Afterlife Saga: Afterlife Part 29

"And what way was that, demanding things of me that were not his business to try and control, or that fact that I quit over it?" I said in an emotional voice as I always did when it came to Draven.

"My brother deserves to be happy, it's just a shame it's never that easy." She said and I didn't understand a word of it.

"Look, I'm really tired of all these cryptic messages that seem to come out of all three of you. Your brother has made his feelings very clear and anyway I'm sure his new wife will make him happy." I said trying to press for any information I could get but knowing Sophia's reluctance to talk about anything personal I doubted I would be satisfied.

"I understand why you are frustrated and I can only apologise for it, but do you really believe that my brother only thinks of you as nothing but a waitress?" She said shocking me at how blunt she was now being.

"To be honest, I have absolutely no idea how your brother looks at me and I'm not even sure if he looks at me at all." I couldn't hide the sadness in my voice and Sophia picked up on it.

"But you know how you feel for him...yes?" Her head tilted to one side as though urging me to speak the truth to her but I wasn't about to fold so easily.

"Why do you even ask? What does it matter how I feel when my feelings are not returned in the same way?"

"If there are feelings there then they still matter, regardless." She said in such a way, as if I couldn't deny her anything.

"Why have you really come here Sophia?" I asked tired of playing this game.

"I want you to come back, to work at the VIP...where you belong." She said and it felt strange when she said this last bit, as though she was trying to influence me to feel the same way.

"I don't think I can do that," I said but it felt as if I was going against nature rejecting the idea. Ever since I had left the VIP all I wanted was to get back there. I wasn't whole unless I was near him and if working there was the only way, then that was what I wanted. But there was another part of me, the part that was responding now, the part that was trying to save my sanity.

"Why not? Dom wants it too." She said and my look said it all.

"I'm not lying to you Keira."

"There's just been so much that has happened, I don't know if I can do it, I don't know whether I could face him again." At this she found her key to cracking me as she was getting up and b.u.t.toning up the thick crisp white jacket she wore.

"Well sleep on it and meet with him tomorrow night to discuss it, this is at his request...and don't worry, he won't lose his temper again." She said as she walked to my door.

"I will think about it but I'm not making any promises, will you be back at college tomorrow?" I asked and she paused as if trying to find the right words and then smiled saying, "Ah, I knew there was something else...there was a fire...oh no don't worry no one was hurt but our part of the college is closed for the next few days due to the investigation."

"Oh my G.o.d, that's terrible...was it done deliberately?" I asked as she obviously had all the facts.

"Oh deliberately?...umm yes I believe so....See you tomorrow Keira." And with that she left smiling a scary wicked smile. Once she was gone I picked up the phone and called RJ to see if she had heard anything.

"Oh yeah, but its only just started so how did you hear the news so quickly?" She asked and I was amazed that Sophia knew about it, after all hadn't she been here waiting for me and thinking about it, how did she even get here, there was no car when I pulled up.

"Sophia told me."

"Oh well, I guess she would know with her brother being so involved in the place. Man, I bet this means more money to cough up from them," she said but I could hear Jack in the background trying to get to the phone.

"Sorry Kaz, but Romeo wants to talk to you, hope you're feeling better." And then Jack's voice came on the phone before giving me a chance to say goodbye to RJ.

"Hey how are you, you thrown up that gourmet meal yet?" He asked and I heard RJ saying "Nice Romeo," in the background, which had me giggling.

"Not yet but here's hoping," I said before continuing with my enquiry. "So did you hear about my building?"

"Yeah, it's a right mess so it looks like a few days off for you, 'cause aren't most of your cla.s.ses in there?"

"Yeah, all of them, but doesn't it seem strange...I mean why would anyone do that?" I asked and he laughed saying, "You do have Reed don't you?" And I laughed again agreeing with him.

"Well at least no one got hurt, that's the main thing," I said trying to be positive but I couldn't help this nagging feeling I had in the pit of my stomach. It was the way that Sophia had said it all. As though she knew for certain what had happened.

I would have to remember to ask Libby if she'd received a phone call while she'd been here.

When I got off the phone from my three way call with RJ and Jack, I went downstairs to talk to Libby but she was too engrossed in her drama to make much sense so I gave up and went to bed with a mind swimming in an ocean of thoughts. In one day I had quit, then been asked to go back and also found out that Draven's fiancee could be Celina, the girl that went missing from Jack two years ago. My life had turned into a Gothic drama and I couldn't decide whether to pull the plug or to keep watching. I went into my bathroom looking for what I wanted or in this case...needed. Knowing that I would never sleep going over everything that happened not only today, but last night was still whirling around there too.

I popped back two sleeping pills and downed the rest of the water before doing my usual night time routine. Once I was ready for bed I could feel the pills taking effect. So by the time I got into bed I fell asleep thinking about what tomorrow's meeting would bring, hopefully the opposite of today's...that would be nice.

By the time I woke up the house was empty, as Libby and Frank had already gone to work. I strolled downstairs still in some old sweat pants and a long T-s.h.i.+rt that I usually wore for bed. I walked in the kitchen and there was a message waiting for me on the fridge in Libby's handwriting.

Call me when you get up, Lib's x.x.xx I popped the kettle on first and grabbed a breakfast bar down from the cupboard along with a cup for my tea. In England people drank tea like the Americans drink coffee so my brain didn't work without my tea in the morning. I made it and finished my bar before picking up the phone and dialling Libby's work's number.

"Olivia speaking." She said in a professional tone "Hey Lib's, what's up?" I asked "Umm, I've got something to tell you, I was supposed to last night but I completely forgot." She said in a guilty voice and I didn't like where this was going.

"Ok, what's wrong?"

"Well, Frank and I have been invited to spend the week at Frank's parents' Lake house with the rest of the family but I didn't think I could get the time off." She said and I could hear her taking a gulp of something before carrying on.

"Right sooo...?" I said already foreseeing what was coming next.

"Well I got a call last night saying it would be fine as one of my clients has put back the finis.h.i.+ng date by three weeks so we're now clear to go...but I wanted to ask you if you would mind?"

"No not at all, of course I don't mind. I mean you go every year don't you?" I said trying to sound more positive than I felt about staying in this house by myself for a week.

"Are you sure? You could have anyone over to stay, I'm sure RJ or Jack especially wouldn't mind," she said giggling.

"It's fine Lib's, I think I am old enough to cope in the house alone for a week!"

"Umm. That's not all." She said like a child about to ask their mum for candy.

"What do you need?"

"I was wondering could you do me a huge favour and put some of my laundry in the washer and nip to the store and get a list of supplies for me?"

After I had written a list as long as my arm of what Lib's wanted at the supermarket, I picked some dirty clothes out of her hamper and put on a load before getting ready to go out. I got changed in record time as I wanted to get back to finish off Libby's mountain of was.h.i.+ng. It didn't take long to get to the store and as it was a weekday it was nearly empty. I was making my way up and down the aisles, grabbing loads of junk food that was on Libby's list when I spotted someone I knew. He was heading straight for me and I pushed my trolley past until he looked me in the face...but there was no reaction. So I said, "h.e.l.lo Doctor Spencer, how are you?"

"Umm fine young lady." He said with no recognition on his face whatsoever.

"You don't remember me do you?" I asked "I'm sorry but I do see a lot of patients," he said in an unfriendly tone.

"I b.u.mped my head and Mr Draven asked you to see me?" I said but his face remained a blank.

"I afraid you must be mistaken my dear I don't even know a Mr Draven." He said as he was about to move away but I stopped him as I placed my hand on his trolley.

"I sorry, but you have to remember, you came to my house and you said that you have known Mr Draven for years!" But he moved his trolley in a rude manner and said, "Well see, that's where you're wrong, it couldn't have been me because I don't do house calls! If you will excuse me!" And with that my hand dropped from the metal and I moved to the side, letting him pa.s.s. I stood there as though I was having some sort of meltdown. It was definitely him, I was sure of it. I mean he didn't look as healthy as the last time I saw him, his face looked older, his eyes were a pale grey and his face full of lines showing the stress he had mounted up over the years. But there was no doubt it had been him. I had said his name and he hadn't denied that. I got the rest of the stuff in a daze. Maybe he suffered with short-term memory loss but I doubted very much a doctor's profession would be the way to go if he did.

Even when I had paid for my stuff and was loading it into my car I was still thinking about it. The man that I had seen had been kind and gentle, but this man had been rude and definitely not a people person. And how could someone have aged so much in such a short s.p.a.ce of time? I just couldn't get my head round it and I knew it wasn't just me going crazy as Libby had also met him that day. Once again it had become one of those things that I tried to forget or put to the back of my mind but it kept crawling its way forward, scratching away at my brain.

I was back in the kitchen munching on a tuna sandwich I had made myself when the phone went again and I picked it up trying to swallow a mouthful of bread.

"h.e.l.lo!" I said but there was nothing on the other end but heavy breathing, so I said it again.

"h.e.l.loooo!" But then I heard a guy that sounded like he was in the background saying in an agitated tone, "Hey you have to pay to use that!" And with that, the phone went dead leaving me shaking my head. Must have been a wrong number. After I finished my lunch I did the rest of Libby's laundry and I decided to run a bath and try to relax before I knew what I had to do tonight. I poured in Libby's fancy bottles of bubble bath under the running water and it filled the room with the scent of a Tropical Delight. I lit a few candles and pressed play on the CD player that she had fitted in the bathroom wall. It had the sounds of the forest, with birds and waterfalls transforming the bathroom into a relaxing haven.

It was a huge room with a ma.s.sive free-standing bath that you could fit more than one body in. I let my robe slip to the floor and I placed one leg in letting my skin adapt to the temperature, feeling the slight itch as it was too hot. I then braved it and dunked the rest of my body under the scented water, feeling it soothe my muscles into relaxation. I tried not to think about tonight and concentrated on the background sound of the forest but no matter how I tried I couldn't help it. I kept seeing Draven's harsh face, the way he had looked at me yesterday and it made me s.h.i.+ver, even though my skin was hot. Being in the bath was reminding me that Draven was like water, I didn't know when it would be ice cold or burning hot but either way I needed it...I needed it to survive!

Once I had finished relaxing I did all the usual girlie things, shaved my legs and any other area that needed attention. I scrubbed my skin with a rough sponge until it glowed and the soap that smelled like strawberries. As soon as I was done in the bath I rinsed off in the shower and washed my hair as I could never wash it in the bath with it being so long. By the time I got out Libby and Frank were back and frantically packing.

She popped her head round my bedroom door after about an hour of running around like a headless chicken.

"Hey honey we're off in a minute, thanks for sorting out my was.h.i.+ng and going to the store for me, you're a doll!"

"No problem. I just I used all your fancy products in the bath to make up for it!" I said and she laughed.

"Oh well, I will get you to scrub the decking outside for that one, seriously though you know you can help yourself ....are you sure you don't mind us going?" She said looking at her watch as though they were going to be late, so I got up and hugged her saying, "I told you I will be fine...now go and have fun and don't worry about me, but if I'm not in later when you ring then just leave me a message."

"Ok, well I will ring you and if you have any problems then it would only take us two hours to get back home...I love you Kazzy." She said hugging me back, before leaving and I shouted down to Frank to have fun, before I heard the door shut. I closed the bedroom door and put some tunes on my Laptop and listened to a band called 's.h.i.+nedown,' while I got ready for yet another meeting with Draven.

I put on an extra vest that had lace at the top and straps, under my black T s.h.i.+rt with matching fingerless gloves that met the sleeves on my top. I wore tighter fitting jeans that were one of my nicer pairs, well one of the only ones that weren't ripped around the edges. I dried most of my hair but thanks to using Libby's new shampoo it went extra wavy. I put it up but some bits kept escaping so I decided to leave them as it added to the look. I checked myself in the mirror and when I was slightly satisfied I grabbed my jacket, my zip up sweater and keys with shaky hands and left the house.

The rain battered down on my car's windows making the weather mirror my mood as the closer my car got to Afterlife the more my heart had to work to keep a steady beat. Sophia had said that this meeting would go better than last time, with Draven's temper firmly in check, but I could never predict anything in that place. It was as though it had its own parallel universe and any other rules of the world just didn't apply. I mean, Sophia had asked me to come back to work at the VIP and that was what Draven wanted too, but could I do that? Could I just go back to normal, after everything that had happened?

There was definitely something between Draven and myself. Some unnatural bond that kept on throwing us together... one that he kept denying. So I decided this would be my last try. I needed answers and I didn't care how I got them, whether it was in a calm conversation or a stormy argument, of course I preferred the first one but no matter how I got them, I wasn't leaving until I was satisfied.

This time this was going to be the end...

I just hoped that this time I could finally let him go.

Chapter 34 Captured.

Well, here I was, back again ready for the same thing I had done yesterday. I was just hoping this time I would get better results. Only tonight there was going to be an important difference, as now I wasn't an employee of his and now he wasn't my Boss.

I walked inside past Cameron and Jo as they eyed me curiously. I wonder if everyone knew that I had quit. Even so I seriously doubted they knew the cause. h.e.l.l, I wasn't even sure why but I knew one thing and that was I just couldn't pretend any more. Seeing Draven everyday was like feeding my addiction, one I knew was bad for me and little by little I just kept wanting more. I was finding it harder each time I saw him to pretend that I didn't crave him as badly as I did and it was exhausting.

The VIP came into view and my heart missed a beat as I walked to the bottom of the staircase. The two security guys that were on guard didn't even bat an eyelid at my approach, they just moved aside without a word and I made my way up to the VIP, biting my lip. I reached the top and the room fell into a hushed silence and I automatically put my head down in shame. Well if they didn't know the reason I quit downstairs, they most certainly knew up here, that much was obvious! I walked over to the bar and noticed that none of the Dravens were sat at their table but most of the regulars were at their usual tables. It was odd without them there, like a vital part of the puzzle missing.

I had already decided that I wasn't going to make the same mistake twice, so when one of Draven's men, the one called Zagan, came up to me and asked me to follow him I said a firm "No."

"Excuse me?" He said in a calm voice that was as equally hypnotic as Draven's. I could see him eyeing me cautiously under his long black hood and this added to the intimidation.

"I said no, I will meet him out here or not at all," I answered remaining strong and trying to concentrate on my own voice and not his.

"Very well, I will go and inform him of your terms, please wait here." He said smiling as this amused him greatly. He left through the huge doors that I had vowed I wouldn't walk through again. The memory of being trapped in there with Draven was both terrifying and exhilarating. Yesterday, seeing Draven, just proved that I couldn't be trusted. Every time I saw him, it was getting harder to control the urges I had, as all I wanted was to touch him, to be close to him in ways that were forbidden to me.

Meanwhile the band had started up and downstairs was getting busier with college students piling in to hear the live band. Karmun came over to me with a friendly smile as if he'd missed me.

"Well h.e.l.lo there Miss Johnson, can't get enough of us I see," he said before downing a shot himself.

"Hey Karmun, missed me?" I said being cheeky "Of course my dear, but how about a drink?" He offered but after what happened the last time I had downed liquid courage, I decided to pa.s.s.

"Suit yourself," he said before leaving me to get the phone that was now ringing. I watched him pick it up knowing that this rarely happened. The whole time I had worked up here I had never heard the phone ring once. So it didn't surprise me when I saw his face looking confused, however what did surprise me was Karmun's reaction, as he was now bring the phone over to me.

"It's for you," he said pa.s.sing me the cordless handset. I put the phone to my ear expecting to hear a familiar voice but instead, all I got was a voice I only heard in my nightmares...

It seemed my past had finally caught up with me!

"h.e.l.lo Ca...Umm... I guess its Keira now." A deep voice spoke straight from my memories, but I was unwilling to accept the unspeakable truth.

"Who is this?"

"Oh Keira.... You. Know. Who. This. Is!" The voice said in a mocking tone, dragging out the words extending my pain. My heart crumbled at the sound causing tears to form in my eyes and overfill, falling down my cheeks in seconds.

"NO, NO, NO! IT CAN'T BE!" I screamed and everyone in the room shot me a look.

"I'm back Keira.....and guess what, I will be seeing you....very, very soon!" He said and I screamed louder than my lungs could take, I threw the phone down smas.h.i.+ng it to pieces. People's stares were a mixture of confusion and what looked like pure joy. But there was one look I didn't wait around to a.n.a.lyse.... Draven had just entered the room.

I turned and ran for the staircase not stopping for anything or anyone. I had to run, I had to get away from this place...He knew where I was....He had found me and I had to escape again!!! I pushed into the security breaking through before they had time to react. I ran down the steps letting gravity help me, using my body's weight to do the same at the other end. I launched myself through the middle of the two men that stood in my way. I crashed through them landing on the floor with an almighty thud. I didn't even react to the pain that shot through my limbs on impact with the solid stone floor. The guards tried to grab me but I crawled out of reach before getting to my feet once more and running through the crowd. My head whipped round trying to way up my options of getting out of here but with Cameron and Jo taking orders from Draven, I didn't like my chances with that exit. So I ran towards the bar knowing there was one exit that wasn't guarded. I found who I was looking for and ran towards Mike who was serving somebody.

"Hey Keira...what's wrong...you...." I cut him off, trying to control my panting and said, "Please Mike...he, he, help me...I have to get out of here...Please!" I stammered but he just pulled me out of sight and in through the back.

"Ok, ok calm down, I will help you...." He said making his way through the back to where I found a familiar door.

"Go through here and keep going right around the building, you will then see your car...go!" He said opening the big metal door I had used once before.

"Thank you," I said giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before bolting through the door and down the metal steps. The door slammed shut behind me and the security light illuminated showing me the way. I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and rang the number that I had burned to memory.

"Merseyside Police" A woman answered in monotone.

"Inspector Matthews's desk," I said in a clear panicky voice, only the woman didn't seem to respond to it.

"I'm afraid he's not at his desk at the moment," she replied and my heart sank deeper at the news.

"Fine, but could you get him to call me, it's important! Tell him it's Keira Johnson, he will know what it's about!" And with that I hung up and put the phone back in my back pocket just as she was asking for my number. He already knew it, so I didn't want to waste any more time on the phone, when the first thing I needed to do was get away from here!

My car came into view but it was even darker now and the few lamps that were dotted around didn't offer much light. My mind was trying to think where I had gone wrong...how did he find me? I had to fix this. I had to get as far away from this place as I could. And then the thought hit me...if he knew where I worked then it was more than likely he also knew where I lived. It then came to me, of course he knew where I lived because he had been the one to call the house today... he had been the heavy breather. Oh s.h.i.+t!

Once I reached the handle to my truck it didn't budge and I realised it was locked and I fumbled for the keys out of my pocket. I was finding it hard to focus so when I finally found them I dropped them on the floor as I was trying to get the key in the lock. I bent down to pick them up seeing the gravel minus silver keys.... they were gone.

"Looking for these?" A voice said and I jumped, nearly having a heart attack at the same time. I stood up seeing Vincent Draven who was casually lent against the hood of my truck holding my keys.

"Umm... yeah, thanks..." I said trying to sound calmer than I felt, as my heart hadn't yet recovered. I held out my hand to retrieve my keys but he didn't pa.s.s them to me, instead he enclosed all his fingers around them concealing the metal bunch. My pulse started to speed up as the panic was building.