Hey! I'm back with Chapter Four :) Got a bit stuck trying to write this chapter, but I got through it. Anyway, thank you again to anyone who reviewed! Oh, and I'm not sure when my next update will be, as I have a busy weekend coming up, and I havent started Chapter Five yet, but it should be done in a few days hopefully :) Anyway, reviews are always welcome, and enjoy! :)
"So, what did Mike want yesterday then?" Rob asked.
We were sat up in bed, my head resting on his shoulder, his comforting arm round my waist. We would have to get up soon. He had work, and I had to get to college.
"Oh, um, he just," I stuttered. Crap. Jess, think of something! "He just wanted to know how things were, you know, with the engagement and all. It's been a while since I talked to him, so I thought it would be kind of rude to tell him I was busy."
Rob still looked kind of suspicious, but thankfully he just nodded and let it drop.
"So, what you doing today?" he asked, tracing random patterns on my thigh with his fingers.
"Not a lot. I have college, and I'll do some food shopping seeing as I've like eaten everything in your house." I said, gazing out of the window. I wasn't really paying much attention. I was thinking about the phone call last night. I really wasn't sure what to do about what Kranzt had said, but I knew I had to decide something soon.
He laughed gently. "Jess," he said, smiling widely, "This is our house now, remember? Which means any food I buy is also yours too. You're welcome to as much of it as you want."
"Oh," I said, finally pulling my gaze away from the window and looking at his face, "I forgot. I'm still not used to this yet."
He just smiled, and gently kissed the tip of my nose.
"Right, well, I need to go get ready for work. And you need to get ready for college," Rob pointed out, slowly releasing me and climbing out of bed.
"Ugh," I moaned, rolling out of bed after him, "I hate mornings."
He turned around quickly and grabbed me by my waist, planting a soft kiss on my lips.
"What about this morning? You hating this?" he said a mischievous grin on his face.
"Hmm," I said, pretending to think about the question, "I'm not sure yet. I think I need some persuasion."
And with that, he leant in, still smiling, and pressed his warm lips back against mine.
Only for him to release me again, - much too soon for my liking – and disappear into the bathroom.
Ugh, college. Don't get me wrong, I mean, I like college here – like it way better than I liked Juilliard. But it's just sohard to pull myself out of bed and away from Rob in the mornings for school, of all things.
I waited for Rob to finish his shower, and then grabbed a clean towel, and went to have my own. The warm pressure of the water felt nice against my skin, and I took a moment to reflect on last night's phone call. I should tell Rob. I knew I should. But he'd only freak out. There had to be some way I could sort this out, without giving Rob a panic attack.
I dragged myself out of the pleasant warmth of the shower, wrapped a towel round me, and returned to the bedroom to get dressed.
I looked around, and saw I was alone in the room. Rob must be downstairs having breakfast. I grabbed a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt, and pulled them on, just as Rob walked back through the bedroom door.
"I've gotta go now," he said, walking up to me and giving me a quick kiss. "I'll see you later, 'kay?"
"Sure," I said with a small smile.
He grabbed his keys off the dresser, and then turned to the door and left. After checking myself over in the mirror, and fixing my bed hair, I crept downstairs to find myself some breakfast.
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I sat on the counter, shovelling large spoonfuls of cereal into my mouth, gazing out of the window – it wasn't such a nice day today, the bright sun replaced by an eerie grey fog.
After finishing my cereal and washing up my bowl and spoon – hey, I don't want Rob thinking I'm a complete slob – I walked outside and over to Robs truck, jumped in, and made my way over to college, taking in the mild, fresh air as I drove.
I entered the large building and found my way to the room where my first class was. Comparative Literature. I sighed, opening the wooden door and entering the room.
It was already filled with people - some of them sat down, their books laid out neatly on the tables in front of them, whilst the more laid back students were gathered towards the back of the classroom, chatting loudly.
I walked over to a free desk, and slumped into the seat, taking out my books and placing my bag under my desk. I leant back into my chair, studying the various notices on the walls.
"Hey," a voice said gently, "You're Jess, right?"
I looked around to where the voice had come from, and realised that the guy in the chair next to me was leaning over and smiling in my direction. His smile was relaxed, his teeth shining a brilliant white, and his eyes glowing bright green, almost hidden by his dark brown hair. He was hot, but not Rob Wilkins hot. I don't think anyone could ever be that hot. Apart from Rob, I mean.
"Um, yeah. Yeah, I'm Jess," I said, smiling back.
His smile grew wider.
"I'm Zach. I've only noticed you here recently. You new to the area or something?"
"Oh," I said, surprised that he had noticed – everyone else just ignored me as if I had always been here. "Well, yes, and no. I grew up here, I mean. But I lived in New York until about a month ago. I moved back because now I'm engaged to a business owner over here." I explained, with a friendly smile.
"Wow," his eyes widened, "You're pretty young to be engaged. Still, good for you." He smiled again, and then turned back to face the front, as Professor Barrow entered the room.
I sat back into my chair again and sighed. Time to learn. Great.
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College flew past surprisingly quickly. Zach and I had a couple of classes together, so I talked to him between lessons, enjoying the fact that I had finally made a college friend after my month of being back.
As I had told Rob I would earlier, I stopped off to do some food shopping. I parked the truck in the car park of the store, climbed out, and began walking to the entrance. It was starting to get dark, a faint glimmer of orange in the sky, as the last of the sun disappeared behind the hills.
I entered the store, the air conditioning feeling refreshingly cool against my skin. I started down the first aisle, picking up whatever looked good. I'm not really a fan of any kind of shopping - and I wanted to get back so I could see Rob again – so I made my way down the aisles quickly.
Only to bump into the spawn of Satan himself – Karen Sue Hankey.
"Oh, Jessica!" she said happily, "Hi! How've you been?"
"Um, fine, thank you," I said awkwardly.
"You know," she carried on as if I hadn't spoken, "We never did have that brunch. Maybe we could reschedule? We just have so much to catch up on!"
I forced a smile, and replied, "Sure, that sounds great." I was lying of course – I wouldn't go for brunch with Karen Sue if my life depended on it – but hey, it would get me out of here, and away from her quicker.
"Great," she said, with a creepily huge smile, "Shall I call you tomorrow to arrange it?"
"Yeah, sure." I would have to make sure I remembered to not pick up that call. "Sorry, but I'm in a bit of a rush, I need to get home."
"Oh, of course! Don't let me stop you!" she said, and with one last smile, and began to walk off.
Bit late for that, I thought to myself, as I made my way towards the checkout. I paid for the food, walked out towards the truck, and began unloading the bags into the back.
Which was the exact moment I heard the ear-piercing screech, coming from the alleyway running between two closely packed sets of houses. I spun around in a panic, and looked around. There wasn't anyone else in the car park – it was getting late – and so I dropped the bag I had been placing into the back of truck, and ran over to the entrance of the alleyway.
As I got closer, I heard muffled shouts coming from deeper down the dark path.
"Help me!" a low voice shouted, distinctly male, "Please! Someone help me!"
I looked towards the end of the alleyway, but it was too dark to make anything out. I took a few slow steps forwards, into the darkness. The shouts grew louder.
"Please," the voice now sobbed, "Please, somebody! Help!"
I swallowed hard, my heart thrumming loudly in my chest and crept further into the darkness, my hands reaching out, feeling the cold, rough walls at either side of me. I was almost near him now. His shouts were growing louder with each step. I felt a lump rise in my throat, and my legs began to shake a little. Pull yourself together Jess. Help this guy out.
"Hang on, I'm coming," I said, and took a few final steps, "What happened?"
My hands reached out in front of my body, reaching to feel for the man so that I could help him. I couldn't find him anywhere.
A deep, low laugh, suddenly bellowed from behind me. I spun around instantly, trying to see who it was, but I was much too far into the darkness to make anything out.
"Silly, silly girl," the voice said patronisingly, "Didn't anybody ever tell you not to wander into the dark on your own?"
Something hard and cold slammed down onto the top of my head, and I fell to the floor, feeling a wet warmth begin to trickle down my forehead. Choking down a small gasp of air, my eyes fell shut, and everything went black.
I've had like 89 visitors to this, but only three reviews. Whats up with that? Please, if you have the time, reviews are greatly appreciated, and they really help to keep me motivated, and stop me from putting off writing more. :)