Ever since telling that red head off and leaving that person at the airport, Adam couldn't convince himself to believe her words. It seemed too rushed for a plan that could have possibly worked. Perhaps that was what happened. He couldn't get the thoughts to leave.
He couldn't bring himself to believe Eleanor was actually dead, even though every bone in his body was screaming at him to just get over her. He had a gut feeling that she wasn't dead, that she was out there somewhere on this Earth and he would find her.
Do other people have it easier, when the love of their life dies, does it only take them a year to get over it. It felt like it would take him a lifetime. The thought of her faking her death plagued his mind constantly as his wedding day approached and a happy-go-lucky Magdalene continually attempted to cheer him up.
She couldn't do much when his head was in the gutter and his heart splayed across the street. Every night he walked over to the street trying to think of how Eleanor could have faked her death. He had shown up a couple minutes after everything had happened; that wouldn't give enough time for anyone to steal her body. The truck driver would have seen someone right?
And every night he stood there, he slowly drifted farther away from Magdalene. He had stopped going on February 18. He had stopped thinking on February 18. He had stopped living on February 18. Adam had unmistakably buried himself in a pool of Eleanor's blood and all the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn't put Adam together again.
His hand slipped past the light switch, shutting it off as he walked over to his bed.
March 30 was his wedding day meaning he had slightly over 30 days to find Eleanor- or get over her. A million thoughts jumbled his mind until he had grown sick of it. Perhaps he should extend the months until marrying Magdalene, he surpassed all expectations of mourning and had moved on rather quickly in the eyes of the world. However, Adam was a sucker for a positive reputation, and he knew that if he dared say a thing about Eleanor at an interview- now that it had been a year, Magdalene would surely dump his sorry ass.
The thoughts pestered him until he'd had enough, of he didn't do something he'd go insane. His curiosity was peaked, and he knew he wouldn't get a wink of sleep. His legs seemed to move of their own accord as he hopped out of his bed, wearing nothing but his boxers and ran down his luxurious stairs where the portraits of Adam and Eleanor's engagement and wedding still hung very high. He called for whomever was at the gate to call him a flight immediately. Of course, nobody could refuse Mr. Carnegie. Within the hour, he was on a jet and on his way back to the town of Clearwater, Oklahoma.
He would get answers this time. He didn't believe that Josiah guy for one second and he still had a burning desire to find Bree Walker and ask her of her association with Eleanor. Perhaps Josiah had been lying. But why would a doctor feel the need to lie?
His thoughts swam aimlessly as he remained wide awake. He remembered Eleanor sleeping beside him, their special night, the pier.
Oh, how that damn pier haunted him every time he thought of it. It was a mistake; he'd tricked her and for that he deserved what came to him- but Eleanor didn't deserve any of it.
He stood up once the private jet landed and thanked the pilot. Immediately he walked the short distance to the city of Clearwater just as the sun was beginning to rise.
Lavela's Bakery was the first place he caught sight of and entered casually.
"Has Bree come back?" He blurted as soon as the old woman appeared.
"Oh, hey doll, it's you." Every time he was in this place, the world seemed a thousand times brighter. He caught sight of the paintings plastered on the walls.
"Yes, I need your help." He said again, running his hands through his messy brown hair. It was so unlike Adam to make rash decisions when he normally takes months before coming to a choice. Guess that was one impact Eleanor left on him.
"Son, I'm a baker not a shrink. Maybe you should put some clothes on before the folks wake up. I should also inform you that I close in a few minutes. It's Sunday." Lavela said. Adam looked down, his boxers were still on and his bare chest was covered with a measly sweater that he had found on the jet.
"What's Sunday?" Adam furrowed his brows, finally breathing the fresh country air.
"It's church day darling." Adam looked confused. "Everyone goes, you can't talk to anyone until afterwards." Lavela said. "I best get going. I already told you son, Bree left Josiah and she's gone."
"People don't just disappear!" Adam's voice rose as his hand slammed the table angrily. He had never been that impulsive, well besides a certain day with Eleanor.
"Look son, I need to get going. Maybe talk to Dr. Matthews, he still lives here you know. Maybe he can give you whatever you're looking for."
Adam nodded. Smoke flying out of his ears as he angrily walked outside into the sun lit sky. It was strange that the rest of the country was still dark, but the sun was shining ever so brightly at this very moment.
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Josiah walked out after the church service ended and he headed to his office. Normally he would head home- everyone took Sunday off, of course it was the day of rest.
But today, he had decided to go check if he had all the antiseptics that were needed. His miniature office was beside a miniature pharmacy.
After checking around, he finally decided to head home.
Something felt odd, Josiah couldn't put his finger on it, but there was a strange darkness that had filled his home. And before he could look any further, it was gone.
For a second, he had believed Bree had returned to him, but the tides seemed to shift as a tall brooding brown-eyed man knocked on his front door on that cold Sunday afternoon.
Immediately, he recognized the face of the man who had visited his office weeks ago demanding Bree. Of course, Josiah had no clue what had happened. But he refused to tell Adam.
Adam Carnegie was indisputably the most handsome man in a thousand-mile radius. Even when he was exhausted and looked like he had crawled up from the hole to china. Adam stared at Josiah for a few seconds before Josiah recognized him.
"I'm begging you to please tell me where Bree is?" Adam finally said. He looked exhausted and completely worn out. Josiah's eyes widened, wondering if Adam had figured out that Eleanor was Bree. But he kept his mouth shut.
"I don't know." Josiah finally said, still leaving Adam to stand outside his home in the cool air. "Look, I already told you. She left me. I don't know why you keep asking me of all people. Don't you have investigators or something. Isn't there someone who can tell you what you want to know?"
"Look, then fine. But just tell me how she had Eleanor's ring." Josiah stood still, his eyes poking fun at the dark brows of Adam Carnegie. The dark circles under Adam's eyes were prominent on his face. Adam was exhausted, stressed out, and unable to remain patient any longer. He and Josiah glared at each other for a minute before Josiah opened his mouth.
Josiah sighed, "Would you like to come in?" And Adam knew he had unlocked some sort of dark power. The shield behind Eleanor's demise seemed to have been cracking ever so slightly until it would not exist anymore. The sun appeared behind the clouds now as Adam stepped into Josiah Matthews small southern home- a feminine smell was the first thing to hit his nose.
Chapter 18: I Believed Her
Adam couldn't shut his eyes. He hadn't slept for well over four days since it had passed Eleanor's one-year mark. His eyes remained wide open just as they had for weeks.
His phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out.
"Babe, where are you?" Magdalene’s familiar voice rose in a familiar disappointment. He had gotten used to it.
"Maggie, I'm on a business trip. I'll be back soon." Adam said, hoping the lie didn't sound forced through the telephone lines.
"Business trip?" Magdalene’s voice rang sharply. "When will you be back?"
"A few months." Adam calmly replied, mentally preparing himself for the storm he had just unleashed.
"WHAT! Our wedding is
in thirty-six days Adam! You can't go on a business trip for a few months! Adam are you even listening to me, honestly, I feel like I put all the effort in our relationship, and I can't deal with this right now. Call me when your brain is functioning!" Magdalene hung up. Adam sighed, rubbing his temples as he tossed the phone aside. He felt bad about neglecting her, but his mind had never been one to worry about that sort of thing.
Eleanor was never that obnoxious when he went on business trips. Sure, she called a couple times, but it was just to apologize, not tell him what an incompetent and heartless partner he was.
The street was frozen. The sky was frozen. Adam was frozen as he lay on Josiah's front lawn with his gaze lifted at the stars.
After Josiah told him what he had said, Adam didn't know what to think. He couldn't consider the possibilities because it hurt too much. Too damn much to realize his instincts were right. He had been right all along.
"Eleanor Carnegie, your wife, she..." Josiah took a long pause. "I don't know if this is accurate at all but..."
Adam sat patiently on the couch, studying the room. It had a familiar smell of the sweet pea perfume Eleanor had always worn.
That was probably the first factor that ticked away the eggshells of the lie.
"Six months ago, a girl showed up in this town. Her hair looked like a rat's nest and her eyes were such a vibrant blue. I was hooked instantly. She looked lost, so I wanted to help her."
Adam shut his eyes, trying hard not to imagine Eleanor. The room was dim besides the light coming in from the kitchen as the two men sat across from each other. Josiah seemed afraid, having even forgotten to change his clothing after church. He had offered tea for Adam or coffee even, but Adam refused his hospitality. Southerners could be so much more different than those from elsewhere.
"She said her name was Bree Walker. She said she was looking for a job and that she wanted to find a place to live. She didn't have any money with her. I wanted to help her- that's just how I had been raised. Help the poor and so good to those who hurt you was something my church taught me at an early age. I got her a job at lavela's bakery and we were happy. She was happy- telling me her dream job was to be a baker all along. But Bree... Bree always wore this really expensive-looking ring that she would always tell me was a family heirloom. It was stunning, it looked like it had been personally created for her, but since she said it was passed down, I believed her." Josiah looked lost in thought, staring at the open window from the dimly lit room. He didn't bother turning the lights on as Adam's breathing shallowed. He was putting two and two together- solving the equation that haunted his dreams.
"I knew something was up when she started dying her hair brown, she would use a portion of her income to pay for our rent and then another portion to buy hair dye. I loved her spontaneity. And I went along with it when one day she randomly told me that she wanted to visit New Jersey. I had no idea why she would want to do that. Honestly, I was always confused what Bree wanted. I would have expected her to want to go to Texas for her family. But she insisted. And in the moment, we packed a few bags, got in my car and drove to New Jersey
And when we arrived, we first went to a coffee shop." Josiah turned to look at Adam, Adam who was looking at his feet and locked in the hole of his mind. He wondered if Adam was annoyed at the detail of his story, if he wanted to know everything leading up to Bree's discovery. Adam remained silent, he didn't even sound like he was breathing at this point.
"She was infatuated with you. Bree, she kept her eyes trained on any TV station that featured you. You were her only obsession and I just couldn't understand why. She passed it off as just a celebrity crush and I believed her. It was perfectly normal for a girl to like a wealthy attractive man, so I didn't care too much about it."
Adam's gaze met Josiah, a tear slipping as he turned back to train his eyes on the carpeted ground. Letting the thoughts of Eleanor invade him. Letting her scent envelope his being.
He wasn't sure who this Bree character was, but he was willing to find out. Still confused about how she had Eleanor's ring or even if the ring was a family heirloom. He wasn't in the mood to talk, he just wanted to know how Bree had Eleanor's ring. Perhaps Bree had been the one who had stolen Eleanor's body.
He had to find Bree and put an end to her charades.
"I met Bree." Adam finally spoke, interrupting Josiah's focused train of thought. "I would walk every night to the road, the stupid crossroads that Eleanor had finished herself off. I... She talked to me. I can't remember what we talked about. I just remember thinking about how familiar her voice sounded but she wouldn't look at me." Adam couldn't put two and two together. He didn't want to make that sort of jump and realize that he had been wrong. He needed Josiah to confirm his thoughts.
"She told me she was going for a walk." Josiah replied, then went back to his expressionless daydream. "She didn't sleep that night. Or any night there for that matter. Actually, she stayed up to watch you on television, I'd wake up around three a.m. and she'd be replaying a clip of you smiling. It made no sense- I thought she loved me. I didn't know Bree had such a huge crush on you or even how or why until she told me. She told me she did something really bad and she basically blew her cover. But I had no clue what she was talking about. She told me I knew too much and asked me to keep her secret.
No, I didn't believe her until this crazy detective broke into my hotel room and knocked me out. It was when I woke up that the i.o.u letter she had left me was gone. But I'm getting way ahead of myself. "
"What did she say?" Adam shook, his heart beat steadily in his chest as he waited for the words to be spoken.
"When she came back, she told me, and it's crazy to even believe it but she was very anxious to leave. And when I asked, she had trouble telling me."
"What did she want from you?" Adam interrupted again, his interest peaked, and it felt like the earth was shaking, his mind was, in hindsight, the only stable thing, but a horrible headache took over. He felt his head pulsating in his mind.
"Nothing. I have no clue what she wanted from me. I loved Bree until she told me what the truth was- who she was- and how her existence was basically a lie." The cold words burned Adam's mind and he felt like he could just faint.
"What? Just spit it out." Adam's patience was running out.
"Patience Mr. Carnegie. She asked me to keep her secret so that's what I am doing. I will, however, tell you that she left me minutes after she told me. I have no idea where she went or what she did. Come to think of it, I never truly knew her. She seemed to always be on the lookout for herself. I..."
"What. Did. She. Tell. You?" Adam hissed, anger filling the voids in his dark brown tried eyes. Josiah had to make a decision. To either keep the important secret of a woman he knew nothing about but loved or to tell her heartbroken husband that she was still alive. Either way couldn't end well- seeing Adam act this way made him feel like a liar in need of confession.
"She..." Josiah contemplated for a second whether he should tell the man in front of him the secret that Eleanor had him promise to keep. But then again, she may have a new costume by now. She may be some completely different person now. And without further delay, Josiah's decision had been made as Adam's mind swiveled in circles.
"Bree Walker. . . She didn't wear a family heirloom. She wore a ring and she took it off once because she didn't want to lose it. Inside, it read: Adam, my love. I know what that means now."
Chapter 19: Eleanor Undead
Adam was M.I.A. For those that don't know, it means he was missing in action and Magdalene was infuriated.
She'd called him twice per day to ask where he was, what he was doing, who he was with. But he had only answered one time within the first few days and then stopped answering all together.
She bit her nails- something she hadn't done since childhood- and anxiously sat, awaiting her parents return. They were supposed to go to her wedding- the wedding that wouldn't happen.
She felt vulnerable and humili
ated. She always believed she came second in Adam's life- especially when he refused to return her 'I love you's' and you'd think he cared.
Magdalene wanted a love like the one he had with Eleanor- but there was no business contract binding them together- nothing but her desire to be with him. And her hope that he returned that desire.
Maybe it was too soon, maybe she shouldn't have decided to make her move on him that early. Magdalene groaned, she wanted to see him- or at least hear his sexy voice. But all she got was silence and a message that sent her straight to voicemail.
What if he was abducted, what if something awful happened to her fiancé. She contemplated for a moment, wanting to find him, but not wanting to alert the authorities or the rest of the world.
If he was on a business trip, she wondered where and with who. She felt jealous and used as she stood up and threw her phone out of her second story bedroom window. She heard it shatter on the sidewalk outside and she rushed downstairs to search for something. What she was searching for- she did not know. But once she found it, she'd use it to... hmm... she didn't even know.
Magdalene ran back upstairs and lay on her bed until sleep took over her body.
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Shocked wouldn't even have begun to describe the way Adam felt. He felt morbid about what Josiah had just implied. Was he saying that Eleanor decided to disguise herself as this Bree Walker. How had Adam not recognized it was her? He had spoken with her and her eerily familiar voice. Was he so blinded by her death that he neglected to realize he was looking at her the entire time. He wondered if she was still disguised as Bree Walker or if she had changed herself altogether.
What kind of sick joke was Josiah trying to play?! Upon hearing those words, Adam had made a jump for Josiah's throat, angrily wrapping his fists around it. He was like an animal.
"Don't play with me like that!" He shouted as Josiah choked. Fire burned in Adam's eyes as he glared.
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