“I will be in the living room, if you need me,” I smile at him and he closes the door behind him. I hear a text on my phone; I have a new message from Adrian,
Alanna have you settled okay.
Yes, the place is lovely.
I am glad you like it. I left something for in the closet of the main bedroom.
What is it?
Go have a look.
I walk over to the closet and open the door; I see that it is full of clothes, new dresses and handbags of every kind. There are loads of new shoes in boxes and bags full of new jeans and sweat suits. There is also a small tiffany bag sitting on one of the shelves. I go over and open it to find a diamond necklace in the shape of the letter A.
Adrian you did not have to buy me all that.
I wanted to, do you like everything.
Yes, everything is great.
I have got you a personal shopper and she will go out and get you anything you want all you have to do is ask, okay?
Okay, but Adrian I really just wish that I had you here.
I know, is Michael treating you okay.
Yes, he is been fine so far, I feel guilty for putting this on him.
Do not feel like that, it is not your fault.
Adrian when are you going to tell me the truth about everything?
Soon I promise, before I forget there will be two bodyguards in the house all the time. One will stay outside the door and the other will be inside, okay?
Okay I guess I had better get used to all this. How long do you think I will have to stay here?
As long as it takes,
For what,
To get you safe again,
Adrian how will you know when I am safe?
I just will, I am trying to deal with things over here in London.
Adrian, promise me that you will be careful?
Alanna do not worry about me.
I cannot help it, I hate being so far away from you.
Alanna we will be together, I promise you that.
Adrian?
Yes,
I love you.
I know you do.
Now go get something to eat I have made sure that the fridge is stocked for you.
Okay,
I will text you before you go to sleep.
Okay Adrian,
Until next time baby,
I sit on the huge bed and try to take all this in. I get up and go back into the closet to have another look at everything that is there. I slide my hand along the long line of designer dresses, every one more glamorous than the last. There are boxes of shoes piled high with names of Jimmy Choo and Louboutin. Over on the other side there are so many handbags that I cannot count them, and one of every designer. From Hermes to Chanel and one of every color, down on the floor there are bags from Nordstrom filled with every kind of jeans. I take out one pair and see that they are true religion, and that they are just my size. There are many more bags filled with t-shirts and tops. I take out one of the many sweat suits, and change into it. Everything in this closet fits me like a glove. I am stunned that Adrian guessed my size so perfectly. Everything that is in the closet is something that I love, I feel like he knows me so well. Adrian is the love of my life and I feel so annoyed at Sophie for not being supportive of me. I hate the thought that she says bad things about Adrian. If she would just take the time to not judge him, but to get to know him instead, then maybe she would see the real him. The kind and understanding guy that he is under his hard surface. He acts as if he is made of steel but underneath he is pure silk. He is warm and generous; he is not over controlling just protective of me, he wants to keep me safe. I do not think there is another guy on the planet, which would let his girlfriend share a house with another guy that loves her, if he did not want her to be safe. Adrian is a bigger person to see the bigger picture. He knows that I would never do anything to hurt him and by letting me stay with Michael, he is just proving his trust in me.
Twenty-three
The next morning I wake, and gape fully at the environment that I am now living in. The bedroom is too enormous with chic finishing’s. I get out of bed and go into the large bathroom that is connected to the bedroom. I switch on the light and see that on the counter, there are all my favorite products. From the hair spray I use to the toothpaste, everything I could ever need is here. I cannot help but wonder how Adrian knows so much about me. It is as if he has known me all my life and even then, I still do not know how he would know what serum I use in my hair. I go into the massive closet and start to pick through the bags, I take out a dark blue pair of skinny jeans and plain pink t-shirt. There are some pairs of flip-flops down on a shoe rack on the floor and again all in my size. I pick out a black pair and close the door behind me. When I walk out into the hallway, I cannot see Michael anywhere but I can hear his voice in the distance. I walk through another hallway that leads out into the kitchen/living area. As I do, I see Michael talking to one of the huge security guards.
“Alanna, good you’re up,” Michael says, shocking me with a smile.
“This is Jackson he will be here with us for the duration of our stay.”
I look at the massive man, he has a shaved head and is dressed in a black uniform. I can see he has a gun clipped onto his trousers and that freaks me out a little. I look over to him and say,
“Hello Jackson, it’s nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you to, now there are some things I need to go over with you, okay?”
“Yes of course, go ahead,”
“My colleague and I are here to protect you. If you need to go out anywhere then one of us will be with you at all times, don’t be afraid we are here to keep you safe, and if you need anything please don’t hesitate to ask one of us.” I try to process everything he is saying in his strong New York accent.
“Okay, no problem,” is all I manage to say.
He walks over to the front door and gazes out all the windows. Once he checks that everything is fine, he takes a seat by the door. I turn to Michael, who I must say, looks amazing today. He is wearing a dark blue pair of jeans and fitted white shirt that looks so good against his tanned skin. His hair is dark and straggly and his eyes are piercing.
“Do you want some breakfast?” I look at him my eyes wide from his beauty. I see a small dark haired women walk into the kitchen. She is wearing a white uniform and has a black apron round her waist.
“This is Maggie she is our chef,”
“Hi,” I say, not fully absorbing this. I am still in a state of shock at how much my life has changed since yesterday, has Adrian gone too far with all this?
“Sweetheart, what would you like?” The small dark haired woman says with an innocent smile on her thin lips.
“Whatever is the easiest to make,”
“Would you like some pancakes?”
“Yes that would be great thanks,” I say giving her a smile. Michael walks over to the lounge area and sits on one of the huge armchairs. I follow him and sit on the one next to him.
“Are you alright, Alanna?”
“Yes I am fine, I didn’t expect all this.”
“Did you think that Adrian wouldn’t have every luxury here for you?”
“I knew he would have security, but I was surprised by all the things he left for me in the bedroom.”
“What did he leave you?”
“The closet is full of new clothes and the bathroom is filled with all the products I use.”
“That’s Adrian, down to a T.”
“I know but it still took me by surprise, have you heard from him today?”
“Yes he called first thing.” The words of my next sentence do not have time to escape my mouth, when I hear the white Blackberry begin to beep.
Alanna how are you today? Are you Okay?
Yes I am fine, how are you?
I am okay, have you had your breakfast yet.
I am just about to the chef you sent is making pancakes.
Good, now is M
ichael being nice to you?
Yes, he has been great so far.
Okay, have you met the security guards?
Yes, I met Jackson but I have not met the other one yet.
Alanna are you going out anywhere today.
I was not planning on it, where could I go.
I want you to know that there is a car down stairs for you if you need to go out.
I do not think I will need it today.
Alanna are you sure, you are okay about all this?
I cannot say that I am I will miss college and my friends.
Yes, are you still on course to graduate on time?
Yes, I talked to Mrs. Henderson yesterday before I left and she told me that you gave them a huge donation.
Yes, I did are you okay about that?
Yes, the college really needed it now they can build the new wing. Adrian I want to thank you for all this.
Thank me what for.
Everything you are doing to keep me safe and the style in which you are doing it. How did you know my size and all the products that I use?
I just do Alanna, now go and get your breakfast I will call you later.
Okay, I love you,
Until next time baby,
I smile and put the phone down. I turn to see Michael glaring at me.
“Nice conversation with the boyfriend?” I look at him,
“Yes Michael,”
“Good, good,” he says sarcastically. I do not want to start another word battle with him. I feel that would be the worst thing I could do, considering I am staying in this house with him. Therefore, I simply give him a smile and say.
“How is your father?”
“My father, how do you know him?”
“I met him in London he was talking to my dad about business.”
“I didn’t know that, I met yours too.”
“You did?”
“Yes Adrian and I, both did,”
“Really, he never said.”
“No? We had meetings with the company your Father works with. Once Adrian knew that he was your father, he backed out of the deal.”
“I remember my dad saying that a company backed out, but I had no idea that it was Adrian’s company.”
“Yes he didn’t want to mix the feelings he had for you, with the business.”
“He never told me any of this.”
“No he wouldn’t, he is a private bloke.”
“Tell me about it,”
“But he seems to open up a bit more to you.”
“Yes he told me a few things about his childhood, but he has never told me about the fact that he killed someone.”
“Alanna how are you so calm about that?”
“I don’t know I have surprised myself in the composure that I feel.”
“I can’t believe the way you are accepting it, and you don’t even know what happened.”
“Do you know?”
“Yes I know,”
“Can you tell me?”
“No, but what I will tell you is, it was not Adrian’s fault he was just a child.”
“He told me that part but who did he kill?”
“I am sure he will tell you in his own time.”
“He says he will but I don’t know if I believe him.”
“Your pancakes are ready sweetheart,” I hear Maggie shout from the kitchen. I go over and take a seat at the breakfast bar. Maggie gives me a huge stack of pancakes filled with bacon and syrup.
“Enjoy,” she says as she starts to clean up. I take a bite and I am surprised to how good they are.
“Maggie these are the best pancakes I have ever had,” Maggie turns to me and gives me a big happy smile.
When I finish eating, I go back over to Michael, who is still sitting on the armchair. I again sit on the one next to him and look up at him.
“Alanna, you look like you want to say something,”
“Tell me about your brother Chad.”
“Chad? How do you know about him?”
“I know this going to sound crazy, but before I got to know Adrian I searched for information on him, and when I found out that your Dad adopted him I searched him too, and that’s when I found out about Chad.”
“I see what do you want to know about him?”
“What happened to him?”
“Doesn’t it say on the internet?”
“Not really, it just says that he had a falling out with the family and that he left.” Michael takes a deep breath and begins to talk.
“Chad is my older brother and he was the apple of my father’s eye. They would do everything together and Chad is the type who always wanted to impress my father. However, it was not until Chad turned thirty that my father made him head of the department,in which he worked, in the company. Chad did not like the fact that Adrian was around, and he did everything he could possibly to do to turn my father against him. The short story is Chad made my father choose and he told him that he would not choose, but Adrian was going nowhere. Chad then took matters into his own hands and left.”
“How long ago did he leave?”
“About five years ago, Adrian and I were twenty at the time and Adrian was in the process of getting his own company. Chad never had that type of success, he had always had my father to hand everything to him on a plate and Chad became jealous of Adrian. He began to do awful things to him.”
“What did he do?”
“He did all sorts of things, but he did however have one trick that he did on a regular basis.”
“What was it?” I say and Michael slightly rolls his eyes, I get the feeling he does not like to talk about this.
“He would wait till my father and Adrian went away on a business trip and order escorts to come to the room where my father was. He would always give Adrian’s name and try to pretend that he sent them. When Adrian found out he went crazy, but that was exactly the type of reaction Chad was looking for.”
“Have you ever seen him since?”
“No, he called me a few years ago and we were supposed to meet up, but that never happened.”
“How does your Dad feel about him? It must be hard having his son away?”
“Yes it was hard on my father at first, but Chad has done nothing but bad mouth my father since he went away. My father has had to move on from it, I think that Adrian carries around a lot of guilt over this. But my father doesn’t put any of the blame on Adrian.”
“Your father sounds like an amazing man,”
“He is.”
“I know that Adrian thinks highly of him.”
“Yes, Adrian and my father have this great bond. He took Adrian out care when he was a fourteen-year-old, messed-up child. Now he has shaped him into the man he is today, and I know that he can be a little controlling but that’s just who he is.”
“He is very controlling, but I know he is just doing it for my safety.”
“He loves you Alanna, more than anything.”
“I know he does and I feel the same way.” I see Michaels face change and he starts to say, “Adrian knows that if you were any other girl, than you would have ran a mile by now. But he knows that you never would and, that’s what has him hooked on you.”
“The thing that worries me is that the girl I used to be would.”
“You have changed then? You seem like this is all part of your life with Adrian and I can’t understand any other reason than love, for you to stick around.” Michael is actually giving me a complement. He is also giving off a sense of vulnerability right now, which has me alarmed. I think that possibly I have misunderstood him and that maybe he is actually a nice guy.
Michael and I talk for what seems like hours, he tells me about his life in London and his childhood, I feel ecstatic to hear about a happy one for a change. He talked to me about his friends and about the party nights, he has out in London. To my astonishment, he told me about his ex-girlfriend Louise. He said how she was too jealous of him and she did not get on with his family.
She did not like Adrian, but Michael thought that she maybe just liked him too much and that she masked it by being awful to him. He said she had dark jet-black hair and not brown but black eyes, so from the first moment Adrian saw her he did not trust her. He had warned Michael to get away from her and he eventually did when he caught her cheating on him. He has not dated anyone since, with the exception of Katharine of course. Michael now says how bad he feels about hurting her, he said that she was one of the most beautiful girls he ever saw but she just was not right for him. I think of how that is impossible, Katharine is a lovely girl and anyone would be lucky to have her. I think of how she would feel if she knew I, was here living in a house with Michael. I try to shake of the feeling I get whenever I think about it. I am still processing the new information about Chad and I wonder why he could hate Adrian the way he does. Giving what Adrian has been through, I do not know how anyone could treat him like that. I think that possibly it is for the best that Chad is out of the picture. God only knows what he could do; jealousy is an evil thing that can take over a person, I could not go on if something were to happen to Adrian. All this time I am spending with Michael I am really getting to know the real him. He is not all about the sarcastic comments and the rude silent exterior; instead when he opens up about himself, he is a completely different person. A person that I can really relate to, a person who is had the same type of upbringing as me, therefore he understands me. He is different in so many ways to Adrian and not all of them bad. I see him in a different way to Adrian. I do not think that I could ever be with Michael, but I do know that I want him in my life. He brings out a different side to me, a side that I never knew I had. I was worried of how awkward this would be to live here with him, but now I cannot describe how wrong I was. Other than Adrian, there is no one I would rather be here with.
Adrian calls every hour and texts every half hour. Normally that would annoy me terribly, but being here in this house with not much to do, I actually look forward to them.
Alanna how is everything going,
Fine, Michael and I have talked and I think that we are over the worst.
What did you talk about?
We talked about different things; I think that we could be friends.
Friends,
Yes,
Three Thousand Miles To You,(Three Thousand Miles, Series, Book #1) Page 18
