Chapter 9
My eyes flew open and I was drenched in sweat from the nightmare again. The sun was just starting to rise and little specks of light began to filter through the window. I picked up my phone, which sat on the pillow next to me, and looked at it with the hopes that there was a message from Ian. There wasn’t. After I climbed out of bed, I opened the door and walked down the hall to Ian’s bedroom. My heart was racing with nervousness, as I didn’t know what I’d find on the other side of the door. I put my hand on the knob and turned it; carefully and slowly, I opened the door. The room was dark with dark gray walls and carpet. In the middle, sat an overly large bed with a black comforter draped across it. I walked further into the room and took a closer look at the bed. Attached to the headboard were chains with wrist cuffs attached to them. I ran my hand across the black comforter and down to where the ankle cuffs were attached to the end of the bed. What the f*ck? My eyes diverted over to the wall, where a black wrought-iron shelf hung with several hooks. Sitting on those hooks were blindfolds, whips, paddles, and handcuffs. Half-burnt candles sat upon the two nightstands. I walked over and opened one of the drawers, only to find matches, several bottles of lubricant, and a variety of vibrators. I opened the next drawer and it was filled with different types of condoms. This room was probably his sex room. I was repulsed by it, but turned on at the same time. I quickly left the room and walked downstairs to the kitchen, where Charles was making a pot of coffee.
“Good morning, Miss Rory. How was your evening and dinner with Ian?”
“Just lovely,” I said with a fake smile. “Have you seen Ian this morning?”
“No, I haven’t. He’s usually up and running by now. Maybe he slept in today.”
“Yeah, maybe,” I said as I poured a cup of coffee.
“Will you be eating breakfast, Miss Rory?”
“No, Charles, not today, and please just call me Rory.”
I took my coffee and went upstairs to find Ian’s bedroom. I looked at the closed door, which was straight ahead from the stairs. The room next to mine. I walked over to it and with the same carefulness. I slowly opened it, peeking my head inside to see if Ian was sleeping. The king-sized bed was fully made and it didn’t look like it had been slept in. His bedroom was enormous and the wall where his bed sat was nothing but windows from floor to ceiling. The view of the ocean was the most beautiful view I’d ever seen. His room was made up of neutrals, a mixture of pale gray walls with white molding and darker gray accents. I looked at the time on his clock and realized that I needed to get ready for work. As I walked back to my bedroom, I sent Adalynn a text message.
“Good morning. Ian isn’t over there by any chance, is he?”
“No, why do you ask?”
“We sort of got into an argument last night and he left and, from what I can tell, he never came home.”
“Listen to you. You two sound like an old married couple. Don’t worry; Ian will turn up when he wants to.”
“Thanks, Adalynn.”
I couldn’t think about Ian anymore. I needed to focus on moving out of here and finding my brother. I got dressed and took a cab to work. Jordyn had surprised me by telling me that two of her male friends who owed her a big favor were painting my apartment.
“There’s a cute little secondhand furniture store down the street if you want to go look after we get off work,” Jordyn said.
“That sounds great.” I smiled.
“I have something for you,” Jordynn said as she pulled something from under the counter. “Here, last month was my birthday and I got a new one. This one is only a year old and I want you to have it because I’m thinking you don’t own a laptop.”
I couldn’t believe Jordyn was giving me a laptop. “Jordyn, no. I can’t accept this.”
“Yes, you can, Rory. Just take it. It’s been sitting in my closet for the last month.”
“At least let me give you some money for it.”
“Don’t be silly. Consider it a housewarming gift.” She smiled.
I hugged her and we went on with our workday. I kept checking my phone with the hopes that Ian would message me. He didn’t. So, I decided that I would send him one more text message.
“Ian, you haven’t responded to my last two texts. Please let me know you’re okay.”
My shift ended and still no word from Ian. I sighed as I grabbed my purse, and Jordyn and I walked down to the secondhand furniture store. The good thing about shopping in Malibu at a secondhand store is the stuff is practically new. Since the space was small, I had to be creative. I found a beautiful cream-colored leather sofa sleeper, a matching end table, and a small, round coffee table. I didn’t need a dining table since it was just going to be me. I asked the sales girl if she could hold my furniture until I found a way to get it to my apartment. Jordyn said that a couple of her friends had trucks and they’d help out. I hated to impose on people, but I really had no other choice. I owed Jordyn big time. I called a cab and went back to Ian’s.
When I walked through the door, there was a woman standing in the foyer. She was blonde and, when she turned around, I saw that her tits were huge. Damn it. I forgot about the gala. Her dress was unflattering, as it made her look fat. She smiled and introduced herself as Nikki.
“You must be Ian’s house guest?” she said as she snapped her gum.
“Yes, I’m Rory. Is Ian upstairs?” I asked as I pointed.
Just as she was about to answer, Ian came down the steps. He stopped and looked at me.
“Did you get my messages?” I asked.
“Yeah, I did. Now, if you’ll excuse me, Nikki and I have a gala to attend.”
He put his hand on the small of her back and led her to the door. As he walked out, he turned his head one last time and looked at me. It wasn’t his apologetic look this time. It was a big fat “f*ck you” look. He shut the door and I stood there in tears. I had to get out tonight. I couldn’t live here anymore. I ran up the stairs as my heart beat rapidly. I grabbed a duffel bag that was sitting on the shelf in the closet and started stuffing some clothes in it. As I packed some things from the bathroom, I called a cab. I took a blanket that was sitting on the chair in the corner and shoved it in my bag. As I held it in my hand, I stood and looked around the room that had been a source of comfort to me over the past couple of weeks. A tear streamed down my cheek as the honking of the cab horn came from the driveway.
****
I inserted the key into the lock and opened the door to my new apartment. I flipped on the light switch and admired my half newly painted walls. I set my bag down and looked around at the empty space that was mine. The paint and supplies were in the corner of the room, so I decided to finish painting since I had nothing else to do. When I brought the can of paint over to the counter, my phone beeped. I pulled it from my pocket and noticed a text message from Adalynn.
“What’s going on between you and Ian? I asked him why he didn’t bring you to the gala instead of that blonde bimbo and he yelled at me and told me to mind my own business. Did something happen?”
I really didn’t know what to say to her, so I opted for the easy way out.
“It’s a long story. I’ll explain it to you over coffee.”
“Okay, but you’re still coming to my party on Saturday, right?”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
I pulled out the rest of the paint supplies and finished painting my walls. I took a step back and looked around the room as I yawned in exhaustion. I looked at the time on my phone; it was already one a.m. Ian had to be home by now and I bet he’d brought that girl home with him. I washed up in the kitchen sink, spread the blanket on the carpet, and curled up into a ball and fell asleep.
The chiming sound of my alarm jolted me out of a sound sleep at five thirty a.m. It was the time I had it set daily so I could get up and go running. I picked up my phone to check my messages and nothing. Did he even realize I’d left? I bet he didn’t because he was probably too busy getting off in that room with the blonde. The thought burned through me like a gasoline fire. I shook it off and dug through my bag for my yoga pants and a t-shirt. I quickly changed, put on my running shoes, and went for a run. The morning air was brisk as I ran down the street, over two blocks, and down to small beach where an exercise class had just started. My ponytail swung from side to side as I jogged across the beach, trying to forget about Ian. He occupied every bit of space in my head. As much as I needed to forget about him, I couldn’t. I wanted to forget about him because a man like him spelled trouble and heartache. He’d already broken my heart and we were nothing but friends, or at least we used to be. I jogged back to the apartment because I had to start work in an hour.
The day passed quickly and I really enjoyed working with Jordyn and Ollie. The two of them were so cute together. You could tell that he was totally in love with her. That was something I’d wished for my whole life; to be loved. Jordyn grabbed my hand and took me outside Java Hut.
“Come on. I want to show you something.” She smiled as she led me upstairs to my apartment.
As soon as she opened the door, I heard “surprise!” I took a step back and covered my mouth with my hands in excitement as I looked around my fully furnished apartment. Jordyn hooked her arm around me.
“I had the guys pick up your furniture today while we were working. SURPRISE!”
I was overcome with emotions because I didn’t know what to say. Everyone was being so generous and helpful. “Thank you. I don’t know what to say.”
“You’ve already said it.” Ollie smiled.
After everyone left, I ran my hand along my new couch, smiled, and sat down. I stared across the room, taking in that this place was mine, all mine. I was getting kind of hungry and I needed some things for the apartment, so I put on my shoes and went to the local Target to stock up. I was browsing in the clothing department when I came across a beautiful black lace dress that would be perfect for Adalynn’s birthday party. I looked at the price tag and smiled when I saw that it was well within my price range. It might not have come from Nordstrom, Saks, or any other high-end store, but it was pretty, and I loved it. After I arrived home and my arms felt like jelly from carrying all those bags, I preheated the oven for the frozen pizza I’d bought. Once I put everything away, and when my pizza was done cooking, I took it from the oven and sat down on the couch with my laptop. I did something I had no business doing; I googled Ian Braxton. The fact was that I missed him. Why? Why did I miss someone who only thinks women are good for one thing and one thing only? Before stupid words came out of his mouth, he was kind and caring. Every time I thought of him, all I saw was his smile. The headline that grabbed my attention was: ‘Who will tame Malibu’s most eligible playboy?’ It was right above the picture of Ian and a woman on each arm. The picture was dated a month ago. Could someone like Ian even be tamed? I picked up my phone and almost sent him a text message, but I didn’t. I brought up his name and stared at the flashing cursor that was waiting for me to type something out. After I closed out of it, I set my phone down, unfolded the couch, put the new sheets down, and crawled under the blankets as I cried myself to sleep.
“Rory, I’m in trouble,” I heard Stephen’s whisper over and over again.
“I’m looking for you, Stephen, but I can’t find you. You need to follow my voice.”
“You promised me that you’d take care of me, Rory. You promised.”
“You hurt me, Stephen. You hurt me really bad.”
“You lied to me, Rory. You lied!”
Stephen’s scream jolted me awake. My skin was drenched in sweat and my face was soaked with tears. It took me a minute to realize that I wasn’t in bed and that I was crouched in the corner of my new apartment. I was shaking, like I did with every nightmare. The only difference with this nightmare was that Ian wasn’t here to hold me and calm me down.