9
Layne
After lunch Sam leaves me with the laptop and tells me he needs to run another errand. At first, I’m thrilled to be left with my research. Feeling only marginally guilty, I upload it to a cloud drive I can access later from anywhere. Sam promised a compromise, and I do believe him, but my research is my entire life.
While it’s loading, a niggling of foreboding creeps in. The sun slants through the windows. It’s getting late.
Where the hell is Sam?
A knock on the door makes me start.
“Layne? It’s m-m-m-me,” Laurie calls. When I open the door, the tall man smiles sheepishly, holding up a white deli bag. “I brought you some food.”
“Thanks,” I say, but don’t take the bag. Something’s not right here. Sam is gone and Laurie won’t meet my eyes.
“Well, I’ll j-j-just leave you—”
“
