A Duet of the Soul

Chapter 24: What Ifs

*Maria's POV*

At this time a week ago, I was getting ready to go meet the cute guy and his friend in a coffee shop to clear the air about a misunderstanding. I thought there was no way either of them were connected to Ciara's death, and I wanted to let them know I didn't hold them responsible just because a serial killer used one of their songs they wrote in high school. A few hours later I had been enjoying a lunch date with a man whose looks charmed me and his personality sent butterflies cascading through my body.

Now, I'm struggling to put myself together this morning as I know I'm expected to go downstairs to see my kidnapper's mother off as she leaves to return to Chicago. I had flirted with the idea of escaping throughout this past week, but I became too lazy and comfortable with the life he was offering me. I thought I could take my time and eventually slip away from his grasp.

I had never been so wrong before.

My stomach gurgled as I sat on the edge of the bed. I had slept through breakfast and it was almost lunch time. Over the past week I could tell that I'd gained back some of the weight I'd lost while living in my traumatized state of mind over the last couple of months. I had dropped down to eating maybe once a day, but with Justin, he made sure I ate at least a little bit for every meal.

Except this morning.

He let me sleep in until just a little bit ago, but – according to him – now it was time to get up and eat.

Last night I had barely touched my food at dinner as his mother chirped away about what was going on with their family and friends back in Chicago. I tried to keep up at the start but gave up soon enough. Part of me knew it was important to garner every ounce of information from her as I could before she left, but I just didn't have the energy to keep up with all the details.

I had excused myself early and climbed into bed, quietly crying myself to sleep. When Justin came to bed, his arms wrapped around me and pulled me close as he did every night. A new wave of tears spilled out onto my pillow as I sobbed for the loss of my freedom and my forthcoming future marriage. He held me while I cried without saying a word to try to calm me down. Just before I fell asleep, I heard him whisper in my ear, "I'm sorry, baby girl... Good night, Maria. I love you."

"Good night, Justin," I mumbled in reply. In a way, I appreciated him letting me get all my tears out. Then again, why should I be grateful to the man who caused my tears in the first place?

Even though Justin had a plan to help me break away, I knew it wouldn't work. His mother already indicated that they knew he was planning something, and there's no way he'd be able to sneak around something as large as an elopement with another woman.

My eyes were puffy from all my crying last night, but there wasn't much I could do about that. I rolled out of bed and quickly showered, not bothering to wash my hair today. I threw on my dark blue jeans, white socks, and a plain black long sleeve shirt. I let my wavy strawberry blonde hair fall around my shoulders after a quick brush through. That was the best they were going to get from me today.

I met Justin and Kathy downstairs in the living room where he was giving her a hug goodbye. "Just in time!" she called out to me.

I mustered up the best smile I could and met her in the doorway to the living room. "It was really nice to meet you, Kathy."

"The pleasure was mine. I'm so happy Justin has found such an amazing woman. Next time maybe you two could come down to visit us, and I'll introduce you to the rest of the family." She gave me a tight hug then picked up her bag and walked out the door.