Hold Me Close(75)

Mitchell had not picked her up tonight, so in the parking lot they prepared to part ways. It was too cold to stand outside talking for long. Effie pulled her scarf closer around her throat, wishing she’d worn jeans because her legs were freezing.

“Thanks for coming out with me tonight,” Mitchell said.

“Thanks for asking me.”

He pulled her a little closer but didn’t kiss her. His cheeks and the tip of his nose had gone pink with cold. Effie had thought his eyes were blue, but now in the diner’s bright parking lot lights, she could see they were more green.

“I’m not going to ask you again, about being exclusive. I get that maybe I jumped the gun on it.” Mitchell tugged her one more step closer. “But I do like you, Effie. And after we...well, that night at my house...I kind of got the idea you thought we might’ve rushed into that. And we did, I guess. Not that I wouldn’t like to do it again, of course.”

“Of course,” Effie said.

“I didn’t want you to think I was the kind of guy to sleep with a woman just casually,” Mitchell said. “Like it didn’t mean anything. I tried that a few times, and it’s never really what you think it will be.”

Effie would not have said never. Sometimes it was terrible, true, but she’d had plenty of great sex with men whose names she barely knew. “No, Mitchell. I didn’t think that.”

“I figured I’d tell you, because...well, I’m looking for something long-term, and if that’s not where you see us going, then I wanted to be up front about where I was.”


“Are you saying you don’t want to go out with me again unless I agree to be your girlfriend?” Effie frowned.

Mitchell nodded after a second, then shook his head. “I guess we don’t have to put a label on it. I just think that if you’re not interested in moving forward into something long-term...”

“You’re not going to go out with me again.” Effie pressed her lips together. “Well, Mitchell, I am looking for something long-term, eventually.”

He grinned but didn’t speak.

Effie’s smile was a little more tentative. “But I don’t like to make promises I’m not sure I can keep.”

“I won’t expect you to mop,” Mitchell said.

She chuckled. “Okay, well, that does make a difference.”

They looked at each other. She waited for him to kiss her, and when he did, it was really nice. That’s all it was. Nice. But what was wrong with that?

“I’ll call you later,” Mitchell said. “Drive safe.”

In her car, Effie checked her phone before pulling out of the lot. A message from Bill. She opened it.

Come over.

No, Effie typed. I told you. I’m dating someone.

Come over anyway. I’ll f*ck you. He’ll never know.

She deleted it without answering.





chapter thirty-three

They’ve been talking about the plan for days. They’ve saved the bits of paper, the small bits of butter or salad oil, anything they think will light. Heath has Daddy’s lighter, picked from his pocket while Effie distracted him. When Daddy comes downstairs, Heath will light the trash in the garbage pail on fire and use that to force Daddy to open the door. Effie will run, through the door, up the stairs. She’ll call the police.

“Too tight?” Heath asks. He tears off the piece of duct tape from the roll and smooths it gently onto Effie’s bare foot.

Without shoes, she’ll need something to protect her feet. She looks down at the silver sole and flexes her toes. “It’s kind of hard to move my toes.”

“It’ll have to do.” Heath sits back. “Okay. So when he comes down, I’ll set the fire. If I have to hit him, I’ll do that, too. When he opens the door, you run as fast as you can. Don’t look back, and don’t worry about me.”

She does worry about him. It’s been weeks since either of them had more than a few nibbles of food that hadn’t been contaminated in some way with something disgusting, but they’ve been holding off on the food because of the drugs. They have to be clearheaded, and the only way to make sure of that is to not eat more than the few bites it takes to keep them alive. When Effie stands too quickly, hazy lights flutter in the edges of her vision. Heath can’t be feeling much better.

They could starve to death before they have the chance to get out of here, but she’s willing to die if that’s what it takes.

Still, they’ve decided they have to try. Time is passing, and the longer they wait, the harder it will be. Lying in bed next to each other, holding hands, Effie listens to the in-out of Heath’s breathing. The orange lights have gone out, but the overhead brights could come on at any moment. Or in a couple days. They simply never know. So they have to be ready.

She sleeps and wakes to more dark. Sleeps again. Wakes to orange lights. They move throughout their day, playing cards. Sleeping. Portioning their small bits of food. Effie tests out her duct-tape shoes. The tape is starting to irritate her skin.

She’s not sure how long it is before the overhead brights finally come on, but she is instantly awake. Eyes wide. Heart pounding. Heath gives her a solemn nod. He lights the lighter, then closes the lid to extinguish the flame. He stands over the pail they’ve prepared.