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I ask her a few more details, and, after we hang up, I take a few deep breaths in front of the mirror. I need to be calm enough not to commit manslaughter. Breathe in, breathe out.
I nod at my angry, disappointed, already regretful reflection and come out of the bathroom.
MGM is slumped on the floor, looking up at me with a guilty expression.
“I’d called it off,” is all he says.
“Oh, that’s not the issue.” I wanted my tone to be glacial but the words come out too high-pitched. “The problem is that at any point in the past twenty-four hours, you thought it was okay to keep me here against my will. To take the choice away from me.”
“That’s not how it was.”
“How was it then? Explain it to me.”
“Since we’ve met, you haven’t given me a fighting chance. I only wanted you to spend an evening with me to show you I’m not a monster. That I’m just a regular guy.”
I scoff. “Let me get this straight. You thought the best way to show me what a chill dude you are was to hire actors to tell us a tree had fallen down the road so that we couldn’t go back to the hotel and I’d be forced to spend the night with you?”
“Not the whole night. Just dinner. They would’ve told us they needed a few hours to clear the road and I would’ve driven you to the hotel afterward. The moment you said you wanted to go back I called the whole thing off.”
“When? Where was I?”
“In the bathroom.”
“And in this scenario of yours, what did you expect would happen if we had dinner, that I’d be so wooed I’d want to spend the night?”
“No, I just wanted to talk to you. For you to get to know me.”
“Oh, I’m getting there. One thing I don’t get though, is why you went through all the trouble of organizing a treasure hunt? I mean, you could’ve just roped me up, put me in the trunk of your car, and brought me here. I’ve been caged in before by a man, I don’t care for a repeat.”
“Don’t be like that.”
“Like what? I’m so sorry if a guy planning to kidnap me isn’t the cherry on my grand-romantic-gestures cake.”
“I wasn’t planning on kidnapping you!” His eyes widen as if the mere notion is inconceivable. “I was just forcing the circumstances a little like I did today with the hunt. You didn’t seem to mind that.”
“Because it was my choice to come! Oh my gosh.” I put a hand in my hair. “I can’t believe I almost fell for it. For you being a nice guy.”
“I am a nice guy. And to answer your earlier question, I wanted to make today exciting because you said you regretted your childhood being too short and I wanted you to have fun for a day without thinking about work or anything else.”
His answer threatens to shake my resolve. It is actually the sweetest thought, but I can’t let myself be fooled. Not again. I’m done with liars and schemers. So instead of cooling down, I lash out. “Well, thank you for the whole Goonies experience, but I think I’ll pass on everything else. I’ve been in a manipulative relationship before, I won’t be gaslighted again.”
His eyes widen in shock as if my words have hit him like a slap to the face. After the initial shock, I can read the deep hurt in his gaze. His shoulders slump and he looks away. “Don’t worry, once we get out of here, I won’t bother you anymore.”
“Good.”
“Good.”
“Which one is my room?”
He points to the right, still not looking at me. “The bed is made, and there are clean towels in the closet. The kitchen is fully stocked if you get hungry. Let me know if you need anything else. I’ll head to my room and give you space.”
Without another word, he turns to the door on the left and disappears behind it, closing it with a soft, anticlimactic click.
I rush across the living room, disappearing behind my door. Eyes blurry with tears, I fling myself onto the bed and quietly cry into the pillow until all my tears are spent.
Am I overreacting?
I straighten up on the bed and notice I’m still clutching the satellite phone. Without hesitating, I call Marissa.
