He stares at me in confusion.
“Sir, I don’t know what woman she means. I’m there by myself. It’s not even big enough for more than one person.”
“No, you’re not!” I yell, frustrated. “You lying son of a bitch!”
I want to launch myself at him, but Jasper holds me firmly in place. Marvin glances at me, and I swear I see the faint outline of a smirk on his ugly face, then he shifts his attention back to Jasper.
“Sir?” He looks at him for some sort of help, for him to tell me to shut my mouth, but he doesn’t. He lets me bark, and while I rage at the piece of shit, I’m aware of what Jasper is doing. He’s observing Marvin; his responses, tone of voice, and body language. By nature, Jasper is a hunter—a predator—and the first lie he spins is safety. Prey does not flee from comfort.
“Well, this can be easily resolved,” he says calmly, interrupting my tirade. Annoyed that he cuts me off, I glance at him.
“Let’s go for a walk.”
Jasper’s words sink in.
Marvin’s face falters, and I see his Adam’s apple bob as he swallows nervously. “Right now, Sir?”
“Right now,” Jasper confirms.
The three of us walk through the woods, and none of us says a word. The only sound around us is the song of blissful, ignorant birds. They sing as if nothing in the world is wrong, their voices piercing the quiet, thin and restless, never quite settling. Marvin had suggested we take his van, but Jasper insisted we go on foot. His hand is wrapped around mine as we follow Marvin, and he gives me a soft squeeze from time to time. Being here, consciously, I realize it’s quite a hike. From memory, it seemed close by, then again, I was high on adrenaline.
When the cabin looms into view, trauma hits me, and I slow my pace, my body resisting being here once more after my last visit. I become alert, brittle. Before I can recover, his eyes are already on me. Jasper catches the change before I can hide it, and his attention sharpens the moment something in me goes still. Jasper’s breath fans my ear as he speaks to me. “I’m right beside you, Darling.”
It doesn’t matter. My body stays braced, every muscle waiting. Marvin picks up his pace.
“You two are the first visitors, visiting me here!” he calls out.
The sudden noise sends birds rushing from the branches, wings tearing through leaves, and something in me breaks.
“The bastard is warning her,” I snap, tearing myself free of Jasper’s hold.
I brush past Marvin, and throw myself at the door, wrenching the handle down until my knuckles burn. It doesn’t yield.
Snarling, I whirl back on him. Under the weight of my stare, he finally slides the key in, the lock clicking openagonizingly slow. I shove past him, push him aside, and storm inside.
Silence greets me—thick and unnatural. The room is pristine, stripped to the bone. Minimalist. Sterile. Nothing here suggests two lives intertwined. Nothing betrays her presence. But I know better. I am not mad. I am not imagining this. I know what I saw. I know the words he used against me.
I spin around, facing my tormentor.
“Where is she?!” I yell. “Where the fuck is she?!”
He eyes me up and down, arrogance on his face, as if he has won this round. With his back to Jasper, he challenges me. It dawns on me what he’s doing. He makes me look like an erratic idiot. I narrow my eyes at him. I want to scream, punch him, and skin him alive, but instead, I compose myself. I roll back my shoulders, willing myself to calm down. Jasper tilts his head at me, noticing the sudden change instantly. Marvin glowers at me in confusion. I threw him off. Now that I am no longer playing into his hand.
I step out of the cabin and slowly pace around it. Marvin follows me immediately, and with a few quick strides, Jasper positions himself between us, blocking Marvin. With him there, it makes it impossible for Marvin to come near me, let alone touch me. With each step, my confidence grows. When we reach the back of the cabin, I turn, quick and deliberate, and the mask slips just long enough for me to see it. This time, I am the observer. His nervousness hums beneath the surface. I keep watching him, counting the small tells. The hitch in his breath. The way his hands never quite settle. I notice how his composure cracks at the edges.
Inside the cabin, he was secure, confident, cocky even; outside, here, he’s on edge. He told me everything I needed to know. I amnotcrazy.
“I don’t know what you think you’re going to find out here,” he says, crossing his arms.
The mask is back on, but he already showed me he’s hiding something right here. In this spot. There’s something outside and he wants me gone, before I find out. Before Jasper finds out.
“I’m just enjoying the outdoors,” I say mockingly. “Feel free to go back inside.”
Jasper eyes me curiously, clearly enjoying how I took back control of the situation. The excitement shows on his face, his darkened eyes, and how he never loses sight of me. Seeing me like this, a predator like him. It turns him on.
I cautiously walk around the premises, stealing glances at my lover and my surroundings. My boots sink away in soft dirt, and I take a few steps back. With the tip of my shoe, I push into the ground, yet it doesn’t budge. I furrow my brows and walk a few steps further. This time, the ground gives way easily.
“Shoveled dirt,” I murmur to myself.
