A Masterpiece Gone

Chapter Seven

Jessie was uncertain exactly how long she had been lying there awake with her head under the covers; the last time she woke up it was only seven and she had not been quite ready to rise after somehow sleeping through the night in spite of her crazy nightmare about Brendan that she could barely remember at this point and finally realizing where she was. Oddly, she could not hear any signs of life outside of the wooden door of the spare bedroom but she was quick to forget that the house was quite large.

As she slowly unveiled herself with the comforter, she immediately had to shield her eyes from the glaring sun that still broke through the pale gray cloth blinds. What time is it? she wondered as she at least made an attempt to squint with her right eye.

After a few moments of adjusting to the well-lit room, Jessie managed to catch the time on the digital alarm clock on the left night stand. "Twelve o' seven?" she nearly yelled, sprouting up like a wild flower in a field of nurtured grass.

Bolting off the bed in disbelief, Jessie lifted the blind to the window adjacent to the bed to see nothing but pure daylight. I had to have slept for fourteen hours! she thought to herself in complete disbelief.

As she searched her room until she found her carry-on haphazardly placed on the bench below the bed, she recalled her fight with Brendan with much shame and recalled how he stayed outside her door for what had to be an hour trying to coax her back out in spite of her crying in response like a spoiled child. The last time she even looked at a clock before she fell asleep it had been 9:52 pm and she was pretty sure she passed out not long after that.

Grabbing a pair of yoga pants, a black tank top, and a very baggy white shirt, she finally caught a glimpse at her image in the mirror in front of her and staggered backwards as she noted her swollen eyelids and the red-tinged pupils. Just get dressed, throw cold water on your face, shower, and try to undo the damage if you're lucky that Brendan hasn't already caught a flight back to the UK, she ordered herself.

Ten minutes later after doing just that and brushing her teeth in the in-suite bathroom not bothering to blow dry her hair, Jessie finally unlocked the door to find her other piece of luggage waiting for her on the carpet with a piece of paper tucked under the luggage handle. Her stomach dropped knowing it was Brendan saying he had enough of her spectacle and was heading to the airport to try to find the first flight back to the UK.

When Jessie removed the paper, she caught Brendan's small familiar handwriting on what she realized was an old, faded receipt:

Went to go get some stuff for the house and explore what's around. Whenever you get up, I'm taking you out to eat.

Love you,

Brendan

9:15 am

Jessie squeezed the paper and inhaled sharply as she realized while Brendan may have taken the spare key, she did not get a chance to tell him what the access codes were for the garage and front entry gates. Nonetheless, she eagerly made her way down the stairs to still find an empty house. "Brendan?" she called once she made her way towards the dining room and opened the window. "Babe?"

There was absolutely no movement or sign of Brendan waiting patiently outside for Jessie.

Shouldn't he be back already? she asked herself beginning to worry not even aware that the crinkled note was no longer in her hand.

Realizing she could just call him, she was about to head back to the living room to grab her phone from her purse when an unfamiliar rumbling sound coming from the side of her house made her freeze in place. The only thing she could think it could be was the garage door, but even if it were Brendan he had no reason to be in the garage and once again he had no idea what the access code was to the call boxes by the garage and front of the house.