Hollywood Heights! Leddie must go on

chapter 28

Loren lay back on the patio lounge and closed her eyes. The sounds of the waves crashing lulled her into an almost meditative state. The sun kissed her skin sending relaxing warmth throughout her body. She heard Eddie on the phone next to her laughing with someone. Loren loved spending time at his Malibu house.

Eddie's voice suddenly turned angry, only his voice was no longer next to her but on the other end of the phone. Loren opened her eyes and found herself sitting on a metal chair with her hands tied behind her back and a gag in her mouth. She fought against the restraints, but the harder she fought them, the tighter they became around her wrists and ankles. She was in a room where the sun shone through a tiny window directly on the spot where her chair was. The room wasn't ventilated so perspiration rolled down her neck and back. There was someone standing behind her talking to Eddie and making demands . . . a ransom. She could hear Eddie yelling that her captor better not hurt her. Loren tried to scream and tell Eddie she was okay, but only muffled sounds came out. Her breath was quick and her throat was so dry it hurt to swallow. She started to fight her restraints harder, knowing it was futile, but having to do something. She tipped the chair and was falling backwards. She heard Eddie yell . . . "Loren! Loren!"

"Loren," Eddie whispered as he gently shook her awake. "Loren, baby."

Loren sat up and screamed. She looked over at Eddie who was sitting on the edge of the bed and let out a sob before hugging him tightly. She was drenched in sweat and could still feel the pain on her wrists from being restrained.

"What's wrong?" Eddie asked as he wrapped his arms around her. When she didn't answer immediately, he gently drew back from her and swept the hair from her face.

"You look frantic," Eddie softly said as he searched her eyes. "Did you have a bad dream?"

"Yeah," Loren finally said. "Yeah, it was . . . bad."

"Was it about the performance tonight?" Eddie asked with a slight laugh trying to lighten the mood.

"No," Loren said trying to fight a sob. "Where were you?"

"It's a mess," Eddie said as he looked away. He quickly remembered Loren's frantic state and looked back at her. "Tell me what your dream was about."

"The dream's not important," Loren said getting up and walking to the living room. Eddie quickly followed her and saw that she was walking towards one of the number of flower bouquets that littered the living room. Loren picked up a card that sat on the table next to the laptop and gave it to Eddie.

"Last night I couldn't sleep, so I started reading some of these cards. This one isn't signed but there's a web site address on the back. It's password protected with my name and . . ." Loren's voice trailed off.

"And?" Eddie gently prodded.

"Just look for yourself," Loren said as she opened the laptop.

Eddie sat down and navigated through to the web site. As soon as the images of Loren started bombarding the screen he quickly snapped the screen shut.

"Dammit!" He cursed. He violently grabbed the bouquet of flowers, which had been in a glass vase, and threw it up against the wall sending petals and glass exploding into all directions. He quickly realized his mistake and rushed over to Loren, who was sitting on the couch with her feet tucked up under her. Her eyes were big and her bottom lip was trembling.