Free Captivated (An Affliction Novel) by Raven Page A

know what time, actually.” It was true. I didn’t know what time my hero brought me home. “Sorry, I think it was past my curfew. I didn’t really look at the time.” Another truth.
    “Well, I’m going to your aunt’s house tonight. Do you want to go with me?” she asked, brushing it off.
    “Actually, mom. I kind of already told Markus I’d help him with something.” Even though it was another truth, I felt like such a liar. I hated keeping things fro m her. If I told her any of the actual events and what Markus and I were up to, I’m sure that she would keep me tied up in the house for my own safety.
    “Okay, then. But I’ll be leaving soon. I want you back by eleven tonight.” she demanded.
    “Thanks, mom.” I exhaled.
    Fortunately, she left the room without any more questions I couldn’t answer honestly. As soon as she closed the door, I jumped to my feet.
    After polishing my nails, I hopped in the shower and started getting ready for tonight. After I got myself all prettied up and some time had passed, I went downstairs. It was dark in the house now. My mom had left during daylight, so she didn’t leave any lights on. I carefully felt my way along the wall to the stairs. Don’t trip . Don’t trip . Don’t trip . 
    It was quite a while until Markus was supposed to pick me up, so I popped in an action movie. The re was a lot of fighting in that one. The hero of the movie was fighting numerous bad guys at the same time, too. Markus came to mind then. It hit me that we were going to act as the good guys tonight. Would it be dangerous? Would Markus be wrong? Would there be running involved again? At least I was wearing actual shoes tonight. It was difficult to look better than last night when I had to dress down. But at least I was comfortable that time.
    The doorbell rang right at eight. I opened it and Markus stood there, dressed in all black. Oh yeah, that was sure to be some night.
     
     
     

 
     

     
     
    re you going to wear that tonight?” Markus asked.
        “What’s wrong with this?” I spat out. Looking down at myself, I realized what he was talking about-I was wearing a vibrant red shirt with light pants. An outfit that attracted attention probably wasn’t a good idea tonight. I swiveled around and ran upstairs to get a more appropriate outfit for spying. Having a better idea on what to wear now, I found a little black shirt and black hip huggers to go with it. My midriff top would show a little, but it was the only black shirt I had. Well, other than the one I wore around the house that had a picture of a skunk saying ‘love stinks’ on it.
    “You done checking yourself out yet?” Markus called out.
    “Shut up!” I hollered while running down the stairs. “Alright! Let’s go!”
    “Why are you so excited?” Markus asked.
    “Do I look excited?” I asked while giving him a mischievous smile.
    “Yeah. You do. Tonight I’m going to follow some guy around that could be a killer and you’re acting like you’re meeting up with a boy you like.” He stared at me, studying my face, and a smile formed on his lips.
    “What?” I asked.
    “You want to bump into your mysterious boyfriend don’t you?” He threw back a chuckle. “I knew it!”
    “No. I want to go catch me a bad guy. That’s all!” I snapped back.
    “Whatever.” Markus laughed out. “You ready yet?” He reached for the front door and opened it.
    Before we stepped out, I made sure all the doors to the house were locked. Markus was fidgeting with the passenger door to his car, but he eventually opened it for me and hopped in on the other side. I was eager to get the night started with. It felt like we were going on a mission, like in a movie or something. I never really did anything exciting like what we were about to do.
    I wasn’t sure if I was getting impatient or if Markus was just too slow. I stared at him in disbelief. How can a person be so slow? In a sloth-like motion, he buckled himself up