The Perfect Date *Completed*

Day 24

Samantha woke up when she felt a light kiss brush her cheek and she slowly opened her eyes to see Jerry staring at her. His eyes held that hungry, needy look that he had whenever he looked at her. He stroked her arm lovingly and slowly the memories of last night came flooding back, almost too fast for her liking.

She smiled at him but her smile never reached her eyes and she hoped he wouldn't notice. The unwanted images of them kissing made her want to puke suddenly but she kept her poker face the best she could. Hopefully he would leave soon.

"I have to leave for work," he said as his hand reached for hers. Reluctantly, she allowed him to hold her hand. He leaned in and pecked her on the lips gently. It was too fast and unavoidable so Samantha held her breath he did. When she didn't respond he looked at her quizzically.

Not wanting to seem weird she squeezed his hand and smiled. "I'm still a bit tired, I think I'll sleep awhile longer. See you later then."

"Okay you better rest. I'll bring down some food for breakfast and lunch before I leave," he said releasing her hand and slowly getting up. He was about to leave when he turned around and looked her in the eye as he whispered "I love you, Samantha."

Something about the way the said those words made her feel like she was the only person in his world. The intensity of his tone drowned out all her other thoughts and those words echoed over and over again in her mind making her wonder if any of this was real.

How could someone go through such lengths because they believed they loved someone. It just didn't make sense, none of this did.

When she didn't reply he bid farewell and left leaving her alone again. She ran to the toilet bowl and threw up inside until her insides hurt. Like a bad hangover she felt sick about what she had done, she had no control over herself last night and now every inch of her felt dirty.

The images of last night stuck in her head like glue and she wanted to scratch them out so badly. What had she done? How could she have been so weak?

She had given him what he always wanted and now he was only going to come back for more. She wasn't sure she could give him more, heck no she knew she couldn't. If Ben ever found out what she had done, would he ever love her?

Tears sprang to her eyes when she thought of Ben. They weren't even a couple but she felt like she had betrayed him. She missed him so much just thinking about him made her heart ache. She wondered if she would ever see him again. Would he ever love her after what she had done?

****

The alarm clock rang over and over again until it finally shut off after what seemed like forever. Ben's eyes felt like they had been glued shut and he struggled to open them. Another sleepless night was causing him to lose track of time.

Eventually he dragged himself off his bed and made his way to the bathroom. He felt like a zombie as he got ready in routine like fashion. He didn't want to look at the mirror but he eventually did and he laughed bitterly as he saw his reflection.

His greasy hair was an unruly mess, his red rimmed eyes looked like the centre of the universe orbited by massive dark circles and it was pretty obvious he had lost a significant amount of weight making him look gaunt and sickly.

But none of that mattered to him. Today was another day without Samantha in his life. It would have been easier if he knew where she was and if she was safe even if they weren't together. Everyday seemed bleaker knowing she might be in danger or worse. He chose to believe she was still alive it was easier that way.

No closure made him fidgety, he couldn't understand her disappearance and it was driving him crazy thinking about what she might be going through. He didn't believe she had run away even though the discovery of a letter she had written had plagued the tabloids these past few weeks and the number of volunteers to help find her had decreased significantly.

She would never do that to him or her parents. He knew her well enough to believe that despite the fact that her fingerprints had been found on her runaway confession letter.

He put on a pair of jeans and slid on a t-shirt not caring if it was on the right way or not before he grabbed a packet of saltine crackers sitting idly on his desk and then he headed out.

The nearest town hall to Penn State was quite a bit of a drive away it took Ben awhile to reach it. Just a few weeks ago the Bloomsburg Town Hall was bustling with people eager to help look for Samantha but ever since the news about her run away confession and statements from her fellow classmates had hit the tabloids the numbers have been dwindling with each passing day.

Whether it was because there were no other liable leads, it was evident that people were slowly losing interest. The beautiful medical student who was struggling in med school had decided she couldn't deal any more and had decided to run away. It was easier to accept, so slowly everyone succumbed to the idea of it.

All the news channels which initially bombarded the media with news of Sam's  disappearance were now showing other tragedies instead. Life goes on but Ben couldn't move on so easily and he knew both Samantha's parents felt the same way.

Mrs Greenberg was handing out posters to the few volunteers that were left and Mr Greenberg was talking to the detective in charge of Samantha's case. DI Morgan was a short and stout man with a moustache that hid most of his mouth. He looked bored and disinterested as he listened to Mr Greenberg ranting something about the justice system.

"Hi Ben," Mrs Greenberg waved as Ben approached them. "Have you eaten dear? There are refreshments over there," she gestured to the table beside them.

Ben hugged her briefly and looked into her tired hollow blue eyes. Those eyes reminded him of Sam and he immediately looked away. "I'm not that hungry. I'll have a coffee, thanks. How are you coping Mrs Greenberg?"

Her lips quivered ever so slightly. "I'm hanging in there, we all are Ben. I won't be okay until I know my baby girl is alive and well."

After saying those words her eyes glistened with tears and she quickly looked away before rubbing her eyes. "Thank you for coming here everyday Ben, we know how busy you must be, " she choked out.

Ben put his hand on her shoulder and tried his best to sound reassuring "We will find her, I wont stop looking until we do."

He then proceeded to pour himself a cup of coffee and greeted Mr Greenberg and DI Morgan. He didn't feel like talking to the complacent detective knowing he would get angry with him so he quickly left taking a bundle of flyers with him and exiting the building to look for Samantha.

Looking at her smiling face on the flyer, he knew she was the only girl he had ever truly loved. He just hoped he would get the chance to tell her how he felt.

****

I strode quickly into the small pharmacy nearby my place to pick up a box of tampons for Samantha. I had never bought tampons before and I didn't want to attract any unnecessary attention to my self given my situation. I mean its not like my girlfriend was sitting in my living room waiting for me.

I smiled at the word. I guess she was my girlfriend now, wasn't she. Sort of a live-in girlfriend, one that didn't ever leave. How perfect was that?

Thankfully the pharmacy was fairly empty today. I found a box that seemed suitable enough and took it the the counter. The cashier didn't even glance at me as she accepted my money and gave me a receipt, she looked half asleep.

"My, my Jerry. Someone has finally moved on, haven't they?" a familiar voice from a distant but painful memory made the hairs on the back of my head stand.

I slowly turned around to see none other than my ex-girlfriend Olivia blatantly staring daggers at me. Her eyes moved from my pale face to the box of tampons in my hand and she smirked. "So who's the lucky girl now?"

Pic above: Olivia

Hey guys if you like what you've read please comment/vote/share. :) :) :)