where the time went- chloe price

make believe

i waited beside him until his breathing fell into a slow rhythmic pattern. i waited beside him until i was almost positive that he was asleep. i waited beside him until my joints began to ache with how stiff i was keeping my body.
terrified of moving.
terrified of showing any life and waking him again.
but i did what my conscious was telling me not to, i slowly pulled the sheet off my naked skin and slid out of the bed, collecting my clothes and exiting the room. i clothed myself again once i shut the large wooden door behind me, the moonlight from the windowed hallway lighting up my path towards mark's study, making sure i had my phone on me. i did and i opened it onto chloe's contact before locking my phone again, ensuring that i had followed through with every step of my plan.

i had lost count of what step i was up to, but i knew that at some point i had to go into mark's study. so that's where i was, the desk lamp was on and i was flicking through the sheets of paper that were familiar to me. scanning the sheets for words i would recognise and my heart jolted with excitement when i found scanned copies of emails stapled together:

Good Evening, Mark.

I hope packing is going well for you. We are excited for your move to Arcadia Bay in only a few more weeks. I have been thinking a lot about your last email regarding my contacts and who I could link you up with, and it wasn't until Nathan had a friend over this afternoon that it really clicked.

I know what you desire in your work, the beauty and innocence that looms throughout it, and when I saw her this afternoon playing video games with my son, I knew she would be perfect for you. Her name is Rosemary Bowers, she has been a family friend of ours since Nate and her were just babies. I have watched her grow into a beautiful young woman but she is still very much innocent and fresh minded, looking at the world with doe eyes through rose tinted glasses.

I know you requested older models, she is almost 17 years old. I figure that if you build up a relationship with her she might be easier to work with as she is quite stubborn at times, maybe that will push her over 18. She has a passion for photography much like Nathan, they bond over this and consider each other close friends, spending almost every afternoon with each other after they attend Blackwell Academy together. This will make her your student too.

I will attach some photographs of her from family events- She has quite a young face but I can assure you that only adds to her age of innocence and beauty. If you cannot spot her, she is usually standing next to Nathan in these photographs, she has long brown hair with a shorter stature.

Let me know your thoughts.
Regards and good wishes throughout your move from New York,
Sean Prescott.

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Hi Sean.

Thank you for your email.

Rosemary looks perfect for my shoots. I appreciate your inclination to help me out with this and I am willing to spend the time with her to build up a relationship to make the shoots go as easy as possible, however I will need other models to fill in the time until she is 18.

Do you have any other contacts / possible models?

I look forward to my move to Arcadia Bay and my working position at Blackwell Academy, not only to teach the young minds about the powers of photography but to teach your son, Nathan and to meet his friend Rosemary.

Thanks,
Mark Jefferson.

Sean.

It has been a while since your last email to me regarding models. I move to your town in one week now and I would like to have work confirmed for me as it will keep me passionate about teaching the kids.

Thanks.
Mark.

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Mark,

Let me just start off by apologising for how long it has taken me to get back to you. I have been trying to find answers for questions you will have shortly, but I have fallen short. I only have solutions.

Rosemary hasn't attended Blackwell Academy in 2 weeks now. She hasn't been removed from the school, she just hasn't turned up to her classes, none of her friends have seen her or heard from her. Her father has also left town too. She has posted one photo on her social media since she left, proving to us that she is alive. So right now, she just remains unavailable to be your model.

Her father, Peter Bowers, was the one who paid for your dark rooms to be built, but be rest assured that they have been fully constructed and are fully functioning studios for you. The day that they finished building the rooms was the day that they left town, without warning or any word to me.

On the bright side, my son, Nathan, attended a party at the Academy's gymnasium the other night, I had the privilege of dropping him off as he was drinking that night. This also means that I also had the privilege of meeting one of his new friends, I believe her name was Rachel Amber. Nathan has spoken about her quite a lot in the last few weeks since Rosemary has left, it seems that she has taken Rosie's place in Nathan's life and he has taken quite a liking to her.

Rachel and Rosemary are quite similar in appearance, their eyes are the same colour, skin tones and figures also being the same, the only difference being the colour of Rachel's hair and her lack of innocence in her personality she exudes. Although I'm sure if you removed the eye makeup and jewellery from her, she could become the perfect model for you.

She attends Blackwell Academy, taking a course in the theatre department but she also has a keen interest in all areas of the arts after looking at her file. I scanned a few of her photos and will attach them.

Again, please accept my apologies at the outcome of this situation but I hope we can find another ground to stand on and continue to work together to bring Arcadia Bay a brighter future.

Looking forward to having you around,
Sean.

"you know i have security cameras in my dark rooms, right?"