Welcome to my twisted mind.

This is (hopefully) going to spawn into a series for me.

The first chapter has no mention of Dane O'Malley, so just bare with me. I promise it'll be worth it.

Thanks for your support and feel free to read and review.

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“Seriously, next time you come to visit you’re staying longer than a night! We won’t have you doing all this driving just to see us for a couple hours, right honey?”

A redheaded woman was standing opposite someone who looked half her age, but similar, as if she was looking in a mirror that projected youth to the viewer. Caroline was her name, she was addressing the similar looking woman – her sister.

A tall gentleman wearing a dopey grin spoke up, “Right, dear. Seriously, Paige, you should just crash here for the night. It’s a long drive back home.”

Mark, Caroline’s husband, backed up his wife’s requests without hesitation. They were the perfect couple that way – always finishing each other’s sentences or backing up their spouse. And they always knew the right thing to say or do at the exact right time – it irked Paige sometimes, but she mainly chalked it up to a happy marriage.

“I don’t mind it, really. It’s only a few hours and I’ve got to work tomorrow.” Paige smiled at them reassuringly.

After a few more minutes of verbal sparring, Paige was able to get her way – she always did. Waving goodbye to them, Paige made her way to her car and was off before they had time to protest anymore about her driving at night.

She didn’t know why they had to worry so much, it was a three hour drive tops from where they lived in Virginia to her apartment on the skirts of Washington DC. Besides, she could take care of herself. They knew that as well as anyone.

A twinge of guilt passed over her as she thought about how she’d lied. It was only a white lie, of course, but she’d still lied. She just couldn’t stand being around the happy couple for more than a few hours. It was sickening to the point of exhaustion. So, Paige hadn’t had to work tomorrow, she just hadn’t wanted to stay. There was no harm in little white lies when they kept everyone happy.

Yawning, Paige realized she could probably use a little pick-me-up. A small restaurant caught her attention as she passed it on the road. They served just coffee at restaurants, right? Deciding there wasn’t going to be a Starbucks on the Virginia back roads anytime soon, Paige opted to stop at the small restaurant.

There was no sign to indicate the restaurant had a name, which Paige found a bit peculiar. She did, however, notice there were police cars lining the front and sides of the building. Whatever back roads town she was in, this was their police hangout. This piss-poor excuse for an establishment looked more like a bar than anything else, but Paige quickly realized that beggars couldn’t be choosers.

Parking her car, and checking twice that the doors were locked, Paige made her way towards the door.