Five Hundred Miles

2.0: Dark scars.

Chapter 2.0: Dark scars.

[By my soul, I can neither eat, drink, nor sleep; nor, what's still worse, love any woman in the world but her.—Samuel Richardson, Clarissa, or the history of a young lady.]

He doesn't speak to me for a week and two days. The day he finally speaks again is the day he's going overseas.

He merely informs me about it, then turns and leaves. "I'll be gone for four days."

"Where are you...going?" I ask nervously. It's been a long time since I talk to him, and I fear that I will ruin it.

"China." He says without further elaboration.

"Please, Gideon. Talk to me." I say.

"I am."

"No," I sigh in exasperation. "Not about work or anything, just be yourself like you always were, can you?"

His eyes are unreadable. "Things have changed."

"Nothing changed." I retort. "I told you a thousand times that that night was a mistake, hell, I wasn't even thinking straight, but I did stop, I swear, Gideon, I told him to stop—"

"I get it," he lifts his hand. "Just leave me alone."

And he's gone.

See? That's what you get when you disobey your boss. He ignores you and you are nothing. Great. My life's just great now, send my regards to dear Natalie later.

I pick up my phone and starts dialing.

"Hey," Kelly answers at the first call.

"We have to meet now. I need to know something about Gideon." I say.

"Well, the best place is at my table. I'm his secretary after all, there's nothing less I don't know about him." I can see her smile through the cheerful voice of hers.

"Thanks, Kelly." I say.

I hail a cab to Gideon's company. Not even bothering to cast the red head receptionist a glance, I rush to the elevator and ride upstairs to the pent-floor.

Kelly is the first person that I find sitting at the front of the counter, her fingers calculating numbers on the calculator. She's wearing black framed glasses and her hair is tied into a ponytail. That's when she notices my existence. A smile appears on her pale face.

"Faith, finally." Kelly rounds the desk and reaches out for my hand. "What happened? Holy crap you're skin and bones, and it's only been a week! And you canceled our Marathon practices, What happened?"

"I need to know when Gideon is on board." I say.

"Let's just sit down. I'll grab you some coffee and cookies." Kelly suggests, leading me to a nearby couch.

"Never mind," I shake my head. Now is not the time to eat.

"Wait for a sec, I need to grab some docs." says Kelly before disappearing into Gideon's office. Seconds later she is marching out of the room, shoving at the bridge of her specs. She sits down beside me before telling me What I need to know. "From what I know, the boarding time is ten minutes from now."

"Oh no," I say.

"Don't worry, Faith," Kelly is smirking knowingly at me. "You can buy the air ticket at the other time. To China, a flight will be available in five hours. If you book now, you should be able to pack your luggage, rush to the airport and check in."

"Then do it!" I almost yell. Kelly stares at me. "I'm sorry, for yelling. Now can you please help me?"

"Are you okay with the China Express?" asks Kelly. I nod. She punches a few buttons, asks me about my passport number, my ID, and everything needed. "There. Done."