We arrived in the town at ten past eleven as I may speed a bit on the way.

The town was much bigger and more modern than an average village. Majorly one-family houses and postcard-like nature, blended in any empty space it would suit. Beautiful gardens in front of the houses and well-polished fences must have delighted the owners. I couldn't spot anything that would tell you it was a bad omen place besides being flawless. Ironically, sometimes flawless- could give you chills.

Cornelia anxiously looked around as we drove closer to where GPS directed us. I believed she searched for any clues that Emery could leave behind, but to our disappointment, the only clue we had was the house.

We arrived at a large two-storey building with a perfect courtyard, fence and gate. I stopped a little further from the roadside house. Then we waited.

"What now? Will he know that we are here?" I looked at Cornelia, who was staring at the side of the house, visible from our perspective.

"I have no idea. Let's wait a bit and see." She murmured, not sparing me any more attention needed in the conversation.

I sighed and lay back in my seat while taking my phone off. I got a few messages from Jasper, asking about our well-being and if I was still alive and not in danger.

A few long minutes passed by before my eyes caught the sight of an older man walking around his garden as if searching for something. He looked around the bushes by the fence and then back at the house. After about two minutes of his investigation, a woman of similar age came to his side, and they talked to eachother very animatedly.

"What are they talking about? Who are they?" Cornelia whispered-screamed way too close to my face as she stared at them. I jumped a bit on the spot because I didn't expect her to be so close. I could smell her perfume and her breath on my cheek. I couldn't describe whether I was repulsed or scared. I leaned closer to the door, trying to make more space between us.

"How would I know?!" Then I added in an equally low voice. "Do you think this is the house? The address says that, so those may be the owners." 

"I don't know. Emery sent the address and no other information." She double-checked the messages when I noticed a movement nearby. "I don't even recognise them. I haven't seen them at Emery's."

"Look." I pointed in front of us a couple of houses down the road. Cornelia looked in the direction I was also staring, squinting her eyes.

"Do you think that maybe, but maybe that guy is Emery?" She asked me, but I had no idea. It could be anyone from a distance. But the man's stealthy stance in the dark looked like someone with something to hide. Probably himself. 

He looked in our direction at least this is what it looked like. It was dark and I couldn't see well, but he was at the edge of the road in a dark spot close to the bushes that probably were roses overgrowing the fence. he was looking around as if waiting for something. 

"Should we drive there and see?" She suggested, but then we heard a knock on the window. On the other side was that man, and a woman, probably his wife, stared at us warily from the porch.

I lowered the window in my car, noticing his tan skin and healthy, well-taken care of hair. He looked younger than I initially thought. Maybe in his forties. 

"What are you both doing in here at night?" He asked directly, and his voice was deep and authoritative.

"We are waiting for a call from our friends, sir," I said, annoyed by his accusative tone. He reminded me of my uncle, whom I hate with all my heart. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to mess with him only because of that, so I decided to be polite.

"Which friends? I have never seen you around and you are parked in front of my house." The man said it with a smug face. I had to make up a half-truth to look as clean as possible. I felt Cornelia trying to be as small as possible in her seat. She did mention something about being unknown to the people in their circle, and I wondered if she knew him.

"We are waiting for directions from our friends. It happened we parked here and not exactly in front of your house but in between." I responded not hiding my annoyance. "Is that a problem?"

He ignored my question. "What friends are keeping you waiting at night? Huh?"

"Drunk ones." I smiled. 

"I guess being young is not easy." Everything in his tone spoke rudeness. 

"No, it's not. We will move the car if that's a problem." I started the car and meant to say our goodbyes, but he was already walking back to his house. I noticed his wife was on the phone, looking concerned, and it scared me.

"Cornelia?" She hummed. "That woman is talking over the phone. Let's drive down the road and see who that guy is, but if she calls the police, we can't stay here.

"Do you think she is calling the police?" She raised her voice, and her eyes widened slightly. I had satisfaction looking at her being as scared and stressed as me. Finally, her superiority crumbled, and she behaved like an average person in this situation. 

"I don't know. What else?" I counter asked.

"I don't know. Whatever, don't drive too fast. We can't miss him." She stressed. "Where is he now?! I can't see him anywhere."

"I have no idea. This guy took my attention, and I had no time staring at the bushes." I tried to drive slowly, but it didn't work well as I needed to focus also on the road. What was the chance of that guy being our Emery, and still somewhere in the area waiting for us? How would he know it's us anyway?

"Maybe just stop here for a few moments? Maybe he will come to us if he saw our numbers on the plates and figured it's me." I did as she said and pulled out by the road. I looked in the mirrors hoping that guy didn't follow us.

Then I saw a man I recognized as Emery a second later. He walked out of the random gate by the rose bushes towards us, rushing, almost running. Then quickly opened the car door, got in and immediately lay down on the seats in an attempt to hide. 

"Emery! Oh my god." Cornelia shouted with a quiet voice as she couldn't contain the excitement but stayed composed as she didn't want to grab the attention of anyone from outside.

I froze for a second as I hadn't expected him to appear. Maybe I did. I didn't know anymore. "We can go. Please, let's just go." He pleaded, curled up in the backseat, tightly holding a leather bag to his chest. I drove off the street where Emery had spent the past few days. I felt relieved in a strange way. Not really over it yet, but as if something heavy got off my chest.

"How did you know it was our car?" She asked, taking a glimpse at the back seats. 

"Nobody really drives here at night, and they definitely don't randomly stop at the side of the road. I knew it had to be you. I saw the lights." He said in a deep and smooth voice. "Thanks, Corn. I'm glad you came."

"You don't need to thank me. We are family." She smiled sincerely for the first time since I saw her. "What happened to you?"

"Now I'm too tired for a proper explanation. I couldn't sleep there well without knowing what these people could do with me. I think they are Morgan's friends. She told them a few things about how I was not mentally stable and needed a neutral space. Who knows this woman? Whatever she told them worked because they wouldn't listen to me." He rambled randomly. I couldn't see him from my perspective, and he was too low on the seats for me to notice him in the mirror. "I tried to tell them that there is nothing wrong with me... they just told me to treat this as a vacation house and rest."

"God, so she really kidnapped you," Cornelia said sadly.

"Yeah, I remember falling asleep in my bed and then waking up there." I carefully listened to Emery's words and began to comprehend how terrifying the experience must have been for him.

"This is so fucked up." I couldn't stop myself from voicing my thoughts.

"Oh, you are the barista from the coffee shop?" Emery asked. I could catch his surprised tone as if he only now noticed my presence.

"Yeah, you made my life more interesting than selling a coffee. Thanks." I chuckled nervously, which came out more like a sigh. Immediately, I regretted what I said.

"I'm sorry for dragging you into this, but I had no choice. I was too paranoid to trust anyone that I knew personally." He explained with his saddened and tired voice making my soul heavier as he talked. "If you are here with Cornelia, that means you noticed."

I knew he referred to me, noticing him missing. "Yes, it was hard to ignore this message."

No one said anything for a few long seconds, and I thought that maybe Emery had fallen asleep, but I tried to ask one more question that nagged me from the beginning. "Why me?"

"Huh? Oh... I noticed you looking at me every now and then, and I assumed you remembered me as a regular, so I made sure I came at the same time and sat at the same table because in case something happened, you would know." His voice was stronger this time when he responded to my question, and I couldn't stop myself from marvelling at his intelligence in my mind.

I noticed his breath was steadier and smoother than when he got in the car a few miles ago. That indicated his anxiety had subsided, making him calmer, which made me feel happier in response.

"I can't believe she did that. Was your father involved?" Cornelia broke the silence.

"I don't think he would let this happen. Not intentionally... at least. I don't know."

"Do you want to call him?" She asked, and Emery groaned in irritation.

"Not now." He exhaled heavily. "I need to clear my head and rest. I need to stay somewhere safe..." He started saying quietly, and Cornelia cut him off with the solution to his building-up anxiety.

"You'll stay with Sage for now. You can drop me off first, so I don't know where you live." The words Cornelia said initially embarrassed and shocked me, forcing me to remain silent. But at the same time, I was relieved to hear Emery agreed with her. I knew he would be safe with me, especially since she couldn't tell anyone who would want to get this information from her.