“This is warm.” I grab another towel to see if it’s warm, too. It is. It’s magical. I’m sure Mrs. Pettyford has something to do with this heated towel. I didn't know that was really a thing unless they were straight out of a dryer. I’m lucky if I have heat in my apartment some nights, never mind a heated towel.
I’m starting to get used to this place, which isn’t necessarily a good thing. How am I ever going to go back to my tiny studio over the laundromat? I’m the one that was supposed to be seducing Gaines, but I’m pretty sure he seduced me instead.
I’m all in. I can’t leave this castle to go back to the laundromat. That would be crazy. There’s food--scratch that, there’s amazing food--a swimming pool, heated towels, and a freaking cute kitty cat that I’m pretty sure is in love with me. Oh, there’s also the fact that I think I’m in love with Gaines. I’m not ready to admit that out loud, but that may have something to do with me wanting to stay.
None of this is going according to plan. Things never do for me.
“Meow.” Shah pokes his sleek little head into the bathroom to look at me before darting right back out. I follow him. He leads me towards the closet. I need to get dressed anyway. After, I’ll go to find Gaines and those snacks he promised me. Yeah, he really does know how to seduce me. I can’t resist Mrs. Pettyford’s food and he knows it.
“Wow.” I suck in a breath as I take in the giant closet. I could just move in here based on the size of it. What catches my eyes first is that all of the clothes we’d gotten earlier today are lining the shelves here. Which could only mean one thing: he wants me to stay. Just the thought makes me swoony.
I find a pair of the silk pink panties and slip them on first before I put on a pair of joggers. There are so many tops to choose from, but I find myself over on what looks to be Gaines’s side of the closet. I grab a shirt that says University of Oxford across it. I remember reading an article about him that said he’d gone there. I smile as I slide it on over my head.
Shah lets out another meow from behind me. I turn to see him sitting on the island in the center of the room. He’s not looking at me. He seems to be focused on something. I follow his line of sight, curious to see what’s gotten his attention. He’s curious and I’m nosy, so we make a perfect team.
“Shah,” I gasp. “Is that?” I take a step closer. “I shouldn’t.” Even though I say the words, I still find myself moving toward the enticing sliver of light. “I mean, it’s open. Who wouldn’t look? Right?” I ask him as I reach out to grab the door.
He meows his agreement. I pull it open more before I can talk myself out of it. My whole world tilts when I see what lies behind it. This secret vault may be filled with untold treasures, but I pay attention to only one item. I can’t focus on anything else.
“There it is,” I whisper to myself. I stare at it and think it can’t be real. I start to reach for it, but pull my hand back. I’m unsure of what I should do. I’ve searched and waited for this moment for so long, but now that it’s here I hesitate.
He has my box. Why? I reach for it again, my hands shaking as I pick it up. Did he bring me here on purpose? Has he been trying to seduce me, too? Is this part of some bigger plan? He must know that he can only open the box with my key and that I won’t give it up. Unless he is willing to kill me for it. I take the box from the vault and place it on the closet island. My mind races with the possibilities.
I thought when I found it that there would be this mad dash to open it. That I would have an overwhelming excitement about finding it. There’s none of that. I close my eyes, not sure what I should do now. What if this is all a trick? What if Gaines doesn't want me at all and has been after my key?
Maybe he knows nothing about it. I hope that’s true, but it’s probably naïve on my part. This is his life. Hunting down treasures and lost, priceless things. He has to know. Then again, he could’ve accidentally fallen for me like I’ve done with him. I’m still a little salty that he might have been after me only for the key to begin with. Which is utterly ridiculous considering that was what I’d been doing. I don’t care. I’m still going to be salty about it.
I open my eyes. Worse, what if whatever is in the box tells me I’m not meant to be with Gaines? Then what? My emotions are all over the place. I pull the key out from under my shirt. I slowly move it towards the lock.
“Meow!” Shah shouts at me with his eyes on the box, too.
“Okay, I’m going.” I take a deep breath before I slip it into the lock and turn.
Nothing happens. I try to turn it again. My hands shake a little with nerves. I must have done something wrong. “Stop looking at me like that. I'm trying. It’s not unlocking.” I try again and again but it won’t turn. This shouldn’t surprise me; nothing I ever do is easy.
“It’s the wrong box.” Relief fills me. Gaines wasn't using me. I didn't have to face what finding the box could mean for me. I go to pull the key out, but again it doesn't budge. “What the hell?” I give it a hard yank. I let out a small scream and slip on the wet towel I’d dropped, my ass headed straight for the floor. I hold my hands up over my face knowing that my necklace will pull the box down onto me. But nothing happens.
I move my hands from in front of my face to see the box sitting on the edge of the island. The key is still trapped in the lock. The chain dangles from it. I scramble to my feet and rush over to the full length mirror.
“It’s gone.” I look back, still not believing it, but the chain and key are hanging from the box.
What have I done? My eyes sting with tears. The one thing I wasn’t supposed to take off. The only thing my grandma ever made me promise her. I had one job.
Is it because I slept with Gaines? That I let another have my heart? What did I do for my grandma to abandon me, to let the chain break?
I’d gone and fallen in love--and with a man who might be using me. I grab the box and hold it tight to my chest. I have no idea what the hell is going on, but I do know I need to get out of here. If Gaines is after me only for my necklace, he no longer needs me. I don’t like the thought of that.
I can’t let him have this box and the key. Maybe the necklace is broken, but I intend to keep my vow. That means I have to run.
Gaines can spend his life hunting me down. I’ll just always have to be two steps ahead.
20
Gaines
Pandora sits in the front room of her grandmother’s house. It’s a small, old cottage on a street in this small Louisiana town. She’s been holed up here for a few days.
The night she left, I watched as she fled from my house. My heart broke in those moments. Even though I should’ve known this would happen.
Of course it would. I gave Pandora a chance at something she’s been searching for almost as long as I’ve been searching for her. It was foolish of me to think she’d be able to resist. After all, I’ve never been able to turn down an artifact. Why should she?
All the same, it stung to watch her Uber’s taillights disappear into the dark. But Shah’s scolding meowing aside, I knew I’d be seeing her again. There’s no way I’d let her shake me, not when part of her lived inside me and always would.