the top of her lungs, “No, Charlie, you can’t leave! Wait, don’t go! Oh, God, please don’t go! I don’t want to stay here alone. Please, Charlie, think about the note! It’s not true, you know it can’t be true, because I would never go and leave you without calling, I wouldn’t, you know that!”
But as she stood there screaming, frantically waving arms at him that she knew he couldn’t see, he continued to turn away from the door. Then, still holding the note, he took a step forward, away from the house, then another and another.
“No, Charlie, don’t, don’t go!” Tanner screamed, tears of frustration gathering in her eyes. “I’m here, I’m here, Charlie, oh, God, why can’t you hear me?”
Charlie stopped, and for just one breath of a second, Tanner thought he might somehow have heard her. But instead of turning around, he began walking again.
And although Tanner continued to shout as loud as she could, jumping up and down and waving her arms frantically, begging Charlie to wait, he continued on down the walkway until he was out of camera range and had disappeared from sight.
With a loud, pained wail of defeat, Tanner sank to her knees on the soft, thick, turquoise carpet.
Chapter 7
T ANNER DIDN’T KNEEL ON the carpet for long. The image of herself, crouching on the floor in tears, revolted her. And she couldn’t stand the thought that the intruder might return at any moment and find her in such bad shape. Whatever it was he was looking for with this crazy plan … satisfaction, he’d said, whatever that meant … she wasn’t about to give it to him so soon, like an early birthday present.
She stood up, wiping her eyes on a bedraggled tissue she unearthed from the pocket of her sweatpants. Glancing at the German cuckoo clock above the fireplace, she saw with dismay that it was only one A.M. ! Hours yet to get through before morning arrived. Hours!
Oh, Charlie, why didn’t you hear me? she cried silently.
The room had grown colder, and her bare feet felt as if she were standing on the frozen pond behind campus. She went into the tiny powder room, hoping for a nice, warm towel, but there were none. Only a handful of crisp paper towels, too small and stiff to substitute for socks.
She cupped her hands under the faucet in the tiny sink, temporarily quenching her thirst. “I would kill for a toothbrush,” she said aloud, but had to settle for scrubbing her teeth with a dampened finger. A sound like distant thunder from her stomach reminded her that she was hungry, but the kitchen might as well have been a thousand miles away for all the good it did her.
When she left the powder room, she told herself that the best way to make the night pass quickly was through sleep. If she lay down on the couch and closed her eyes, when she opened them again, it would be morning. Morning would surely bring help of some kind. Maybe the intruder had lied, and Silly was fine. She’d show up, bright and brash as always, and sooner or later, she’d discover Tanner locked in the music room and let her out.
And if Silly wasn’t all right, if she really had had some kind of accident and didn’t show up at all, Charlie, at least, would be back. Charlie wouldn’t believe that note, not after he’d thought about it. He’d come back. He would. If she wasn’t sure of anything else in the world, she was sure of that much.
Tanner lay down on the couch, but sleep was impossible. She kept listening for the sound of a key in the lock, telling her he had returned. She was cold, very cold. There was nothing in the room to use as a blanket. Her feet were like ice, even when she stretched the legs of her sweats down over her toes and tucked her feet underneath her. Unable to sleep, she was forced to think about her situation. Unreal, bizarre, but there it was. Time to face it.
She was locked in a soundproof room. No food. Nothing to keep her warm as the night grew colder. Shouts for help wouldn’t do any good,
But as she stood there screaming, frantically waving arms at him that she knew he couldn’t see, he continued to turn away from the door. Then, still holding the note, he took a step forward, away from the house, then another and another.
“No, Charlie, don’t, don’t go!” Tanner screamed, tears of frustration gathering in her eyes. “I’m here, I’m here, Charlie, oh, God, why can’t you hear me?”
Charlie stopped, and for just one breath of a second, Tanner thought he might somehow have heard her. But instead of turning around, he began walking again.
And although Tanner continued to shout as loud as she could, jumping up and down and waving her arms frantically, begging Charlie to wait, he continued on down the walkway until he was out of camera range and had disappeared from sight.
With a loud, pained wail of defeat, Tanner sank to her knees on the soft, thick, turquoise carpet.
Chapter 7
T ANNER DIDN’T KNEEL ON the carpet for long. The image of herself, crouching on the floor in tears, revolted her. And she couldn’t stand the thought that the intruder might return at any moment and find her in such bad shape. Whatever it was he was looking for with this crazy plan … satisfaction, he’d said, whatever that meant … she wasn’t about to give it to him so soon, like an early birthday present.
She stood up, wiping her eyes on a bedraggled tissue she unearthed from the pocket of her sweatpants. Glancing at the German cuckoo clock above the fireplace, she saw with dismay that it was only one A.M. ! Hours yet to get through before morning arrived. Hours!
Oh, Charlie, why didn’t you hear me? she cried silently.
The room had grown colder, and her bare feet felt as if she were standing on the frozen pond behind campus. She went into the tiny powder room, hoping for a nice, warm towel, but there were none. Only a handful of crisp paper towels, too small and stiff to substitute for socks.
She cupped her hands under the faucet in the tiny sink, temporarily quenching her thirst. “I would kill for a toothbrush,” she said aloud, but had to settle for scrubbing her teeth with a dampened finger. A sound like distant thunder from her stomach reminded her that she was hungry, but the kitchen might as well have been a thousand miles away for all the good it did her.
When she left the powder room, she told herself that the best way to make the night pass quickly was through sleep. If she lay down on the couch and closed her eyes, when she opened them again, it would be morning. Morning would surely bring help of some kind. Maybe the intruder had lied, and Silly was fine. She’d show up, bright and brash as always, and sooner or later, she’d discover Tanner locked in the music room and let her out.
And if Silly wasn’t all right, if she really had had some kind of accident and didn’t show up at all, Charlie, at least, would be back. Charlie wouldn’t believe that note, not after he’d thought about it. He’d come back. He would. If she wasn’t sure of anything else in the world, she was sure of that much.
Tanner lay down on the couch, but sleep was impossible. She kept listening for the sound of a key in the lock, telling her he had returned. She was cold, very cold. There was nothing in the room to use as a blanket. Her feet were like ice, even when she stretched the legs of her sweats down over her toes and tucked her feet underneath her. Unable to sleep, she was forced to think about her situation. Unreal, bizarre, but there it was. Time to face it.
She was locked in a soundproof room. No food. Nothing to keep her warm as the night grew colder. Shouts for help wouldn’t do any good,
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