"Too far away to feel you, but I can't forget your skin. Wonder what you're up to, what state of mind you're in. Are you thinking 'bout the last time your lips all over me? 'Cause I'd play it and I'd rewind,  where you are I wanna be. Wanna fly to you like birds do, straight across the world. My body, your hands, ooh, and I'm missing every word...

And that's when I run all of these thousand miles to get you back. Coming for you babe, I'm coming now. That's when I run all of these thousand miles to get you back." ~Thousand Miles, by Tove Lo

CHAPTER SIXTEEN [Part 1]

"Exquisite," Vesper mumbled to herself as she scrutinized the Picasso painting in front of her.

"It looks kind of weird, mom," a little voice said. She turned and saw a young boy with his mother, staring at the painting. She smiled at the young boy who was looking at her now, and the boy smiled back, a little blush creeping on his chubby cheeks. Walking around, she continued to admire the works at the Art Institute of Chicago.

She went to the Institute early for she was keen on spending her day admiring the works of various brilliant artists. Looking at the artworks helped her relieve the heavy feelings she has for the only thing she could feel as she studied every piece was admiration for the creator and some of her personal interpretations about the artwork. It's also nice to share views and sentiments with other people as she exchanged her opinions with them. She has struck a few conversations here and there with some of the fellow tourists. It was already afternoon when she finally got her fill of the artworks and she decided to leave the Institute.

She went to a nearby café to have a snack. It was her fourth day in Chicago, and so far, her impromptu vacation was going well for she was able to tour around many places even if she hasn't really planned this trip. Tomorrow, she decided that she'll visit the 360˚ Chicago Observatory. 

Vesper was sipping on her coffee when she felt like someone was staring at her. She glanced around and saw no one. She shrugged, and thought that maybe she's just tired. She continued to eat her blueberry cheesecake and ignored the eerie feeling. When she finished eating, she went out and continued strolling around.

She took a few pictures here and there as she walked. As she snapped a photo of a beautiful building, she felt the hairs at the back of her neck stood up and the feeling that someone was staring at her came again. She warily glanced around and scrutinized the surroundings, and just like before, she saw nothing suspicious. She just walked faster. She turned on a corner and when she glanced back, she saw a blue car that she's certain she saw earlier. Spooked, she walked faster and she saw that the car was also moving.

"My God," she muttered to herself and turned on another corner. She was sure that she's going to be lost but that's better than being kidnapped and cut into little pieces. She walked faster without glancing back, intent on putting as much distance as possible between her and the creepy blue car. She turned on a corner again and she realized that she emerged on the same street she was walking on earlier. For good measure, she turned on another narrow corner again. She peeked back and saw that no one was following her and the car was not behind her. She closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief, wiping away the sweat on her forehead.

Maybe I was just being paranoid.

She opened her eyes and saw the same blue car a few feet away from her. She was about to run when she felt a hand clamp over her mouth and nose. She gasped and tried to scream, but a handkerchief was muffling her voice.

Oh fvck me, she thought when she felt herself getting dizzy. This is what happens in those horror movies I'm so fond of watching. Weakly, she still tried to get out of the person's grasp. She was writhing, kicking, and flailing around, and she moved with all the strength she got, but it was futile. Then, she dug her fingernails into the arm around her but she felt her grip loosen as she felt her consciousness slipping away. She can still hear gruff voices speaking but they felt like they were a million miles away. Oh, God, was her last thought as the chemical worked on her and her eyelids closed.

~*~*~*~*~

The first thing that registered to Vesper's senses was the smell—citrusy and homey. She slowly opened her eyes and saw that the surroundings were extravagant. There's a chandelier hanging on the ceiling, plush sofas and armchairs facing a huge flatscreen TV, Persian carpets on the marble floor, exotic-looking plants in intricate pots, paintings on the walls and sculptures on the sleek wooden tables and shelves. There were embroidered curtains framing the large windows, and a centralized aircon unit—one would think that she was in a five-star hotel.

She blinked and gathered her scrambled thoughts. Was it a dream? She tried to wipe the sleep from her eyes but she found that her hands were tied behind her back. All the wheels in her head started to turn at a speed so fast she felt like fainting. She now registered that she's sitting in a chair, and that her hands and feet were bound. Thankfully, her mouth was free so she took advantage of the luxury and breathed huge gulps of air. Stay calm, she told herself. She felt for anything unusual in her body and found nothing odd. Thank God she was unhurt.

Maybe it was a prank? Maybe I won a promo and won a penthouse suite? Maybe my hotel room's getting upgraded? Maybe I'm on TV?

"Hello?" she called out. No answer. "Hello? Is anyone there?" she called louder. "Is someone there? Is this a prank? Am I on TV? Is this some kind of reality show?" She paused, waiting for someone to appear and tell her that viola, she was in a show and she'll be getting some kind of reward. A few minutes after and still there was nothing. A sick feeling rose up her chest.

"This is so not funny! Get out of where you're hiding from. I'm not entertained!" She wiggled her hands and feet, but to no avail. The ropes were thankfully not too harsh against her skin. She tried to rock her body back and forth, left and right, and it caused the chair to tilt, threatening to fall down. She stopped her movements and started to yell again.

"I'm going to report this to the authorities! And then I'm going to make sure you'll go to prison! And I'm going to cut your throat! " She was so not in the position to make threats considering she was tied up and helpless. "Oh my God," she mumbled to herself. All the faces of the people in her life flashed before her eyes, and she felt like crying or ripping someone's throat with her bare hands—both, actually. The wheels in her mind were already turning as she planned for an escape when she saw a shadow approaching. She held her breath as she waited for the shadow's owner to appear.

"You!" she yelled when she saw the owner of the shadow. "What the fvck, Andray? What kind of sick prank is this? Come here you assh0le, I'm going to cut you into the size of a McDonald's nugget!" So many thought were swimming in her head right now and her brain felt like exploding.

He slowly walked towards her, a tender gaze on his eyes as he watched her.

"Speak! Say something! I'm going to castrate you and then turn your man-parts into Ellie's kibble! I'm going to throttle your neck! Untie me you big sack of sh!t!" Vesper violently writhed, and the chair she was sitting on tilted backwards, crashing down with a loud bang. Her body shook with the impact. Damn that hurt.

"Vesper!" Andray exclaimed. He immediately rushed to help her up.

"Fvcking fvck you, Andray!" she spat into his face when he pulled her chair back up. "Let go of me! How the hell did you even find me here? Don't you get why I left? It's so I could avoid you!"

"Vesper, listen to me," he pleaded, crouching down to level his face with hers. He reached out to touch her but she responded with a "Fvck off!" He retracted his hand immediately. The urge to touch her was so overwhelming that he had to physically restrain himself refrain from doing so. "Babe, you have to listen to me, please."

"Don't babe babe me you.. you.. you worm!" Really, Vesper? A worm? her mind chided. Shut up, I'm a mess right now! another part of her mind replied. She saw the corners of Andray's lips twitch—a hint that he wanted to smile—and it made her want to jump his bones—to butcher him or to have her way with his body, she didn't know.

"Vesper, please, you have to listen to me. I know I hurt you—"

"You know nothing!"

"I'm not Jon Snow, babe," he quipped, a smirk on his face.

"Die in a hole then go to hell," she spat.

"God, I've missed you." His eyes raked her face. To him, she was still oh-so-beautiful despite the fury in her face. And it took all of him not to jump her right there and then when she saw her strolling down the streets of Chicago, wearing a sleeveless button-down denim dress with her long, raven-black hair down. To him, it seemed that every time he sees her she just gets more beautiful. It's not just her face—it was all of her, every little thing about her and more.

"The feeling is not mutual," she bit out, and averted her eyes away from his smoldering green-eyed gaze. "Just let go of me so I can now return to my hotel room in peace. I don't ever want to see you again. We have nothing to talk about."

"Actually, we have. I'm going to talk and you're going to damn listen to me. Understood?"

"Hell no! I'm not—" Her protest was cut off by his lips on hers. Keep.It.Together.Vesper. His lips were so soft, so warm, and so familiar that it took all of her will power to keep herself from responding to his kiss.

"I'm going to speak and you're going to listen. You're not going to say anything because you'll be paying attention. And if you interrupt me I'm going to kiss you again."

"And I'm going to—" She was again cut off by his lips. He bit on her lip and sucked, smiling when he a moan escaped her.

Embarrassed, she yelled, "This is illegal! This is kidnapping! You kidnapped me! Are you insane? I'm going to have you arrested!"

"Illegal? Maybe. Kidnapped you? Yes. Insane? Only for you, babe." He saw her eyes shoot daggers, swords, harpoons, Molotov cocktails, and whatever deadly things she could think of at him. If looks could kill, his mother and sister would be bawling their eyes out once they receive the news about his death. "Vesper, listen to me. And look at me." He held her chin, turning her face towards him and stared down at those blue eyes that have haunting him ever since. "I'm an assh0le," he began.

"Damn right," she muttered under her breath. Andray shot her a stern look and she shut up.

"I hurt you. And it's because I'm afraid. I'm afraid to get hurt again, Ves. So I hurt you first. I'm going to throw you the sappy 'It's not you, it's me' line and I know it's cliché, but it's real. It's never you, Ves. I'm the one with the problem and it's just my sh!t we're dealing with here." His voice was soft, sincere, and even if she hated to admit it, she saw all the emotions in his eyes.

She just noticed it now, but there were dark circles under his eyes and he seemed paler than usual. He looked like he's having a hard time just like her. She wondered if the cause of his distress was her. The way he was looking at her right now was devastating her. His gaze was soft but she could sense the hunger he has for her in how his hands were caressing her as if he couldn't survive without her touch. Finally, she relented.

"So tell me," Vesper whispered.

"I am. Her name's Brenda. She was an intern at the recording label. She was quiet, pretty. One day I heard her singing a song. She has a nice voice. I approached her and we talked. I learned that the song she was singing was her own composition, and that she wanted to be a songwriter too. I helped her finish writing the song. One thing led to another and we ended up together. We were good together back then.

It was eleven months into the relationship when I decided that I want to marry her. I was supposed to pop the question on our first anniversary. I got everything planned out, you know? I have the speech, the venue, the food, the music—everything. And the ring, of course.

It was a week before our anniversary when sh!t hit the fan. She spent the night at my place—not the one I'm living in right now. I have work early in the morning because I was commissioned to write a song for a new singer. I left her at my place and she told me she'll be staying in and that she won't go to work. I kissed her goodbye and she even told me she loved me before I left. Loved me my ass." Andray paused, and then took a deep breath before continuing.

"I arrived at the label and the singer's manager told us that the singer will be late for half an hour or so. I was thankful that he was late because I left my phone. I excused myself and drove back to my place. I was quite happy that I'll get to see Brenda again. I opened the door and the first thing I heard were moans and groans coming from my room. It was Brenda. She was busy riding the singer I was supposed to be writing a song with. He's late because he's busy screwing Brenda. And Brenda was staying in because she's busy getting screwed. I was so shocked all I did was stand there and stare at them. When they saw me they both froze and the look on their faces was priceless. I didn't know if I wanted to laugh or hurl them both out of the window.

It turned out that Brenda stole one of my songs, passed it off as hers, and then gave it to the singer. They got awards for it and tons of money but I don't really care about that. She was just with me with the intention of rising up to the top. God, I was an idiot. It was too painful for me. Not the fact that she cheated on me but that it was all a lie. I was ready to spend my life with her and what all she was ready for was to be a successful songwriter by sh!tting on me.

After that I quit. I quit writing songs. I never came back despite of all the big stars' pleas. The music industry was a dark place for me—too many memories. And I never committed again. It was all senseless fvcking after Brenda. Then you came. Vesper I—"

"Shhhh. Shut up and just kiss me, Andray." She didn't want to hear anymore—what she heard was enough. And the time she spent away from him was enough.

He complied, and this time she responded with all the emotions balled-up inside her. "I'm sorry, Vesper," he said, his lips brushing hers. He reverently cradled her face in his hands and pressed kisses all over her face. "I'm so, so sorry. I know what I did was inexcusable but I'll make it up to you if you just let me. So allow me Vesper, allow me to treat you right. Allow me to make it up to you. Let me make it better. Vesper, give me a chance. Please."

"You're making me cry," she said, and as if on cue, tears started to roll down her cheeks.

Andray wiped the tears off her cheeks and brushed his lips against hers. "Let me love you, Vesper."

~*~*~*~*~

Author's Note: And the next chapter will be the last one. For now, all I could say is THANK YOU.

Love, 

Alice xx