Perfect (Rewrite)

Chapter Seventy Seven

Jacob finished stuffing his bag and then knocked on Chloe's door again. She only came out for food and to see Collin; she never said a word to him. If David or Margaret confronted her, she would reply, but not to him, not to Jacob. He only halfway understood her reasoning. Sure she had threatened to kill him, but even he knew she wouldn't have gone through with it. Besides, it had only been a ploy to get information and to test him. The only thing Jacob couldn't wrap his head around was why Chloe still wouldn't engage in any kind of contact with him. Had their night a while ago been completely forgotten? She clearly didn't remember much of what he had told her, if anything. He wished she did; he wished she knew the truth about him, about everything.

David entered his room and stood beside him, stared at the poorly made bed. "We should be ready to leave soon."

"Good," Jacob replied. "I can't wait to get out of here."

"I agree."

"Is Chloe doing alright?"

"She still isn't talking to you?" David asked, scratching at the scruff on his cheek. It was really bothering him; he told himself earlier it was time to shave but was set off track by the worry over his fellow comrades. There was no telling what all was going through the minds. David felt it was his responsibility to console them if needed.

"Not a single word," Jacob answered.

David shook his head, reached over, and gave Jacob a side hug. "She'll come around." He patted his shoulder and then left the room after saying, "If you need anything, I'll be in the kitchen."

Jacob sat on his bed and let his bag fall to the floor with a thump; it wasn't until after a few minutes that he looked up. She was standing in his doorway, staring at him in wonder and silence. Chloe knocked on the open door. "Come in," He said. She made her way to his side and plopped down next to him. "Are you okay?"

No answer.

"Are you ready to leave?"

"I'm not sure anymore."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jacob asked; he nudged her and grinned. "Aren't you ready to go back home, you know, go back to how things used to be? Surely you miss your family and friends."

"Is that what we're going to do?" Chloe asked. "Go back to how things used to be and pretend like this never happened, like everyone here never happened?" She motioned out into the hall, but she didn't have to say their names. Jacob knew what she meant; the odds of them ever seeing each other again after this weren't very good. Sure, they could text or skype, but it wouldn't be the same. They would all go their separate ways. They would never be the same. Not after this, not after everything they'd seen and been through, nothing would ever be the same. Not eating, not sleeping, not even breathing would feel normal. The food would forever taste different, the nights forever eternal, and the air fresher than ever, always lasting longer than the last. These differences would've been amazing under different circumstances, but it would only remind them of this house.

"We don't have to," Jacob said. "We could make it work."

"How?" She asked.

"I don't know," He answered honestly. "But I'm sure we will find a way. We can always find a way."

Chloe nodded, got up, and left his room, giving him time to think. She hoped he would figure it out soon. It was only a matter of time before they were leaving, and she was sure that after that there wouldn't be much time to talk with one another again. Too many plans, too many ifs and ors. If they didn't escape properly they could get caught or worse. If they didn't do everything perfectly they could end up dead or worse.

Jacob looked through his bag again; the notebook was hidden amongst his clothing. He hoped David hadn't noticed its disappearance. If he was lucky, David would've already forgotten about it and wouldn't care about reading it anyways. Jacob had a feeling he wasn't going to be so lucky this time.