I promise.” She took a deep, shaky breath. So much for building up trust. She was the completely stupid one.
Evelyn’s jaw tightened. She blinked fast and snatched her book from the counter. “I’ve got to go to the grocery store. Eric will come up to get you in a few hours.”
ERIC CAME home early. Naomi heard the garage door open and slid off the bed to see the black sedan pull into the garage. It was only three o’clock. He had never come home early before. She had tried to figure out what they did for work, but could only guess Evelyn was a hairstylist and Jesse was an architect who worked for Steve. The two were constantly talking at the dinner table about projects and companies who outbid them. That at least explained the shelf of architecture books in the den and the reason Jesse sometimes buried his nose in books with titles like,
Architecture: Space, Form and Order,
and
Building Codes Illustrated.
Footsteps approached her door. She moved away from the window. Eric had never come into her bedroom before. He unfastened the locks and stepped inside, still wearing his suit and a chocolate-colored silk tie that made his eyes stand out. They were bright today. She backed up until she reached the bed.
“What’s the matter?” he asked, stopping halfway across the room. “Are you alright?”
“Sure.” An obvious lie since her mouth was dry and her hands were trembling. She didn’t know why.
He crossed the rest of the room and stopped in front of her. “You look like you think I’m going to hurt you. I thought we were past that stage.”
She stared at the floor. “I’m sorry.”
“Look at me.”
She obeyed. He must have nicked himself while shaving that morning. She stared at the tiny spot of dried blood on his jaw and wondered if he would notice it later and get angry that he had gone the whole day with it there. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out what she quickly recognized as her diamond earrings. Her heart skipped a beat.
“I know it’s your birthday today,” he said, looking down at the earrings. “These aren’t a gift or anything, but I thought you should have them back.” He reached out to take her hand. His touch was gentle as he tipped the earrings into her palm. “They must mean a lot to you.”
Her entire body ached when she looked at them sparkling against her skin. “I guess they should,” she said softly, and bit her lip against the tears stinging the corners of her eyes.
Eric let go of her hand. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I thought you’d be happy to have them back. Evie told me you’ve been more concerned about your appearance lately. I thought—”
“No, no, it’s fine,” she stuttered, and turned away from him. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, but tell me why you’re upset.”
It was more of an order than a request. It reminded her of the time he had made her tell him she didn’t love Brad. She still didn’t know if she had lied about that. “My parents bought them for me.”
He folded his arms. “The earrings remind you of them? You miss them?”
She blinked in surprise. He didn’t get it. She couldn’t explain how she had felt that day in the jewelry store two days before Christmas. Her mother kept urging her to hurry up and choose something.
Squeezing the earrings even tighter in her hand, she focused on Eric. “I don’t think I miss them. These earrings, they remind me of—” She stopped and shook her head, unable to go on.
“How much they don’t love you?”
He waited for her to answer, but she had nothing to say. How did he know that? She remembered choosing the earrings as fast as she could, and as soon as the jeweler put them in a box and handed her mother the receipt, it was over. Her parents were late for a company party. They asked if she could walk home since it was only a few blocks away. She nodded and left the store, the box clutched tightly in her hand.
“It must be true,” Eric said. “You have a right to be upset about a lot of things. But I think your parents ... I think when you feel that way, it’s ....”
She had never seen him so hesitant before, stammering his words. Finally, he looked her in the eyes and unfolded his arms. “Let’s just say I understand.”
She doubted he did, but nodded anyway.
“You don’t have to wear them,” he continued. “I thought you might want to, but that’s not the reason I’m giving them back. It was impossible to sell them with the rest of the jewelry that we—”
His eyes widened in surprise at the slip.
The pieces came together. The jewelry store. How had she not figured it out before? They had robbed the jewelry store! The very one where she had chosen the earrings now squeezed tightly in her hand. She always passed by it on her way home from Brad’s. It was part of a strip mall and the only business worth robbing in that area. Eric had mentioned something about gold in the motel room when she was drifting off. It was the only explanation.
She tried to hide the horror spreading across her face, but Eric didn’t miss a thing. He blinked away a surge of anger and stepped forward. “You honestly didn’t see anything that night, did you?”
She shook her head, no longer feeling the need to cry, but to scream. He had kidnapped her to keep her quiet about a bunch of jewelry? Could anything be more stupid? She lunged forward with a raised, clenched fist aimed at his chest. She wanted to pound him until he was nothing but a bloody pulp.
Her fist smashed against his hard chest and she raised it again for another blow, but he grabbed her wrist and yanked her close. His eyes were dark. His jaw clenched. For some reason all she could do was stare at that spot of dried blood on his jaw. He smelled like cologne and garlic. He always smelled like garlic.
“You try that again and I’ll lock you in this bedroom with no food for a week.” He tightened his hold on her arm and she winced. This was the other side of him she had avoided for so long. This was what made her believe he would kill her in two seconds flat if she didn’t watch what she said and did.
She tried to splutter a few words out of her mouth, but he shoved her backward until she hit the wall. Her breath came out all at once, a loud gasp.
“I want this absolutely clear,” he said through clenched teeth as he leaned his weight into her. “You will never hit me again. You will never talk back. You will never show defiance. Tell me you understand these rules.”
She cringed. She wanted to melt away from his grasp and dissolve into the wall. “Y-yes,” she stuttered. “I understand.”
“Good.” He stepped back and let her go. With a long, deep breath, he calmed himself and seemed to relax. She thought she might be sick. If he exploded so easily, she hated to think what he would do if she tried to escape. Nothing pretty.
“You know I don’t want to hurt you,” he said softly. “In fact, it’s the opposite. Your parents cause you more pain than we do. That’s why you’re content to stay here.”
The earrings in her fist weighed her down like boulders, but she kept herself standing tall, her heart beating fast and hard. She wouldn’t think about her parents. She wouldn’t. Her heartbeat was so loud she thought she might have to cover her ears. Eric interrupted the noise.
“I’ve watched your parents on the news reports,” he said, softening his expression. “I feel sorry for you, Naomi. We all do.” He stepped close enough to lift her face so she had to look into his eyes. “It’s too bad I had to frighten you just now, but you have to know I won’t put up with that kind of behavior. I just don’t know if it’s possible to make you happy yet.”
She was stone still beneath his touch. The diamonds felt like they would cut right through her skin.
XI
NAOMI FOLLOWED ERIC DOWNSTAIRS through the patio doors. When she took a deep breath her body tingled. She closed her eyes. There was sun and a breeze and chirping birds. Birds! She had thought she would never hear such a sound again. She soaked in as much as she could.
“Well, come on.”
She opened her eyes to see him motioning her to the patio, his eyes trained on her. She was sure he thought she would try something, but at the moment she only wanted to stand in the sun. She stepped forward. Most of the patio was shaded above by the balcony. She smiled when she reached the patio bricks, warm from the sun. She wiggled her toes and Eric cleared his throat.
“You like this, don’t you?”