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  He was dressed in some khaki cargo shorts, a t-shirt and flip flops. I didn’t bother explaining the temperature to him. Even in the winter he didn’t wear weather appropriate clothing. I pulled on my brown leather knee boots and grabbed my bag.

  “Not one word about the sweater. Yesterday was full of weird so I’m bringing my security blanket with me today. You ready?” I asked as I made for the door.

  “What was so weird about yesterday? Speaking of weird, you still having that dream about your mom? I thought I heard you yell last night," Kennan asked, trying to hide something behind his eyes.

  “Nothing and no, I’m not still having the dream," I lied. “I just want to be comfy today and we all know how much I love this sweater."

  I didn’t want him to know about the dream. I’d told him about it the first few times it had happened because it really freaked me out. That and I would wake up screaming. He had a tendency to rush into my room to make sure I wasn’t being mauled by an intruder. I’d gotten the whole screaming thing under control, for the most part. But there seemed to be something about the dreams that I couldn’t quite figure out. I didn’t want to share them with him or anyone for that matter.

  ***********

  We made our way over to the zoo pretty quickly. Since it was a weekday there were several field trips going on. I loved watching little kids at the zoo almost as much as watching the animals themselves. Their shear excitement over something wild being right at their fingertips was contagious. Then again, part of me was always sad about the animals never really knowing what it was to be free. We headed in and immediately made our way to my favorite display, the penguins. Thankfully, they weren’t sporting monocles or top hats..

  “Aren’t they so cute Kennan? It’s like they’re wearing tiny formal wear.”

  I turned to find Kennan staring blankly ahead. He was totally zoned out like he wasn’t even paying attention. He’d been doing that more and more lately. Either I was seriously starting to lose my marbles or something majorly weird was going on in the world around me. .

  “Earth to K.O., anyone home in there? Listen, if you don’t want to stay at the zoo we can head out, I think I’m getting hungry, anyway.”

  “Seriously Iz, how do you not know if you’re hungry?” he asked.

  We spent a little more time meandering through the zoo. He made jokes at my expense and I ignored him. It was finally feeling like a normal day again. Plus he bought me a pretzel, which left me being the happiest girl in the world. After a couple of hours we hopped on the bus and headed over to Millennium Park.

  “You want some lunch, Izzy? I’m thinking something fast, like a hot dog or something,” he said, spotting a vendor in the park.

  “Sure, sounds good,” I said, mostly because I knew it is a losing battle trying to peel him away from a hotdog stand.

  He grabbed himself four hotdogs, and one for me. I knew he was a big guy, but he seriously ate like a horse. I couldn’t stomach half of what he did, and if I tried I sure wouldn’t fit through my front door. We sat down on a bench overlooking the lake and proceeded to chow down. It took me about ten minutes to finish my hotdog and by then he was finished with all four of his.

  “Ready?” he asked grabbing our trash. “Hey you wanna walk over there or grab a cab?”

  “It’s such a pretty day. Do you mind walking?" I asked, hoping to hide the sadness in my voice. While we were eating, the date had snuck its way into my head reminding me what today was.. Two years ago today, I was sitting in a funeral home mourning the loss of my Grams.

  “Nope, don’t mind walking at all, as long as you don’t burst into tears on me. What gives?”

  “I just remembered what today is. Sorry, I’m fine, really I’m good. Let’s just head over there and I’ll go look at some giant totem poles and feel better. Deal?” I stared down at my toes trying to get myself under control. Before I knew what was happening, I was airborne and being tossed over his shoulder.

  He called it the duffle bag approach. I called it annoying. I beat on his back trying to get him to drop me. He was laughing as he placed me back on solid ground; effectively pulling me right back to today and out of the pastKennan had an uncanny knack for being able to pull me out of my head when I got lost in memories.

  By the time we made it to the Field, it was almost closing. The guard at the front told us there was only an hour left. So, I headed straight for my favorite exhibit. Kennan hollered he had to use the facilities at me and darted off towards the men’s room. I just waved and headed to my isolated display.

  I was shocked to see some of the lights illuminated in the exhibit. Mostly because the museum was almost closed but also because most visitors tended to go to the jewelry or dinosaur exhibits. I walked into the display area and headed to one of my favorite cases. I was lost in my own thoughts imagining what it must be like to revere the earth as the Native American’s did, when a hand tapped my shoulder. I knew that feeling. I’d felt it just yesterday. A heady mix of fear and anticipation assaulted me, like I was about to plunge down the first hill on a rollercoaster. I turned, already knowing who the hand belonged to.

  “Hello,” he said in his deep baritone. “I don’t know if you remember me, but we met yesterday. You delivered some stuff to my office.”

  I knew full well who he was, but I feigned ignorance and stared blankly. After a moment I responded.

  “Oh yeah, you’re the guy from the top floor of that huge building." Clearly, this was not the response he was expecting. He scowled for a moment before plastering what was meant to be a convincing smile on his face.

  “Well, if that is all that made an impression on you, I’ll have to try harder for next time. Say, do you have any dinner plans this evening?” he asked, raking his eyes from my head down to my toes.

  I mean, seriously. I was so not dressed to impress. Besides, I didn’t appreciate being ogled by mister split personalities. I didn’t even get a chance to form a response before I heard Kennan’s approach. He seemed more than willing to answer for me.

  “She already has dinner plans. Furthermore she has no interest in developing any association with you,” his voice held a barely contained menace. Somehow the accent was off, almost foreign. I turned to make sure it was really Kennan. And were those tattoos that I just saw?

  “Well, I think we should let the lady decide whether or not she would like to dine with me, don’t you?" Mister fancy pants was nonplussed by my suddenly overbearing roomie. I decided to intervene before they proceeded to pee all over the ancient artifacts.

  “I appreciate the offer sir, but I don’t interact socially with clients." I smiled at him with the most genuine, sweet-tea, southern smile I could muster.

  “That truly is a shame, my dear." He said it as a threat.

  I grabbed Kennan’s hand and jerked him out of the museum before he burnt the whole thing to the ground just to bury the man inside.

  I didn’t speak to him the entire way back to the house. I was so confused about what had really just happened. I felt like they’d been talking a whole different language with subtext I couldn’t even begin to decipher. I was kind of pissed off that Kennan would step in and speak for me as if I didn’t have the right to choose my own suitors. Not that I would have gone out with Mr. Xander, but I would have at least liked the choice. I was beginning to feel like I didn’t know my roommate at all.

  **********

  SIX

  When we got to the house, Kennan paid the cab driver and we headed inside. As soon as I came inside he closed and locked the door. He turned to me with a wild look in his eyes and then just let me have it.

  “What in the hell do you think you’re doing talking to him, Iz? Do you even know who that was? No, you don’t do you? How could you possibly know? You don’t know anything. Listen to me carefully. You need to head upstairs and pack a bag. Fill it with everything you need. We’re going away for a little while.” He said it with that strange accent he used back at t
he museum. It was almost Irish or Scottish but older somehow.

  I stood there gaping at him, and then all hell broke loose inside of me. I was tired of feeling like I was not a player in my own life. There was a pressure building inside of me and no release valve to let it out. Between the dreams, Kennan being all crazy for the past few months, and the events of yesterday and today, I’d had enough.

  “What in the hell do you mean we’re going away for a little while? I’m not going anywhere with you. I don’t know what it is you think is going on, or who you think you are to tell me what I can and can’t do. You are sorely mistaken sir. You aren’t my keeper, nor are you my parent. So just back the hell off."

  He quietly walked into the kitchen and came back holding something in his hand, maybe a towel.. He grabbed me so quickly I didn’t even see him move, pressing the towel to my mouth in the process. As I started to lose consciousness I heard him whisper, “I’m so sorry, Iz."

  Then, it was oblivion.

  **********

  I awakened slowly to the feeling that I wasn’t standing still anymore. Realization slowly started to sink in. I looked around me and noticed that I was in the back of an old SUV of some sort. My mouth felt like it had been stuffed with cotton and my hands and feet were tied down to something. I started to panic, and as soon as the scream bellowed up in my throat, I saw a hand reach out from the front seat with the towel of doom. This time, there was no apology.

  **********

  I came to again, and before the towel could descend upon me with its nocturnal powers, I screamed. I saw Kennan jerk with surprise from the driver’s seat. He glanced over his shoulder at me. I didn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry. Instead, I started in on calling his mother some rather unsavory and unladylike names. Then I told him where he could go, and what kind of monster I really thought he was. I think I might have also suggested he perform some anatomically impossible tasks.

  He listened with that eerie calm he got sometimes. He waited until I had gotten it all out of my system before saying anything.

  “Are you finished? If so, I will pull over at the next truck stop and untie you so that you can use the restroom. Before you get any ideas, I’m going in there with you. There is no escaping me now. Trust me when I say this, I will find you Izzy and I will drag you back. Always. However, if you behave and act normally, I won’t tie you up when we get back in the car.”

  So these were my choices. Be an amiable hostage to my suddenly psychopathic roommate or have him hunt me down like a dog when I slipped the leash. Neither one seemed like a great choice. I could fight, but I knew I would lose to him. I could run, but I was pretty sure he would still catch me. Plus, my arms were really starting to hurt from being tied in this position. If he was going to murder me, he would have already done it by now. Probably.

  “Fine, but you are so not coming in the stall with me,” I said as he started to exit whatever road we’d been traveling down.

  I thought I saw a glimmer of old humor in his eyes, but I was too mad to really give a damn. As we pulled into the truck stop, I noticed that the area looked nothing like home. The sun looked like it was about to set, which didn’t make much sense. I refused to ask him any questions though, and in all honesty, my bladder was about to burst.

  He parked us in a remote area of the lot, and climbed over the front seats to the back where I was tied down. As he reached for the ropes with a knife, I flinched. His face fell a little, but he quickly put on a blank expression, and cut me free while mumbling something about not hurting me. He opened the door and helped me out of the vehicle, ensnaring my hand with an iron grip. He effectively thwarted any brilliant escape plans I might’ve been hatching. He headed directly back towards the bathrooms and walked in with me like it is no big deal. No one seemed to notice, either.

  “I was serious about you not coming into the stall with me. There aren’t any windows for me to scurry out of. So you can release my hand."

  Reluctantly, he let me go. I took my time going until he piped up about coming in after me. It wasn’t like I was used to having to go with an audience. I came out, and hurried to wash my hands before he grabbed them again. As soon as I was done, he pulled me into the handicapped stall with him.

  “What are you doing?” I demanded as he locked the door behind me.

  “Well, I have to go. And since I don’t want you running off, I want you right where I can see you,” he said in that same accent. I was beginning to think the Kennan I knew was some kind of imaginary person.

  “NO WAY am I staying in here while you use the bathroom! NO WAY! I will go willingly with you back to the car, I will play nice. But I refuse to watch you pee!”

  “Then turn around. No one said you had to watch me. But if you want to peak, Lass, go right ahead,” he said as he unzipped his pants and I quickly turned away.

  Did he seriously just call me "Lass?" My mind was still trying to catch back up to everything that had happened. I was beginning to wonder if my crisis response system was offline.. But, as strange as it seemed, I didn’t feel like I was in danger with Kennan. I didn’t know if I’d developed Stockholm syndrome from living with him for so long, or if my instincts were broken. Either way, I was just going to go with it and see where it led me. He flushed the toilet and reached past me to unlock the stall.

  “It’s all put away, Iz. No need to fear now,” he snickered as he headed to the sinks to wash his hands. I followed like a deranged lap dog. Where else was I going to go, seriously?

  “Hey, are you hungry?” he asked as we headed out into the truck stop. Still, no one noticed us walking out of the women’s bathroom together.

  “Kind of,” I replied, deciding to be sullen and keep all of my answers as short as possible.

  That just caused him to drag me throughout the store, loading up my arms like we were two besties on a road trip. We headed to the checkout counter, and the cashier finally noticed us.

  “Oh, I didn’t notice you guys come in at all,” she said as if she had just snapped out of a daze. She rang us up and told us to have a nice night then we headed back out to the vehicle.

  We were riding in an old Jeep Cherokee, I realized. Not for the first time I was trying to figure out where in the world Kennan came by a vehicle. I climbed in and decided to keep my trap shut for a while. Suddenly, I started to feel queasy and my head began to throb, as if someone was reaching in and pulling the thoughts from my head.

  I must’ve made some sort of noise, because Kennan looked over at me quickly with a look of someone battling themselves in his eyes. He reached for the towel again. I tried to reach for the door to leave, but my head hurt so badly I couldn’t do anything. He slowly placed the towel over my mouth, cursing in some foreign language and then there was nothing.

  **********

  I awakened again, slumped over in the front seat. At least this time I wasn’t restrained. We were bumping along on some sort of gravel road in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere. Thankfully, my head no longer felt as though someone was trying to pry my brain out. As consciousness finally broke through my stupor, I realized I really had to pee. Half of me was afraid to tell Kennan, and the other half just really wanted to relieve my bladder of its current agony. I started to talk but my voice was hoarse.

  “I really have to go to the bathroom,” I said, sounding as pitiful as I was afraid I might be.

  To my surprise, he just stopped the car in the middle of whatever could be road we were driving down. He pulled out a roll of toilet paper from a bag in the back and handed it to me. I looked down at it like it held the answers to the mysteries of the universe.

  “I thought you had to pee. Or are you afraid to go in the woods by yourself. I can come with you if you really need me to hold your hand,” he said gruffly and without a hint of his usual humor.

  “No, that’s fine. I’ll just go park it behind some tree in the middle of woods while it rains. Sounds like a great plan to me.” I sounded s
narky even to my own ears, but I was irritated beyond belief. I’d been kidnapped by my only friend, taken to God knows where, and I didn’t have a clue what in the hell was going on.

  I climbed out of the car and headed to the nearest tree. I had to pee so badly I just ignored the embarrassing fact that he could probably still see me from the Jeep. I finished up and headed back to the vehicle.

  “Where to now? Or do you want to go ahead and suffocate me with your magic towel again?" I snapped as I buckled myself back in.

  “We’ll be where we are going to leave the Jeep in about an hour. You should eat something. You’ve been out for two days. I promise when we get where we’re going I’ll explain everything." Yup, man of mystery over there. I really didn’t like this new Kennan at all. While I was overly curious as to what in the world was happening to my seemingly normal life, I was also too stubborn to give him the satisfaction of asking.

  I distracted myself from my current situation by looking out the window. Everything my eyes could take in was green, and I did mean everything. I was afraid that if I stood still too long outside, I would end up covered in moss as well.. Then there was the sky, an endless blanket of grey that leaked a fine spray of constant moisture. It wasn’t even enough to really call it rain. I gasped taking in my surroundings. Good God! I didn’t know that ferns could even get that big. By the time we finally came to a stop at the end of the gravel road, I was totally entranced by the beauty of the place.