Adara reached the front door and tried to turn the doorknob. But Marshall had locked the bolt. For an extended moment, Adara stood shivering, her teeth chattering. First, she would have to ring the doorbell. Adara didn’t have a key. Then they would all know she had returned. They would descend on her like a whirlwind. She wouldn’t be able to explain anything to them for the simple fact she didn’t remember anything. Her family would want to know what had transpired, why she hadn’t returned home when she was supposed to. She didn’t wish to go inside and confront them. Adara yearned to turn her body around and run away, down the driveway, out onto the street. But where would she go?
She glanced back towards the road then. She could see the garbage truck had moved on. The sky was getting brighter every second that passed. It was after dawn. Where had she been for the hours she could not remember? Had she stayed with the man who had spoken to her? He had been sweet. Adara could see him in her mind, his face vaguely outlined by darkness.
She turned back to the doors once more and reached her hand out towards the doorbell. She stood frozen there for a long minute. Then, finally, she stopped shivering and breathing. Adara caught a glimpse of his face and heard his voice in her ear, “I’d do anything for you, dear.” He had called her dear. He said he would do anything; why? She didn’t understand. The words echoed in her mind. She could still hear them repeating in her ears.
A violent shake passed through her body, and she closed her eyes and hugged herself again. After a moment of self-composure, in which she forced herself to take several deep breaths, she opened her eyes and stretched out her hand again. Finally, she rang the doorbell. She kept her mind blank. She would not speculate about or dwell on the past. She would go inside and return to her old life and whatever was left for her there.
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