Moth to a Flame

by K. Webster

“Well, Mom, it wasn’t random at all. Things were perfect at school. I was acing my classes. The sorority was great. I had plenty of friends. But Jessie left me at a party one night. I ended up walking home alone late one night. Mom, I was kidnapped,” I tearfully admitted.

  Her eyes bugged out of her head. “My poor baby. Why didn’t you tell me sooner or call the police? How did you escape?” Tears welled in her eyes as she attempted to understand.

  “My abductor was taking me somewhere and I was terrified but unable to get away. I ended up causing him to crash the car and was able to escape. That’s how I ended up in Jonestown.” I was sobbing now.

  “Oh, baby. I had no idea,” she bawled and squeezed me tight.

  “I survived three long years without incident. Figuring my abductor was a random person, I felt safe where I’d ended up. Then, out of the blue, I had two different people vying for my attention. Sam was my delivery guy. Cale was the new builder I’d accidentally maced.” I couldn’t help but smile at that memory, and she smiled too. “They both wanted to date me. I ended up going on a completely platonic date with Sam and it ended horribly. Cale came to my rescue and we were glued to each other’s sides ever since. Sam continued to terrorize me and even set my house on fire!” I exclaimed.

  “What?! Oh my goodness!”

  “Don’t worry, Cale was with me and put out the fire immediately. It could have been worse but thankfully he snuffed it out right away. The window has been replaced and the mess has been cleaned up. Anyway, Cale was my knight in shining armor, protecting me at every turn. Last night, we went to Anj’s Halloween party. Cale and I had planned on surprising each other with our costumes. When he texted me to tell me he’d arrived, I told him to meet me upstairs in one of the rooms.” I swallowed in fear of having to retell the next part. “He snuck in behind me and started touching me. I was so happy he was there. When I turned around and he pulled off his helmet, I was horrified to discover it was Sam.” A shudder quivered through my body.

  “Oh no!” she shrieked.

  “He held me down and forced my dress up. My panties were ripped from my body,” I gasped, eyes wide in fear.

  “Shh, honey. It’s okay. I have you,” she consoled me.

  “He was just about to rape me when he was forcefully pulled away from me. Cale had kicked in the door and began punching him over and over again. Anyway, they hauled Sam off to jail and he took me home.” At this point, the tears poured from my eyes.

  “Sounds like you’ve had quite a ride, baby girl,” she sniffled, stroking my hair some more.

  “That’s not all. This is the worst part. This morning, Cale and I professed our love for each other.” A painful wail escaped me.

  “Honey, that’s good news. You finally found someone perfect,” she replied softly, trying to calm me down.

  “I finally got the nerve to tell him the story of my abduction. Mom, it was him. Cale abducted me all those years ago!” Now I was a hysterical mess.

  “I don’t understand,” Mom whispered, genuinely confused.

  “He’d been in an accident and couldn’t remember anything about it. He was in a coma for twelve days. When I told him the date of the accident, he told me it had to have been him. Putting the nail farther into the coffin, he explained that the only memory he had from the accident was an ‘angel’ that he had tattooed on his freaking arm. It was of me, Mom!” I wailed.

  She pulled me in for a tight squeeze as I sobbed loudly into her shoulder. We stayed like this for quite some time. Finally, she withdrew from me. “All right, little lady. Tomorrow is going to be a day of retail therapy. We’ll hit all the best stores, and I think it sounds like some new shoes are a must. You’ve had a hell of a day and could really use the rest. Call me in the morning after you’ve woken up and we’ll get to it. I love you, sweetie.”

  “I love you too, Mom.” I hugged her one last time before she walked out of the room.

  I took my time showering in the exquisite bathroom. It was definitely plenty large enough for two people, I thought sadly. I wished Cale had never even told me what he’d done. My life would have been fine if I could have stayed in blissful ignorance.

  Once I was all wrapped in the thick, plush hotel robe, I snuggled up under the covers. God, I freaking missed him already. How was this even possible? I just wanted to forget him, but it wasn’t that easy.

  As if on cue, my phone chimed, notifying me of a text.

  Cale: My beautiful Lia. Wherever you are, know that I am thinking about you. Missing you. Still loving you. My heart just can’t turn itself off. I’m bleeding for you. I can only pray you miss me too. I love you, my brave, fiery Lia.

  A tear rolled down my face. When I read his text, he was my Cale for a moment and I really missed him. But when my brain took over, I also remembered that he’d kidnapped me three years ago, successfully ruining me for life. It wasn’t fair.

  Leaning over into my purse, I fished out the picture from the pumpkin patch. We had been so unbelievably happy. The smile on my face was huge. I was jealous of the girl in the picture because she had the man I loved.

  I fell asleep with my phone in one hand and our picture in the other.

  Breakups suck.

  ON SUNDAY MORNING, I finally called Anj using the number Pops had texted to me.

  “Hello?” she asked, probably not recognizing the number.

  “Anj, it’s me, Cale.”

  “I would ask you how you’re doing, but I don’t care. Ben said you and Lia broke up yesterday. Who the hell breaks up with someone after they were nearly raped?” She was completely pissed at me.

  “Look, Anj, you don’t know all the details and I’m not going to tell you either. Just know that I love Lia so much and want to make things better. Ben said she’s gone to New York to be with her mom. She isn’t responding to my texts or answering my calls. I need her back, Anj. Please just find out where she’s staying. I’m going to New York to be with her. You can’t tell her though because she’ll avoid me at all costs.” If I had to beg on my knees, I would. I would do anything for Lia.

  “Ugh! She’s gonna kill me for this if she’s that pissed at you. But since that girl has been the happiest I’ve ever seen her since you came waltzing into her life, I’m going to do this for you. So help me, Cale, if you don’t get my girl to being happy again, I’ll claw your eyes out.” Her tone was simple but the threat was real.

  “You’re the best Anj. I promise, I will do everything in my power to make things right again.”

  I arrived in New York late Sunday evening. My mind was on one thing only: getting to Lia. I was completely nervous when I thought about how pissed she would be when I showed up. Selfishly, I was hoping she would see me and miss me as much as I missed her.

  When the cab driver dropped me off, I went into the hotel and checked in. Anj had pulled through and gotten the name of the hotel. She couldn’t ask her what room she was staying in without being conspicuous, so I was on my own there. Anj did, however, find out that they would be out all day shopping.

  I let myself into my room. The hotel was pretty posh to say the least. I hoped Lia was enjoying her stay with her mom. She still hadn’t responded to any of my texts. Several times today, I’d texted her, but I hadn’t been rewarded with a response. It really sucked to be disconnected from her like this.

  Figuring she’d be asleep anyway, I decided I would call her phone. At least I’d hear her sweet voice over the voicemail. On the last ring, I expected her voicemail to kick in, but a very groggy Lia answered.

  “Hello?” she murmured.

  “Lia. I love you,” I whispered to her through the phone, not wanting to break the spell so I could selfishly hear her voice.

  “I love you too, Cale.” That response was music to my ears. Her breathing was rhythmic, meaning she was still out of it.

  “I miss you, Lia. Please don’t hate me anymore. I want your forgiveness more than anything in the whole world. This life isn’t worth living without you,” I
told her quietly.

  “Mmmmm.”

  “I’ll find you tomorrow so we can talk things out babe.” I know she won’t comprehend what I’m saying but I had to tell her anyway.

  “Room service for room 417.” Her voice still thick with sleep.

  “Noted, babe. Enjoy breakfast in the morning.” I hung up so she could continue sleeping.

  I should have felt guilty for having had a conversation with her while she was half asleep, but I didn’t. Not even a little bit. Her sweet voice was what I’d needed to hear.

  THE KNOCKING ON the door pulled me from my slumber on Monday morning. “Room service,” the woman’s voice chirped on the other side of the door.

  After jumping out of bed and tightening the robe around me, I answered the door. “I’m sorry but I didn’t order any.”

  “No worries, ma’am. It was ordered by another hotel guest for you.”

  I stepped back as she wheeled in the cart with the covered platter and carafe. She set to work arranging it on the table for me. Once she left, I shut the door behind her and sat down at the table, eager to see what was under the lid. My stomach was growling, completely agreeing with me. I lifted the lid to find my favorite kinds of donuts. Mom. She was really doing what she could to pull me out of my funk.

  Yesterday, we spent the entire day shopping. After a tiresome day, we had a late dinner with Rich. It was really nice to spend time with them even though the circumstances for me being there sucked. Today, we had another day of shopping planned. New York was so big. You could shop forever and still only cover a portion of the city.

  After breakfast, I met my mom downstairs in the lobby. We grabbed a cab and got straight to shopping. Three hours and four stores later, my bags were getting heavy, so we decided to stop for coffee in a cute, little bakery.

  “Thanks for donuts this morning, by the way.” I smiled as I sipped my cappuccino.

  “What donuts?”

  “The ones you had sent via room service.”

  “Nope, not me. Must have been Rich. He has been really worried about you.”

  Rich has always been thoughtful and looked after me but usually he likes to be the bearer of his gifts. If it had been Rich, he’d have shown up with the donuts himself. Strange. I’d have to ask him about it later.

  We finished our coffee and continued our stroll. I stopped in front of a gift shop that caught my eye. “Hey, let’s go in there.”

  As we walked in, I instantly warmed to the quaint, welcoming atmosphere. The shop was adorable, with all sorts of trinkets strewn about and I quickly lost myself looking through the hundreds of charms for bracelets on a table near the register. Each one was so detailed. Several of them had special meaning to me, so I began sorting through the ones that meant something. I picked up one that looked like a tiny high-heeled shoe and giggled as I thought about my shoe addiction. After the shit storm I’d recently dealt with, I deserved a bracelet. When I saw the moth charm, my heart stopped.

  In a moment of crazy, I added it to my pile and began searching for a flame. I settled for a campfire-shaped charm. Digging some more, I found a pumpkin and a pickup truck.

  Why am I doing this?

  I was deliberately choosing things that reminded me of Cale. Once I was satisfied, I had enough for my bracelet, I collected my loot and was about to head to the register when one more caught my eye. Before I had time to change my mind, I snatched it up and carried them over to check out.

  Mom didn’t ask about the bracelet I’d just bought and all the charms that went with it. She was a very intuitive woman and knew when not to prod. We spent the rest of the day shopping until it got dark. Then we made our way back to the hotel.

  Rich insisted that we try the restaurant at the hotel. It was very fine dining and probably cost a fortune for three people. Even though I felt guilty about the prices, I enjoyed the time I was spending with my mother and stepfather. Mom and Rich had me laughing through dinner at all of their funny stories of when they had been traveling in Europe. Mom said that her Texas accent had gotten her into all sorts of trouble in France.

  Feeling watched, I scanned the restaurant with my eyes but came up short. After dinner, the three of us went over to the hotel bar. A couple of glasses of wine later, I was feeling relaxed and my internal guard was down. Watching Mom and Rich interact made me sad. They were so happy and flirty. Although it was cute, it made me miss what Cale and I had.

  “Here you go, ma’am,” the bartender said, setting a shot down in front of me.

  “Oh, I didn’t order a shot,” I assured him and pushed it away.

  “The shot of Crown was ordered for you by a gentleman who was watching you like you were the last woman on Earth,” he laughed.

  The thought of another stalker made me want to hurl. Guys would always be stalkers to me now. This was the Lia I would always be.

  Taking the shot in two swallows, I thought about Cale on that first night he’d spent the night. We’d had Crown that night too. Bummer. Everything reminded me of him.

  “Mom, I’m going to call it a night.” I hugged her and then Rich.

  “Okay, sweetie. I’ll see you in the morning, love.” She waved goodbye.

  Heading out of the bar, I passed a group of drunk guys, which gave me the creeps. The tallest one with black hair was eying me big time. He grabbed my arm as I walked by, causing me to shriek and yank it back out of his grip.

  “Don’t touch me, loser!” I snapped and stormed away from him.

  “What a bitch!” he hollered after me.

  After hurrying to the elevator, I went up to the fourth floor to get back to my room. Once I safely let myself in, I threw myself onto the bed. My nerves were a mess. I was still breathing raggedly when I heard a knock on my door. Mom must have wanted to say goodnight again before going to her room.

  Just before I went to open the door, I thought about the guy downstairs. I was tired of getting myself stuck in compromising positions. Using better judgment, I peeked through the distorted peephole before opening it and my heart did a flip-flop. I recognized those broad shoulders and dark, disheveled hair.

  “Lia, it’s me.”

  What the hell?

  How did Cale find me?

  Anj. Yes, she was definitely going to die when I got back. My heart was pounding in my chest, but not in fear like it was supposed to be doing.

  “What do you want?” I demanded through the door.

  “I need to see you. Please,” he begged softly.

  Ignoring the screams from my logical brain, my heart won out and I opened the door. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days. His eyes brightened when they met mine though, and the way his shirt stretched over his perfectly sculpted chest had my insides doing somersaults. Could I freeze time so I could just stare at him all day long?

  “Do you have any ice?” he asked, holding up a swollen, bloody hand.

  “What the hell happened, Cale?” I momentarily forgot why I had to stay away from him.

  “Some asshole was bothering a pretty girl. He won’t be bothering any more ladies with that broken nose I gave him,” he smiled.

  My Cale had punched that dick from downstairs who’d messed me.

  Wait, he’s not my Cale.

  “Come in. I have a mini fridge. Not sure if there is any ice left in my bucket from earlier, but you can put a can of Coke on it,” I sighed, allowing him to follow me to the bar. Turned out, there was still some ice in the bucket even though most had already melted. At least it was cold.

  Setting the bucket down on the table and watching him slip his hand inside, I finally asked him, “Why are you here, Cale?”

  He flinched at my words, immediately making me feel guilty.

  Why do I feel guilty? I didn’t do anything wrong, I pouted inwardly.

  “I’m going to cut to the chase. I need you in my life, Lia. Whoever you think I was all those years ago, I never was that person before or after the accident. This situation is completely fucked up, but it
doesn’t mean we can’t make it work. People forgive each other all the time. We love each other. It seems forgiveness should be easiest with the ones you love.” He knelt in front of me and took both of my hands into his.

  My body tried to ignore the jolt that coursed through me at his touch. I tried to blame it on the coldness of his hand.

  At the jingling of my bracelet, he looked down at it. Lifting my hand, he carefully inspected each one. I was biting down on my lip when he looked up with a huge grin on his face.

  “You still love me,” he said with hope in his voice.

  SHE STILL FUCKING loves me. I could see it in her sparkling green eyes. This sexy siren was sitting before me, shaking like a leaf, but she hadn’t kicked me out. We could fix this—the bracelet was proof. The angel wings charm sealed the deal.

  My eyes scanned her body and I loved the way her sexy black dress hugged her curves. And knowing my girl, those knee-high boots were new.

  “Nice shoes,” I murmured before leaning into her and raising both hands to cup each side of her face. She instinctively closed her eyes, enjoying this moment. Whatever terrible thing had happened between us, she was momentarily setting it aside to bask in the warmth that was us. I pulled her to me, our lips almost touching. I inhaled the scent that was uniquely hers. I loved it.

  Gently, I brushed my lips across hers. She whimpered but not in fear. The sound she made was of a woman trying desperately hard not to give into what she desired. And in this frozen moment, I was what she wanted. Using my teeth, I nipped at her bottom lip, causing a moan to slip out of her.

  Her hands were shaking with need as she hesitantly raised them to thread them through my hair. Now it was my turn to groan. Her touching me so intimately made me feel like we could make it through. I brought her closer to me and she parted her lips without hesitating, I slipped my tongue into her mouth, needing more than anything to be with her in this way.

  Our kisses were now frantic, like we couldn’t get enough of each other. She wrapped her legs around my back in an effort to get closer to me. I was still kneeled down in front of her and had her pressed against the back of the sofa. Her hands found the bottom of my shirt and effortlessly yanked it over my head, only breaking our kiss for a second. My cock throbbed as she rubbed her hands up and down my muscled chest. God, I needed this woman like I needed air.