Dark Boundaries (11 page)

Chapter Twenty Seven

Garrett~

My heart fills with warmth as I watch Andrea. She’s sitting on the deck, watching the sunrise. We’re all early risers in this family.

I place a cup of coffee on the small table in front of her. “Here you go.”

She smiles and eagerly reaches for it. “Thanks.”

It’s been close to a year and I still can’t stop staring at her. I constantly find myself needing reassurance that’s she’s really here. We did find her and she’s safely home.

We don’t let her go out on her own. One of us is always with her. She’s thinking of finishing school but I told her not to worry, I’ll always take care of her.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” I ask for the millionth time.

She rolls her eyes at me. “Stop it! I’ll be fine. I’ll have Justin to follow me around like a shadow.” She laughs but I know she’s scared to be alone. “Go to your meetings. Really, I’ll be fine.”

“Okay,” I say reluctantly. I hate leaving her but I need to get back to the office so I can finalize some deals. I’ve been splitting my time between Andrea and work, repairing the damage that was done to our company in our absence. It’s true what they say, if the boss is away the mice come out to play. The accountant was pocketing an extra few grand every month and thought we wouldn’t notice. I noticed alright. I fired his sorry ass right away.

At Fine Promotions we help to promote corporations and people. We recently scored a contract with Fitness Realm, a large chain of gyms. For the advertising we got a street dancing group. It’s amazing what some of those people can do with their bodies. The advertising was a big success and scored us a two year contract with the gym. Before the contract we were doing okay, but now we’re sitting pretty.

Business is good. Andrea is healing. Justin seems to be doing okay. We’ll all get there eventually.

“I’ll be back in time for the big day.” I lean down and kiss Andrea on the top of her head.

She takes hold of my hand and looks up at me. “I love you.”

“Love you too, Ladybug.” I say goodbye to the rest of the family.

We’re signing with a new partner. He bought sixty percent of the shares, leaving me and Justin with twenty percent each. We’ve been working with Edwin for the last six months. The man is a blessing. He knows his stuff around promotions and sourcing new clients. With him on board Justin and I will be able to spend our time with our family and take turns checking in on things every other week. We’re leaving the business in capable hands.

There’s something else I want to do, something that’s been eating away at me.

~*~

Chapter Twenty Eight

Kristine~

This Saturday is Liza’s signing. She’s coming in today to check on the swag and poster I made. I’m proud of the poster. It shows a nice picture of her with her book. The background is her book cover, a girl sitting with her back to the camera in a field of dandelions.

I’ve created a soft theme, all pastel colors. The book is an emotional masterpiece and I want to convey that at the signing. It took me almost a month to read the book. I cried so much reading it, I had to take breaks. It’s a mother’s tale of her love for her daughter, and how they struggled with the daughter being kidnapped, and how they heal when they finally find her.

It reminded me so much of my own life and made me think of my parents and how they must have suffered and still are suffering from what happened to me. I’ve been selfishly hiding away, not thinking of their pain.

I phoned them and had a long talk. I’ll be going home for Christmas to spend some time with them. I also spoke to Riza and Kelly. They’re flying in tomorrow to be here for the signing.

We’re going to work on getting our friendship back to how it was before we were taken.

The bell rings, getting my attention. When Liza walks in carrying a huge box, I smile. I come from around the counter and help her carry the box to the table we’ll be using for her. “What do you have in here? It weighs a ton,” I tease her.

“Books, hon,” she laughs and then takes a book from the box. “Amazon delivered it yesterday. I was worried they wouldn’t get to us on time. I only had fifteen books at home.”

“So how many are there now? Enough for the signing?” I help her unpack some of the books and feel excitement blossoming in my chest.

“All together we have a hundred. There are more boxes. My sons will bring them later.” She spots the box with the swag I left next to the table. “Is that the swag? Oh my, look at these!” She takes out a pack of fridge magnets and smiles dreamily. “They’re lovely. You’re so talented.”

“Thank you. I also made coasters, puzzle pieces,” I lift the box to the table for easier access, “and look, I had a few pens and cups made.”

“Keyrings, too,” she gasps. “I love them … oh, look at the little dragonfly charms.”

“I’m glad you like them. Let me show you the poster and teasers. I enlarged some of the teasers so we can put them up everywhere in the shop.” She follows me to the back and when she gasps with delight, I smile brightly. I’m so glad she loves it all.

It’s late by the time we finish putting the teasers up. Liza arranged some of the swag on the table in cute little bowls she got from a store down the street.

“I wonder where those boys are. I better phone them.”

I look through the shop, making sure we didn’t miss anything while she makes the call. When she’s finished she comes to give me a hug. “They’ll be here any minute. Just let them put the boxes somewhere out of your way. I have to run, my daughter needs me. I’ll see you tomorrow.” After a quick kiss on the cheek she rushes to the door. “Enjoy your evening, hon!”

I smile and watch her walk to her car. I walk to the counter and start my laptop up so I can check my blog page. I’ve asked other bloggers to spread the word of the signing. They’ve all been so awesome helping out.

Lately I’ve been feeling a glimmer of hope. I love what I’m doing. Reading Liza’s book has really helped to set me back on the right path. I owe her for that. I’m going to make Saturday extra special for her.

The bell rings and I look up with a smile. Pins and needles spread through my body like a wildfire. My heart starts to thump wildly in my chest and I hear a faint buzzing noise.

“Kris?” he whispers. His voice still sounds the same, that slight rough tone that claimed my sense of hearing. His hair is a bit longer and he still has that five-a-clock shadow that makes him look dangerously handsome. He looks so good it hurts.

I stand frozen for another second, and then Justin follows him into the store. I was supposed to be safe here. My vision tunnels until there’s only his face. My body reacts before my mind can recover from the shock, and I run. I dart to the back of the shop, towards the stairs. If I can just make it to my apartment, I’ll be safe again.

“Kris! Wait,” I hear him call behind me and it only makes me run faster.

I take the stairs two at a time, but I can hear him behind me. I shove the door open and I’m about to shut it when I see how close he is. I shriek and dart deeper into my apartment but there’s nowhere for me to hide. I see the bat and run for it.

He’s on top of me so quickly. He grabs me, his arms wrapping tightly around me. I let out a scream before his hand covers my mouth.

“Shh … it’s just me. I’m not going to hurt you.”

I dissolve into a fit of tears, because I don’t want to look into his eyes. I don’t want to see the monster I’ve become, because of what he did to me.

~*~

Chapter Twenty Nine

Garrett~

I can’t believe she’s been under my nose all this time. I’ve searched for her but she just vanished. I couldn’t even find her on social media. I know I told Justin to drop them off at a police station after we bought their freedom, but not a single day has passed that I have not thought of her. I worried if she was safe, if she was happy – I worried so much.

And now, here she is in my arms. It feels as if no time has passed between us. She still smells like coconut. I fold my body around hers and she still fits the same way, just perfect.

I feel her hands, her fingers digging into my arm. I brush my mouth along her silky blonde hair, over her ear and take in another deep breath of her as I place a kiss on her shoulder. “I’m not going to hurt you, Kris. Let me just hold you.”

She shakes her head and then with a surprising burst of strength she rips herself from my arms. She swings around and I see her fist coming. I don’t move and take the punch. She’s stronger than I remember.

When the punch doesn’t have the affect she wanted, she shoves hard at my chest and points to the door. “Out! Leave!” She wipes angrily at the tears that keep flowing. “I’ll call the police.”

“I’ll leave, but can we talk first. I’ve been looking for you.” I reach out a hand to her but she slaps it away.

“Don’t you dare touch me!” she shrieks and places a few hurried steps between us. “Please leave,” she resorts to begging. I hate seeing her so upset.

“I just want to say I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” I can’t help but try and reach for her again but she takes another step away from me. I hate the distance between us.

Not once does she make eye contact. “Your apology means nothing to me. You destroyed my life and I’m only now managing to build it back up. Just leave or I swear I’ll call the police. I’ll tell them everything that happened.” Her voice becomes hoarse with emotion. She crumbles to the floor and it pains me to see her broken like this.

I was so wrong. She wasn’t strong enough to handle what happened. I hate myself now more than ever for what I did to her. She paid the price so Andrea could be happy again.

I make sure the image of Kristine, broken on the floor is burned deep into my memory, before I turn around and walk away from her.

It’s the least I can do. I’ll give her some space.    

~*~

Chapter Thirty

Kristine~

I hear a beep.
“We’re here. You’re not here. Hellloooo!”
The message echoes through the answering machine into the rest of my apartment. I lift my head up and blink against the bright light filling my apartment.

Right after he left I locked the store, and then checked it a hundred times more to make sure I locked everything. I had a restless night. Sleep never quite took me.

I glance at the watch in my small kitchen. Shit, it’s already past nine! The message! Riza and Kelly must be down at the door.

I scramble from bed and run down the stairs. I trip over a box that wasn’t there before to get to the door. I unlock it quickly and yank it open. I look up the street but don’t see them, looking down the street I see them walking towards the ocean. “Hey!” I call out. “Riza, Kelly!” They both turn at the same time and when they see me waving like a loon they come back. “I’m sorry. I overslept.”

I hug them each and then let them into the store. “Oh wow, it’s beautiful,” Riza exclaims, then she looks at me, “but you look like shit. What’s going on? I thought everything was going well?”

Kelly turns to look at me, as well. “Yeah, you’re eyes are puffy. Have you been crying?”

“I’ll tell you later,” I wave their concern away. “Let’s go get coffee.” I plaster a fake smile to my face. “I’m so glad you both made it!”

I fix us each a cup of coffee and then get dressed while the girls drink theirs. I’m not opening the store today so I slip into shorts and a t-shirt.

“I’ll be right back,” I excuse myself and go downstairs. I want to make sure I locked the door. That’s when I spot the boxes again. There are two. I open one and see that they’re filled with copies of Hollow, Liza’s book.

And then it hits me squarely between the eyes – Liza’s sons – Garrett and Justin! Her story is about Andrea. No! This can’t be happening to me!

“Hey, you said you’d be right back. We didn’t travel all this way to not see you,” Kelly jokes.

“Oh, is that the book?” Riza asks.

I try to hide the shock on my face before I look up at them. I don’t want my feelings to affect them negatively towards Liza. She had nothing to do with what happened to us. I drop the book back into the box. “We need to talk.”

“About what,” Riza gives me a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. Is that what I look like? She picks up a book and reads the blurb on the back. Her eyes dart to mine. “What’s this, Kristine? You never told us the book is about a kidnapping.”

I shake my head and feel the tears coming. So much for hiding my feelings from them! “Not just any kidnapping. It’s about Andrea and her family.”

Riza knows who Andrea is, but Kelly never met her. “Who’s Andrea?” Kelly asks.

Before I can answer Riza grabs hold of my arm. “Have you seen her? Have you seen Justin?”

I nod. “The author is their mother.”

“You have to go to the police!” Kelly shouts, her face scrunching up with anger.

“Where is he?” Riza asks. I see the desperation in her eyes. I’d recognize that look anywhere. I’ve seen it in the mirror every single day since we got free.

“What happened is over,” I say to both of them. “Can’t we just move on with our lives?”

Riza covers her mouth and for a moment stares at nothing. She shakes her head. “I have to see him. I have to talk to him.”

I don’t want to see Garrett again. I’m still not ready to face him. I’m not sure how I feel about him being back in my life.

“Please, Sis,” Riza begs through tears. “I need to see him.”

“Riza, he didn’t buy you,” I remind her harshly, hoping to make her realize this is a bad idea. “He didn’t want you.”

“I know he wants me. You don’t know what we shared. He cares about me!” she screams. “He has to care about me.”

I walk over to the counter and write down Liza’s address. “I’m not going with you. I don’t want to see any of them today.” I hold the paper out to her and she hurries to reach for it. “Don’t tell Liza that you know me. I don’t want tomorrow to be a disaster. When the signing is done you can do what you want, but just for tomorrow I want peace.”

“This is a bad idea,” Kelly snaps. She might not have been through what we have but she still suffered in her own way.

“I’m going now,” Riza says, ignoring Kelly’s warning. “I’ll catch up with you later.”

Kelly puts her arm around me as we watch Riza leave. I don’t have the energy to make her stay.

“What do you want to do?” I ask Kelly, feeling too tired to really do anything.

“We can stay in bed, watch movies and laugh like old times.” She pulls me in the direction of my apartment.

“Lucky for you I have Netflix.” I glance over my shoulder when I feel a weird sensation, as if I’m being watched. I shake it off and go back upstairs with Kelly.

I hope Riza will find her answers so at least one of us can return to normal.

~*~