WHEN WE FINALLY arrived at the hotel, I smiled, realizing that it was located near some of the best places to shop in town. My mother was just like me when it came to shopping—we were slightly addicted. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree in our case.
After the cab pulled up to the curb and we grabbed my bags, we made our way into the swanky hotel.
Mom led me to the elevator and stroked my hair lovingly as we rode up to my floor which was just one floor up from theirs. When the doors opened, I followed her down the hallway to my room. She unlocked the door and ushered me inside. Once I dumped my bags, she called room service for some coffee. I unzipped my bag and located my pajamas. Today was one of those days. Not long after I curled up on the sofa, room service arrived and my mom handed me a steaming cup of coffee.
“Okay, baby girl. Spill,” she instructed, taking a sip from her cup.
“Oh, Mom. Where do I even begin?” I questioned with annoying tears filling my eyes again.
“You start from the beginning. Just tell me all of it. We’ll sort through your pain, I promise.” She reached a hand over and stroked my hair again.
I sighed before beginning. “So you remember how you got a call one day out of the blue with my random news of moving to another town?”
She nodded. “I never really thought it was random, but you seemed to feel strongly enough about it that I never pressed on.”
“Well, Mom, it wasn’t random at all. Things were perfect at school. I was acing my classes. The sorority was great. I had plenty of friends. But Jessie left me at a party one night. I ended up walking home alone late one night. Mom, I was kidnapped,” I tearfully admitted.
Her eyes bugged out of her head. “My poor baby. Why didn’t you tell me sooner or call the police? How did you escape?” Tears welled in her eyes as she attempted to understand.
“My abductor was taking me somewhere and I was terrified but unable to get away. I ended up causing him to crash the car and was able to escape. That’s how I ended up in Jonestown.” I was sobbing now.
“Oh, baby. I had no idea,” she bawled and squeezed me tight.
“I survived three long years without incident. Figuring my abductor was a random person, I felt safe where I’d ended up. Then, out of the blue, I had two different people vying for my attention. Sam was my delivery guy. Cale was the new builder I’d accidentally maced.” I couldn’t help but smile at that memory, and she smiled too. “They both wanted to date me. I ended up going on a completely platonic date with Sam and it ended horribly. Cale came to my rescue and we were glued to each other’s sides ever since. Sam continued to terrorize me and even set my house on fire!” I exclaimed.
“What?! Oh my goodness!”
“Don’t worry, Cale was with me and put out the fire immediately. It could have been worse but thankfully he snuffed it out right away. The window has been replaced and the mess has been cleaned up. Anyway, Cale was my knight in shining armor, protecting me at every turn. Last night, we went to Anj’s Halloween party. Cale and I had planned on surprising each other with our costumes. When he texted me to tell me he’d arrived, I told him to meet me upstairs in one of the rooms.” I swallowed in fear of having to retell the next part. “He snuck in behind me and started touching me. I was so happy he was there. When I turned around and he pulled off his helmet, I was horrified to discover it was Sam.” A shudder quivered through my body.
“Oh no!” she shrieked.
“He held me down and forced my dress up. My panties were ripped from my body,” I gasped, eyes wide in fear.
“Shh, honey. It’s okay. I have you,” she consoled me.
“He was just about to rape me when he was forcefully pulled away from me. Cale had kicked in the door and began punching him over and over again. Anyway, they hauled Sam off to jail and he took me home.” At this point, the tears poured from my eyes.
“Sounds like you’ve had quite a ride, baby girl,” she sniffled, stroking my hair some more.
“That’s not all. This is the worst part. This morning, Cale and I professed our love for each other.” A painful wail escaped me.
“Honey, that’s good news. You finally found someone perfect,” she replied softly, trying to calm me down.
“I finally got the nerve to tell him the story of my abduction. Mom, it was him. Cale abducted me all those years ago!” Now I was a hysterical mess.
“I don’t understand,” Mom whispered, genuinely confused.
“He’d been in an accident and couldn’t remember anything about it. He was in a coma for twelve days. When I told him the date of the accident, he told me it had to have been him. Putting the nail farther into the coffin, he explained that the only memory he had from the accident was an ‘angel’ that he had tattooed on his freaking arm. It was of me, Mom!” I wailed.
She pulled me in for a tight squeeze as I sobbed loudly into her shoulder. We stayed like this for quite some time. Finally, she withdrew from me. “All right, little lady. Tomorrow is going to be a day of retail therapy. We’ll hit all the best stores, and I think it sounds like some new shoes are a must. You’ve had a hell of a day and could really use the rest. Call me in the morning after you’ve woken up and we’ll get to it. I love you, sweetie.”
“I love you too, Mom.” I hugged her one last time before she walked out of the room.
I took my time showering in the exquisite bathroom. It was definitely plenty large enough for two people, I thought sadly. I wished Cale had never even told me what he’d done. My life would have been fine if I could have stayed in blissful ignorance.
Once I was all wrapped in the thick, plush hotel robe, I snuggled up under the covers. God, I freaking missed him already. How was this even possible? I just wanted to forget him, but it wasn’t that easy.
As if on cue, my phone chimed, notifying me of a text.
Cale: My beautiful Lia. Wherever you are, know that I am thinking about you. Missing you. Still loving you. My heart just can’t turn itself off. I’m bleeding for you. I can only pray you miss me too. I love you, my brave, fiery Lia.
A tear rolled down my face. When I read his text, he was my Cale for a moment and I really missed him. But when my brain took over, I also remembered that he’d kidnapped me three years ago, successfully ruining me for life. It wasn’t fair.
Leaning over into my purse, I fished out the picture from the pumpkin patch. We had been so unbelievably happy. The smile on my face was huge. I was jealous of the girl in the picture because she had the man I loved.
I fell asleep with my phone in one hand and our picture in the other.
Breakups suck.