It felt like we were on the set of a movie, but I knew the more we talked, the sooner we’d get out of this strange situation.
“I’m so glad I’m here with you,” I admitted.
Arnie’s face flushed at my compliment. “Everyone here is great,” he responded.
“I feel the most comfortable around you,” I continued. “We’re similar in a lot of ways.”
“Maybe too similar,” he added. But when he saw my taken-aback expression, he quickly backpedaled. “I just mean, we seem to both keep to ourselves a lot. The two of us as a couple probably wouldn’t experience many new things, or take a lot of chances.”
“I disagree,” I said slowly. “I think people who are alike make the best matches. You can understand the other person and empathize with them in a way others can’t.”
“You hardly need to be similar to empathize with someone,” he pointed out.
Suddenly my throat felt as dry as parchment. I reached for my water and took a gulp. Why did it feel like Arnie was letting me down easy?
“I couldn’t do this without you as a partner,” I said, hoping he would provide some sort of reassurance.
“I know you don’t feel anything for me. I would totally understand if you wanted to pick someone else.” Arnie’s words were hurried.
“No!” I exclaimed before bringing my demeanor down a notch. I couldn’t panic like this. “I’m glad we’re sticking together. I need us to stick together.”
Arnie looked at me for a while and finally nodded, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe there was something he wasn’t telling me.
Chapter Nine
“Calla,we’re going to be late.” Michael checked his watch as I ran around my mother’s house frantically searching for something. Why was I at my mother’s house, again? I couldn’t remember but I knew I needed to find...to find...find something. I couldn’t quite recall what it was, but I knew I needed it.
“I’m almost ready,” I called.
Michael shrugged off his jacket. “I’m going to go make some food if it’s going to be a while.”
“Don’t do that or we’ll never get there on time!”
I continued my frantic search. I took the stairs two at a time until I was in my childhood bedroom. I tore through the closet before moving on to my chest of drawers. My heartbeat started to quicken as the mild panic of not being able to leave on time set in. What was I even looking for?
I spun around, out of my room and I was in the apartment that I used to share with Michael. The one I had moved out of. This didn’t faze me as I hurried to the window seat I’d always loved—the one that overlooked the street below. The one that had made Michael and me sign the lease as soon as we walked through the place. I ran over to that seat andgrabbed my bag that was lying there. I threw it over my shoulder and raced back to the kitchen.
“I’m ready,” I said.
Instead of Michael, Arnie stood there staring down at me. “I think I’m just going to stay back,” he said.
“What are you talking about?” I asked. “We have to go.”
Arnie just shrugged, looking far too calm for my liking.
I grabbed his arm and tried to pull him toward the door. “Let’s go.”
He slipped out of reach and shook his head. “I’m okay.”
I jolted out of bed once again, dripping with a cold sweat. Gasping, I took a few deep breaths to steady my racing heart. God, I hated these dreams. They forced me into an endless sense of anxiety and dread while I slept, and then when I finally woke up, I felt stressed and wide awake.
The clock on my nightstand displayed two-fifteen a.m.
There was no way I’d ever get back to sleep. Especially since we couldn’t have our phones, a book, watch TV, or really do anything that might be a useful distraction.
As I lay there in the darkness, the hollow feeling in my stomach became increasingly noticeable until a loud grumble finally escaped.Crap. I had forgotten how hungry I was.
After the date—if you could even call it that—we’d rejoined the others for a little while before being sent to our rooms. Despite the dismal dinner, we were never offered more food.
