Free Pieces by Michelle D. Argyle Page A

washing her hands, Naomi reached for the box of plastic wrap so she could cover the marinade. “Yeah, that one.”
    “You were kidnapped? That CEO’s daughter is you ?”
    “Yeah.”
    “And you never told me?”
    Naomi carried the marinade to the fridge and set it on the top shelf. Most of the shelves were empty, but Becca had bought Coke. Naomi grabbed a can and opened the lid. “I thought you’d figure it out,” she said with a shrug.
    “No, not really. I remember the parents ... I mean your parents, and some hype about them neglecting you or something.” She tugged on a piece of her hair. “And some controversy over one of the kidnappers and ... you.” Her face blanched. “You were in love with him and he went to prison.”
    “Yeah, crazy, huh?”
    “Are you still in love with him?”
    Naomi took a sip of Coke and stared at the kitchen floor. It was wood, and she noticed a fine layer of dust along the edges near the cabinets. “Yeah, I am. He’s out on parole and I went to see him. I wasn’t supposed to because he’s not released yet and he’s not supposed to have any contact with his ...,” she made quotation marks with her fingers, “... victim.”
    “Oh, wow.” Becca looked around for a moment and then walked to the table and pulled out a chair. She sat down and stared at Naomi as if she were a complete stranger.
    Naomi swallowed another sip of Coke. “I don’t understand why everyone acts this way when they find out. This is why I didn’t tell you about it in the first place. Just because I was kidnapped doesn’t mean you have to treat me differently.”
    “But he’s a criminal and you’re in love with him. So that’s why you never go out on dates. What about that guy you went out with on your birthday?”
    “Finn?” She laughed, trying to make it sound natural. It came out shaky. “Oh, he’s just a friend and it wasn’t a date.” She turned away, afraid she was blushing. There was no way she was going to tell Becca about the kiss.
    “Huh, well, this is incredible, Naomi. I had no idea. So the whole cooking thing, you learned all that while you were captive? What kidnappers teach their hostage how to cook?”
    “I wasn’t a hostage. They wanted to keep me. Forever.”
    Silence.
    Naomi turned around to see Becca’s mouth hanging open. “And no, Evelyn didn’t teach me everything about cooking. She taught me a few things, enough for me to start learning on my own once I was ... once it was all over and I was back home. And I’ve learned a lot here too.” She clapped her hands together. “So, for the chicken, when it’s finished marinating, put it in a skillet on medium-high to sear it until it’s golden. Then flip it and do the same on the other side. Then get your thermometer and—”
    Becca raised her hands as if surrendering. “Holy shit, Naomi, I don’t care about the chicken. You were kidnapped. Don’t you want to talk about it?”
    She shouldn’t have told her.
    “No, I don’t want to talk about it. I told you so you would know, and that’s it. And if you ever tell Finn, I will kill you.”
    “He doesn’t know?”
    “He knows I have a boyfriend, but that’s all.”
    “A boyfriend in prison.”
    “He’s on parole now, not in prison. And he might have done bad things in the past, but he’s different now. He’s changed.” She set her Coke can on the counter and walked out of the kitchen.
    “Wait! I was going to tell you to join us for dinner!” Becca called out. “Derek’ll be here in an hour. You can invite Finn.”
    Naomi didn’t look back. She went upstairs and slipped into her bedroom, shutting the door before she stretched out on her stomach across the bed. It was stupid to get angry with Becca for judging Jesse, but she couldn’t help it. Her heart felt like it was on fire anytime someone assumed he was some terrible criminal and she was stupid to love him. Maybe he had been an awful person. Maybe he still was and she couldn’t see it. She