by Ashley Blake
“Puerto Rico? It is supposed to be so beautiful there Chlo, I’m jealous. I can’t wait to go away with my boyfriend to a place like that, if I ever get a boyfriend.”
“Well, if you play your cards right, you may just have a really rich boyfriend one day!”
“You are silly!” We both erupted in giggles, chatted for a little while longer and then made plans to have dinner the following week.
Talking with Chloe was a welcomed distraction and it helped take my mind off of everything that was going on, but as soon as I hung up the phone the first thing I thought about was Sebastian and how I still had not heard from him. I made dinner and after dinner curled up on the couch to watch some bad reality TV when my phone rang.
“Elena.”
His deep voice sent chills down my spine.
“Hi Sebastian.” I tried to hide the annoyance in my voice but I was almost positive that it was obvious.
“First, I apologize for not calling you sooner but I had a personal emergency and I couldn’t get away, not even for a second, are you alright?”
His apology sounded sincere and I could hear the concern in his voice so it was hard to stay mad at him. I didn’t know what was going on with him, but he told me that he would tell me when I saw him on Saturday so I would just have to let it go and wait to hear what was really going on.
“Apology accepted and yes, I’m okay. I was a little freaked out when I got the letter but I have had some time to think a little bit more, think about what I talked about with my therapist and I’m okay. Also, the fact that I got a restraining order this morning helps me feel a lot better.”
“I want to get a bodyguard for you.” He sounded very worried and his voice was firm but I didn’t want a bodyguard, that was just silly.
“Sebastian, I appreciate the offer but I don’t want a bodyguard. Besides, how would I explain that to everyone? People would talk and they would know that you hired him for me.”
"I just want you to be safe, Elena. If anything happened to you I don't know what I would do.” His voice was very soft, he sounded concerned and it was so sweet.
“I’ll be okay, I’ll be careful when I’m out and I will let you know if I need anything. How’s that?”
He grumbled a little bit and I could tell that he wasn’t happy with my answer but he didn’t push it. “I guess for now it will have to be okay, but Elena, if anything happens I will be getting a bodyguard for you, and that’s final.”
His concern was so sweet and it made me miss him even more.
“Okay, agreed. So, how is Paris?”
“Paris would be much more beautiful if you were here with me. We are going to definitely have to make a trip here together. I wish I could say that it was wonderful but it has been a stressful trip. I don’t know if I told you this before Elena, but I come to Paris every other weekend.”
That was a surprise.
“You do? Why?”
“I know I keep giving you the same answer but it is complicated and I promise you I will…”
“Yeah, I know, you’ll tell me this Saturday.”
"About that, I might have to wait just a little bit longer before I can share everything with you. But please believe me I am going to tell you everything that is going on.”
I was starting to get a little bit suspicious. Why did he have to wait even longer to tell me what was going on?
“Please tell me that you’re not married.”
“No! I am not married, I would never cheat on my wife. And I wouldn’t string you along. It’s just a little while longer.”
That put me at ease. He hadn’t really given me a reason to distrust him so all I could do was believe him.
I let out a deep breath, trying not to sound exasperated and failing miserably. “Okay.”
“I miss you, Elena. It’s only been a couple of days and I miss you like crazy. I can’t wait to wrap my arms around you again.” His voice dripped with seduction and it caused a stir in me.
“I miss you too, Sebastian. When are you flying back to Miami?”
“I am flying back on Friday and I have already made plans for us on Saturday night. I hope you like Thai food.”
“I love it.”
“Okay, good. We’re going to Nikko By Sunshine, it’s delicious Thai and it gets rave reviews.”
“Is it on Lincoln Road?”
He hesitated. “No, it’s not on Miami Beach, it’s a little further away.”
“Oh right, you can’t be seen with me.”
“Elena, don’t say it like that, please. I promise things won’t be like this for long.”
“Good, because I won’t put up with it like this for much longer.”
“You won’t have to. Well, I better let you go, it’s nearly 2:30 a.m. here. I’ll give you a call tomorrow, but it will be a little bit earlier if that’s okay.”
“Of course it’s okay. You better get some sleep. Thanks for calling Sebastian and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Okay, I love you.”
I smiled into the phone. “I love you too.”
I was slammed at work the next day and Sebastian called me in the afternoon and we spoke for just a few minutes. He told me that he would be home the following day by 2:00 and he was looking forward to seeing me on Saturday. That really made me happy so even though I had a ton of work to do, time flew by for me and I couldn’t wait to see Sebastian. When I got home that evening I was looking through my beautiful new clothes trying to decide what to wear and I got an idea. I wanted to surprise Sebastian on that Friday instead of waiting to see him on Saturday. I decided that I was going to drive to his house and he would know how much I missed him. I really wanted him to know that I was into him and there was no doubt about us on my end. I was a little bit giddy thinking about his reaction and I couldn’t wait to see the look on his face when I showed up at his house. I decided I was going to wear a sexy black strapless minidress and strappy black sandals over to his place and I couldn’t wait until the end of the day on Friday.
All I could think about on Friday was getting home to shower and change. I felt like a teenager who was freaking out about getting ready for a date with the guy she had a huge crush on. I was having a really hard time focusing at work that day. Bev must have asked me the same questions at least five times every time she came to my office for something before I was able to answer her.
“Are you feeling okay, Elena? Can I get you anything?” I could see that she was truly concerned so I had to snap out of it and force myself to focus because I didn’t want to worry her.
“No, I’m fine. I guess I didn’t get enough sleep last night so I will definitely have to make sure that I catch up on my rest this weekend. Thanks Bev.”
Thankfully that seemed to pacify her so I made sure to pay attention to whatever she asked me every time she came to me the rest of the afternoon. Six o’clock finally rolled around and I practically ran out of the office to my car. As soon as I got home I jumped in the shower and changed into my perfect outfit, made sure my hair and makeup were perfect and quickly spritzed myself with my favorite perfume.
I googled directions to his house on Star Island and when I finally arrived at a little after 8:00, the house had a huge gate and my heart sank. My surprise was going to be ruined because I had to call to have him let me in. I guess since I didn’t live in the world of the wealthy I didn’t even factor in that there would be a gate around his house. The man had a personal bodyguard and was a billionaire; of course there would be a gate around his house! I felt really silly for not even thinking about that because the average person, if they used their brain, would know that someone in his position would have security in every aspect of his life. A ball of nerves hit me suddenly as I dialed his number. What if he wasn’t home?
“Blu residence.” A formal male voice blared through the intercom.
“Yes, I am here to see Sebastian.”
“Who may I say is calling?”
“Elena.”
<
br /> “Just a moment.”
I sat in my car with my heart feeling like it was trying to hammer it’s way out of my chest as I waited for him to come back.
“Mr. Blu will see you. Drive to the end of the driveway and someone will meet you there.”
As I drove through the gate my palms were sweaty and my mouth went completely dry when I realized what I was actually doing. I barely noticed his beautiful house because my nerves go the best of me and as I pulled up to the house I saw Sebastian walking toward me and he took my breath away. I had a huge grin on my face as I threw open the car door and I started to run over to him and then stopped when I saw the look on his face. He did not look happy to see me.
He walked over to me with a quick stride and stopped me next to my car. “What are you doing here Elena?”
I was taken aback by the cold tone of his voice and I suddenly felt very nervous.
“I wanted to surprise you Sebastian. You’re not happy to see me?”
The look on his face softened just a little bit. “Yes, I am happy to see you Elena, but this is really not a good time for me. Can we see each other tomorrow as planned?”
Just then the door of his house opened and Sophia stood there holding the hand of what looked to be a three year old little boy and I was in complete shock.
“Daddy!” The little boy called out to Sebastian.
“Sebastian, is everything okay?” Her voice sailed through the air and I felt sick to my stomach. I looked at her and she narrowed her eyes at me. “Oh, Elena, it’s you. We’re a little busy right now.”
I stood there like an idiot and just stared at her as my brain tried to register what was going on. Wait, is she really here right now with a little boy? A little boy who is Sebastian’s son? And then things started to click slowly and I dragged my eyes from Sophia down to the little boy over to Sebastian and the look on his face said it all. That was their child together and he didn’t want me to know. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes and the last thing I wanted was to give Sophia the satisfaction of seeing me cry, so I quickly got into my car and sped away before Sebastian could stop me. I heard him yelling my name behind me but I just kept driving, I had to get out of there.
When I got back to my apartment the tears were already streaming down my cheeks, and as I locked the door behind me I heard something move in the corner. I quickly turned around to see what it was and absolute fear completely enveloped me as I stared into Brian’s eyes.
“Hello, Elena.” His voice was pure evil and my first instinct was to run so I fumbled with the door trying to a unlock it so that I could get out, and before I could pull it open he was behind me slamming it shut. “No, no, we have to make up for lost time.” He slapped me and pressed me against the door, my back to him, as he ran his tongue along my ear. “I’ve missed you.”
I was crying hysterically by now and screaming trying desperately to push him off of me but his grip was too strong.
“How did you get in here?”
“It was a piece of cake, a silly little lock is not going to keep me from you Elena. I told you we would be together again and now we are. I’m never going to let you go!” I tried to get away from him and he punched me in the stomach, knocking the wind out of me.
I started crying even louder.
“Be quiet!” He put his hand over my mouth, we struggled and I managed to break free from him running to the kitchen to grab a knife as I heard someone pounding on the door asking if everything was okay. He was behind me in two seconds and grabbed me by my hair as I screamed. I fought him off with all of my might, pushed him as hard as I could, and in doing so I fell back, hit my head against the counter and everything went black.
Chapter Twelve – Recovery
When I woke up I was completely disoriented and it took a couple of minutes for me to realize that I was lying in a hospital bed. I looked around the room and saw my parents on one side of the room, Sebastian and Chloe on the other, and Chloe was the first person to see that I was awake.
“You guys, she’s awake! Laney, how are you feeling?”
“Like my head is going to explode all over the place, it’s killing me.”
My mom and dad grabbed my hands looking sick with worry.
“Sweetheart, we’re so happy that you’re okay, we were so worried! Sebastian called us and we dropped everything to be here.”
“You guys are a couple of hours away, how long was I out?”
“You were out for almost 5 hours and the doctor says you have a mild concussion but you should be okay.”
I looked over at Sebastian and he looked terrified as he held my gaze. At first I didn’t understand why he looked like that but then everything came flooding back to me; the vision of him, Sophia, and their son made my head pound even more and I wanted him to leave.
I turned cold eyes toward him and I could tell that he saw that I remembered everything. “Thank you for calling my parents but you can leave now.”
His eyes were sad. “Elena, when you’re feeling better I will explain everything. Mr. and Mrs. Sumner, if you need anything please do not hesitate to call me. Chloe, nice to meet you.”
After he left the room Chloe turned to me with a puzzled look on her face. "Elena, he was really worried about you, I don't think you should have kicked him out like that. He was the one who found you and called your parents who then called me.”
“It’s a really long story Chloe and it’s best that he is not here right now.”
My parents didn't say anything they just stood there and listened. They were really good at supporting my decisions, they knew that there was a reason that I wanted him to leave and they didn’t push.
I was so caught up in Sebastian and getting him out of the room that I completely blanked on Brian.
I sat up quickly, making my head pound even more. “Oh my gosh! Did they catch Brian? Did he get away?”
My mom patted my hand. “Calm down honey, yes they did catch Brian. Apparently a man heard the commotion that was going on, knocked on your door and it turns out he is an undercover cop who lives on your floor. He was able to break into your place and he restrained Brian, called for backup and when they ran his information his record came up and they arrested him on the spot. You don’t have to worry about him.”
I relaxed back against my pillow and closed my eyes, saying a silent thank you to God. I wouldn’t have to worry about Brian for a while. Whatever drugs I was on were making me super sleepy so I drifted off to sleep without saying another word.
When I woke up the next morning, my parents were still by my side but Chloe was not there. My mom rushed over to my side when she saw that I was awake.
“Mom, have you and dad been here all night?”
“Yes honey, we wanted to be here in case you woke up and needed anything.”
“You two have got to be exhausted, you should go to your hotel and get some sleep. Now I’m going to be worrying about you guys.”
“Well we don’t want you to worry about us, we just want you to get better. Dad and I will be back in a few hours, okay?”
“Okay. Did the doctor say how long I had to be here?”
“He said you could go home in a couple of days. I’m going to stay with you for a couple of weeks but daddy has to go back in a couple of days.”
“Mom, I’ll be fine, you can’t afford to miss that many days from work.”
“Honey, I have already cleared it with my boss. He said that I can work overtime to make up for the hours I’m missing.”
I couldn’t wait until the day that I could take care of my parents and they wouldn’t have to work anymore. They had done so much for me all of my life and I wanted them to be able to relax and enjoy life a little.
I hugged them goodbye and turned on the t.v. so I could zone out. A few minutes later there was a light knock on my door and Sebastian was standing there with a vase full of beautiful flowers. I was fighting the excitement I felt when I saw him because the picture of t
hat little boy holding Sophia’s hand was stuck in my head. I glanced at him and then tried to look disinterested as I turned my gaze to the television.
“What are you doing here Sebastian?”
“I just wanted to make sure that you are okay. Also, I wanted to let you know that an attorney will be here later today to talk to you about what happened.”
“Is it a state’s attorney? Some kid fresh out of law school who barely knows what they’re doing?”
"Yes, he’s the top state’s attorney in Florida and he's a family friend. I have already arranged for him to take your case. Don’t fight me on this, Elena.”
I was too weak to argue with him and besides, I was going to need a good lawyer, so I begrudgingly accepted his offer.
