Chase

Waking up to an empty bed was not what I expected after everything that happened. There was no sign of her anywhere. I was about to start panicking when I saw the note.

Something was scrawled on the mirror decorating the wall behind the bedside table. She had written on it with lipstick or something, it was a dark shade of red. The room still smelled like her.

“Thanks for last night,” said the note.

Below the large characters was a line of smaller ones that said, “I took some money from your wallet, I hope you don’t mind. I’ll send it back to you, if you text me your address.”

The phone.

I remembered that she had a phone now. I dialed her number but it went straight to voicemail. I was filled with a sudden rage. I set my phone on the bedside table and grabbed an empty glass and filled it with bourbon. I knocked it back all in one go and threw the glass against the wall.

It crashed into a million little pieces.

A few of the sharp pieces were stuck in my arm. I took them out, one by one, with shaking hands.

How could she do it?

How could she leave me like that?

Didn’t she know what she meant to me? Didn’t she know that she was hurting me? I had suffered without her for so long, I couldn’t keep suffering anymore.

She could run from her past, and she could run from her happiness, but she couldn’t run from me. I won’t make it easy on her.

She will come back to me.

She was my kitten. She was my everything. I had to make her see that. I had to make her see that we belonged.

But first, I needed to protect her.

I called Carl and told him what was going on and he assured me he would keep an eye on her. There were only so many places she could go. I tried calling her but stupid voicemail again.

So, I left her a text. “Where are you?”

The text sat in my inbox for a long time before I finally got a response. “I’m okay, Chase. No need to worry.”

Was she on some mission to piss me off?

I wrote her another text, asking her whereabouts but she just shrugged it off again. And then she started talking about the money she took, and that she was going to return it. But didn’t she realize that money meant nothing to me.

You should have told her.

Every second that you keep it a secret, you’re placing her life in danger.

I can’t.

I can’t do it, not yet.

She will hate me.

Then why are you making such a big show of protecting her, when in truth you’re only being selfish.

There’s nothing I won’t do to protect her.

I had a headache that felt like my head was about to explode.

My phone rang and I grabbed it too fast, hoping it was her but it was Carl. “What is it, Carl?”

“She’s walking into a motel now.”

“Which one?”

“The Regency Sea.”

“I’ve never even heard of it.”

“This place is shady, Chase.”

What is wrong with her! Why did she choose to be in some shady motel than in this suite with me? Was she out of her mind?

“Chase?”

I used two fingers and a thumb to squeeze my forehead. But the headache just got worse. “I need you to keep an eye on her,” I said. “Just don’t let her see you. I don’t want her to think that I might be following her.”

“I’ll be careful. Anything else?”

“Did you get that thing I told you to get?”

“I did. There’s a box in one of the drawers in the bedroom.”

“At the loft?”

“At the hotel. It’s in a discreet, ordinary looking box. The cleaning service wouldn’t be tipped off.”

“Thank you.”

I was about to end the conversation when Carl spoke up. “Chase. Be careful.”

It didn’t annoy me because I knew he was just being concerned about me. I ended the call and set my phone down. I started to search in the drawers for the box, and finally found it in one of the drawers on the bedside table. I set it down in front of me and opened the lid.

Inside, on a sheet of black leather was a stunning object and its dark gray glint was eye-catching. The Gen 4 Glock 19 was truly a thing of beauty. Perfect for conceal carry, and the polymer construction keeps weight down. Not as small and ineffective as small handguns and trigger pressure is lighter than other 9 mm models but all trigger presses feel the same, from the first shot to the last.

If you’re looking for a weapon that will never disappoint you, this firearm should be your first choice.

The press of a button, released the magazine and I caught it in my free hand. The standard ten rounds plus one in the chamber. I pushed the magazine back up. I held the Glock in my hand in a firing position and stepped a little farther from the mirror. I used the other hand to support my hold. It was strange holding this thing again. I always felt all weapons have a power, a spirit inside of them. They have a life of their own. This was a brand-new weapon, so it didn’t have much of a history but I remember the Colt hung from the wall of my father’s study. He wouldn’t let me and my brother near it, but the more he tried to stop us, the more fun that gun became to us. My father wasn’t a careless parent, he was the most vigilant person I’d known and we would still find a way to get in his study.

It was a game to us.

Until it wasn’t.

The sound of a gunshot rang in my ear and my headache became worse. I was standing there helpless my hands pressed to my head, waiting for the gunshot to die down. Eventually, it stopped. It always did. But not before bringing tears to my eyes. When it was all over, I set the Glock down, and searched for an aspirin and found it on the floor, next to the shattered glass. I picked up the bottle of aspirin and walked to the mini bar and got myself some bottled water to wash down the pills.

The empty space mocked me. It made the emptiness inside me worse. I was tired of feeling that way. I wanted to feel the happiness I felt with her.

She could take any empty space and turn it into home.

I reached into my pants pocket and my hand touched something papery. I took it out. It was all the four fortunes strips from the Chinese place.

It gave me an idea.

I called Stanton and took the phone to the wardrobe. I talked to Stanton while I picked out an outfit. I saw an Armani that was perfect for business casual and set it aside. “Stanton, I need you to do me a favor,” I started telling him everything that was in my mind and if Stanton thought it was idiotic, he didn’t say. “Come pick me up from the hotel when it’s done.”

The next thing I did was get Blayne’s address from Carl. After that, I went to the bathroom and spent a long time shaving and showering. I wanted to look like something she couldn’t resist. She was shy, and awkward about men but I made her get out of that shell. I knew she wanted me, and I was going to use that to my advantage. If she thought she could get away with ignoring me, then she was going to be disappointed.

I wasn’t born to take no for an answer. I wasn’t going to let her forget me, no matter how much she tried. She was my destiny and it was about time she realized that. By the time I was done dressing up, Stanton was waiting for me downstairs.

I took one last approving look in the mirror. If she wanted to be rid of me, she was going to have to try harder.

We’ll see how long she lasts against my charm. I wasn’t called a Heartbreaker for nothing. Which reminded me to call my friend Stefan. Maybe later. I wanted to have a better story to tell him than one that ended with and then she left me sleeping…

I was about to leave when I saw the Glock on the nightstand.

I went over and picked it up, feeling it’s weight in my hand. It belonged to me now. I already felt an attachment to this thing. Guns were not the problem. Their intended use was the real issue. Cops carried it around, and they weren’t all bad. This thing had its uses, plain and simple. If it was just me, I wouldn’t even have considered getting a gun, but it was no longer just about me.

It was about her.

I just needed to know that she was safe. This thing could come in handy. There’s only so much Carl and Stanton can do. This was a safety net.

I thought briefly about the way she looked last night. Unassuming and unpretentious and a little unpredictable. It was a deadly combination. She was smart, and funny and fierce. She ticked all the boxes that I needed ticked, and then some. Her body, her face, and the way she so prettily blushes if you say something dirty…

Yes, she needed me.

She needed my protection, even if she didn’t know it. She needed to know that I wasn’t just some guy she had sex with, and that we were destined to be together.

I knew that when I saw her for the first time, and I knew that when I saw her yesterday without inhibitions.

I took the Glock and tucked it unseen inside the back of my pants. I took one last glance at the mirror. “I’m sorry, Dad.”