The One That Got Away.

Lovers Apart But Always In Love

Jared finishes his tea in silence, then kisses his mom on the cheek.

"I'll see you tomorrow before we leave?" he asks.

"Yes, I'll see you guys off tomorrow," she puts her arms around him and gives him a quick hug before he pulls away. 

"Night," he says with his back turned. He sends a text to Shayla.

Where are they?

She responds within seconds.

In your room, packing. I'll send her down.

Shayla enters Jared's room with two large suitcases and says to Kelly, "Jared needs to talk to you downstairs."

Kelly has an armload of Josh's clothes, helping him decide what to take and what to leave since taking all the clothing he now owned was not practical. "Tell him I'm packing."

"You tell him. My job is to help Josh pack right now." Shayla snaps.

Kelly frowns, and without another word, she heads downstairs alone. She dreads walking through the menacing, dimly lit compound at night, especially alone. She's not even sure where she's supposed to meet Jared; she just starts heading towards the kitchen hoping he'll text her any minute to let her know. She slows her pace; she can see the kitchen and it's eerily dark. Startled by the ringing of her phone, she jumps and almost causes it to fly out of her hand. 

"Shit, I'm sorry," Jared says when she answers. "I called so I wouldn't scare you. I'm right around the corner, to your left."

She rounds the corner and lays eyes on Jared. He jams his phone back into his pocket and grabs her in a bear hug. "Damn," he mutters, holding her tighter. "It's been forever since I fucking touched you at all." He releases her slightly so he can look at her face. He puts his hand under her chin and guides her lips to his.

"Jared," she turns her face away. She assumes this is about what he said earlier and with all the packing she had left to do she was not in the mood.

"Come here," he grabs her hand and leads her through a door she's never noticed before. It led into a very clinical-looking corridor. It was brightly lit, offensively bright in fact, and reminded her of a hospital setting. 

"Jared, I don't have time for this. I have a ton of packing," she complains. He says nothing as he guides them down the long, clinical hallway. "You had your chance at the beach house and you blew it with your jealousy. You don't just get another chance." 

They pass by row after row of office doors with wired glass windows, and by darkened corridors that forked off, with only the sound of the buzzing fluorescent lights flickering overhead. It even smells like a hospital.

The hallway abruptly dead-ends at a very heavy-looking metal door. Jared reaches into his pocket for a key. Inside, he flips on a light and what Kelly sees leaves her dumbfounded once again.

She's nonplussed as Jared leads her through a very normal-looking, fully furnished house. They walk through a well-appointed living room and pass by a large, fully equipped kitchen. It was a bit reminiscent of her grandmother's house in its decor and layout. 

He stops and says, "Look, I know I messed up. I was jealous and that's not only my fault but it's also my problem. Not yours. And, it's something I am working on. I can't promise you I will never turn into a jealous prick again but I recognize that my behavior was out of line and unacceptable." He pauses, looks down at his feet. Finally, he looks her in the eye, "I ruined the one night we had together on a vacation that was special to you. It could have been a really amazing night. Sorry isn't good enough."