Free Holding On To You by Anne-Marie Hart Page B

want me to do?' Maddy says. 'Pretend to be your fiancée?'
    'Don't worry, I wouldn't ask you to do anything I didn't reckon you'd be capable of doing. I reckon you find it difficult enough hiding your true feelings, so the hatred I'm sensing from you, would make that kind of connection between us a little difficult to pull off. Nah, I just want you to act like nothing is wrong. It's much easier for me if I don't have to treat you like a hostage, sneaking around trying to hide you everywhere we go. After that, it's up to you whether you enjoy it or not.'
    'Why not just keep me tied up in the trunk of the car, or get rid of me altogether?' Maddy says.
    'I don't like eating alone.'
    'That's it?' Maddy says. 'You're keeping me hostage because you don't like eating alone?'
    'Do you like eating alone Maddy?' River says, his intonation serious.
    'I hope you burn in hell', Maddy says.
    'That's not a very nice thing to say', River says. 'I'm inviting you out to dinner and you're telling me to go fuck myself.'
    'Inviting me out to dinner?' Maddy says, unable to believe what he's saying. 'Your telling me to join you, and if I don't, you'll kill me.'
    'No, I said if you don't, I'll handcuff you and keep you in the back of the car, without any food. If you agree, and then try and run away, that's when I'll kill you. It's an important distinction.'
    'Is this how you date?' Maddy says. 'With a gun in your hand?'
    'Hopefully I won't need it', River says. 'Now, I'm going to ask you again. The trunk of the car, or an evening of fun?'
    Maddy doesn't answer.
    'It's the perfect way for us to get to know each other.' River says.
    'I don't want us get to know each other. What have I possibly got to gain from us knowing each other?'
    'I'm the only friend you've got at the moment', River says, 'and I'm taking the opportunity to treat you with respect. I'm sorry for taking you hostage, but to be honest, you looked like you needed it. What's more, I think you ought to drop the whole woe is me act, because it's pretty fucking unappealing. I don't know you Madeleine Parker, but I can tell from what I've seen so far that you've got to loosen up and start enjoying life a little bit more. I would wager that this is probably the most exciting thing that's happened to you since you lost your virginity, and when you're old and bitter and complaining about what injustices the world has thrown at you over the years, you'll look back on this time with the most regret of all, as the time that you could have enjoyed yourself, but you didn't because you were too far up your own ass.'
    'That's it is it? That's your cod psychology analysis of me? And you think I should take the advice of a hostage taker, a bank robber and a murderer?'
    'I've never killed anyone in my life, but that doesn't mean I won't start now if I have to. I may be a bank robber, but at least I don't look like an undertaker.'
    Maddy is shocked and hurt. She's almost incapable of saying anything, and then finally manages to say,
    'This is a Valentino dress', her voice quivering and tears beginning to form in her eyes again.
    'It doesn't matter whose dress it is. You've got beautiful eyes and a beautiful figure and you hide it all away underneath a thousand dollar bin liner.'
    It's the first time in a long time, that anyone has complimented her.
    'What size are you?' Terry asks.
    'What?' Maddy says, not really understanding the question.
    'Clothes', River says. 'What size do you take?'
    'You're going to buy me a new outfit as well as take me to dinner? What are we doing after, the movies?'
    Maddy wipes tears from her eyes. She can't believe how ridiculous the situation is she's found herself in.
    'Hell Maddy, you never know. I reckon you'd just about like that too.'
    She doesn't want to admit it to herself, but she really would. It's been a long time since she's been out for dinner with someone, but she'd love it even more, if the person that was offering it to her, wasn't only doing so because he