Book Two: Adaptation

•20•

•Nina•
Walking down a long corridor, I swing a bag I'm holding back and forth while I hum the tune of Sweet Dreams Are Made of This, by Marilyan Manson. Halloween is coming up and I'm excited to participate in some holiday festivities since I never got to in Toronto.

Abel always said my safety was too important for me to go out like normal people, even if it was for a night. This time it's different, this time I can actually find a costume and enjoy being a normal girl for once.

Now at the end of the hall, I smile at Gregory who is standing in front of a locked door. Seeing me he straightens up.

"Miss. Joliene" he tips his head.

"Hi, Greg. How's he doing?"

"As well as to be expected" he nods.

"I see. Well I'm just here to check on him. Take a break, okay" I smile sweetly.

"But I can't-"

"If you're worried about Abel it's okay. He knows I'm here. Look, I'll let you ask him yourself" I go to take my phone out of my purse, but Gregory stops me.

"No, that's not necessary" he says, and I fight a smile as he moves from in front of the door handing me the keys.

Watching him walk away until he's out of sight, I push the key into the key hole to unlock the door.

Inside I find Callum sitting in a corner with his head down, the position reminding me how I found Abel when that girl went missing.

I truly don't understand the hold she has on the both of them. I've never seen them throw away years of friendship over a worthless bitch.

Shaking my head, I sigh as I look around the small windowless room Abel locked him in to be forgotten forever.

Lucky for Callum I've come to bust him out.

"Hey, Cally" I greet him and his head shoots up at the sound of my voice, immediate rage coloring his face as he jumps to his feet.

"You fucking bitch, you set me up" he charges me and I back up keeping space between us.

"Hey, if you hurt me you're never getting out of here. Think about it" I drop the bag to put my hands up as my sign of a white flag.

Pausing, he stares at me real hard as if deciding weather to believe me or not.

"Jamie-"

"Is just fine and home with her sweet baby girl" I let him know.

"She didn't have anything to do with this!"

"You should have thought about that before you took that girl, Cally. I could have kept you from this but since you didn't want to cooperate, Abel was my next best option"

"Abel would have never hurt Jamie"

"You're right. That was my idea but how else were you going to learn not to cross me?" I smile. "When I want a job done, I expect it to be done correctly and you know this after what happened with Valerie; why did you think this situation was different?"