Dexter Leaving the strip club never fails to make me feel a certain way. I don't want to say that it's sadness because that would be me grossly exaggerating it. But if I had to be honest, then I'd say that I really don't want to leave even when I'm supposed to. I want to be around Vanessa all the time. It's kind of hilarious, really. I've never been in love, not once. I suppose this is what love must feel like. She's on my mind all the time and as I'm leaving, I'm thinking about the next time when I'll be able to see her again. I start the car and drive out of the parking lot. I don't see the kid anywhere near the staircase, so that's a good thing. At least he listened to me. I'm on my way to the hotel because what else is there to do? I'm finalizing the paperwork for the new apartment I bought and things seem to be coming along smoothly. After that, I'll have it furnished and I'll throw my very first dinner, one in which I'm planning on inviting the people who will help me acco
Lara I stare at Dexter’s body, feeling frozen and rooted to the spot. I don’t know if he’s dead and that’s the part that scares me the most. When I slid out from under him a minute ago, I didn’t think he was dead. Looking at him now, I’m not so sure anymore. He’s immobile and doesn’t look like he’s breathing. This is insane. I cover my face with my hands and then quickly think about what I’m going to do. I can’t leave him here, that’s for sure, and I have to find out whether he’s dead or not. There’s only one way I can do that.I push him further into my apartment so I can close the door behind him and then hurry downstairs. Ambrose is the only person I can think about right now. He’ll help me resolve this matter because I’m genuinely lost and don’t know what to do. I push the door open and hurry inside. It’s one of those days when everything is silent and nobody is around during the morning period. The other girls are only here when there’s a new dance routine that needs to be
Dexter I peel my eyes open slowly. My vision is pretty blurry, so I have to blink a few times to clear it. Afterward, I look around with a crinkled brow, trying to make sense of where I am. I try to move. My back is sore. I try to figure out why and then it hits me as quickly as a bullet would. The attack. The fucking knife. I try to reach behind me to feel my back and I realize there’s nothing there. Rather, I can’t feel it. I sit up quickly and look around. I’m in a room that I don’t recognize, and for some reason, the knife isn’t in me anymore and I feel better. The door of the bedroom is closed. I look around and spot women’s clothes. Where am I?I stand up and walk toward the door. I press my ear close to it and don’t hear a thing. There’s only silence. I then turn the handle and open the door. This floor…l recognize it. I hear footsteps heading toward me and then I see Vanessa staring at me. Her eyes are wide, and I instantly notice that she’s wearing a red top and jeans t
Lara I hand the list of names along with their phone numbers to Ambrose. “This is everything I got from his phone. I also took pictures of some of his messages. He doesn’t seem to talk to anyone by text, though, but you never know. You might find something useful.”Going through Dexter’s phone gave me a thrill that’s hard to describe. My fingers were shaking as I scrolled through his phone, trying to get as much information as I could while being cautious not to get distracted so he wouldn’t catch me red-handed. “You’ve done a great job, Lara,” Ambrose says to me as he takes the list from me along with some of the pictures I printed out. He skims over them briefly before asking, “Where is he now?”“He left but he said he’d come back,” I explain. “What about Ander? How is he?”“He’s with my associate. I’ll give you her number. Call any time you want to talk to him.” He grabs one of his business cards, flips it, and notes the number down. “Here.”I take it from him. “Thanks.”“Let me
Lara“I think it’s a good idea, Lara,” Ambrose says to me. “It would be a way for you to get close to him.”I sigh. The worst part is that deep down, I know he’s right. I know that he means well when he says that I have to get closer to Dexter and make the most of the opportunities presented to me. My only concern is Ander and I was thinking about him even when Dexter made me the offer. I had to ask him for some time to think the offer through because I didn’t feel ready to give him an answer then just as I don’t feel ready now. Ambrose must be sensing my confusion because he stands up and moves to stand in front of me. His eyes soften as he says, “It’s your decision to make. I can’t force or convince you into doing something you don’t want. I won’t either. But as an outsider and as a friend, I’ll have to tell you that I think you’re making a mistake in not seriously considering this. It could change your life. While this man is alive and powerful, you’ll never have the guarantee t
Lara At the end of the day, I have to leave without having said a proper word to my son because he refuses to see me. It’s very depressing and I fear that these changes will alter the relationship I have with him. I don’t want that to happen. My son is all I have and if I end up losing his affection, I won’t know what to do. I drive back, my heart slamming against the base of my throat. My hands are trembling a little as I hold onto the steering wheel. I’m making it back to the strip club, where I’ll most likely have to call Dexter and tell him I’m taking him up on his offer. Maybe I should call now. I reach for my phone while still driving. I stop at a red light and dial his number. I press the phone to my ear and try not to feel too nervous. Whenever I’m talking to him, I have to be as calm as possible. Dexter answers almost right away. “Have you made your decision?”“Yes,” I answer before taking a silent shaky breath. “I have. I’m going with you.”There’s a pause, and when he
Lara The way he's looking at me makes me uncomfortable. We're sitting next to each other in the backseat of the taxi we're in and he occasionally glances at me. It feels like he has something to say but for some reason, he won't talk. It's unnerving and I have to convince myself to keep my cool. It's fairly difficult because of how much I miss Ander and I'm blaming Dexter for putting me in this miserable spot. We're heading to a hotel. I stare out the window instead of focusing too much on him and take in all the sights. Baywood is very much a coastal town, so the ocean surrounds the whole town. It's everywhere I look. The sky is just starting to lighten, and it'll be morning soon. I feel so empty that I'm not hungry or anything. There are also traces of fear inside of me. Anything is possible and it doesn't matter how confident I am that he's in love with me. I could be completely wrong and he just brought me out here to kill him instead of trying to get help from his supposed
LaraAfter breakfast, Dexter goes to find his family as he’s already called them, and he wants me to go with him. I don’t think there are any lines for me to draw because I’m here in the first place, and being here means that I know his story and want to be here, so really, I can’t say no to things without looking crazy. And Ambrose is right. I’m making a lot of progress and can’t discard that fact. So, I’m in the car with him. I keep an eye on the window because I feel very ill at ease with him. Although I’m here, I don’t want to give him too many liberties because that might backfire for me. Like I don’t want him to randomly place his hand on me. That’s not something we’ve discussed and I’m hoping we won’t have to discuss it at all. Ever. Because if we do I won’t know what to say. It seems his family lives on the worst part of Baywood. Although it’s a city not necessarily known for its luxuries, I’ve seen enough to surprise me. However, the parts of it that we’re seeing now in