Saving Hope

VIII. One Thing in Common

Hope made it sure that her neighbor didn’t get a glimpse of her the following day. He had been spying on her. She may not know it for a fact, but she could feel it. Years of imprisonment had taught her to trust her guts.

She stood by the window, hiding behind the wall, watching him go about his room.

Carl had long been gone.

It would have been the perfect time for her to work on the iron grill, but she had to handle her neighbor first.

He saw him peek through his window across to hers and then at the street.

It was not a normal survey of the street. It was like an obsession on his part, she thought.

He would constantly reappear in front of his window and look out at the street as if he was expecting something.

Hope knew what it was.

He had that look on his face.

Fear.

It was written all over his face. It may be subtle, easily hidden by his features, but it was visible to her. She could almost taste it.

She went back to her winged chair, deep in thought.

She could use his fear against him if she needed to.

But she had to know what it was he feared first.

Fear was their common denominator.

She just had to find out what made her neighbor climb out of bed in the middle of the night and to check his bedroom door and the window.

*****

Devin watched the news as he ate his breakfast.

They were still on the barrel case of the famous actress who went missing years ago.

He had to suffer minutes watching the screen flash old photos of the said actress.

He didn’t know her but she somehow perked a feeling of familiarity.

He shrugged it off. Maybe he had seen her in a movie in the past. That was highly possible since she was that famous as the news had said.

Walking back to his room to start working, he wondered why he hadn’t seen her neighbor. She should be working on that grill of hers by now.

Shaking his head, he reminded himself that he had a client waiting for him online. Spying on his crazy neighbor would have to wait until later.

*****

Before Carl could come home from work, Hope dropped on the floor to talk to Patty.

“Will you do me a favor?” her friend asked from behind the wall.

“I’ll do what I can. But you know I am chained so I hope you don’t ask me to do anything outrageous as walking down the stairs,” she joked dryly.

“Will you find my mother and tell her I am sorry if you get out of here and I can’t?”

Hope was shaking her head even before Patty finished her sentence. “No. We are going out together. Why are you even thinking you can’t get out of here? We will get out of here, Patty. I promise you that. Then we will make sure that the sick bastard gets what he deserves. We will live close to each other as we promised. We will go back to school, graduate, work and continue our dreams. We had a solid plan. Don’t waver.”

The silence from Patty’s side made Hope uncomfortable. It was not the usual silence they usually had.

“Patty. Did you hear me? I promise you that we are going out of here.”