Love, Lies, and Deception

by L. P. Dover

  “Shh … it’s okay. Everything will be okay,” he murmured in my ear.

  “Has anyone tried to call you?” I asked, still keeping my face hidden while he held me.

  He scoffed, and his chest vibrated with a sardonic laugh. “Are you kidding? If it’s not Emily, your sister, or Justin calling it’s Alec. I haven’t answered a single one. I wanted to wait and see what you wanted me to do.”

  Sniffling and wiping my eyes, I backed away and straightened the bag on my shoulders. I was too embarrassed to look Kristian in the eyes, so I turned my head away.

  “Please don’t answer them just yet, and if you do, don’t tell them I’m with you. I just feel like a fool, not to mention there’s still someone trying to find me. So it’s probably best I try to stay hidden.”

  Kristian lightly grasped my chin and tilted it up so I’d meet his eyes. “You have nothing to worry about; we can stay hidden for as long as you want. I rented a beach house for the weekend, but I’m sure the owners would let me extend it for however long we need it.”

  Weakly, I half-smiled and nodded. “That sounds good. I probably need to call my sister before she has the whole world out looking for me.”

  Taking the bag off my shoulders, Kristian threw it over his and agreed, “Yeah that might be a good idea. I don’t want to get arrested for kidnapping you. Let’s get out to the car so you can have some privacy when you call her.”

  Taking my hand, he led me out of the airport and into the breezy, humid air of Wilmington, North Carolina. My sundress immediately stuck to my skin as the heat surrounded me like a thick blanket. I could see Kristian’s Land Rover in the parking lot and was thankful we didn’t have far to walk before we got back into some air conditioning.

  “It’s hot, isn’t it?” Kristian remarked, hitting the key fob to unlock his car doors.

  I nodded. “It’s going to take some getting used to when we move out here. Does this place you’re taking me to have a pool?” I asked.

  Smiling wickedly, Kristian opened my car door and I slid in. He leaned into the door and added, “Yes, it does, and we have it all to ourselves. We’re also right on the beach, so if you want to go for a walk tonight we can, or if you want some time to yourself that’d be fine as well.”

  Leaning my head against the seat, I sighed and turned to face him. “A walk on the beach sounds great, Kristian, except I might need a few drinks in me first. It’s been a very long day.”

  He gazed at me sadly. “You know that’s not the way to deal with this, right?”

  “I seem to recall that being your therapy when you and Natalie were having your ups and downs,” I pointed out, pursing my lips. “Speaking of which, isn’t she supposed to be here with you this weekend? What’s she going to say about me being here?”

  “Hold on and let me get in. I’ll tell you all about it.”

  Shutting my car door, he walked around to his side, placing my bag in the back before getting up in the front. Starting up the engine, he backed out of the parking space and we were off on our way.

  “Yes, she was supposed to be here …” Kristian began, “… but now she’s not coming.”

  Exasperated, I asked, “Did you two have another fight? I swear you two have more fights than any other couple I know.”

  Kristian shook his head. “No, Mare, we didn’t have a fight. We’re not together anymore.”

  His attention was on the road, but my eyes went wide and I stared at him. “Since when?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  He glanced at me for a brief second and shrugged his shoulder. “I didn’t want to burden you with my problems while you had ones of your own. After what happened at the airport with me kissing you I told her.”

  I stiffened in my seat. “What did she say?”

  “Nothing much really, other than the fact that I’m a dirtbag even though she admitted to cheating on me, too. It wasn’t going to work anyway.”

  He didn’t sound upset about it at all which surprised me, but I had a feeling I knew why. I definitely was not in the mood to find out for sure just yet. Taking his hand, I clasped it with my own and held it in my lap.

  “I’m sorry, Kristian. Right now, I don’t think I’m in a position to give you relationship advice.”

  Reluctantly, he asked, “Are you going to tell me what happened? I understand if you don’t, but I think it’d be good to talk about it.”

  Dropping my gaze to our clasped hands, I swallowed hard and took a deep breath. Talking about it was going to be difficult, but I needed to get it off my chest. The tears started burning behind my eyelids and I let them fall willingly, hot and salty down my cheeks.

  “He cheated on me, Kristian,” I said softly.

  His hand tightened in mine. “Are you serious? How could he cheat on you? You two were in hiding.”

  I scoffed, “Well, when you’re famous I guess you can get any piece of ass you want. Apparently, waiting for me to get off my period was an inconvenience for him.” I cringed with what I said and sent him an apologetic stare. “I’m sorry, that was too much information. I don’t know why he did it, but he did. All I know was that it hurt.”

  I paused and glanced out the car window. “It was with the maid, Kristian. I have no clue how many times he’d made a fool out of me.”

  Kristian clenched his teeth and growled, “What a fucking douche bag. He doesn’t deserve you. I mean, look what you’re going through for him. I wish I could’ve kicked his ass for you.”

  Dejectedly, I nodded. “I know, I wish you could’ve, too. It just goes to show that he couldn’t change from his past. I should’ve known better.”

  Kristian squeezed my hand again, and thankfully we finished the rest of the ride in silence. We only rode in the car for about ten minutes before we pulled into the driveway of an immaculate beach house. I was amazed at how huge it was. It was three stories of pure beach bliss with bright blue siding and white shutters.

  “Why did you rent such a huge place for just yourself? This is amazing,” I breathed in awe.

  Kristian laughed and got out of the car; I followed suit. “Do you like it?” he asked curiously, giving me a sheepish look.

  Wide-eyed, I gasped, “I love it. What’s not to like? If I could afford it, this would be the place I’d love to live in when we move here.” His grin grew wider, more mischievous. He was up to something, I could tell.

  “Why do you look like that?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

  Kristian grabbed my bag from the backseat and started walking toward the door. “What would you say if you could live here while you went to school?”

  “I would say that’d be amazing, but there’s no way I could afford something like this.”

  Kristian walked up the front steps, and unlocked the door. Pushing it open, he allowed me to enter first. The living room had a whole wall of windows that peered out to the ocean beyond, and a row of rocking chairs that adorned the whole patio. The house was airy and light, smelling of coconut and the salty sea air. I was immediately in love with the house.

  I walked out the patio doors and leaned against the railing, peering out at the rolling sea. Kristian came up beside me and bumped me with his shoulder.

  “I have something to tell you, and I was going to wait to do this, but seeing your face when you got here I’ve decided that I can’t. Plus, you could use the cheering up.”

  “What is it?” I asked curiously.

  Kristian took a deep breath, and turned to look at the horizon which was slowly turning pink with the setting sun.

  “I lied about renting this place, Mare. When I made the decision to move here, I found this place and bought it. The first day I put my house in Boone on the market it sold. It made a really good down payment for this one. Needless to say, I moved while you were gone.”

  I gasped. “So that’s why Emily said she hasn’t seen you. Were you even in Boone when I called you from the airport?”

  He nodded. “Ye
ah, I was. I was packing up the last of my things. So what do you think about the idea of living here? You and Emily would both have your own rooms and all I ask is that you pay just a small amount of rent.”

  Wide-eyed, I stared at him completely frozen in place. “If this wasn’t one of the shittiest days of my life I’d be running around here screaming at the top of my lungs. It’s amazing, Kristian, and I’m more than ecstatic about living here. I just can’t believe this is really happening.”

  He grinned at me, and I couldn’t help but smile back. “See, I told you I could make it all better. Things are going to look up for you, baby girl. I know it sucks about what Alec did to you, but you will move on from it. You could do so much better than him. You’re a strong woman, Marissa, but now the only thing we have to worry about is keeping you safe.”

  I scoffed, “Tell me about it. I wonder if the psycho that’s after me will leave me alone now that it’s clear I don’t mean that much to Alec.”

  Kristian’s eyes grew dark and he clenched his teeth. “Right now I’m not taking any chances. Tell no one you’re here or where we’re at, but you need to call your sister and the detective to tell them you’re okay. The last thing we want is them searching for you.”

  Gasping, I cried, “Crap, you’re right. What if Alec already has them searching for me? My sister is going to be so mad at me for ignoring her calls.”

  “No she won’t, she’ll understand once you explain everything. I’ll just go inside so you can have some privacy. When you get done I’ll have a shot of vodka ready for you.”

  He smiled and kissed my cheek before leaving me alone on the patio. I still hadn’t looked at all of my text messages, and I knew I wasn’t ready to see them, but I looked at a few of them anyway.

  Alec: Where are you? Please come back. I need to know you’re okay.

  Alec: I didn’t do what you think I did. I love you.

  Alec: I’m worried about you. Please call me back.

  There were about twenty text messages like that, not including the voice messages I still hadn’t listened to. He could rot in hell for all I cared. I skimmed over his messages and went down to Emily’s.

  Emily: Rissa, where the hell r u at? Alec is freaking out.

  Emily: Bitch, u better call me now!

  Emily: What the hell is going on?

  I felt bad for not calling her back, but hopefully she’d understand that I just couldn’t at the time. I texted her back.

  Me: Emily, I’m fine. Please don’t worry. I’ll call u soon.

  The reply was immediate.

  Emily: Bitch, don’t ever scare me like that again. Call me ASAP!!!

  I would call Emily in the morning, but first off I needed to call my sister. Taking a deep breath, I buckled down and dialed her number. She answered almost immediately, sounding frantic and full of worry.

  “Oh, thank God, Marissa you’re okay. You had me so worried.”

  My throat closed up. After losing our parents I should’ve known not to worry her with not answering my phone. “Kimberly, I’m so sorry. I was on a plane and couldn’t answer my calls, but I promise I’m okay.” It was the truth.

  “Alec has been calling here every few minutes asking if we’d heard from you. What’s going on, Marissa? He said that something happened and you left. He also said that he and the detective think the person who’s after you staged the whole misunderstanding situation to get you alone.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, leave it to him to blame it on someone else. I’m sorry, but I don’t believe that. Did he even tell you what happened?”

  “No, not every single detail, but I got the gist of it. Are you by yourself?” she asked.

  “No,” I paused, “I’m with Kristian.”

  “Okay good, at least you’re not alone. Just be careful, all right? I can’t handle anything more happening to you,” she said, tiredly.

  “I will, and I’ll call you soon. Do you mind calling Detective Michaels and telling him I’m okay? I don’t want to have to answer questions right now.”

  “Yeah, I will, but you might want to give him a call yourself soon just in case he has some information for you.”

  “Will do, I’ll call him tomorrow. Right now, I’m tired and I need a drink. Whatever you do, don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine … I promise. I love you.”

  “Love you, too.”

  We both said our good-byes, and before I could face Kristian I took a deep breath of the salty sea air. It did nothing to calm my nerves, but I made my way inside anyway. It was going to be a long night.

  My phone was quiet for the rest of the night which was a good thing since I took four double shots of vodka and passed out. Kristian must’ve carried me to a room and laid me on the bed because I had no recollection of how I got there.

  All I knew when I woke up was that I had a piercing headache and my phone was buzzing by my ear. Squinting at my phone, I saw that it was Emily.

  “Hey Em,” I muttered weakly.

  “Did you just wake up?” she asked, exasperated. “Rissa, it’s two in the afternoon. You never sleep this late. Please don’t tell me you got drunk.”

  I groaned and sat up slowly, feeling like I was about to throw up. My mouth was dry, but I tried to swallow a few good times to get the nauseous feeling to calm down.

  “Trust me, I needed it,” I explained.

  “Look, I know you don’t want to hear this right now, but you need to talk to Alec. He’s really worried about you. He told me everything that happened.”

  Rolling over in bed, I grunted and shook my head. “Yeah, I bet he’s worried. Probably afraid I’ll go to the press or something. He hasn’t even called me since yesterday morning. That doesn’t sound like he’s too worried about me.”

  Sarcastically, Emily laughed. “Yeah, and you want to know why he hasn’t called you since yesterday morning? Turn on the television, Marissa.”

  Oh no, what happened? Dread settled into the pit of my stomach and I felt even sicker. Gazing frantically around the room, I recognized Kristian’s bedroom furniture from back at his house in Boone. It was his room he put me in. His flat screen television was hanging on the wall directly across from the bed and the remote was on his bedside table.

  Frantically, I asked, “What channel, Emily?”

  “Hmm … channel two, I believe.”

  Grabbing the remote, I clicked it on and navigated it to channel two. My breath hitched at the sight before me. “Oh my God,” I breathed.

  “Yeah,” Emily retorted. “It seems he went a little ape shit after you left and caused a major scene at the airport trying to look for you.”

  I stared at Alec on the television as he pummeled a security guard trying to get past him. The rest of the video showed him getting handcuffed and taken away looking absolutely terrible.

  I sighed. “His cover is blown now, Emily. He’s going to be all over the press and this is just the beginning.”

  “Yes, I know, but he’s out now. I saw a clip of him leaving the station in Denver. I guess that’s where you two were?”

  I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. “Yeah, that’s where we were. Even though we were in hiding those were the best two weeks of my life up until yesterday. I don’t know what to do, Emily.”

  “Do you mind telling me where you are? Are you alone?” she asked. “I’ve been trying to call Kristian, but he won’t answer his phone. He’s not going to be happy when he finds out what happened.”

  I heard the front door open and close and as much as I wanted to tell her where I was I knew that I shouldn’t. “Emily, I have to go. I’ll call you back later, okay?” I said quickly.

  Not waiting for a reply, I hung up the phone. Just a mere second later Kristian came strolling into the room.

  “I see you’re awake,” he said, holding a glass of water and a bottle of Ibuprofen. He handed them to me and I happily opened the bottle, shaking out a couple of pills.

  “Thank you,” I sputtered, popping the med
icine in my mouth. The water was soothing as it glided down my dry throat, and I prayed the medicine started working fast.

  Kristian glanced at the television and narrowed his eyes. “I see you saw the news. It appears your ex got into a little trouble at the airport.”

  “Yeah, I saw that. It was stupid of him to do that, too. Now the media’s gonna start prying into why he was there and soon they’ll get my name.” I covered my face with my hands and groaned. “This is not what I need right now.”

  Kristian sat on the bed and pulled my hands away from my face. “You’re right, it’s not, which is why we’re spending the day on the beach. My interview is tomorrow so today I’m all yours.”

  “As much as I’d like to spend the day on the beach, Kristian, I can’t. I don’t have a bathing suit, not unless we go out shopping for one, but I really don’t feel in the mood to go out anywhere,” I informed him.

  Grinning from ear to ear, Kristian left the room and came back in with a shopping bag. “No worries, baby girl. I got you all covered.”

  When I opened up the bag, I glared at him as his smile grew bigger. “Yeah, you barely got me covered,” I muttered sarcastically.

  He shrugged. “Hey, it’s better than nothing. I also got you some donut holes and left them on the kitchen counter. We can go to the store later and get more groceries. Now stop sulking and come on. It’s a beautiful day outside.”

  He turned to leave and walked out of the room. “I’m heading outside,” he called out from down the hall. “Meet me out there when you’re done in here.”

  Dumping the bathing suit on the bed, I cringed when I saw how skimpy it was. Holding it up in the air it didn’t even look like it would cover up my ass. Kristian was going to pay for that.

  I got up and shut his bedroom door so I could change out of my sundress from the day before. Once the bathing suit was on, I borrowed a pair of Kristian’s sandals that were sitting on the floor in his closet and slipped my feet in them. With my hand on the doorknob, I was about to twist it when my phone started to ring. I knew who it was going to be.