Chapter 2

Mace gently placed me on the back seat of his car and covered me with a thick blanket, then he buckled up my seat belt. He has always been this thoughtful, probably the reason why I fell for him despite the fact that he’s my childhood best friend and also taken.

I heard him slid in the front seat, he whined up the car windows and heave a deep sigh before turning the ignition on.

“Did my dad called you?” The cold was slowly easing off, though I still feel so hot inside of me.

I could see him from the rear mirror, his teeth were clinched and his brow furrowed. I immediately regretted asking him that question because I knew what is to come next.

“How could you just disappear without a trace Regina, that is very irresponsible of you.” I could tell he was trying his best to hold back from going all daddy on me.

“And you’re lecturing me now? I was gone for just 24hours Mace!” The car gave a loud screeching noise before coming to a halt, my head almost bumped into the front seat if not for the seat belt. The fact that he did that on purpose made me mad.

“What the fuck Mace!” I yelled.

“No, what the fuck Regina, you were gone for a whole freaking month…we thought the worst happened to you, even the police…”

“What..what did you just say?” I asked utterly dumbstruck.

“Don’t act all memory lost with me.” He said with all seriousness.

“Mace, You’re kidding right? Cause I can’t..I can’t remember.” I stuttered as I choked on my fresh tears.

I could see Mace expression turned from cold and angry to surprised.

“What do you mean you can’t remember?”

I shook my head, I couldn’t find my voice.

What happened to me in that mansion? Why was I there?why didn’t I remember anything! How was I gone for a whole month without a trace? Was I really kidnapped?

I started freaking out and the only thing I could do was curled up on the car seat and cry. I heard the back door open, Mace had left the front seat then slide in beside me and pulled me into his arms. I felt my heart skipped for a split of a second, then comes the thumping sound of my heart that I could literally hear in my ears.

His big arms wrapped around my tiny shoulders like a warm blanket, and for that moment everything else seemed not to matter anymore. The scent of his cologne that had always made me squirm from it attracting smell, a mixture of pine and mint filled me in, I can’t seem to remember when I stopped seeing him as just a special boy from my childhood, it had all change. That boy is now a man whose arms I yearn for when am cold, and my heart raced faster than flash when he’s near me.

It was a hug that was meant to be innocent but to me it was deeper than that. My body voluntarily pressed against his, I couldn’t help but notice how manly and wide his chest had become. A flutter in my stomach with a mix of excitement and guilt knowing deep down that he was with someone else. Bile rise in my throat, Regina what do you think you’re doing? This was wrong, I felt like a thief. sadly I pulled away just enough to look into his eyes, and there it was, a glimpse of something in his gaze, an intensity I’ve never seen there before. Or was I seeing things? Yeah! I guess I was just seeing things, Reality check Regina May, Mason can never be yours.

But even so, I wished for the time to stop, so I could savor the feeling of being this close to him. It was a fleeting moment but I couldn’t deny that I wished I could relive it a thousand time.

Mace drove me to my house in silent, I was thankful he gave me some moment to cool off.

The next twenty minutes I spent on my home couch, lucky for me dad was not home, Mace took to making me tea.

“When did you get that caste on your feet?” Mace careful hand me a warm cup of tea while he took his seat beside me.

“I’m worried about dad, how was he doing without me?” I asked ignoring his initial question as I curled up deeper into the couch.

I wished the ground would just open and swallow me up never letting me out.

All I’ve ever done was make dad worry, a single father who had to deal with a sick child. And that child disappeared without a trace for a month. I can only imagine what he’d gone through.

“Man was broken, he lost weight Gina, I’ve never seen a man so dedicated towards his child like Mr Smith..got the police involved and put out a search party. I can only imagine how much it cost him Reg.”

“Reg” that’s what dad calls me, I suddenly missed him so much. Now I know why I’ve been feeling so empty.

“Is he..is he still working?” I asked swallowing a big lump in my throat.

“I guess so…I’ve been here a couple of time, helped out with one or two things. I could tell he was dying inside. Even I couldn’t handle the thought of losing you forever, he kept on saying you would come back to him ,that you were alive but no one believed him, some thought he had lost it. Two weeks after, the police dropped the case without any explanation. We tried to get them to tell us why but none of them utter a sh*t ..it like they’ve been payed off or something. To this day your dad kept searching for you even when the police showed up with a restraining order….”

“Hold on, what do you mean by restraining order?” I asked on my feet pacing around ignoring the pain in my knee.

“That’s what I don’t understand Gina. Why would the police place a restraining order on man who is in search of his daughter?” My question was met with another question.

“So I was kidnapped?” I asked trying hard to believe my speculation.

“Not just that, we can’t tell the police about you yet till we are certain.” Mace concluded.

All this was too much for me to handle, the face of that man in the mansion came rushing back to me.

He doesn’t seem like a dangerous person? Why would such a person kidnap me?

“Why can’t I remember anything.” I frustratedly flopped on a near by couch.

“What if you were drugged?”