Page 19 of The Inmate
Mia
ChapterNine
PRESENT DAY
NATALIE
I endup letting Caleb take me out to dinner. I don’t quite feel like being alone or going home to my empty house, so we go to a chain restaurant and get some food. But we don’t talk much. My thoughts keep going back to Dawn and what could have happened to her. I can’t even articulate my worst fears.
When Caleb and I get out of the restaurant, the sun has dropped precipitously in the sky. In another ten or fifteen minutes, it will be dark. He squints up at the horizon. “Are you going to be okay getting home? You still seem a little shaky.”
“Yes,” I say, although it does make me nervous, given the afternoon I had.
He raises his eyebrows at me. “I know we both have our cars, but I could follow you if you want. Make sure you get home okay.”
“That is so sweet.” I lift my chin and pucker up, prompting him to kiss me. He grins and lowers his lips onto mine. “Youare so sweet. But I’m fine. Really.”
“Okay. But text me when you get home.”
I squeeze his hand. I do wish I didn’t have my car and could get a ride home in Caleb’s Ford. But it seems silly to make him follow me home, especially since he lives in the opposite direction. And what are we going to do once we get to my place? Make out? I’m certainly not in the mood for that.
Still, I wish he were coming with me. Maybe I should have taken him up on his offer.
When I’m halfway home, my phone starts ringing. “Mom” is flashing on my car’s phone display. I contemplate letting it go to voicemail, but I have a bad feeling I know why she’s calling. If I don’t answer, she’ll just call back.
“Natalie!” My mother always sounds like she’s shouting on the other line. She’s never learned to regulate the volume of her voice on the phone. “I just heard the news on the television. They said a woman at your company went missing!”
“Yes.” I don’t mention the fact that I was the one who discovered that Dawn was missing. I don’t think that information would go over well.
“Did you know her?”
“A little.” Again, she doesn’t need to know that Dawn occupied the cubicle immediately next to mine. That we shared a wall for nine months.
“God, how awful.” She sniffles. “Is it safe to work over there? I don’t like that neighborhood.”
“Nothing happened at work. It happened at her house in Quincy.”
“Whathappened? I thought she disappeared.”
I bite down on the inside of my cheek. “Look, work is safe. I don’t do anything unsafe.”
“I know, but honey, Daddy and I worry about you living all alone. I don’t think it’s safe for you to be in a house all by yourself.”
“You wouldn’t think that if I were a man.”
“Exactly! It’s not safe for a single woman.” Her voice takes on a whiny tone that makes my skin crawl. “You need to get married, Natalie. Enough of this… whatever it is you’re doing. Find a nice guy and settle down.”
I grit my teeth. “What do you think I’m trying to do?”
“Well, you’re not trying very hard! You’re a beautiful girl. You could have any man you want. Just pick one of them!”
I start to explain that it’s not so simple. But I have had this conversation with her hundreds if not thousands of times before. Possibly millions. She’s never going to get it. I’m just wasting my breath.
Of course, I could tell her about Caleb. I can tell her that things have been going really well with him, and he just might be her son-in-law someday. He’s cute and he’s a good guy and he’s good during a traumatic situation. But I don’t want to get her hopes up. It’s still early with Caleb, and truthfully, I don’t feel like fielding a zillion questions about him.
“I have to go,” I mumble.
“Where are you now?”
