Perfect (Rewrite)

Chapter Forty Five

Chloe woke up on the wooden floor on the wooden floor in the kitchen. Her head hurt, something had definitely struck her harder than it should have. She looked around the room before sitting up and hitting her head on the table; she rubbed her surely bruised skin and then looked around the room.

Someone entered the kitchen, so Chloe kept her mouth shut as they shuffled around the table, searching the cabinets for what she could only guess was food. The person left the room after a moment and then Chloe crept out from her hiding place, wondering whether last night had actually happened or not. It wouldn't have been the first time she had had weird dreams, but it also wouldn't have been the first time she had experienced an actual memory in her sleep. Maybe the padded white room hadn't been her and Melanie's first meeting place after all.

Melanie entered the living room and sat with Chloe on the couch; she acted as normal as ever. Chloe kept glancing to her cautiously, waiting for her to break out in song and dance, spilling her guts about last night, but she didn't. Instead, she sat in silence and stared at the blank TV screen.

Chloe shook off the urge to interrogate her after Jacob came down the stairs and sat on the couch with the two of them. Their six eyes focused on the blank screen until it was lunch time. Collin was placed onto the center of the table after David fed him, giving everyone a break from having to hold him. It was Chloe's turn after everyone was finished, and her arms were already sore, if only she had taken weights seriously her sophomore year. Then carrying around a baby wouldn't have been a problem.

The time came for Chloe to take Collin off of everyone else's shoulders. He laughed and spit the moment he came into contact with her skin, playing with her hair kept him quiet for a while, but Chloe stopped him once he started chewing on it. This made Collin whine, but he didn't scream in his attempts to get his way, instead he fussed silently in the comfort of Chloe's warm embrace.

Melanie sat by Chloe on the couch again and so did Jacob, it was a major deja vu moment for Chloe. It seemed like nothing else had happened, like they had never even left the couch. What if their last meal hadn't even happened? Chloe wondered if it was even possible for her to go that far insane. David entered the room soon after and sat in the recliner close to the front door, and then Margaret sat in the other chair. The five of them stared at the black screen, waiting for further orders, and Collin slobbered as he started playing with Chloe's hair again.

"Hold his hand," The man whispered into Chloe's ear, and then she glanced over to Jacob. He stared back until she averted her gaze. Her hand slowly made its way over to his, once her fingers reached his, they intertwined easily.

Melanie elbowed Chloe it he side and glared at their hands. Chloe shrugged her shoulders, turner her head back to the TV, and stared at it intently, while trying to keep her palms from sweating. She bounced Collin up and down with her right arm, he babbled on and on until Melanie relieved Chloe of her duty. The two of them went up the stairs, soon after, Margaret and David left the living room together and headed upstairs, leaving the two hand holders alone.

Jacob yawned and then released her hand; Chloe stretched her arms out, pretending to be more sore than she really was, hoping the man watching the camera wouldn't catch onto their scheme. Neither one of them wanted to hold hands, even though Chloe couldn't deny her slight attraction to him.

The room grew even more silent, which seemed impossible considering the quietness that had engulfed the room for at least the past hour. The others hadn't come back downstairs yet, and the man hadn't given the two of them any recent orders. Jacob leaned close to Chloe, and she tried to pull away. He stopped her by gently caressing the side of her head; then he leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. Chloe sat frozen in place, her eyes closed, and her desires too dangerous to be true.

He released her, but Chloe didn't reopen her eyes. A trance took her over, working its way into her brain, throwing away all her other thoughts. She finally looked to Jacob; he was staring right back, his teeth still perfectly straight, his body perfectly toned and fit. Chloe inhaled and then exhaled.

"Stand up and walk away," The man ordered quietly. Chloe glanced to the camera and then looked back to Jacob. She stood up from her seat and left him alone in the living room to wonder what would come of them.

After Chloe was in her room, she shut and locked the door before approaching the camera and saying, "I hate you."