Chapter 3
Whitney couldn't remember how she got there. The room was unfamiliar; but, faintly she could smell a scent, something from her past. She just couldn't place it. She reached up and felt her head. There was a bump forming on the side of it. She tried her best to recall how she had gotten there. Vaguely, the events of the afternoon started to replay in her mind. She was alone in her room. She had to go to the bathroom. Chad. Going for a walk. Then everything was blank and now she was in this place. The trouble was she didn't know where this place was. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to bring to mind the events that led up to her arriving in this…bed. The pillows were soft and the smell was sweet mingled with masculinity. Her head was pounding. She tried to reach up and massage her temples when she realized that one of her arms was being held back by something. She looked over and tried to focus…she was chained to the bed! There it was, glistening in the candlelit room, a handcuff, gleaming like some macabre bracelet. She tried to pull her arm away, but only succeeded in hurting her wrist. Omigod, did Chad bring me here? Did he chain me to this bed? Maybe he really is sick. Panic began to flood her and terror took over. "Calm down Whitney, you've got to get a hold of yourself." She whispered softly. She knew she had to think back to who had brought her there. She couldn't. She ran her free hand through her hair. It was wet. Wet. How could my hair be wet? She thought to herself. She began to have bits and pieces that flashed through her mind.
"C'mon sweetie, get in. Look what he's done to you. I'm gonna help you get clean." A familiar voice assured her.
She remembered not being able to see. Everything was dark, but she could feel the warm spray of water hit her face as her companion pressed her against the cool tile. Shower. I was in the shower. She struggled with her recollection.
"I'm gonna get rid of any evidence of what he did to you. O.K.? You don't have to worry about a thing, you'll be safe here. You're with me now. I'll never let him hurt you again." The voice was deep and smooth as butter. "He'll never find us here, no one will." Whitney kept trying to place the voice but was distracted by his wandering hands. She reached up and felt something over her eyes; she was blindfolded, that's why she couldn't see. Whatever her mother had given her had her in a hell of a fog. She was going to have to demand that her mother stop drugging her all of the time…if she ever saw her again. It was obvious that she was with someone and that someone was male. They spoke to her kindly and acted as if they were taking care of her; as if she had been hurt somehow. That voice. It wasn't Chad. What happened to him anyways? She had heard that voice before a million times. She had felt that same touch a thousand nights before and as always it set her body on fire. Fox. Why would Fox have her in the shower blindfolded? Her mind began to race. If she was with Chad earlier, where had he gone and how did she get with Fox? She knew that she should be worried. It was no secret, Fox hated Chad and vice versa. If she was with Chad earlier, Fox would have had to move heaven and hell to get her away from him. There could have been an accident and maybe Chad was hurt. She couldn't waste any time finding out.
"Fox, is that you sweetie?" She asked coyly, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Yes Whitney, it's me." He bent down and kissed her gently. She was intoxicating, like the finest wine.
"How did I get here? What happened? I'm going to take this off now; I don't like not being able to see you." She reached up to remove the blindfold. She didn't know what she was dealing with. Fox proclaimed his love for her daily; but, somehow it just didn't add up. If he had kidnapped her…"By the way, where's Chad?" She asked offhandedly, not wanting to arouse his anger where her brother was concerned.
"O.k., I don't want you to think that I'm cuckoo or anything, but I didn't want to frighten you. You know, waking up in a strange place and your mom having you drugged and all that. So I blindfolded you." He lied smoothly.
"Fox that was so considerate; but where's Chad? He's the last person I was with." She persisted, not wanting to seem too eager.
He swallowed fighting to hide his irritation. It was all Whitney now, whatever she wanted. He couldn't chance making her suspicious. "That's a good question Whit. I came to your house for my daily rejection episode and the door was open. The place was trashed. When I came in Chad was standing over you and you were passed out. When I confronted him he decked me and ran out the door. I was more concerned about you than anything." He pointed to his eye which was bruised and had begun to swell for emphasis.
His words didn't make sense. Number one, Chad would never hurt her. Number two, where was the rest of her family?
He sensed that she was questioning his story, so he added, "I called the police and the paramedics came. They checked you out and said that you had been given some high powered sedative. I told them who I was and that I would be personally responsible for making sure that you got the proper medical attention."
She looked up at him for any sign of wavering, but saw none. The way the water glistened on his tanned skin made him look like Adonis. He looked like he had just stepped from the pages of GQ. God, I shouldn't be thinking like this! Fox has possibly kidnapped me and hurt Chad, not to mention the rest of my family. She knew that when Crane men got a notion to have something that they wouldn't let anyone or anything stand in their way.
"Why didn't you call my mother? If anyone should have given me medical attention, it was her." Whitney tried to be in command of her tone; she didn't want to alert him that she was becoming fearful. She had to appear to be in control.
"I tried." Fox cooed, pausing for effect. He knew that he would have to get Whitney on the defensive against her mother and back on his side. He had to appear to be her savior. "I called her. She was on a call up at the Crane Mansion. Apparently my father had become ill. I told her what happened and she was all set to leave; but, if you ask me, she sounded pretty reluctant to leave my father." Fox let his brow furrow to show his disapproval. He knew that the relationship between his father and Whitney's mother had been a point of contention. What better way to score points than to make Whitney feel like her mother had chosen Julian over her? "I told her what the paramedics said and she told me it was just the sedative she had given before she left. I told her I was going to take you somewhere to rest and that you would be ok. The last thing you needed was to be where that monster…" He stopped waiting to see her reaction.
"Fox, what are you saying? Chad would never hurt me. He loves me!" Her voice had become high pitched and she was losing it.
Like a sister. Fox thought maliciously. "All I know is when you came to you were thrashing and you thought I was Chad and you kept saying don't hurt me anymore, please stop!" It took me an hour to calm you down. Truth is Whit, if he didn't do anything, why did he run? I think he came, tried something, you tried to stop him and he eventually took what he came for." He looked her up and down, his eyes pausing on her most intimate parts.
She felt shame flood her face and she looked away. The fact that her brother wanted an intimate relationship with her was not something she was proud of. She was hurt and confused and alone. She didn't care how she had gotten there. It didn't matter. It was obvious her mother cared more about Julian and who knew what was going on with her father and her sister. All she knew is that when she needed them there to protect her, they weren't; Fox was. As much as she hated to admit it, he had been the one constant in her life since this whole mess started. He was the only one in town who didn't judge her or blame her. He loved her, unconditionally. She looked up at Fox and let her lips gently graze his and gave him her most seductive smile. She demurely let her hands travel down his chest resting gently on his hips. Her advances aroused him and made him want her even more. Deftly he picked her up and carried her to the bedroom.
She gasped as she took in her surroundings. The perimeter of the room was covered in candles, every one of them casting shadows on the cream colored walls. The sheets were the same cream colored silk and felt like heaven against her skin. Fox had a thousand rose petals in crimson and cream sprinkled across the bed and all over the floor and also had dozens of red roses in vases placed throughout the room. On the bed table sat a bottle of chilled champagne and two glasses. He even had a robe made of the same cream colored silk, laid out for her. He leaned in to kiss her once more and drink in her heady scent. He was in heaven.
"You know you don't have to do this," Fox leaned in closer. "I don't want to be the guy that takes advantage of the woman I supposedly love." He couldn't resist throwing that in.
Whitney smiled up at him gratefully through tear filled eyes, "Fox, I'm sure. I've never been so sure of anything in my life." There was a nagging feeling that something was wrong. She didn't want to but she had to ask. "But Fox, what about Chad?"
"What about him?" Fox barked, his voice had lost its niceness.
"What if he comes back? What if he finds me?" Whitney lied not wanting Fox to sense her concern. If she was to ever have closure, she had to know if Chad had tried to hurt her and why. She couldn't take Fox's word about this; he hated Chad and would do anything to cast him in a bad light.
"Trust me Whit, he'll never find us, unless you want him to." Fox sneered. "Is that what you want Whitney, you want your brother to come find you? You were probably dreaming that you were with him just then weren't you?" He grabbed at her.
"No Fox, that's not what I meant…" Whitney stammered.
Fox wasn't hearing it. He grabbed for her missing her by just inches. She tried to maneuver around the bed, but tripped and fell. He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her up. She was crying and pleading with him, but he didn't hear her. It was as if he was possessed. "After all I've done for you and you would rather be with your maniac brother." He turned as if to leave and Whitney sat up, sobbing uncontrollably. All of a sudden, Fox turned to her and slapped her as hard as he could, smashing her head against the headboard. Whitney groaned as she slid down. She braced herself for what would probably come next. She couldn't believe it. This wasn't the Fox she knew. Her Fox had never even frowned at her; even when Miles was born and she revealed that he wasn't Fox's baby. After all they had been through and now, because she was concerned that Chad had possibly raped her and was somewhere having a psychotic episode, he loses it? She tried to lift her head up to see where he was, but it was too painful. He had grabbed her arm and she felt that now familiar pinch, as her world went dark once again.