Jessica: Working hard, are you glad to be home.
Alanna: I have mixed feelings about it.
Jessica: Really, I thought you were missing your family and friends.
Alanna: Yeah I was, but I think it had more to with the fact that it was New Year’s than anything else.
Jessica: I see. So how is your family?
Alanna: Yeah-fine thanks and yours?
Jessica: The same old routine over here, I wish I were in New York.
Alanna: Ha, have you been working any events recently?
Jessica: I had one the other night it was a company’s ten-year anniversary party so that was worth the pay packet.
Alanna: Was anyone in particular there? I ask trying to seem laid back about the question.
Jessica: Are you referring to Adrian Black?
I pause as I type wondering if I should say yes or no. I go with the truth and type,
Alanna: Yes him.
Jessica: Sorry Alanna but he was not there, actually I do not think anyone has seen him since the New Year!
Alanna: Really, what ever happened to him?
Jessica: He will be around somewhere, Alanna do not worry!
Alanna: I am not worried, does he not have a company or something. How could he just disappear, I am sure he has many responsibilities?
Jessica: I don’t think he has disappeared, I hear of him going to France a lot so maybe he went there after the New Year for a bit of a break. Who knows he is a messed up bloke.
Alanna: Everyone says he has issues, but why, I do not understand what is so bad about him.
Jessica: The way the bloke acts for one thing, do you know there is not one bit of gossip or hearsay about his childhood. No one knows where he came from or what his parents are like.
Alanna: Perhaps he is just private about things like that. Tell me Jessica, when you first heard of him.
Jessica: It was about three years ago when he started his own company. All the newspapers where raving about this self-made millionaire at the age of twenty-one.
Alanna: When you first saw him, did you think there was more to him?
Jessica: I definitely thought he was different from everyone else, I never expected him to look the way he does.
Alanna: If you look past his looks Jessica, do you not see sadness in his eyes?
Jessica: I never thought about it.
Alanna: I cannot figure him out.
Jessica: Does he puzzle you?
Alanna: Yes, more than anyone else ever has.
The next morning I awake much earlier than Sophie does so I can be the first to get the door. I pace up and down the living room as I wait for Sophie to come down the stairs, I cannot contain myself I wonder what today will bring. Sophie rushes down the stair and to my relief she says she is running late for a shopping trip with her mom. She opens the door and I run over, and look outside to see if there is anyone there. As Sophie jumps into her car, I can hear the sound of another car pulling up. I bite my lip and I try to wave off Sophie as quickly as I can so I do not have to explain anything today. My plan works and Sophie starts the engine and drives out of the driveway. I wait in the doorway-hoping see the small fair-haired man I saw yesterday. As I watch him walk up the drive, I feel my heart beating a little too fast, is today the day that I find out who he is?
“This is a good sign.” The man says laughing.
“Miss Hart, I think you know the drill by know, I have a little something for you.”
I do not say a word instead; I just stand there looking at this man. He has a friendly smile on his face, I see him holding a white box.
“This is for you,” The man says, handing it to me.
“What is it?” I ask.
“I have no idea it’s just something he wants you to have.”
“Sure why else would he send it?” I say a little sarcastic. “The box you gave me yesterday was keys to car, a Lamborghini.”
“I knew this guy was rich but a Lamborghini.”
“Sir, I am a little confused, he sends me keys but there is no car what is this man all about?”
“Miss, as I told you yesterday I really can’t tell you anything about him. He will let you know who he is when he is ready, until then you have to receive all the packages.”
“Okay then.”
“There is one other thing I was supposed to ask you today.”
“Are you happy?”
“What?”
“He wants to know if you are happy.”
“You can tell him that I am not happy, I am sick of all the secrecy and the gifts, I can’t be bought.”
“Miss I know this must be hard for you, but the way this guy feels about you is really special, he has never did anything like this in his life and I think he has been waiting all his life for you.”
“All his life, how old is he?”
“What?”
“I said how old is he?”
“What does that matter?”
“I really hope he is not some old weird guy that’s trying to buy younger girl affections.”
“Miss, he is most certainly not an old weird guy.”
“Now I really have to go, I do have other deliveries you know besides you.”
After I watch the man leave I go back into the house. I lock the door behind me and take a seat up at the kitchen. I put the box on the counter then start unwrapping the outer packaging. I slip off the cellophane wrapping to reveal a box. It is very clear to see what he has given me. A Blackberry, as I open the box I discover inside there is a little white envelope just like the ones on the flowers. Inside there is a note which reads,
“I don’t have your telephone number so here is a phone that only I have the number for please wait for my call.”
I take out the white phone from the box to see that the phone is on. I begin to search through the phone, to see if there are any more clues as to who this is. I look in the messages but there is none. I look through the contacts but also there is none. There are no pictures, no emails no nothing on this phone; it is just a blank canvas. I lean back in my chair still not really taking all this in. It was hard enough to accept when it was, flowers and jewelry I was receiving, but now that this man has sent me a phone, I begin to think that this is getting more serious.
I try to do a few things around the house to distract myself from checking the phone every few minutes. I have already cleaned the kitchen and the living room. It is only after one, so I grab my purse and of course my new phone and head out the door. I make sure I lock the door behind me, still with that feeling of uneasiness.
I take a drive along the coastal route and park my car halfway along the beach. Whenever I feel like I need to think, this is always where I find myself ending up. I walk along the beach looking out at the water. As I gaze at the open sea, I feel immediately a sense of calm. I make my way further along the beach to the little white hut that sells cold refreshments. In the cold bitterness of winter, I decide to get a hot latte and a cinnamon waffle. I sit down at the nearest bench, next to an older woman she is sitting alone with a little black dog at her feet. Her face seems emotional as she stares out at the sea. I feel that maybe I am making her feel uneasy so I turn away and begin to eat my waffle. Somehow, I feel drawn to this woman, I do not really know what it is, but I feel like maybe she is familiar to me. I pick up courage and turn to face her.
“Excuse me mam, are you okay?”
The woman turns to look at me but does not answer, so I decide to take a different approach I say.
“I just love the sea don’t you?”
The woman looks again but still no answer.
“Do you come here a lot? I always seem to find myself here whenever I have something on my mind, is there anything on your mind mam?”
“I only come here when I need to think back,” she says in a rough voice.
“Do you want to talk?” I ask moving a little closer.
“No!” “You are just like him, always talking shut
up go away, leave me alone!”
I jump up in surprise, I walk away but I glance back to her she really looks familiar but I just cannot place her anywhere.
Driving home, I turn up the radio so loud I cannot hear myself think. However, after the day I have had, that is really all I want just now not to hear my thoughts. For they will be overtaken by the looming phone call I am so impatiently waiting for. As the car comes to halt at the red light, I take a glance in my rear view mirror. What is that? No it could not possibly be. I turn my head around, and gaze out the back window of the car and yes, what I see is what I thought, it is a black Lamborghini. I pause and think is this man following me? Am I in danger? As the light flashes to green, I push my foot down as far as it will go on the gas pedal. I try my best to dodge my way through the mid-afternoon traffic, all the while keeping one eye on the black shiny car that is I getting ever so close to me now. I just manage to catch the next light but the car behind does not. I whizz around the streets and start to go up the hill, if make a left turn here I can take a shortcut to my house. I make the turn and there it is my little brownstone cottage style house with a white picket fence and red blossoming roses climbing up the outer walls. My house is a little tired looking but certainly, that is part of its charm. I pull into the drive and Sophie’s car is not here. So as quickly, as my feet will carry me I run into the house, lock the door and breathe a sigh of relief.
Thirteen
That night as I lay in my bed, with my new Blackberry under my pillow for safekeeping, I think of the woman that I saw today at the beach. How familiar her face looked. The way she spoke it was as if, real pain was in her voice. I have never met that woman before, so what was it about her that got me so interested, was it that she reminded me of someone?
I am back in my car only this time there is no way out, the black Lamborghini has me trapped. I look desperately for a way out but the car is so close to me it is hard for me to see any which way. I turn around and look out the back window only to see there is a long grey wall. I am trapped there is no way out. I look down at my lap where my phone is and to my horror, there is blood everywhere. All over my hands and on the seat next to me, the entire car is bursting with blood, and I try to get out but the wall is restricting me from doing so. I climb over onto the other seat where there is no wall, I push open the door and the white Blackberry begins to ring. Filled with terror and my hands stained with blood, I answer the phone.
“Hello,” I say in a shaken voice.
“Alanna,” I hear a harsh voice say. I cannot speak my lips are frozen. I turn around to see the door of the other car open, and the person who comes out is not who I expected. I wake suddenly with sweat pulsing from my body. I sit up straight and try to shake off the feeling I have. What was that? I look down to make sure there is no blood only to see my hands shaking too violently. I place my hand on my chest and feel it beat much too fast. What is happening to me? Why am I having dreams like this? I think that all the worry and dread about who this mystery man is, has started to take its toll on me. I look over to my alarm clock and see that it is 5.30am. It is much too early to get up but I need to use the bathroom after the dream I just had. I open the door switch the light on and look at myself in the mirror. The reflection I see is a mere shadow of the girl I used to know. Her big brown eyes have lost their sparkle and with big black circles underneath them. Her face is so pale and emotional, how could someone who loved her put her through so much? I get back into bed and try to fall asleep once again, and wish that the dream I just had does not reoccur. When I wake up at 7.30am all I feel is dread. Am I in for another day like the one I had yesterday? Something inside of me is telling me to be scared. I feel as if there is something about to happen. I get out of bed as if it is a chore. I slowly walk down the stairs and slump on the couch.
“Alanna are you okay? You look terrible.” Sophie says with a concerned look.
“Yes, I am alright, just had a bit of a rough night that’s all.”
“Did you not sleep or something?”
“I had a nightmare,” I say.
“Oh for heaven sake what was it about?”
I search for something to say I cannot tell Sophie the truth, knowing the way she would act.
“I can’t remember.”
“That’s the worst kind, when you wake all sweating and heart beating fast, oh it gives me the shivers just thinking about it.”
“What do you have on today?” I ask changing the subject in case I slip up and tell Sophie everything.
“My dad needs some help at the hotel today.”
“That will be different; you haven’t worked there in a while.”
“I know but I always feel a little strange whenever I do.”
“Being the boss’s daughter, it must be hard for them to take you seriously?”
“I always feel like I have something to prove.”
“It’s hard huh?”
“It’s a job for sure.”
Sophie makes us both breakfast and then leaves for the city. As soon as Sophie is out of the door I make sure, I lock it behind her. I take the white phone out from the pocket of my silk robe. I have a look to see if there are any messages but there is none. I fancy another cup of coffee so I go over to the pot and pour myself a cup, KNOCK!
“Oh crap,” I shout aloud.
The knock came as such a shock that I have dropped the cup and the coffee pot and they are now laying all over the floor in a million pieces. I carefully step over the broken glass and make my way over to the door. I open the door and there he is the same little fair-haired deliveryman for the third day in a row.
“Miss, are you alright?” he says.
I look down at the ground and pull my robe a little tighter.
“Actually, all this has kind of started to take its toll a little bit.”
“You don’t say, for what it is worth I am sorry Miss if this has caused you any inconvenience.”
“I know you are just doing your job, but to tell you the truth I am scared of all this.”
“Why are you scared?”
“Last night, I felt as if I was being followed by someone.”
“Miss I can assure you that on one wants to hurt you or cause you pain in any way.”
“Is that right?”
“I used to be a cop, so do you really think I would be delivering these packages to you if I thought that you were in any type of danger?”
“No,” I say.
“Today all I have for you is this letter.”
I go back into my house and sit up at the kitchen ignoring the mess that lies on the floor I open the plain white envelope to read.
Dear Alanna,
I cannot begin to describe the way you make me feel. I have tried to send you gifts and to show how much I care, but nothing I do seems to give me the satisfaction that I so desperately crave. From the first moment I laid eyes on you, I knew you were the one that I was waiting for. You must be thinking all this is a bit strange and that I am possibly playing a game with you. What you have to come to understand is that I have no idea how to act around a female. I never had a good relationship with the only female I have ever known my mother. Therefore, you must forgive me if I get it wrong. I want to treat you right and the only way I know how, is by sending you luxury gifts. I hope you will stick with me a little longer I could not bear the thought of not having you in my life. The only problem I have is that it is three thousand miles to you.
I walk up the stairs to my room and I read over the letter for a third time and still I do not seem to take in the words if have just read. Who could this be? I try to rack my brain to for a name but nothing comes to mind. My life right now seems like a haze, a mass of thick fog that never seems to clear. I just do not feel like myself. I carefully store the letter away in the shoebox under my bed. I would love nothing more than to discuss this with my friend Sophie, but fearing her reaction I have no one to turn to. I hear one of the phones that are lying on my bed go off
, so I walk over and lift my iPhone but only to see there is no messages. I quickly lift the white phone and there it was my first message from the man that has got me rattled.
Alanna are you okay. I talked to my deliveryman and he said you were a little on edge, if there is anything I can do to ease your worry please feel free to ask.
I reply
I do not know who you are. How can I be sure that you are not dangerous?
I would never harm you in any way; I know it must be difficult for you. You do not know who I am, but believe me there is a reason I do not want you to know.
What is the reason? You must know you are not doing yourself any justice by keeping it from me.
I feel there is no other way.
What would you say if I told you that I am no longer going to accept the gifts you send?
Then I would just send more until you had no other choice but to accept them.
I will go to the police.
What could they do, you do not know who I am.
I do not really like your tone, I think maybe you should stop all this.
Do you really want me to stop?
Maybe if you would just tell me who you are, then I could get to know you properly.
I would love nothing more, than for you to get to know me. However If you knew who I was, then maybe you would not be so eager.
I would be, I want to get to know you.
Before I could tell you, I would need you to do something for me first.
Okay, anything,
Tell me about your childhood.
What would like to know?
Was it nice?
Yes.
Did you ever have the feel of abandonment?
No.
Could you ever love someone that was bad?
I do not believe that any one is all-bad there is good in everyone on this earth It just takes one other person to see it.
However, could you love them?
Yes.
Then my name is Adrian Black.
I almost fall to the ground, when finally I see the name of the person responsible for all this. I take my mind back to the night I first saw him remembering the way he looked. The way I felt under in his presence, the urge of anticipation, his eyes glowed and he infatuated me. It was as if I needed him before my life could be complete. I write back to him taking a deep breath.
Three Thousand Miles To You,(Three Thousand Miles, Series, Book #1) Page 7
