Applewild Read Free

keep her on if we wanted the place.”
    “That’s strange.”
    “You’ve seen the place. It’s beautiful. Totally worth it.”
    “How old is she?”
    “You want to know if she’s in your movie’s demographic?” Madison clarified with a smirk. “She’s twenty-five. But she’s never asked for an autograph or special favors or even tried negotiating her contract for a higher salary. She’s never leaked my private information. I’m sure she knows who you are, but I can’t see her spending her evenings poring over gossip magazines and doodling hearts around your face. She spends most of her time at the barn, with the horses. If it makes you feel better I can make sure she stays there.”
    “If you trust your employees that’s good enough for me.”
    “Then it’s settled. I’ll give you a ride back to your place and someone from Applewild will pick you up at the airport tomorrow.”
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

 
    II
     
    Monroe lay in her bed in the dark. It was 12:15. She should have been asleep by now, but she just couldn’t close her eyes. An ear-splitting scream sounded from the next room—her mother’s. Then silence. Fear coursed through Monroe, paralyzing her. Her step-father shouted. Then he, too, was silent.
    Heavy, booted footsteps sounded on the hardwood floor just outside Monroe’s room. Her heart beat hard against the inside of her chest. She wanted to scream, but her voice wouldn’t reach her lips. The door to her room creaked open. There he was, fresh blood dripping from a kitchen knife clutched firmly in his hand.
    He came for her. Monroe couldn’t look away. He was too large for a fifteen-year-old to fend off, even if she could have convinced her paralyzed body to move. He raised the knife high above his head, aiming the tip of the blade at her chest, and then let it fly.
                 
    Monroe awoke with a start. She was in her bed, in the dark, in a different time and place. Ten years had passed since that night. She lay still for a long while, breathing slowly, trying to calm her racing heart.
    Horses whickered softly in the stalls below, reminding her she was in a safe place. She clenched and unclenched her fists, the blanket bunching beneath her fingers in a steady rhythm. Her right hand ached slightly, as it did with any movement, but the motion calmed her. She looked at the clock by her bedside. 3:00am. She’d managed to get four whole hours of sleep. It was better than some nights, worse than others. But she sure wasn’t getting back to sleep now. She didn’t much want to.
    Monroe sat up and flipped on the light, illuminating her studio apartment. She turned on the TV and coffee pot and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She lived in the hayloft, above the stable at Applewild Acres. She’d been in charge of the horses for seven years—five with her former foster family and two with the new owners. She’d met them a few times, mostly to hand off horses, but they spent most of their year across the country in Los Angeles. Madison Avery was an actress, a famous one, and her husband did something with computers. They had a two-year-old son. They’d just bought him a pony named Punky. They seemed nice enough. That was all she knew.
    She ran a brush through her straw-colored hair before tying it back in a ponytail. She went to her dresser and pulled out jeans and a long-sleeved shirt and poured herself a cup of coffee. A celebrity gossip show droned in the background.
    “…Tom Cruise looking good on the red carpet…surprised pedestrians when she hit a curb…biggest story is evidence Altie’s on the outs…photos of Sophie Desmarais and Alton Daniels… People magazine…”
    Monroe glanced at the TV as she sipped her coffee and fried a couple of eggs. She didn’t follow celebrities closely, but she knew the basics—Blue Ivy, Robsten, LiLo. She’d seen this Alton guy in one movie—co-starring with her boss,