Page 64 of Death Match

I chewed my bottom lip. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

As he sat on the edge of the bed, I quickly scrunched my knees to my chest to allow space between us. He seemed confused by my actions.

“What am I doing here?” I asked him. Again, I tried to think back to the moments before waking up, but all I could come back with was the overwhelming sensation of this being wrong. That there was more to it. And that alone made my heartbeat skip with worry.

Cole stared at me for a long moment, brows pinched. It was obvious he wasn’t expecting me to ask that question.

I cleared my throat and continued. “Or…what are you doing here? That works, too. What-What are we doing here? Together.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, gaze searching my face. “My meeting isn’t until ten, so I have some time before I have to leave, and I figured we could maybe grab some breakfast—”

I shook my head. Clearly, he’d misunderstood what I’d meant.

“Where are we right now?” I asked, still trying to push for answers. At least something that stuck or triggered something else. But the more questions I asked, the more I sounded like a crazy person, even to myself.

His brows rose in disbelief. “Are you serious?”

“Humor me,” I said.

He sighed. “Er—Fairport. In our house.”

Um, what?Our house?As in, we shared a house together?

Was he implying that me and him—that we—we actually lived together in the same spaceby choice?

That uneasy feeling returned, warning me that this wasn’t right. I tried to dig for something in my mind to tell me why that was but couldn’t find a single thing.

Maybe my nerves were at it again.

“You had another one of those nightmares, didn’t you?” He stood and nodded, convincing himself that was what was happening here. Like it was something that happened all the time. “That’s what this is. Jade, we’re in Fairport. We’re just living our lives. No more craziness. Just you and me. The way we’ve always wanted.”

I heard his words but didn’t believe them. Didn’t understand why he was saying them. None of it made sense. Was he trying to convince me everything I’d endured was a lie?

Cole sighed. “Why don’t you get dressed? There’s something I want to show you. Outside.” He stood from the bed to give me some room.

“Uh—”

“Just get dressed,” he pressed a little more firmly. “And meet me in the driveway, okay?”

He walked to the door, his eyes softening as he took me in. “Please? Five minutes. Meet you there.” Then he walked out of the room.

Suddenly alone, I glanced around the room, searching for something but not exactly sure what. A sign, maybe? A hint that this wasn’t real—or that it was real. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to find exactly because waking up to fresh coffee and Cole? I’d take it any day of the week.

Cole wanted me outside in five—well, now probably four—minutes to show me something. Maybe if I played along, I could figure out what that annoying itch was and what it was I was supposed to be doing.

I leapt out of bed and ran toward the closet. Standing in front of the stocked shelves and hangers, I balked. Were these all mine? I didn’t know what to do with so many colorful sweaters, dresses, and shoes, but when I spotted the plain old jeans and tanks farther at the end of the rack, I snatched one of each and tugged them on. With some work boots on my feet, I was off out the door and down the stairs in a flash.

On the bottom step, I paused, taking in the beautiful old esthetic of the house. The room off to my left seemed to be a sitting room, but with all the plastic draped on everything and the paint cans laid out on the floor, it seemed to be getting an overhaul and a new coat of paint.

When I peered down the long, narrow hall, I could make out some more doors leading to other rooms and a kitchen all the way at the end. The temptation to go exploring was calling my name, but the blare of a car’s horn snapped my attention back to the front door.

When I opened it and stepped outside, there was Cole standing next to a brand-new compact car. He held his arms out like a game show host presenting the big prize.

“Here she is!” Excitement shined in his blue eyes. “Fresh off the lot and all ours.”

There was that word again.Ours. Not just his. Not just mine. Something we shared together.

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