28.

*Katelyn*

Packing without my parents noticing hadn't turned out to be any trouble at all. Obviously, I wasn't going to pack my whole room up. I knew that I would never miss most of the stuff, so, I focused mainly on clothes – including my shoes and accessories. I got them all packed away in duffel bags and boxes that I had brought into the house in the dead of the night when everyone else was asleep. I packed some books, too, and a few other things that I just didn't think I would ever be able to leave behind.

I hadn't thrown up anymore and I didn't act pregnant at all. I didn't want to even think about what my parents would do if they found out. The first thing they would do would be to go to Rider, and of course, Rider would be equally shocked since we hadn't done anything but kiss. And when my parents found out that it wasn't Rider's, they would make me tell them in some way or another. And if it got out that I was secretly married to the guy that they had tried so hard to keep me away from… Well, it wouldn't be good. At all.

Acting normal was hard when I knew that at the end of the week, I would be leaving this house and never returning. And I knew that I wasn't going to miss it. At all. We hadn't even been living in the house for all that long, but I still hated it. It didn't feel like a home; it was just a shelter from the wind and the rain and the snow. A place where the wild animals couldn't get in and attack me. Just another place to live for a little while.

And I wouldn't miss my family, as strange as that may sound. But we never really had a family bond. They trained me to be hard emotionally; to never let anyone in. They didn't see me as a daughter; they saw me as an operative to train that would bring honor to the family name. But I had realized a long time ago that honor for them and honor for me were two very different definitions.

And Rider, I wouldn't miss him either. Sure, I had agreed to marry him, but something inside of me had been screaming all along that it wasn't the right thing to do. And Rider, I now knew, was a terrible person. He had broken Joe and I up even though he had to have known how in love we were. He'd been selfish; wanted me for himself. He didn't really care about me because he loved me. His kind of love was warped. He only wanted me because I was some kind of trophy. I was just something that he could control. And I wasn't going to be tha for him or my parents ever again. No, I wouldn't miss my parents or Rider.

"Hey, babe," Rider said as he kissed my neck. It felt so wrong that it was all I could do not to shudder or slap him.

But, I managed to put on a very convincing smile. "Hey."

"Whatcha looking at?"

I had been staring out at the woods, just waiting for my escape. Waiting for the time when I would see a helicopter flying low over the trees. My rescue. Joe, finally coming to take me away from this horrible place so that we could finally be together as husband and wife. So that we could have our version of happily ever after. We both deserved that. "Oh, nothing. Just looking."

"Well," he said, "I'm about to leave for the operation with your parents. You gonna be okay here by yourself?"

"I'll be fine," I answered, turning so that I was facing him. "Don't worry about me." Because, really, I'm none of your concern.

He smiled at me. "Okay." Then, he picked a hair off of his navy polo. His curly blond hair was neatly trimmed and his blue eyes were a shade lighter than mine. Basically, I was trapping an image of him, just in case I ever needed an image that could make me angry in a split second. I smiled the whole time, though.

My parents came in, then, both of them wearing casual clothes, like Rider. My mom wore jeans and a white blouse while my father wore jeans and a T-shirt with a German phrase on it.

"We'll be back sometime next week," my mother said and smiled at me. "Don't worry, Katelyn. I'm sure you'll be anxious with Rider being gone."

"We'll take care of him," my dad winked.

I forced a laugh. "Thanks, Dad."

They had no idea that I could care less if Rider fell out of the helicopter and into the Indian Ocean. I didn't care if Rider never showed back up at the house. And even if he did, I wouldn't be there waiting for him.

My parents each gave me a hug and then told Rider to be ready to leave in a couple of minutes. They left and then Rider kissed me, which forced me to kiss back. When he pulled away, I felt like I seriously could vomit all over his shoes. I didn't though; I needed to be a good operative until the very end.

"I'll hurry home," he said.

Please don't. "Please do."

He kissed me one more time and then left the room. When I heard the front door open and shut behind him, I went into the bathroom and scrubbed his disgusting taste out of my mouth. When I was done, I looked at myself in the mirror and smiled. Won't be long now. Then, I moved into my room and changed into jeans and a T-shirt, and then pulled my hair up into a ponytail.

My escape clothes.

And boy was I ever ready to escape to my freedom. To my life with Joe.

To my happiness.