Perfect (Rewrite)

Chapter Ten

Margaret and Chloe joined the others in the living room and sat in silence as the time passed by until David and Margaret once again entered the kitchen and started making lunch for everyone. Chloe had taken a seat on one of the two recliners and Jacob was sitting in another one across from her. She felt someone watching her, but she didn't want to look over at him, so instead Chloe glanced over at Rachel and was surprised to find her staring right back into her eyes. Surprise, surprise.

Jacob glanced between Rachel and Chloe and then asked, "What's up with the two of you?"

Chloe shrugged her shoulders and then Rachel looked back to the TV as if she hadn't even heard Jacob, ignoring him wouldn't solve anything, but if that was how she wanted to deal with it, then so be it. He glanced at Chloe and she shrugged her shoulders again, even though she really wanted to tell him the truth. All it would've done was tick Rachel off, and she didn't need her more angrier with her than she already was.

"Lunch is almost ready," David told us, entering the room and sitting in the middle seat of the couch. He patted the seat beside him and eyed Chloe, yearning for her to join his side. She changed seats and glanced back at the camera before she staring at the TV again. "We have a lot to talk about later. I hope that you are open to sharing as many details with us as you can."

"I don't know much," Chloe whispered in response. She barely moved her lips in fear of the camera noticing, of the man noticing. Even though she knew he could hear every word they were saying, it felt right to whisper this, it felt easier to say it in a hushed tone rather than a loud one.

"Do you want to know more about this place?" David asked.

"I think so," Chloe told him. He put his arm on her back and then her entire body tensed up. Why was he touching her? She barely even knew him, and now he was leaning in closer, breathing against her skin. She closed her eyes and waited for him to finish.

"There's a framed picture hanging on the wall beside the camera," He whispered into her ear. "I want you to turn it over and read the rules, but don't say them aloud."

"What rules?" Chloe asked; then she turned back and immediately found the oddly placed picture that she hadn't even noticed before now. David released her from being so close to him and then patted her leg as he nodded in the direction of the corner. She exhaled a deep breath, stood up, and walked around the chairs, passing Rachel and Jacob on the way, until she reached the corner where she grabbed the picture frame and flipped it so it hung on the wall backwards. The camera beside her turned and focused in on her, but from what she could tell it could only see a piece of her. The camera wasn't able to turn any further, its axis wouldn't allow it. This oddly placed picture was put here for a reason. The perfect spot to hide something from the prying lens of the camera.

Chloe looked back at the turned around frame and read the four lines of words written neatly on its brown, papery, slick, surface:

Rule 1: do whatever he says

Rule 2: trust and love your new family

Rule 3: don't piss him off

Follow these rules and you'll have a happy life.

She gulped and then glanced back at the others who were making their way to the kitchen. Jacob looked back to her and nodded towards the table, so Chloe turned the picture back around and headed in the direction of food. It was all she could do, it was all she wanted to do. Even though Chloe had just eaten, her stomach was content with being filled again. Her mother had always called her a bottomless pit, now she understood why.

The smell hit her nose the second she entered the room, and Chloe instantly recognized the dish as hamburger helper. She took her usual seat and looked up, hoping to see Jacob, but was surprised to find Rachel sitting across from her. It was obvious she was trying everything possible to not make eye contact with Chloe, and she was successful with her mission. Whether Rachel hated her or not, she wouldn't be able to ignore her for forever. Eventually something would come up, forcing them to communicate. Then Chloe could finally explain herself and hopefully, in time, convince Rachel on how good a friend she could be.

Rachel quickly looked up at Chloe from the table, smiled, and said, "Chloe, how has your day been so far?" Small talk was a good sign. Friends were supposed to converse casually, apparently, she was already putting the past behind her.

"Good," Chloe replied slowly as she eyed Rachel curiously. She reached up and scratched her neck as she pointed to her ear piece, but her smile didn't falter, not even for a second. They were all trained like animals, like pets. Everyone else in the room perked up with her, smiles strung across their faces ear to ear. Chloe didn't want to make him mad, so she plastered a smile on her own face as Margaret placed a large container of hamburger helper down in the middle of the table. David stood up and retrieved plates and silverware, placing a set down in front of each of them, and then Jacob scooped a spoonful of the mixture onto his plate, which officially started the meal.

"You didn't spoil your lunch, now did you?" David asked after he filled his plate and took a bite.

It took Chloe a minute to figure out he was talking to her, and when she did, she just shook her head in response. Once Rachel and Margaret each had a helping on their plates, Chloe picked the spoon up from the bowl and splashed some onto her own. As their plates emptied, Chloe's impatience grew. She wanted answers. It was obvious they knew more about this place than she did, and she was determined to know everything. Chloe needed to know everything. This was her first shot at getting the truth; David seemed more than too eager to share his knowledge. Maybe the rest of them felt the same.

When they finished, David and Margaret retreated to the living room, leaving the dirty dishes a mess on the table. Rachel glanced at Chloe and said, "I think it's only fair that since she's knew, she should get to do the dishes tonight," Then she left the kitchen and trudged up the stairs to wherever the whispering man wanted her to go. It became clear to Chloe that they only went upstairs when ordered to, even she herself had only gone up when told. She wondered if it was off limits any other time.

"I better get started," Chloe said after she stood up and began stacking the plates; she took them to the sink and turned around to retrieve the large container on the middle of the table, discovering that it had disappeared. Only it hadn't really disappeared, it was in Jacob's hand, and he was already standing next to her, plugging the hole in the sink and turning the knob to fill it with water. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to help," Jacob answered with a smirk. Once the sink was filled, he turned the water off and grabbed a towel from a drawer. He handed it to Chloe and nodded to the dishes. "I'll wash and you dry."

Chloe stared at him for a long moment, wondering why he was being so nice, why he was offering to wash dishes for her. She wondered why he wasn't acting more like Rachel, the one with a crabby attitude, but, at the time, it didn't really matter to her considering he was offering to do the dirty work.