Ava unsuccessfully tried to tamp down the feeling of disappointment that engulfed her when she saw the empty space beside her.Why did Derek leave without telling her? With how intimate they were the previous night, she had been hoping that they would spend the morning together.After all, it wasn’t like he had to go to work today, or even any day if he didn’t want to, for that matter.It occurred to her that he could be with Harper, after all, Ava had woken up late. So she got out of bed, put on her robe, and padded out in search of him.Her whole body ached, but in a pleasurable way, and thinking about how the night went made her want to relive everything again.Derek wasn’t in the living room with Harper, however, and a quick check of Harper’s bedroom showed that the little girl was still fast asleep and alone.Ava checked around for a note but didn’t find any either. A quick look outside showed that Derek's car was no longer parked in her driveway, meaning he had indeed left.For
"I know, and I'm sorry for immediately assuming the worst. It’s just … you know … this is going to take some time to adjust to … um, well I …” Ava trailed off, her cheeks turning pink in embarrassment, especially because Derek looked a little hurt, but was trying to hide it.She couldn’t help how she felt though, and she knew that it was going to take a while and a lot of convincing before she was able to trust Derek on matters like this.Her heart was always on guard, and anticipating that his behavior could change at any time. That way, if it finally did, she would be prepared.“That’s okay. Of course, I understand. It’s not a problem at all. Anyway, away with you. Harper and I are going to prepare breakfast, and we need some space to ourselves, so you have to leave. You can go sit in front of the television with a glass of wine in your hand or something.” Derek told her, grabbing a bottle of wine and a glass and leading her out of the kitchen.Ava was only too happy to go. She sat
"Victoria didn't deserve that. Hell, no one deserves such a thing. I should have tried harder to get her to leave him, and things wouldn't have escalated the way they did. As a matter of fact, I still feel terribly guilty even after all these years because I didn't take her as seriously as I should have taken her that night. I figured it was just one of their regular quarrels, not knowing that it was far more serious and a matter of life and death this time around." Derek finished, his gaze far away."I'm sorry to say this, Derek, but I believe you have a savior complex. You know, it ...""Ouch!""Well, it's the truth. You did it for years with your sister, but the truth is that you can't save everyone. From this story you just told me, you tried your best to ask Victoria to leave Steve, and that even caused Steve to hate you. You shouldn't be carrying all this guilt around with you. You can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved. It sounds harsh, but it's the truth. If there's a
"Oh? What's that?" Ava asked, feigning ignorance."I'm asking what you think about us getting back together. It's probably too soon to ask again, but I just wanted to remind you to think about it. I can't imagine anything better than you, Harper, and I living together as one happy family." Derek told her, meaning every single word."I think it's still too soon. You promised to give me time to think about it." Ava replied uneasily. She didn't want to make a costly mistake by moving too fast, which was what moving in with him so soon was going to be."You're right, I did. How about the house I gave to you and Harper? Perhaps you could move in there? It's in a really secure neighborhood ... more secure than this one, that's for sure. At least, let's compromise on that, if nothing else." Derek told her.He could tell that she was uncomfortable with his first question, which was why he changed the topic.The last thing he needed was for her to feel pressured into getting back togeth
Steve was a huge mess. There was no other way to put it. On the outside, he wore a smile for his fans and went about his business every day as though everything was perfect.However, everything was far from perfect, and for the past few days now, he had been a sniveling, slobbering, and terrified mess on the inside. He wasn't usually the type to believe in Karma, but he had abruptly changed his mind in the past few days because his past had come back to haunt him and if care wasn’t taken, he would watch everything he had struggled to build over the years crumble into dust.Apparently, the phrase 'karma is a dish best served cold' was true as hell, because it had taken her all this while, but Karma had eventually gotten around to knocking on his door.He came back to himself and realized that he had simply stood under the shower for hours, while he thought about the best way to get out of the predicament in which he currently found himself, while the water ran cold.Unfortunately, no
This time around, he lost the battle with his composure and flung the phone into a corner, where it shattered.He didn't pay it any mind, but instead, took big, deep breaths to calm himself down, and then he finished up with his dressing.So much for his thinking that Amanda had someone else. Now, he wished that that was indeed the case and she had someone else to give some of her choking affections to so that he could breathe a little.She was a big embarrassment to him, and it wasn't just because of her obscenely huge weight, but because of her addictions and total lack of self-control.Each time he remembered the scene that she created at the prolific actor's birthday party that they had attended together, it felt like the earth should open up and swallow him.Now, she had the grand delusion that they were in a loving relationship, and she had even gone as far as to suggest marriage to him, as well as to mention kids. Hell, no!She was so desperate, and for some reason, he found hi
The press run went well enough. Steve answered the questions that were asked of him in a calm and confident tone, even though he felt anything but calm or confident.About halfway into the press run, his composure shattered like a fragile piece of glass that had been suddenly dropped onto hard tiles.His phone, which he had kept on the table in front of him, suddenly buzzed, and he picked it up out of habit and glanced at the screen.There was a new message, and the simple word in that message was a replica of the same word that was contained in the dozen or so messages that he had received in the past few days since all of this began.It read, CONFESS.Who was this and why was this person doing this to him? Why had this person, who clearly knew all about what he had done, kept quiet all these years, only to spring up out of the blues now?It made no sense at all. What did they want from him? It would have been easy and perfect if they wanted money because he would have gladly given i
"Calm your titties, Steve, dear. Also, open your little gift, and tell me what all of this is about. It’s clear enough what it’s about, but I’d like to hear from the horse’s mouth … so to speak." She drawled. She was clearly enjoying herself immensely.Steve slowly dipped his hand into the parcel and brought out some of the papers it contained, his hands shaking.The first paper was a newspaper cutout of the news that reported the mysterious disappearance of the two hookers that he had killed while at the university.The second one was a somewhat clear picture of him carrying the body of one of them into his car, and the third one was the picture of him carrying the body of the second one into his car as well.He shuddered, unable to believe his eyes. How was it possible for the picture to be so clear that if someone knew what they were looking for, they would know immediately that he was the one in them?This picture had been taken over a decade ago and had been taken close to dawn t