“Hmmmmm. I missed you so much.” Steven said, inhaling Marie's fruity lavender scent.“Steven! I thought something was wrong.” She said, playfully swatting his back.“But something was. You made these elusive dinner plans and left me to fend for myself. I’ve been here for the past four hours, floundering around, lonely and unable to think straight.”“You flounder? Oh please.” She said, pushing his chest back with her palms.“Were the texts not a clear sign?” Steven asked.“By the way, James called me and was yapping about me not traveling on the 16th and I know only you knew that. Why does he know about my travel plans, Marie?”Her eyes lowered to the floor as her shoulders drooped. Had he said something wrong?“Are you alright?” He asked, tipping her chin so he could like into her eyes. He didn't really care that she had told James. He had just thought it would be fun to tease her about it.“I'm sorry. But I don't think it's fair that you have to work on your birthday. I just wanted t
Steven’s fingers dialed the number Cadence had just called him with but it rang out. He tried again and again, heart racing as the dial operator informed him yet again that the number couldn't be reached. Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead as he paced. He let out a string of unsavory curses till his eyes locked on Marie's worried ones.“Babe, what's happening?”“It's Cadence. She called to say she thinks we’ve made a big mistake and then the line went dead. I'm worried about her.” He said.“I’m sure she's fine. She's a PI, Steven. I think she knows how to handle herself in dangerous situations. She probably hung up because it was unsafe to talk.”“I hope you're right. So what do you think? We should wait it out and see if she shows up tomorrow?”“I believe so. I think she’ll know how to protect herself. Just relax.” Marie said with a confidence that didn't seem so certain to him.“Okay. Look Love, I'm terribly sorry but I doubt I'd be able to relax enough to see a movie.” He mu
“So, you called and he was out of town?” Marie asked“Yep. I tried calling back to find out where exactly he was, to give him the benefit of the doubt but it rang out.” He replied, glancing out the car window and frowning at the gridlock that was forming.“Wow. This is getting scarier by the moment, Steven. I'm beginning to have doubts about his innocence too.” Marie said.“Appearances can be deceiving, Marie. You have no idea what people are capable of hiding.” Steven said.“Hmmm. I guess you're right. I’d still like for us to be proven wrong though. I desperately hope that we are.” She said, massaging her temple with her left palm.“Me too, Marie. Me too.” He responded before staring out the window.“I can't believe how terrible traffic is, it's barely 5PM.”“We face this same traffic everyday, Steven. Don't worry, Zed is fine. Sandra and I have been texting back and forth and she said he's stable although still in quite some pain.”“ I don't even understand how this happened, Marie
The rest of the week passed rather eventfully from Marie as she tried to stay on top of the many details that flooded her left, right, and center. Somehow, James had gotten her not to cancel the party even though he hadn't been able to stop Steven from traveling. According to James, he would do everything in his power to make sure that both he and Steven made it to the party in time. He has also gotten James to abandon flying commercially and use his private jet. Marie wasn't positive that this would work but there was nothing she could do. Zed on the other hand had spent a few days in the hospital and was due to resume work today, Friday, for which she was glad. Sandra had been hounding her for days to get ready for a skin care routine to “open up and then tighten her pores” or something like that. Steven had also complained about how distracted she was several times this week already. Right now, she was surviving on coffee, adrenaline and greasy food.“Marie, have you sent me the n
At midnight, Steven King texted Marie to say he was alright and was on his way home. He said he would explain everything once he got home in an hour. Relieved, she thanked Alden and headed home. She headed to her room, changed out of her work clothes into night ones and climbed into bed.She didn't realize she had drifted into sleep until someone's arms wrapped her firmly in their grasp.“Hey Baby.” He mumbled, kissing her neck, before burying his face in her hair.“You have a lot of explaining to do.” She said, trying to wiggle out of his grasp. He held her firmly in place while still mumbling into her hair.“I know, Love. I’m sorry. I didn't want you to discourage me from doing what I wanted to do or to insist on tagging along.”“You didn't think about how worried I would have been? I nearly went out of my mind with worry.”“I'm sorry.”“Well, I don't care. She said sharply, hoping her voice conveyed how hurt she felt. She couldn't imagine that he had disregarded her feelings so eas
“Is this safe?” Steven asked as Marie placed a black mask over his face.“Shhhhhh. Stop talking. What are you so scared of?” Marie asked, amused by his constant questions about facial care routine.“This is supposed to be relaxing, you know?”“Are you punishing me for yesterday? Because I'd like to say a few words in my defense.”“Oh hush.” She said, as she laid beside him.“So how long do we wait?” He asked“I have no idea.”“Okay, what's next?” He asked in a way that made Marie aware of the fact that he hoped this was all.“Next, we pummel our faces with burning stones to kill dead cells.”“Burning stones? Why does this sound more like an initiation rite or an interrogation technique?”Marie bursted out laughing.“I'm kidding. We wash this stuff off and I give you a lovely head massage.”“Ah. After the pain, comes the pleasure.”“What pain? Do you know how many people would kill for my facial treatment? Maybe I'd better take my loving hands to some other guy who would appreciate it.
A very tear-stained and sad face looked up at him, seizing his ability to feel anything else but compassion. Rick, who had always looked so confident and unbothered, looked up at him with snot in his nose and fresh tears in his eyes. Steven bent to the boy’s eye level and wrapped him in a bone-crushing hug, which was the very thing that sent Rick over the edge as nerve-wracking sobs tore through his body. Steven said nothing but just held the child as he wept, letting him get whatever sadness he was feeling out of his system. Scolding, if at all necessary, could come later. After twenty minutes of crying, Rick leaned away from him and said,“Thank you, Uncle Steven.”“Don't worry about it. Can you stand now?” Steven askedRick nodded and Steven helped him up to his feet. Rick, who was usually bold, was looking everywhere but at him. Perhaps, his head had cleared a little and now he was beginning to realize that he was going to be in a lot of trouble. Steven took out his cell and texte
It was finally birthday week and Marie found herself surviving on water, insane amounts of coffee and greasy food. Even Steven had noticed something was up with the way she kept thrashing around in bed. The reason for her nervousness was simple: this party had to be the most perfect thing she had ever planned, and she had been talking to Dr. Carol more about being intimate with Steven and was determined for it to happen on his birthday. She still had real, ugly scars that surfaced at the top of her mind at times but she felt so much more confident in her decision. She had decided to stop thinking about how it would complicate their relationship and marriage, and just decided to see how things went.“Earth to Marie.” Steven said, looking at her with something akin to worry.“Yes?” She said, slightly embarrassed that he had caught her lost in thoughts again. This was happening too frequently for her comfort.“What were you daydreaming about this time?” He asked“Nothing. You needed me t