Page 64 of That's Not My Name

Why is he lying? Why doesn’t he want me to know about Bowman’s visit?

I wish I walked outside. I wish Officer Bowman saw me and we got to talking. I wish I hadn’t listened at the door and let him drive away.

I must’ve spaced out because he sets a full plate of sausage and scrambled eggs and a fork in front of me. I blink at the eggs for a second, hearing his panicked voice drift back to me from three days ago.“I madebreakfast on autopilot. The eggs were for me—it never even crossed my mind that you wouldn’t remember you can’t eat them…”

I stab at a sausage, all the thoughts in my mind spinning together like a tornado of worry until my fork scrapes the plate. I’ve inhaled everything.

Wayne stands on the other side of the island and raises an eyebrow. “Hungry?”

“Yeah. I guess I was.”

He takes my plate without finishing his own breakfast and sets it in the sink along with the sausage pan. He doesn’t touch his food when he comes back to the island. “So I have some pretty fantastic news.”

You’re going to tell me the truth for once?“Yeah?”

“I got a call from the contractor this morning. He says they’ll be done with the floors by this afternoon. They’re just cleaning up, but it’ll look like they were never there by about lunchtime.”

I stare at him.

He must read the confusion on my face because he leans forward. “We can go home.”

A wave of fear nearly knocks me off my stool. The floors brought us to the cabin in the first place. And now the floors are done. Which means he wants to leave…

The moment I’ve been waiting for has arrived. I get to leave this isolated hellhole and be around people. My real house. Places that might do more for my memory than this cabin. I should be happy, but all I feel is a crushing panic.

What if we’re headed to another kind of isolation? I’m homeschooled, so I might not see another soul for a long time. At least here, Officer Bowman knows where to find me. Nobody I remember will know where I am once he takes me home.

Unless Wayne allows it.

The tips of my fingers go cold. I’m acutely aware of his eyes on my face, so I grin. Like the happy, complacent daughter he expects me to be. Mary would be excited to go home. “That’s amazing news.”

He smiles too. “I knew you’d be excited. We can pack up and head out in a little bit. Might beat some of the afternoon traffic if we can hit the road by eleven.”

That’s in less than an hour.

I hold onto my smile, but inside I’m hearing Officer Bowman promise to come back and check on me. Wayne smiling and agreeing. Like we’d be here. He didn’t take a call between the driveway and the house, so it’s not like the contractors called him on the porch and gave him the news. He had to know that we were leaving soon, but he didn’t say anything to Officer Bowman.

Also, how did they replace a whole house full of floors and kitchen cabinets in five days?

Something’s happening here. I don’t know what it is, but I don’t like it one bit.

“Mary? What do you say? Want to head out?”

No.

“Sure, yeah. That sounds good to me.” I claw my way out of my own head, so I can pretend I’m not drowning in bad vibes.

Everything is fine.

Everything is fine.

We’re heading home. It’s fine.

He clears the rest of his dishes from the counter, polishing off his coffee before setting the mug in the sink. “Why don’t you get your things from your room ready to go, and we’ll hit the road? I’ll grab you a box as soon as I’m done with the dishes.”

I nod and as I get up from the island, my gaze falls on the basket beside the fireplace, where all the burnable materials from the last few days have accumulated. Frozen sausage boxes. Paper towel rolls. An egg carton. Various other cardboard food boxes.

And on top—a crumpled piece of white paper.

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