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SAGE
Two hours later, we arrived at Alex’s house. It was on a dirt road a few miles out of Capac. It was a small one-story home. The siding was white, and it had a small porch with one chair on it. It was surrounded by trees on one side and had a cornfield on the other.
“You bought a house?” I asked as we pulled into the driveway.
“No, I rented it.”
Once Alex parked, we all got out. Niko grabbed all my bags, and Alex took my hand before heading to the front door. I fought the instinct to pull my hand away. I had to show him that I was okay with being touched. He opened the door, and I stepped in and looked around. The living room was bigger than it looked on the outside. There was one black leather couch in front of a big-screen TV. The carpet was gray and looked worn. The kitchen was right across from the living room, and it was small. Only one counter with a small sink and a couple of black cabinets. There was a card table and folding chairs in place of a kitchen table. I glanced down the short hallway and saw three doors.
“How many bedrooms?” I asked, scared for the answer. I wasn’t sure I could stomach sharing a room with him.
“Two. You can take my room. Niko and I will take turns sleeping on the couch.”
“Niko lives here?”
Niko chimed in. “You didn’t think we’d leave you with only one person watching over you, did you?”
I glared at him, wanting to get Alex alone. To help him choose to be with me. Niko could make that difficult.
“I told you, I’m not running.”
“I know, but we can’t really trust you right now,” Alex said as he motioned for me to go down the hall. “And Niko got me back on my feet after what happened up north.”
At least only one of the twins lived here. It was better than both of them. I followed him and went into the bedroom after he opened the door. There was a queen-size bed with a dark blue comforter on it. A tall light wood dresser with a small flat screen on top was in front of the bed on the opposite wall. Other than those things, the room was empty.
“This is where you’re staying. The remote for the TV is on the dresser. Here are your bags.” He handed me the bags and turned to leave.
“Alex, I was serious in the car. I want to be with you.” I tried to sound as natural as possible.
“It’s not up to just me. I have to talk to some people first. Until then, you’re staying here.” His eyes softened, almost back to his old self, and I smiled. There it was. The look I’d been waiting for. He was going to say yes. My excitement faded when I realized what he’d said. Who was it up to? People in his society? The choice to leave again flittered through my mind. If the others weren’t going to say yes, then I’d have to find a way to flee before it was too late.
Alex had shut the door as he left, and I looked again at the room. My own personal prison. The door didn’t have a lock. There was one window, and I rushed over to it, pulling on it, but it didn’t budge. It wouldn’t be possible to get out that way if I needed to. Going back to the bed, I dug through my bags.
“You’re not going to find what you’re looking for.”
I spun around to see Niko leaning against the doorframe with his hands in his pockets. I hadn’t even heard the door open.
“I figured, after that stun gun, that you’d have more stuff with you. I took the pepper spray and knife out of the bag back at the motel,” he said, watching me closely.
“Privacy would be nice. The door was shut,” I snapped, crossing my arms.
He scoffed. “Sage, there’s no such thing as privacy for you anymore.”
Alex appeared next to his brother at the door.
“Quit it, man. This isn’t easy for her, or for any of us. Give her a break,” Alex told him, and I flashed him a grateful smile. There was the guy I remembered.
“Alex, can I please go see my dad? I haven’t seen him since I left,” I pleaded. It was the one thing good that came out of this. I could finally visit him.
He hesitated and looked at Niko, who shrugged.
“We’re supposed to keep you here.”
“Please, just a short visit. I need to see him,” I begged.
Alex sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Okay. But we can’t be gone long.”
I beamed and didn’t even care that Alex was going with me. I just wanted to see my dad. We got back in the car, and Alex drove to the nursing home. It was early in the morning, but I knew my favorite nurse would let me in. We got out of the car, and I nearly sprinted to the door. I saw Sarah first. We hugged, and for a moment, I felt like I was back in my old life. How amazing it felt to be home. To have a bit of normal again. Sarah looked happy to see me, but that looked changed when she saw Alex.
“I thought you two were done,” she whispered, her arms still around me.
“We’re attempting to work it out. It’s okay,” I assured her, giving her a half smile.
Alex and I followed Sarah to my dad’s room. He was already up for the day. Sarah opened the door and started to walk back down the hall while giving Alex a death glare. He stayed outside the door as I went to greet my dad. Tears were pouring down my cheeks before I said a word. He looked like he had aged years in just the six months I’d been gone.
“Sage, how are you?” He wrapped me in a hug.
