Josie loved living on a country road. At most times of the day, the road was deserted, especially this early in the morning. They lived on the outskirts of a small town. The location offered them the privacy and rural feel they had grown up with coupled with a commute of less than an hour to the city. Josie owned her own cybersecurity business and often worked from home, but she made enough trips to the city to prefer a shorter commute. Damien’s computer programming position offered flexibility to work from home also, but he often traveled to his office for coworker and client meetings.
Before Damien was even awake, she finished her run and returned to the house. She was already changed and putting water on for a cup of tea when he staggered into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes and yawning. He headed straight for the coffee without a word.
“Good morning to you, too,” she said jokingly.
He took a sip of coffee. “Ugh, I don’t know how you do it. I’m exhausted.”
“You should have come with me for a jog, it wakes you up,” she answered.
“I’d rather shoot myself in the foot,” he retorted. Damien did not care for anything athletic, choosing to get most of his physical activity from furious typing or video game playing. “I’m glad it’s Sunday and I don’t have to go to work.”
“Me too!”
“Hey, you never have to ‘go to work,’” he countered, “you work from home.”
“I guess technically, I’m always at work then.”
“Haha, hilarious, Josie.”
“You have plans today?” Josie asked while pouring steaming water into her mug.
He glanced at her. “What do you think?”
Damien, ever the introvert, preferred his own company to most other people’s, except for Josie. They grew up together, living next door to each other for the first five years of their lives. When Damien was five years old, his parents passed away in a car accident, and Josie’s mother had insisted that she care for her sister’s only child, taking Damien in as one of her own. Growing up together, they had been inseparable and were far more like siblings than cousins. While Josie’s personality was like his in many ways, Josie was more self-assured, comfortable being alone or with others. She dragged Damien to countless social events throughout the years despite his constant protests. “It’s good for you to get out, D,” she always told him, and he always listened much to his chagrin on most occasions.
“I think we should go see that new comedy, we could both use a break.”
“Or we could find something on Netflix?”
Josie rolled her blue eyes. “Come on, D, the popcorn is way better at the theater!”
“I don’t know…”
“Come on, D!!! I need a break, you said it yourself, and no one wants to go to the movies themselves! Come on!”
“For you being the more independent one of us, Josephine Benson, you’re co-dependent.”
“Is that a yes?”
“Yes.” He rolled his eyes. “It’s a yes. Pick an early show so no one else is there,” he called as she disappeared from the kitchen to look up movie times.
Returning with her laptop, she said, “I don’t care how early we go. I’m still eating popcorn.” Opening her laptop, she searched for show times at their closest theater. “Oh, here’s a good time, starts at one fifteen, we’d be out around three. We could have an early dinner out, hole up for the night and play video games. I promise I’ll let you pick the game this time.”
Eating his oatmeal, he nodded in agreement. “That’s good,” he said, once his mouth was no longer full.
“Awesome, I’m getting tickets now. There’s only like four other people in the theater, so this totally meets your ‘no people’ quota.” He stuck his tongue out at her as a response. “Just sayin’!”
“And done! So, where do you want to eat?”
“Might as well go to the Mexican place next door. It’s easy.”
“Sounds good to me! Okay, I’ve got some work to do before we head out. Leave around twelve thirty?”
“Yeah, that’s good.”
Josie closed her laptop and, hugging it to her chest, disappeared from the room.
A dark-haired man studied the outside of the medium-sized Craftsman style home set in the middle of a wooded lot. It was off a country road; it took some work to find it. “Just like her to pick somewhere like this,” he thought as he stared up at the light blue exterior trimmed with dark wood. He shrugged his trench coat around him tighter though he didn’t really need it; it was warmer here than where he was from. He looked at the box in his hands. It was the first step. He waited until she left the house with a man who also lived there. She looked the same as he remembered: flowing golden blonde curls, bright, sparkling blue eyes, delicate facial features with high cheekbones, and a smile that could light up a room even on the darkest of days. She had been smiling a lot, so very unlike the last time he had seen her. She seemed happy, but he could not avoid this moment. He approached the porch and set down the box outside of the door. She would find it there when she got home, and she would remember, she had to remember. They were doomed if she did not remember.
Chapter 2
“I thought the movie was good, what about you?” Josie asked after they were settled in a booth at the neighboring Mexican restaurant.
“Yeah, it was okay, it was funny, I guess.” Damien answered, shrugging his shoulders in his usual manner.
“I thought it was funny, too. It was one of the better comedies I’ve seen in a while.”
Damien yawned widely. “Am I boring you?” Josie said, grinning teasingly.
“No, you’re keeping me up all hours of the night is what you’re doing.”
Josie made a face. “Sorry, I
