Free Louise: A New Beginning by Diana Nixon Page A

our father. But that hardly mattered, considering we lived in completely different worlds, so far away from each other.
    I went to the kitchen to pour myself a cup of coffee when I heard a loud knock at my door. And whoever was standing behind it was obviously pissed, he or she didn’t even think about using the doorbell, they apparently preferred to beat the shit out of my door.
    I went to answer the pounding, and the moment I did, Will entered my apartment, shouting, “What the hell were you thinking, Louise?”
    I stared at him, half surprised, half worried. I didn’t remember doing anything that he might not approve of or get angry about.
    “Well, hello to you too, and I have no idea what you are talking about. Care to explain?”
    “Oh, yes, of course I’m gonna explain myself. . . Why didn’t you tell anyone that you have been being followed?”
    “By whom exactly? Christopher? Or maybe my father’s spies, who, I’m sure, never tire of sneaking around and reporting to him about every single step I take, what I have for breakfast, and even what bathrooms I use while at school. . . You do mean those guys, right?”
    “No, I mean Rea Garcia,” Will said, with his hands on his hips. “The woman who visited you today at school.”
    “But, how did you. . .”
    “How did I know she was there? Well, Christopher saw her leaving the school this morning. He wasn’t there when she came, but he arrived when she was leaving. He followed her and found out that she came to warn you about something. She didn’t tell him much. Is that true?”
    “Yes. She said that attending Balero is not safe and that I should stop going there.”
    “What else did she tell you?”
    “Nothing. Why?”
    Will rubbed the bridge of his nose and took a few deep breaths, apparently trying to calm down. “Did she introduce herself?”
    “No. But you know her name. How did you know it?”
    “Rea is the nurse that I once told you about. She worked in the hospital where you were born.”
    “Oh, my God. . . At least now I know how she came to know about me.”
    “She knows a lot more than you think, Louise. And you’d better not see her, ever again.”
    “Because my father might find out that she came to talk to me?”
    “Exactly. The day you were born, she promised him she would never tell anyone about you. Then I came to ask questions about you, and your father knew she was the only person who knew what actually happened in the hospital the night you were born. So if he finds out that she came to talk to you, he will make sure she never speaks to anyone again.”
    “I didn’t think about it. . . I thought she was someone from my father’s cohort, I could have never imagined her being the nurse he paid off.”
    “Jeez, Louise, how can you not see it. . . When Christopher told me she came to see you. . .” Will stepped closer and put his arms around me, pulling me to his chest.
    It was so good to be in his embrace again, especially after the hellish day I had had.
    “I’m fine, nothing happened,” I said.
    “We don’t know that yet.”
    “What do you mean?” I moved a little so I could see his face.
    “Montgomery’s people are everywhere. If they saw Rea go into your school, we might never see her again.”
    “Oh, no. . . Do you know where she lives? We could go there and take her to a place where she would be safe.”
    “And that has worked so well with you, right? I have been trying to get you to live with me where you would be safe, but you want to be free… Do you think she would be any different?”
    I rolled my eyes, knowing he was right.
    “Besides that, I don’t know where she lives now. Christopher found her in a bar close to the school. He didn’t think to track her afterward, so I have no idea how to find her. The place Rea used to live has been sold and the new owners don’t know anything about her.”
    “What do we do then?”
    “ We are not going to do anything, but I will try to find out if