When the day met the night Part 2

Chapter Fifteen

A few days had passed. I hadn't made any plans to leave yet, I thought about it all the time, but couldn't make a firm decision just yet. I stood at the counter early one morning, looking out the window, with a cup of tea in my hand. Jared appeared at the door and walked in, giving me a small smile. He came over to grab a tea cup from the cupboard next to where I was standing. As he passed by me he leaned in, "morning" he said softly giving me a light kiss on the lips. "Hi" I said with a sigh, he stepped back to see my reaction. I gave him a small smile, my heart picking up a beat, hammering in my chest. My phone started ringing, breaking the moment, I smiled as I picked it up seeing the name that had appeared. "Hello darling!" said a cheery voice. My old friend and one time co-star Tom. "Hi there stranger" I said grinning. "God it's great to hear your voice, it's been ages" he said wistfully. "I know, it has" I said echoing his sentiment. "Well you'd never believe it but I'm in LA, got here this morning for a meeting and I'm heading off to New York tomorrow, but I'd really love to meet you for a drink?" he asked hopefully. "Oh gosh really, tonight?" I said biting my lip, I glanced over at Jared. He was concentrating a little too hard on his phone, and from the look of his frown, he was listening carefully to my conversation. "Come on love, it's been too long" said Tom. "Um, okay sure" I said, Jared glanced up now. We arranged the time and place and hung off. "Who was that?" he asked attempting to sound casual. "You remember Tom? He's in town, only for tonight so I'm meeting him for dinner, is that okay?" I said. He nodded, "Of course, it'll be nice for you to catch with someone from home" he said with a smile. "Thanks" I answered smiling back. He nodded and went back to his tea. I stood in the mirror looking at my reflection. The black dress I had on was slightly tight, so it showed off my curves and the bump. I ran my hands over it smiling to myself. I was attempting to do up the zip but couldn't quite manage to get it up. "Do you want me to help?" Jared appeared at the door. I nodded, "yes please" I said exasperated. He walked over and motioned for me to turn around, slowly pulling the zip up. His hands ran down my arms turning me back around to face him. "You look beautiful" he said. "Thank you" I said flushing under his gaze. We stood there staring at one another for a moment. Tentatively he brought one hand up to cup my cheek, the other hand slipped into my hair as he leant forward pressing his lips to mine, our kisses soft, gentle as though we were savoring the feeling of finally reconnecting. As our kisses became firmer, more urgent, I felt his tongue slip into my mouth finding mine, I quietly moaned and slipped my hands into his hair. He finally broke the kiss, murmuring against my lips, "I've missed you baby". I nodded breathlessly, "I've .... I've missed you too" I said shakily. He was about to continue the kiss, when we heard the intercom. "That's my car" I said almost disappointed. He sighed trying to hide his frustration, he took his hands away looking down at me. "Will you be late?" he asked lightly. "I don't think so" I said, reluctantly moving away and making my way down stairs towards the door, "have a nice time" he said following me. I grabbed my keys and as I turned back, he leaned in pressing his lips to mine once more. I stepped back slowly, "bye Jared" I said almost breathlessly, "bye baby" he smiled, that sensual smile, the one that made my stomach clench and my heart beat faster. As I sat in the car I thought about the kiss and how much I missed him. Not only physically, but I'd missed talking with him, sharing my feelings. Laughing and joking. I hated this limbo we were living in. Maybe he was telling the truth, maybe I'd judged him too harshly. Perhaps I needed to just put it behind us and give him my blind trust. He'd never given me any reason to doubt him before. I got out my phone and quickly typed out a text - will you wait up for me? - almost immediately a response came, - of course I will - I smiled to myself, a warmth blossoming in my chest. I sent back a X and got XX quickly in response. I quickly pushed the thoughts away as we pulled up. As I walked through the restaurant I saw some patrons subtly take out their phones and start snapping photos of me. I ignored them, I was well used to it now. I finally spotted Tom, he jumped up greeting me with a tight hug and a kiss. "Harper, look at you, you gorgeous thing, I must say being pregnant suits you" he said laughing. "Well thank you, you're good for my ego Tom" I said and smiled as we sat down. We ordered dinner and the conversation flowed as we caught up on each others lives. "You know Harper, I'll always regret not meeting you before the shoot started, before you went to Italy" he said with a wistful smile. "Why is that?" I said curiously, "I might have had a chance with you, I would have met you before Jared" he said grinning, I started laughing. "Tom, that's very sweet" I said grinning as well, "and very true" he added, he moved slightly closer to me, "I'm always around Harper, remember that won't you?". "Well, thank you" I murmured suddenly blushing. I decided we needed a subject change and to my relief, he was thrilled to talk about his new project. At around 10.00 I started to feel tired and anxious to get home. I decided it was time to call it a night. Tom and I walked out together, chatting as we waited. As my car pulled up and waited we said our goodbyes. I was surprised when he murmured into my ear "take care of yourself and remember what I said Harper" he put his arms around pulling me close and kissing my cheek. I hugged him back and then pulled away to hurry into the car. I mulled over his words, wondering what might have happened if I'd met him first, if I'd never gone out with Jared. How different would my life be right now. I shook my head, no matter what happened, I'd never regret Jared never. I looked out the window and suddenly noticed that this wasn't the way back home. The driver was going a completely different way. "Excuse me, I think you might be going the wrong way" I called out to him. "No this is the right way" he said in a gravelly voice. "No, I'm in the hills" I said, a small frisson of panic setting in at the sound of his voice. "This is the right way" he repeated, "but I'm sure ..." I started to say as he pulled up to the traffic lights. He turned to look at me and I watched as he reached over to the passenger seat and realized with horror that he was holding a gun, "we're going the right way, for where you need to be, now pass over your phone and shut up" he said calmly. I quickly grabbed my phone out of my clutch and passed it to him with shaking hands. "Don't try anything, no screams or hand signals, I can see everything" he warned. He turned back as the lights went green and took off again. My panic had turned to full blown fear, my heart started pounding and tears threatened. What was happening and where the hell was he taking me?? About ten minutes later we pulled up in front of an apartment building, he got out of the car and came over opening my door. "Don't try and run or scream, I'm warning you" he muttered in a menacing voice. I nodded quickly and moved to get out of the car. I was scared, the tears that had been threatening, started to fall down my cheeks. The driver didn't notice or was ignoring me as we rode up the elevator. We got out into the fifth floor and walked down the hall, stopping in front of an apartment. He put the key in and unlocked it, real terror set in, "please, please don't hurt me" I whispered quietly, he ignored my pleas grabbing my arm and pushed me in, tears streaming down my face. As soon as we got inside, he let go and I heard him call out gruffly, "I'm back and I've got her". Shit, I thought, there's more people, I feared for my life now, knowing there was no possible escape.