Love’n’Lust

11:49 pm

Cherry returned from the restroom and saw Brie seated on the bed, not sleeping. She lay on her side of the bed and pulled the blanket over herself to go back to sleep but couldn’t, not when Brie was awake.

“You are overthinking shit again, aren’t you?” She sat and joined Brie.

“I just have a bad feeling. It’s been two days since Belle went to that wedding, I find it weird that she hasn’t called or come over to tell us about what happened that day. You know how excited she gets, she should have come by to see us, you know.”

“Urggh, Brie, really? Is that why you are not sleeping?”

“Is it not a good enough reason?”

“No, it isn’t. Get some sleep, Belle is FINE. She’s probably cuddling in bed with him right now and you’re here, worrying your ass over nothing.”

“I’ll call her tomorrow morning, please remind me?”

“Yeah, sure. Can we return to sleeping now?”

“Okay.” Brie rested her head on the pillows.

“Oh wow, that was actually easier than usual, you agree to go back to sleep. Good for you, and good for me.”

****

“Belle? Where are you going?” Ben asked as he followed her as she walked elegantly along the hallway with many doors.

She didn’t reply to any of his questions, she just kept on walking and he followed till they got to the end of the hallway. There was a door there and she wanted to open it and go in but he stopped her, shutting the door with her hand still on the knob.

“Where are you going?” He repeated the question he had been asking. She smiled and his eyes fell on her beautiful lips.

“Where do you think?” She said in her low bedroom voice, placing her hands on his shoulder before rubbing down to his arms.

“I don’t want you to leave,” he heard himself tell her.

“But I’m already gone,” she chuckled lightly.

“What?”

“When you wake up you’ll see.” She let her hands caress the back of his neck slowly as kissed his right cheek and trailed her lips to his, leaving a peck there and making him want to kiss her but she turned around and opened the door he just closed.

“Belle, wait…” He tried to hold her but she slipped away from him into the door and it closed. He opened it immediately and wanted to join her but saw that the door had gone nowhere.

“Belle!” He called out but no answer came. He started to go to the doors one by one, opening them and seeing that no single one of them led to anywhere.Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

He stood helplessly and watched the doors turn to white-painted walls. His head started to ache so he closed his eyes to contain the pain and when he opened them again, he was in a room and on a bed.

He sat up and ran his hand through his hair. Rubbing on his face, he massaged his forehead because he had a pounding headache.

“Ben?” He heard Jenna call out excitedly after she saw that he was awake.”Aunt! Aunt, come quick, he’s awake now.”

“How long have I been unconscious?” He asked her.

“Two weeks and some days now,” she replied and helped him sit up.

“Shit. Belle. Where’s Belle? Do you know?”

“Son?” Mrs Larkson walked in before Jenna could answer. She went straight to the bed and hugged him even while he sat. Still hugging his mother, he repeated his question to Jenna but with his eyes. Jenna shrugged to show that she didn’t know of Belle’s whereabouts.

A doctor and an assisting nurse came in after to check up on him. He requested for his phone and called Randy to know where Belle was because he believed strongly that what he thought he remembered happened was just a mere nightmare.

The health personnel were gone now, Jenna and his mother also left and he was alone and still on the phone with Randy.

No words could leave his mouth when Randy went on with his explanation of the explosion and how he was found in the house he was tied up in.

Randy walked in with the phone still to his ears. He was already on his way to come see if he had woken up when Ben called him.

The moment he walked in, Ben let the phone fall from his hand. Randy saw him blink repeatedly after he swallowed. His boss’s eyes were red.

“Her body wasn’t found in the explosion,” he gave more information to Ben and saw him look up.”Nobody was found.” He added.

“Get a car ready, I need to see someone,” Ben said and got out of bed.

“Sir, Mrs. Larkson won’t be pleased if you leave, I think you’re still on medication, maybe I can go see this person on your behalf?”

*****

Brie tried calling Belle for the twenty-eight time during her lunch break at her workplace.

“Come on, Brie, if she was with her phone she would have answered the call by now, you know that.” Cherry had to stop her.

“What do you want me to do? It’s the only thing I can do. It’s the only way I can reach her, I don’t even know where the new place he got her is, she stopped working so there’s no work colleague of hers I can ask of he whereabouts, so what do you want me to do?!” Brie broke down and started to sob.

“Hey, don’t cry,”  Cherry started to comfort her.”I think she probably lost her phone or something.”

“If she did, she should have called with a different number to let me know.” Brie’s cry got louder and made Cherry glad that they were the only ones in the staff room at that moment.

“Look, I don’t know what to say anymore, Brie,” Cherry said honestly.”Is there no way to get to Mr Larkson?”

“He’s not been in his office for the past few days, and even if he has been, his assistant wouldn’t even put me on an appointment list.”

“O my god, that’s bad…”

“Now, you see why I’m worried?”

*****

Alex was just returning from a shoot and decided to give herself a warm shower before having some rest. She got out of her shower cubicle and wanted to put on her bathrobe but didn’t see it where she left it hanging so she went for one of the towels on the towel rack.

She came out of the bathroom and saw someone she knew sitting on her bed and sniffing her bathrobe. It was Richard.

“Hi babe,” he grinned happily and stood from the bed to approach her but stopped when he saw how the towel looked on her.

With the pink towel wrapped around her, it stopped at her upper thighs and was somewhat tight because it stuck to her skin. Richard licked his lips at the view he was having. Some water was still dripping from her hair to her neck even if she had dried it with a different towel earlier.

“What are you doing here?” She asked with shock because she wasn’t expecting him.”And how the fuck did you get in?”

“I let myself in, babe.”

“Stop calling me that,” she got angry. He smiled when he saw her eyes get angry.

“Fuck, you are forever beautiful,” his smile remained.

“Okay, I’m in a fucking towel right now, I just go out of the shower and you are in my room. I’m gonna close my eyes and just assume that I’m hallucinating and hopefully by the time I open them, you are not here anymore.” She said and closed her eyes.

“What if you open them and still see me here because I do not plan to leave.” He said and got her to open her eyes, shocked again.

“Richard…” She gnashed her teeth in annoyance.

“What?”

“Don’t make me call the cops on you.”

“The police? Really? What do you mean? I can’t come see you now or what?”

“No, you can’t, not without letting me know. You fucking came in without my permission and…”

“How many times did I beg to have dinner with you after you broke up with me!” He stopped her from talking when his voice overpowered hers.”Did you ever say yes?” She kept mute and stared at him.”Did you? No. No, you didn’t, and you want me to ask for your permission before I can come see you.”

“Richard, I’m so not in the mood for any of this…”

“When are you ever in the mood for anything? You tell me. As long as it’s me, you are never in the mood for any fucking thing.” He came closer to her and startled her when he did so.

“…”

“I just wanted to come see you, is there a crime in that?” He stroked her cheekbone with his folded forefinger. Alex tried to push his hand away but he stopped her by holding her wrist.

“Don’t, Alex, don’t fucking do that.” He placed more of his right fingers on her face and made her more uncomfortable.

“What are you doing?” She asked angrily and looked him in the eyes.

“Petting your cheeks,” he smiled.”And I plan to do more.” He added and made her widen.”I miss this, you know, I miss you and your delicate skin, and…”

“Okay, that’s enough,” She stopped him from talking.

“Why? You don’t like it when I praise you anymore? Who would you rather sing you these praises, him? Ben, right?”