Chapter 3

Harlow

I stare across the counter at Pierce as he eats a sandwich and looks out the window, wondering what the hell to think about this guy. 

I mean, he's obviously gorgeous. I remember when he was a patient on my floor all of the nurses argued about who got to take care of him each shift. Thinking back on it now, I remember that he specifically requested me. I didn't think much of it at the time. It happens pretty often that a patient will get comfortable with the same staff and request them whenever they can, but now I wonder if his obsession had started even then. 

But honestly, why would he do this? He's rich, beautiful, clearly intelligent. Why would he go to these lengths for a woman when he could do something so much more logical?

Like ask me out on a date. 

I'm pretty sure I would have said yes, but I would have been as confused as I am now on why he would even want me. My life is a mess. I work too much, live paycheck to paycheck and have the emotional intelligence of a houseplant. The only other living thing in this world that I love is my cat. 

"Oh my God, Goose!" I scream, causing Pierce to look at me with a panicked expression. "My cat! I don't have anyone to feed him, or clean his litter, or give him those little treats that he loves! Please, Pierce! Please don't let my cat die." I beg him, my eyes filling with tears again. He puts his sandwich down and rounds the counter towards me, but I'm too panicked to worry about his close proximity. He holds his hands out and grabs my shoulders, rubbing up and down in a soothing motion. 

"Relax, sweetheart. Everything's fine." he murmurs quietly.

"Easy for you to say. You're not a starving, helpless, lonely animal." I growl. His eyes go wide as he looks down at me in surprise, a smile flashing across his face and I fight the urge to smack him. 

Sure, he says he'll never hurt me, but it's probably best not to test that theory. 

"Harlow, come with me." he says, grabbing my hand again like he did earlier. I want to wrench it away, to wash it with burning water and acid to get his touch off of me, but my concern is for my cat so I let him lead me up the staircase to the door right next to the room I woke up in. We stop in front of it and he looks at me expectantly. 

"Go ahead. Open it." he says, motioning towards the door. 

I push it open to find what looks like a jungle. A huge tree in one corner of the room, it's branches extending against three walls with varying levels of platforms reaching all the way down to the ground. There's what looks like a chandelier in the corner of the room, but it has ropes that reach halfway to the ground with felt fish, crabs, sharks and a pirate ship dangling from the end. It looks to be attached to a motor as it spins slowly on it's own. The other side of the room has what looks like an umbrella holder, but instead there are what appear to be dozens of string toys with feathers, furry tail looking things and crinkling toys on the end. My eyes can't move fast enough to take in all of the details and I don't even notice Goose until he meows from high up on a perch in the tree. I look over at Pierce, but he's watching me. 

"I read that cats are like jungle predators. They like to be up high." he explains as he motions towards the tree. "And according to the vet he's a little overweight. But I didn't tell Goose that. I didn't want to hurt his feelings. But that's what the wheel is for." He says, pointing towards what looks like an oversized hamster wheel in one corner. "You can clip a treat in there. To give him motivation. He loves it." Pierce says excitedly, heading over to the contraption and hooking one of Goose's favorite treats inside. Goose mewls from up high and works his way down the branch of the tree before climbing into the wheel. Pierce gives it a little shove to get it started, but Goose takes over easily and soon he's running, trying to get the treat. Pierce laughs as he looks over at me and I don't know what to think. 

"I put couches in here. So you can hang out with him. Obviously, he can sleep in your room if you want and roam the house freely. I just thought it'd be nice for him to have his own space." he shrugs, pointing towards two plush couches in the center of the room. 

"What's with the tables?" I ask, the ones on the ends of the couches seem to have a weird lip on the edges. 

"I know how he likes to knock over cups." Pierce says easily and that creeping sensation trickles down my spine again and I once again wonder how he knows these intimate details about my life. 

"What's that?" I ask, pointing towards a weird chair in the corner. 

"It's his litter box. Get it? It's a throne." he says chuckling again and I eye the strange piece of furniture. It does look like something a king would sit on. "I know it's a bit much, but when I saw it I couldn't help myself." he adds, looking at me again and I am once again stunned into silence. 

I sit on one of the couches and he sits across from me on the other. Goose is finally able to snatch his treat and hops off the wheel, making his way lazily towards us. He visits Pierce first, rubbing against his leg and purring when Pierce reaches down to rub him behind the ear. Then he jumps up next to me, curling onto my lap and looking up at me without a care in the world. I run my fingers through his fur methodically as I think. Pierce did say he would answer my questions. 

And I have a lot of them. 

"So... You'll give me anything I want?" I ask and he nods. "Except letting me leave?" I clarify. He sighs a little and looks away before looking back towards me. 

"I will do anything I can to make you happy." he says. I realize he's redirecting, but I let it slide for now. 

"What if I want another cat?" I ask. 

"We'll name him Maverick. To go with Goose." he says with a grin. 

"What if I want a dog?" 

"Just tell me what kind. I'll have it here by tomorrow."

"A newfoundland." I say easily. 

"We can name him Stanley." 

"What if I want a girl?" 

"Then we can name her Stella and yell her name dramatically through the house every time she does something bad." he says with an easy grin. 

"How did you know Streetcar is my favorite play?" I ask, but he just shrugs. 

"You said something about it. When you were my nurse." he says, but he does a weird fidget thing with his leg so I don't believe him. 

"You said you'd be honest with me." I say firmly and he nods, catching Goose when he jumps up into his arms and I'm a little annoyed with my cat. 

Doesn't he realize the man is crazy? 

"I am being honest. It was one of the first things you said to me, because my sister's last name is Blanche and you saw her name on my emergency contacts list." he says and the memory floats back to me. I nod and look away, not sure what else to say. 

"What else do you want, Harlow? What dreams do you have?" he asks, his voice so gentle it feels like he really just wants to know. The thought touches somewhere deep inside me and I look away, not willing to explore that emotion further right now. 

"I don't know." I say simply, but it's honestly true. 

I never had the luxury of dreaming. 

"Well, you think about it. I'd love to hear what you come up with." he says warmly, his voice so genuine it makes my chest ache. A strange noise from the corner has me jumping and I turn to see a weird contraption sitting on the floor. Goose's ears perk up and he makes a mad dash for it. 

"What the hell is that?" I ask, placing my hand over my chest to stop my frantically beating heart. 

"That's his food dispenser. The vet gave me some new food suggestions so we're slowly transitioning him to the new food to avoid any stomach issues. That dispenses the precise amount of food he should eat, twice a day. He's not very happy with it." Pierce says as Goose gobbles down the food like he hasn't eaten in days. 

"Why?" I ask. 

"It's quite a bit less than what he's used to. But the vet says this is the best way to make sure he has a long, healthy life." Pierce says just as Goose finishes his food and looks up at us almost like he's scowling at Pierce. "He has the confidence of a farm cat with the skills of a sloth." Pierce murmurs, chuckling to himself as Goose climbs back up into his loft, circling a few times before laying down on one of the beds. Pierce looks down at his watch briefly and sighs before standing. 

"Can I show you one other thing?" he asks. I stand and go to follow him, looking up at my spoiled cat one more time to see if he'll follow us, but he's already asleep. 

He leads me down the staircase and I'm grateful he's not touching me this time. We wind through a couple of hallways that I hadn't seen yet until he pulls open another door. He flips on the light and it looks like it leads towards the basement. 

"What the fuck is down there?" I ask, backing away from him as my heart starts to pound. He looks back at me, clearly confused. 

"What do you think it is? A torture dungeon?" he asks sarcastically. 

"How should I know! It could be for all I know!" I shoot back. He shakes his head and chuckles a little under his breath. 

"It's probably going to be your favorite room in the whole house." he says, starting back down the stairs. 

I wait until he's a reasonable distance ahead of me before following slowly. I notice the smell of fresh paint and new carpet. The further down I get I see the walls are painted a dark blue, not quite navy, but close. The carpet is a luxuriously plush tan that feels soft and squishy under my toes. Once I get all the way down, I turn into the room and see a large screen on one wall, a projector hanging from the ceiling, and a circular couch in the middle of the room. There's a ladder type thing on the wall with large, fluffy blankets stacked high and pillows in the corner. I nearly gasp at how incredible this room is. 

"I know how much you like your shows." Pierce says, using a remote to turn on the projector. "You can watch anything you can ever imagine on here." he says, clicking through the options. "If you hit the heart up here at the top of the remote, it will bring up your favorites." he says, hitting the button and I watch in fascination as all of my comfort shows flash onto the screen. 

"Pierce..." I murmur, not really sure what to say. 

"If you get hungry, the fridge is fully stocked with your favorite snacks and drinks. I can show you how to use the popcorn maker later. I have some work to do so I'll leave you be. If you need anything, there's an intercom system through the whole house." he says, pointing to a box on the wall with multiple buttons. "Just hit the one that says office and I'll come running." he says, handing me the remote. His eyes turn affectionate as he looks down at me and I stand frozen, not sure what to do. 

"You don't have to stay down here, if you don't want to. You can go anywhere in the house you'd like." he says before he turns and walks back up the stairs. I watch him go, turning back towards the screen as his words echo through my mind. 

Anywhere in the house. 

I'm still trapped.