I sat across from Carlos eating a bowl of tapioca pudding. He was tapping his fingers against the teak wood table and nibbling on his bottom lip. Every once in awhile, I would shift my eyes upward and watch the expressions on his face change. How could you fool me like that? Gay…I was so stupid!! I grumbled in my mind.

"How about this…"—he began in a quiet voice—"You call this guy, Tristan, and tell him to come over."

"Why would I do that? He'd never come…" I protested, as I scooped another spoon-full of the mushy concoction into my mouth. Carlos shook his head and gently slammed his hand against the table.

"Let me finish" he ordered firmly. I could tell by the expression on his face that he wasn't playing around. Shutting my mouth, I lowered my eyes and allowed him to continue.

"You'll tell Tristan that you keep on hearing noises…like someone's trying to break in or something" he suggested with a clever smirk. My eyes shot up, as I set my bowl down on top of the red placemat.

"So, you're saying that we should trick him?" I questioned with a raised brow.

"Precisely! I'll just mess with the lights a bit and bang against the windows."

Carlos leaned against in his chair and arched his back. I turned my head to the side, trying to debate the rationality of this plan.

"But what will make him forgive me? He thinks I slept with you!" I announced. Frustration and annoyance were already building. Carlos held his hand out in front of my face to silence me.

"When he sees how scared you are and how desperately you need him…he won't be able to resist" he asserted slyly. I narrowed my eyes and bit my lip.

"And you think this will work?"

Carlos picked up his glass of soda and swished it around in circles for a minute.

"Yes" he replied confidently before taking a sip. I nodded my head and swept a few stray hairs away from my face.

"So…what's the first thing we need to do?"

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I finished applying my last bit of lip gloss before Carlos walked into my room.

"Alright…I have everything set up. The lights, the sound system, the…" His voice faded as his eyes fell upon my body.

"You look beautiful" he muttered with intent eyes. I took a deep breath and smiled. Of course I needed to look beautiful. The whole point of the setup was to win Tristan back.

At that moment, I was wearing a very tight azure colored dress that came up to my thighs. The neckline plunged into a v-shape and consisted of tiny crystals along the silk fabric.

"You don't think it's too much do you?" I questioned with a worried expression formulating on my face. Carlos smiled and shook his head, as he pulled my body into a hug.

"Now, call him…win him back" he whispered in my ear. I closed my eyes and squeezed him tightly before releasing.

"For all that it's worth…"—I mumbled—"Thank you." Carlos licked his lips and scanned down my body one last time.

"If I wasn't so homosexual, I would—" he began, but my finger against his lips to cut him off.

"Hold that thought" I teased, as I strutted past him and exited the room. Running down the stairs, I frantically searched for the telephone. Maybe it's under the cushions…

I darted towards the couch and practically turned it upside-down; but, there was no phone. Maybe in the kitchen…Tucking a few strands of hair behind my ear, I raced past the coffee table and the artificial plant. My legs extended to their maximum capacity and gained speed with each step. Finally reaching the entranceway, I grabbed the doorframe and swung around; eventually, slamming against the counter. Crap that hurt!! I yelled in my mind, as I bit my lip to muffle my cry of pain.

The black cordless telephone lay next to the fruit bowl amongst the darkness of the room. Picking it up, I steadied my breathing and dialed the number on the business card sitting opposite of me. My mind was reeling with all sorts of thoughts. I could hardly keep anything straight anymore.

"Hello" a voice answered after two rings. I cleared my throat and prepared to put on my little act.

"Tristan, Thank God!!" I yelled in a shaky voice. My goal was to appear as frightened and terrified as possible.

"What do you want, Rory?" Tristan asked after a moment's pause. I made a small whimpering sound into the receiver and then proceeded to fake cry.

"Tristan…someone's trying to break in…I don't what to do!" I sobbed uncontrollably. I could hear a ruffling sound in the background before Tristan came back on.

"Where are you? Are you alright?" he demanded gruffly. I smiled a little and made another whimpering sound.

"Just please hurry…Tristan, I'm scared" I declared weakly.

"Alright, stay there. I'm on my way" he asserted. Then, the line went dead. I rubbed my hand across my forehead and sighed. Tristan had actually bought into the whole thing. He was on his way to the apartment thinking that I was in real danger. When in actually, this whole thing was just a clever hoax.

"So, is he coming?" Carlos shouted from the living room. I calmed my nerves and quickly reassured Carlos that the plan was in motion.

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Fifteen minutes later, a loud knock was heard at the apartment door. I sprang up from the couch and straightened my long strands of hair that I had curled for the occasion. The pounding continued, as I paced to the front door and swung it open.

"Tristan!" I cried. His arms immediately wrapped around my body.

"You alright?" he whispered in my ear. I pulled away and shook my head. Now, the tears needed to come. Thinking about the saddest moment in my life, I reflected on it until my eyes became watery.

"Someone's trying to break in…I don't know—" My voice trailed off, as the tears began to flow down my cheeks. Tristan hummed a soft tune in my ear and kissed the top of my head.

"Shushhhh…nobody's going to hurt you" he mumbled. I closed my eyes and tilted my head against his chest. He smelled extremely good: Axe and aftershave mixed together.

"I'll check around" he announced, as he dropped his arms from around me. I stood there shaking and watched while he cautiously walked about. His faded blue jeans hung low upon his hips and his navy blue shirt left absolutely nothing to the imagination. Tristan started in the kitchen and then moved towards the staircase.

"What did you hear exactly?" he questioned, as he slid his gun out of the belt that was strapped over top his shirt. I shook my head and hid my face from view.

"Just banging sounds…the lights were flickering—" Right when I said those words, the lights in all the rooms shut off. Tristan stumbled back on the steps a little and turned around to face me.

"I want you to stay close behind me, alright?" he whispered, as he motioned for me to follow him. I nervously ambled across the room and stopped at the base of the staircase.

"Tristan, I'm sorry for everything that you thought happened" I asserted between parted lips. He shook his head sending blonde strands of hair this way and that.

"Not now, Rory. We can talk about that later" he declared firmly. I licked my lips and wiped away a tear that rolled down my cheek. We began to advance up the steps carefully amongst the dark apartment. The wind beat against the window sending small shivers up my spine. Don't worry…you set this up remember. There's no one trying to break in…I kept reminding myself. A shattering sound was heard in one of the second floor bedrooms. Tristan held his hand up and signaled for me to wait on the staircase. Meanwhile, he maneuvered along the hallway with his gun pointed down towards the floor.

My heart began to race at warp speed with all the commotion that was going on. Here Tristan was defending me and the whole thing was a fraud. I covered my face with my hands and allowed oxygen to flow in and out of my lungs.

A loud cracking sound and then, a yell echoed off the walls. My eyes flew open and my body shook in fear.

"Tristan!" I called in worriment. A couple seconds went by and there was no answer. My hand flew to my mouth, as real tears began to spring from my eyes. What was that? What's going on?

All of a sudden, a cold hand landed on my bare back. I swung around and screamed in horror.

"Quiet!! It's me!" Carlos shouted. I staggered downwards and sat upon the step. Carlos kneeled and tried to pull me back up by my arm.

"We have to go! We have to get out of here!" he yelled in a shaky voice. His hands were trembling uncontrollably. I also noticed a large gash on his forehead that was bleeding profusely.

"Why? What happened?" I questioned suspiciously, as I yanked my arm away. He shook his head and occasionally glanced behind him.

"The lights…it wasn't me"—he stammered—"Somebody tried to stab me outside." His voice cracked all of a sudden, as his eyes widened.

"RUN!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. I scrambled up and climbed the staircase. Carlos' hands pushed against my back the entire time. We were panting and running down the hall towards my bedroom in the darkness. The wind continued to pound against the glass adding to the ominous setting.

Once the two of us were safely inside the room, I shut the door and propped a chair up against it.

"What was that?" I whispered between trembling lips. Faint sobs and then whimpers leaked from my mouth. Carlos paced around the room and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Answer me!" I screamed. Every emotion inside me went crazy. Real fear and terror rose within my heart and mind. Thoughts of what potentially could have happened to Tristan caused me to shut my eyes and wail.

"I DON'T KNOW!" he yelled back. I noticed the fear in his eyes as well. "Just calm down…we have to figure this out…"

His hands shook so violently, that he had to secure them under his arms to make them stop. The knob on the door began to turn back and forth. My eyes shot in the direction of the sound, as my body leaped back against the bed.

"Carlos!" I shouted hoarsely. He jumped back as well and turned to look at me.

"We need to find a sharp object or something we can use" he commanded. I nodded my head and tried to clear my thoughts. Sliding off of the bed, I scanned around the room and rummaged through bags full of clothes for anything.

The chair leaning against the door was slowly skidding across the floor.

"It's not going to hold!" Carlos shouted, as he thrusted his body against the large oak door.

"Look, just find something! And hurry…" he added with a stern expression burning on his face. I frantically darted this way and that, trying to find anything that we could use for self-defense. Dropping to the floor, I reached underneath the bed and felt around. Nothing, nothing, nothing…here's something!

I pulled out the metal object to find that it was a bat. Perfect! I thought to myself. Carlos threw all his weight against the door and firmly held the handle.

"I found something" I declared, as I licked my reddened lips. His eyes diverted over to me in relief.

"Okay…I'm going to open the door on the count of three. I want you to stand there and once this person enters the room, I'm going to knock his lights out. You got that?" he questioned with puppy-like eyes. I nodded my head and whimpered. Handing him the bat, I stumbled back towards the bed and waited for Carlos to begin the countdown.

"Ready?" he whispered. I could tell that he was still nervous and scared.

"One…two…"

I let out a sob and gripped the fabric of my dress.

"Three…" Carlos twisted the knob and allowed the door to creak open. Immediately, I stood up and let out a ragged cry. All I could see was darkness and nothing else. My mouth shut and the cries stopped.

"Carlos?" I called, as I scrunched my forehead. No one was waiting on the other side of the door as predicted. There was just an empty hallway.

Carlos gradually slipped out from behind the door and allowed the bat to fall at his side.

"Nothing?" he questioned in skepticism too. We both stood silent for a moment in anticipation. But nothing leaped out of the shadows. The hallway and the entire apartment for that matter was quiet.

"I guess it stopped…" I whispered with an uneasy laugh. Carlos sighed and ran his fingers through his curly brown hair.

I turned around to peer out the window along the vacant alleyway. There were newspapers and flyers blowing along the pavement. On the far side of the passage, I could make out a homeless man pushing a shopping cart. All my nerves seemed to calm and my heart slowed down to a normal pace.

"Do you think the person's really gone?" I inquired, as I shook my head. It didn't make any sense. Unless…

I turned around to face Carlos, who currently had his head bent downward. Red gooey liquid flowed from the corners of his mouth and seeped onto the hardwood floor.

"Carlos!!" I screamed in panic. A metal blade was sticking straight through his abdomen. He slowly lifted up his head and stared at me with agony-stricken eyes.

"Ro..ry…" he faltered before falling over onto the floor. I clasped my hands to my mouth and let out a loud shriek. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. A figure emerged from the shadows and swiftly advanced towards me. I screamed and fought back, only to be pinned up against the wall.

"Rory, Stop! Rory!" the voice yelled, as I thrashed and kicked. Tears streamed from my eyes and steadily flowed down my cheeks.

"Rory…" the voice whispered again. Soft lips jammed against mine sending my mind into shock. His tongue leapt into my mouth and slowly sucked away all the hurt and pain I was experiencing. I drug my bottom lip across the corners of his mouth and opened my eyes. Blue ones stared right back at me.

"Tristan" I stammered, as my body flew into his arms. I began to shake uncontrollably and sob like rain was falling from my eyes.

"We have to get out of here" he announced after a few seconds. I pulled away and glanced over at Carlos' body.

"Let's get him to a hospital—" I began wearily.

"I already called on my cell phone. Back-up and paramedics are on their way" he stated with a small sympathetic smile. My gaze ran down his face and studied the contours and curves that made up his features. Beautiful blue eyes and soft, perfect lips were his finest assets.

I leaned my head forward and kissed him one last time. I needed to feel him and know that he would never let anything bad happen to me. And thus far, he had succeeded.

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The paramedics came ten minutes later with five guys and a stretcher. I clung onto Tristan for support as they lifted up Carlos' body and placed an air mask over top of his nose and mouth.

"Will he be okay?" I questioned in a small voice. One of the guys dressed in white looked up and shrugged his shoulders.

"He's in critical condition" he announced. I shook my head and shut my eyes. This can't be happening…

The man slowly made his way over to me and placed a warm hand on the side of my shoulder. My eyes immediately opened as I peered up into his face. He had handsome brown eyes and blonde hair much like Tristan's.

"We're going to do everything we can" he assured me. I bit my lip and continued to stare.

"Can I go with him to the hospital?" I asked suddenly. Tristan turned my body towards him and shook his head.

"I think you should come back to my place and rest right now…" he argued in protest.

"I want to, Tristan" I declared in a much stronger voice. He shut his eyes and rested his forehead against mine. I could feel his hot breaths tickling down my face.

"Fine. I'll go with you" he whispered. With that, we both left the apartment clinging to one another.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think that this would end up happening.

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REVIEW please:) I'd like to know what U thought about the suspense. Do U like where the story is heading?

Brittany