Page 54 of Breaking the Rules of Love

He nods. “I’ll wake you when we get there.”

I don’t want to give in. I want to just stay awake out of spite, but at the same time, that would mean having to awkwardly sit here and avoid conversing with him.

So with a sigh, I curl up in my seat and lean against the door, using my purse as a pillow. “You know I have a shift to work tonight, so you better make sure you get me back for that.”

“No, you don’t,” Jake replies. “I called Cherry’s and told them you were sick. We are all good.”

He looks at me with a “gotcha” grin on his face, and it’s then that I realize that he truly has everything completely planned out. Whatever that everything is.

There’s nothing I can do but accept that and go along with his plan.

“Okay then,” I reply as I lean against my purse and close my eyes. “Well…wake me when I get there, I guess. Whereverthereis.”

38

Sadie

It’squiet when I wake up. The car also isn’t moving. I guess that means we’ve arrived at our destination.

I don’t know how long I’ve been asleep, and it seems like Jake still has my phone, but when I open my eyes, the sun looks like it’s about midway high in the sky. Now I’m no astronomer, but I’m pretty sure that means it’s around noon. So I guess that means we’ve been driving for four hours or maybe a bit more. That means we’re past Boston.

I sit up and look around and see nothing but trees. Tall pine trees all around me stretching high into the sky. If I didn’t know Jake like I did, I would suspect he’d taken me out here to murder me. Even now I’m like seven percent still debating.

There are no signs of him, but when I glance out the driver’s side window, I see a cabin I hadn’t noticed before. It looks like a nice combination between rustic and modern. Like a getaway for people who have a little bit of money.

Wiping the sleep from my eyes, I climb out of the truck and walk up the dirt drive to the porch. The air here is unbelievably fresh and crisp. We must be in New Hampshire or Vermont. I guess we could have made it to Maine, but not very far up.

I push the front door open and find Jake inside feeding a small fire in the open fireplace of the large living room. He looks up as I enter and smiles.

“Hey there, sleepyhead. How you feeling?”

“Where are we?” I reply. “Because I feel like this is how a sketchy Hollywood horror movie begins, Jake.”

Jake drops a log on the fire and starts cracking up. He steps back and takes a seat on the couch.

“Right, Sadie,” he laughs. “This whole thing has just been one big scheme for me to get you up here to my secret cabin where I murder women. You found me out.”

“Well?” I shrug. I look around.

If it weren’t for all the secrecy and the weird way in which I was brought here, this cabin would actually be a pretty cozy place. The couch is enormous and very comfortable looking. The fire is starting to crackle, and one entire wall is made of glass that looks out back to the woods.

“It’s much less dramatic than that, Sadie,” Jake says. “It’s Vermont. And I brought you here so we could talk.”

“Jake, we’ve talked–”

“So we couldreallytalk,” he says. “And so I could tell you about me and have you listen.”

Anxiety grips my chest. Now I understand. But part of me can’t believe it. Jake really kidnapped me and brought me all the way out here, into the woods of Vermont, just so he couldtalkto me?

“Jake, no–”

“Yes, Sadie!” Jake’s voice booms. It’s so loud it actually startles me.

He stands up and looks down at me. He’s so tall, so strong. “Sadie, youhaveto stop with this shit. Whatever you think you’re doing to protect yourself, all you’re doing is putting your life on hold. I know it, your mom knows it, andyouknow it.”

I look away from him. Why can’t we just be here on vacation or something? This would be such a nice house to stay at on vacation. But then again, going on vacation with Jake would be breaking my rule too.

I don’t know what to do. My hands are starting to quiver.

---