by Tanya Vought
She touches her cheek. “I look like crap. They’re right. Bags circle my eyes, this dress is baggy, and I look tired. My eyes used to be my greatest feature and now they look dull, lifeless, just like I feel on the inside. I thought I hid the pain I carry around but obviously I haven’t done a good job of it. She decides that she’ll take their so called vacation, but will make them sweat all day and tell them at five minutes to five! There, that’ll teach them. She smiles at her plan and whistles a happy tune as she leaves the bathroom.
Gracelynn walks back to her office with bouncy, happy steps. Glaring at the piles of papers and documents on her desk, she gives a small smile. She should be more thankful for this job. She tackles each project with enthusiasm and the dedication she used to. She takes a sip of water and turns to look at the clock. Oh fudge, its 4:53! Time got away from me. Guess it’s time to see what they have to say to my agreement. She stands and straightens herself to her full five foot five inches, applies some chap stick to her lips and walks down the corridor to Ben and Cassie’s office and knocks. Yes, they share. Ben’s the boss and Cassie is HR, and they happen to share an office space.
In unison Ben and Cassie yell, “Come In.” Gracelynn opens the door and immediately stands still. The large office with two matching mahogany desks is breathtaking. But what stops her is the sight of them both blushing, breathing heavily and both sitting awkwardly on the office couch. She looks to Cassie but her face is hidden amongst her crazy tangled hair. Hmm….
“Hey, guys, you told me to be at your office by five pm. It’s 4:56 by your clock on the wall. Am I interrupting something?” Neither of them offers an answer, so she continues. “I wanted to come and say I’m so sorry for my behavior, my poor performance and even being a horrible friend. I know you both love me and are truly looking out for me.” She sighs and smiles at them. “I love you guys so much. You just have no idea how hard it is to get up and moving when the other half of you is no longer around…. You’re both right though. I need this.”
She stands awkwardly near the door since they’re still not talking to her. “So…um… are you still allowing me to take this vacation? Neither of you have said a word since I’ve stepped into the office and both of you look like you just got caught making out in front of your mother. And we all damn well know I’m not. So enlighten me and say something, please.”
Cassie turns around and faces her, showing exactly what the two of them had been doing.
Ben runs his fingers through his light-blonde hair and closes his eyes. He opens them again, looks at Cassie and back to Gracelynn. His eyes soften when he looks at Gracelynn. “I’m sorry you had to find out this way, Gracelynn. Cassie and I have been together for the last ten months. We should’ve told you. But we wanted to keep this a secret until we thought you were ready to know.” He smiles a true, captivating smile and looks to Gracelynn like the cat that ate the canary. “Now as for this trip. I’m not going to lie and say I was expecting you to show up. I can say for a fact we both thought you’d bail.” He stands and fixes his business suit. “I’m very glad you came and I’m proud of you. You’ll love this trip. That being said, please don’t feel the need to thank us. We’re your friends, always. Please give us a few minutes to get everything organized and ready for you. We’ll be waiting for you out front of the building in twenty minutes.”
“Wait, is there anything that I need to bring or did you guys pack everything? Should I be worried that one of you went in my unmentionables?” Gracelynn’s mouth drops open. “God, Ben, you didn’t, did you? Please say it wasn’t you who went through my girl garments,” she laughs and winks at Cassie.
Ben and Cassie both laugh. “We both helped pack your items,” Ben says. “But I let Cassie pack the unmentionables. Don’t worry. Now please go to your office and grab your coat, purse, phone and a drink for the drive. See you in twenty minutes,” Ben tells her while abruptly pushing her out the door.
* * *
No one has ever kicked Gracelynn out of an office before. Typically that would insult her, but she’s excited for her trip – more excited than she’s been in months. She rushes down the corridor and into her own office. She quickly grabs her coat, purse, and bottle of water.
She exits her small, now clean office and turns out the light. She walks down the hall and runs into two other employees who tell her to have a wonderful night and a fabulous trip. When she asks about it, they mentioned Ben told them she’d be out of the office on vacation. She thanks them for the happy wishes, feeling happier than she’s been in a long time.
Chapter 3
IT’S BEEN TWENTY MINUTES and Ben and Cassie are nowhere to be found. Her necklace starts digging into her neck. She realizes she hasn’t talked to it in a while. She often talks to her necklace as if it’s her husband and he can understand what she’s saying. While she knows others might think of it as crazy, she thinks of it as being close to the angel who stole her heart. Clasping the beautiful angel, she reads the inscription even though she knows the words by heart.
“To the love & light of my life. You’re my angel and I love you always! Yours, A.”
“I love you forever, Angelo. Please be with me on this trip. I love you and miss you so much.” She kisses her necklace and releases it gently to tuck it back between the V in her dress. Just then she sees Ben and Cassie exiting her car in front of the building.
How did they get my car keys? Exiting the clear glass doors, she approaches them slowly. “Oh God, you didn’t hurt my princess, did you? You know Angelo would haunt you if you dented his princess.” Gracelynn remembered how they’d picked out princess, an orange Hyundai Accent. A color they both loved and a Hyundai, because they last longer.
Ben laughs, grabs his stomach and snorts. Even Cassie looks at him like he has lost his marbles. “Okay, seriously, Ben what is going on? Do you need to go on this trip more than me?” Gracelynn asks, a trace of sarcasm in her voice.
Ben now stands up tall, showing off his six foot two body and clears his throat. “It’s been a long time since I’ve heard a car being called princess and it struck me; you know that I’d never hurt this princess. Before you go, we have a few other things to address with you.” Gracelynn looks confused at his statement. What more could they want to tell her?
Ben leads Gracelynn towards her car. She smiles as Ben opens her car door for her. When she’s seated, he shuts the door and looks at her, eyes filled with compassion. Cassie comes over to Ben and wraps her arms around his belly. He glances at Cassie and kisses her on the forehead, smiling.
She winds down the window to hear what they have to say. “Gracelynn, your bags are packed and they’re in the backseat. The address of your vacation is programmed in the GPS.” He stops and gazes down at the macadam for a few seconds. When he turns back to her, his eyes peer into her soul and she’s afraid of what he’ll say next. “There is a package on the passenger seat. Please, please don’t open it until you get to your destination. It would mean a lot to me if you could keep that promise.” Ben can’t stress ‘please’ enough and Gracelynn notices the way he emphasizes it.
Cassie leans in close to Gracelynn’s window. “Honey, we hope you can follow the wonderful rules Big Ben gave you,” she whispers. Gracelynn gasps, covering her mouth with her hands. Then she starts laughing. Cassie smacks Gracelynn’s arm through the window. “Yes, brat I said Big Ben. You and I will chat when you return. I know, I owe you for not sharing! Drive safe and be sure to text me so I know you arrived safely.”
Gracelynn nods. “Yes, you owe me big time for keeping the secret of you and Big Ben to yourself. And no, please don’t go crazy on the specifics when we get to chat. I don’t need to know much about my boss’s junk, if you catch my drift.” This makes Cassie giggle.
She points to Ben, and Cassie moves away from the window. “I heard you’ve been a naughty boss,” Gracelynn snickers while she watches his face turn pale. “Be good to Cassie.
She deserves all the happiness in the world. Please make sure you treat her like the princess she is. If not, I’ll have your balls on a platter and you know I mean business.” Ben looks nervous and although he smiles, he obviously doesn’t feel comfortable at the threat. “You know that I’d never hurt you or Cassie for that matter,” he says. “Now have a great trip and see you in four weeks.”
Without another word, Ben steps away from the car and stands next to Cassie, who has moved on the curb. Gracelynn honks her horn and tells them thank you and to see them after Christmas. She sighs as they wave good bye, rolls up her window and tells herself not to look back. She has no idea of where she’s headed, but she knows it has to be better than where she is currently at.
Chapter 4
GRACELYNN SMILES A REAL SMILE for the first time in years, curious for once about what the future could bring. She glances at the GPS and notices it’ll be a four hour trip. Thanks guys for the heads up! Good grief! Good thing I have my sensible flats on for this drive, jerks.
Driving along the highway and listening to the monotone voice of the GPS makes her wonder about all kinds of things. Like, how the hell didn’t she realize sooner that they were a couple? Oh that’s right, she’s been too engrossed in her own personal hell rather than pay attention to her two best friends obviously very much in love. With her thoughts going everywhere from her friends, to their love life, to work, the drive flies by. She passes beautiful mountains, landscapes and valleys that capture her attention.
Glancing to the GPS screen, it shows only fifteen minutes left until she reaches her destination. All of a sudden she hears a loud popping sound. She looks around, seeing nothing out of the ordinary, but then hears the noise again. She turns down the radio, but the noise gets louder. She pulls the Hyundai off to the side of the road, thinking it could be a flat tire. She hops out, checks the entire car over, but everything seems to be working properly. No smoke, no flat tire, nothing. She hops back into the car and drives slowly, awaiting the next time Mr. GPS tells her to turn.
She continues to drive without any interruptions and enjoys the scenery. The light snow on the mountains up ahead leaves her breathless. She looks to the GPS which shows an estimated five minutes to her destination when out of nowhere, snow materializes overhead. It blows and drifts everywhere, causing her to drive blind. It’s like she’s in a snow globe and someone shook the globe, making the snow fall around everywhere. And right at the moment, as if she isn’t freaking out enough already, the GPS alerts her with: “You have reached your destination.” She yells in frustration while gripping her steering wheel. “Just great, thanks GPS! I can’t see a darned thing and you say I’ve reached my so called destination!”
She’s stuck in the road, which she hopes is her side of the road at least. She closes her eyes for a second to gather her composure and then noise erupts from all around her. Bang, pop, slam. And then her car is being dragged into something with horrendous force. She can’t see anything except snow even with her windshield wipers going. She’s confused and feels blood trickling down her face. “This vacation couldn’t get any better.” She grabs the door handle to get out, but it won’t let her.
A voice appears out of nowhere. “Hello? Hello, miss? I’m Gio. I’m so sorry I didn’t see you on the road. Are you okay? Your head is bleeding…” She closes her eyes before she responds. “Gio, no, I’m not okay. I’m sorry…I’m lost, alone, covered in a snow storm, trying to find my vacation spot which seems to be here somewhere and my head….” That’s all she can say before she succumbs to darkness.
* * *
Gio scratches the back of his head, puzzled. Staring at the beautiful woman leaves him wondering why she was in the middle of the road. She’s completely out cold, half in his arms, half still in her car due to her seat belt. It makes him happy knowing she’s wearing one and he feels lucky he ran into her rather than someone else. He has the urge to take her bangs away from her face and touch her skin. In that moment, life stands still. He feels protective toward the woman, which is odd, considering he doesn’t know her. “I told you there would be a present waiting for you,” a disembodied voice whispers. He looks around to find the speaker, but there’s no one else around. A calmness where there should be fear comes over him and he knows he needs to try to wake this woman up.
He gently reaches over to this mysterious stranger and takes off her seat belt, which proves not to be an easy task. He gently rips a part of his flannel shirt to stop some of the bleeding trickling down the woman’s head, coming from a wound on the other side of her head.
“Miss, miss. Can you hear me? Miss?” For a brief second, the beautiful stranger opens her eyes and looks at him, which sends him into a tailspin of emotions. She smiles, the most wonderful smile he’s ever seen, a sign of pure happiness. “Angelo, you found me. I love you and miss you so much. My angel.” After those words, she passes out again in his arms.
Giovanni looks to the sky. “You’ve got to be kidding me, right? What type of present is a passed-out woman? And who the hell is Angelo?” He shrugs his shoulders and gently carries this stranger into the cabin, noticing the way she feels next to his body. She smells of lavender and coffee as if she is meant to be his. He shakes his head. No, don’t think like that. Don’t trust women, Giovanni.
He stares at the beauty on his couch. She’s quiet, breathing slowly. Her head is still bloody. He grabs his first aid kit from the bathroom and cleans her up to the best of his ability. He leaves her on the couch, covering her up with a quilt and remembers her belongings in the car. He should get her items in case she should need to stay the night. He scratches his head at his odd behavior. But then again, he reasons, it wouldn’t be kind to leave her out in her car after hitting her with his truck. It would be heartless. He steps away from the couch, leaves the house and goes out to their vehicles, finding no evidence the accident ever happened. He goes to her car and finds a package on the passenger seat and two small bags in the back seat. He quickly grabs the items and heads back into the house, hoping to find out more about this woman, should she awaken.
He sets her items in the entry way and goes to check on the lady, who smells as wonderful as she looks. Just looking at this woman makes him feel giddy, like he’s a teenager again. He wipes his hands in his black hair in frustration and leans down next to the woman. “Miss, can you hear me? You were in an accident. I need to see if you have a concussion.” He gently washes the bloody side of her face with a wash cloth, hoping that’ll make her wake up. “I need to take off your jacket to see if you have any injuries.”
The woman doesn’t respond. He carefully takes off her jacket, which allows him to glance at her nice-looking dress and also something sparkling. He moves the jacket to the side, noticing an angel necklace. Seeing an angel makes him lightheaded. Breathe, Gio. Deep breaths. He quickly cleans her up, hoping he won’t pass out himself.
Chapter 5
GRACELYNN AWAKENS TO HER HEAD pounding and notices the lace curtains are drawn slightly. She lays atop a white, laced bed spread, still wearing her dress. She reaches for her necklace, and immediately calms down. The room is luxurious. White inlaid curtains and high quality bedding in the same color, and most importantly some of the most exquisite art work she’s ever seen. “Hello, is anyone there?” She keeps looking around after she burst the question.
She slowly gets out of bed, stumbles toward the door, and inhales. Three large bay windows showcase a white whirlpool tub that looks out to the breathtaking scene of snowy mountains and a lake or pond in the backyard. Everything is built to perfection.
A panic attack overwhelms her. Just breathe, Gracelynn. Breathe and go find whoever’s place you’re at. Here’s hoping it isn’t some old creepy man or a serial killer who preys on young women.
She opens the white bedroom door and beautiful music fills her ears. She follows the music, walking without really knowing where she’s headed, but stops suddenly
when she sees the person responsible for the music. She gasps. A half-dressed, delectable man, wearing tight, black bed pants which hang off his hips is the one singing beautifully. It takes her breath away. She gapes at this Adonis and then all of a sudden has a vision of him being Angelo. “Angelo, is it you? Are you really here?” She gets closer to the man and succumbs to darkness… again.
* * *
Giovanni is cooking at the stainless steel stove when he hears a noise. He turns and rushes to his guest just before she collapses on his floor. Why does she think I’m Angelo? And someone tell me why she won’t stop passing out around me. Holding her in his arms again, he admires her and not in a creepy way. He does have morals, but damn is she beautiful. With her gorgeous auburn hair and petite body, she’s one adorable looking package; if she could just stay awake. Giovanni moves, still holding on to her and places her on the long table bench. He grabs a wash cloth and wipes her brow. “Miss, wake up. You’ve fainted again.” He sweeps her bangs off her face and feels the softest skin. His fingers tingle with pain and excitement like when he touched her the night prior. Just then she opens her eyes and stares at him like she’s looking straight into his pitiful, sorrowful soul. He stares back at her.
“Miss, I know I’m handsome, but I typically don’t have women fainting around me,” he jokes. “Are you okay? God I hope so, since we’re stuck here for a while, courtesy of the snow storm.” Gracelynn takes his hand and grabs it and shyly kisses the palm of his hand. Did she just do that? Why does this woman draw me in with just a look? He steps back from her, startled by what she just did.
* * *
Gracelynn blushes slightly and can feel her cheeks getting warm. “I’m doing well. I sometimes have low blood pressure. Could I trouble you to get me some orange juice?” He nods and leaves her to walk toward the fridge. He gives her a glass of juice and walks out of the kitchen without saying another word.
