Chapter 1

After I got Alzheimer's, the doctor said my mind was like that of a five-year-old.

Christian Evans vowed he'd look after me forever, pleading with me not to forget him.

It wasn't until our wedding anniversary that I decided to play a game of hide-and-seek with Christian. I snuck into the big freezer in the kitchen.

Christian walked in. When he saw the raw meat scattered everywhere, he threw his briefcase down on the floor.

The noise startled me so much that I clapped a hand over my mouth. I huddled in the corner, hardly daring to breathe.

"All she ever does is cause trouble for me. Why can't she die already?" Christian assumed I was hiding out in the bedroom.

He slammed the freezer door shut with a bang and locked it tight with a heavy padlock. "Since you love rummaging through the freezer so much, I'll make sure you never get your hands on it again."

There was a loud click as the lock snapped shut.

I heard the key twisting in the lock and shoved at the door in a panic, but it didn't move an inch. "Christian, I'm in here."

"If you want to die, do it at home. Don't go out and make me look bad." He stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

The air inside the freezer was getting harder and harder to breathe. I could see frost forming on my eyelashes, and my whole body was starting to freeze up.

*****

I curled up in the deepest part of the freezer. Bags of frozen meat were stacked beneath me.

I had carefully shifted them out of the way, so Christian wouldn't be able to find me.

My hands were frozen stiff, my fingers locked up, and barely able to move.

I breathed warm air onto my hands and rubbed them together for warmth.

Christian was always obsessed with playing hide-and-seek.

He used to promise that if I managed to hide really well, he'd treat me to some candy.

It was our wedding anniversary today.

I circled the date on the calendar. I was sure Christian remembered it, too.

I'd been busy in the kitchen for ages, getting everything ready for this surprise.

I spent the whole afternoon arranging a heart-shaped meat platter on the table.

I couldn't really tell which ones were raw or cooked, so I went with the brightest red ones.

Christian's definitely going to praise me for this.

I heard the fingerprint lock whirring at the entrance.

The door opened.

I covered my mouth tightly, holding my breath.

The sharp click of his leather shoes echoed across the floor.

Christian walked into the kitchen.

Through the narrow gap, I watched as Christian paused in front of the table.

There was no smile on his face.

He slammed his briefcase onto the floor.

With a heavy thud, his briefcase strap knocked the platter I'd arranged into a heart shape off the table, sending it crashing to the floor.

Shards of porcelain flew everywhere.

The piece of meat I'd chosen was now covered in dust.

I jolted in fear, accidentally bumping my head against the freezer wall.

The low hum of the compressor easily covered up the noise.

Christian ripped off his tie and stepped right onto the piece of beef.

The beef was squashed beneath his foot.

"Damn, what a fucking mess," he cursed. "All she ever does is cause trouble for me. Why can't she die already?"

He grabbed his phone, punched in a number, and waited for the call to connect.

I couldn't make out what the other person was saying.

All I could hear was Christian shouting angrily into the phone. "That dumbass made the whole kitchen reek of blood again. I've had it. Seriously, I'm done. Seeing her dumb, vacant face makes me want to throw up."

I was completely stunned.

Didn't Christian always call me his precious little darling? He said he'd love me no matter how I changed.

Tears brimmed in my eyes, and I wanted to go out and ask Christian what was wrong.

I wanted to let him know I never meant to upset him.

But my legs had gone completely numb from the cold. I couldn't move a muscle.

Christian hung up the phone and scanned the kitchen.

His gaze was fixed on the big freezer.

The lid was left slightly open because I'd moved around inside earlier.

Christian snickered coldly. He marched over and kicked the freezer. The lid snapped shut. Everything went pitch black in an instant.

The moment my elbow touched the icy wall, the cold seeped right into my bones.

My body was already frozen stiff. I couldn't move a muscle.

I tapped desperately on the inside wall, my fingernails scratching over the frosty surface, making a faint hissing sound.

"Christian, I'm in here," I whispered shakily.

Christian didn't hear me at all.

My palm slapped against the thick frost, but it barely made a sound.

Christian's curses drifted in from outside. "Hiding again? All you ever do is hole up in your room and play missing.

"Since you love digging through the freezer for raw meat so much, well, you won't be able to touch it ever again."

He picked up the heavy padlock from the floor, the one he'd bought to stop me from stealing food out of the freezer.

The key turned, and the bolt shot out with a snap.

I pushed against the lid with my head. But I didn't have enough strength to budge it.

He stormed out of the kitchen, shouting in the direction of the bedroom. "Starve then. Don't think I'll beg you to come out for dinner. This lock's staying shut for good.

"If you want to die, die in your room. Don't come out and make me look bad."

His footsteps echoed down the hall, growing fainter and fainter. Then the front door slammed shut with a bang.

Suddenly, the whole house was swallowed by silence. The only sound left was the freezer's steady hum.

The chill wormed its way into every crack of my bones.

I hugged my knees, curling up into a tight ball. My eyelashes were coated in a layer of white frost.

Breathing was getting harder; each breath burned in my throat. My mind was slipping away, everything starting to blur.

I remembered five years ago.

Back then, I wasn't sick, and Christian wasn't so mean to me.

He'd slip my hands into his coat pockets in the winter. "Here, let me warm your hands."

My hands felt so cold now. Why wouldn't Christian come warm my hands like he used to?

I closed my eyes. My last tear fell and froze instantly into a tiny crystal.

I was so sleepy. If I slept for a bit, everything would be okay. When I woke up, Christian would buy me candy.