Ruby Red, The Sequel - The Romance Story Continues (Complete)

Chapter 40

The first thing Sam noticed was the cold. He shivered. Next, it occurred to him he didn't know where he was.

It was dark where ever this was. Even after he pried his eyelids open. He tried lifting his head to look around and immediately regretted it as the room spun and refused to come into focus.

It reminded him of the hangovers he had after passing out blind drunk in high school. That was before... Sam quickly pushed the thought out of his foggy brain, he didn't want to think about that, not now. Not ever. He was so confused.

Slowly he tried to get up. His body felt like it was weighed down, arms and legs straining against gravity to push away from the bed he was lying on. Why was he lying on a bed? And where was his shirt? That must be why he was cold; he was naked from the waist up.

Sam looked down and noticed as if from a distance, his socks and shoes were missing. The top button of his jeans was also undone. Something was not right here but he found it so hard to concentrate.

A nagging voice in his head was telling him he had to get up, get out.

Then he heard it. His salvation. Sam heard Ali's voice.

Sam sighed. Ali was here. Everything was going to be fine. Ali would know what was going on. Ali was his world and he just needed to get to her.

Struggling to get to his feet, Sam forced his body to work. Concentrating on Ali, Sam found the door to the room and pushed his way through. She was saying something about needing a file.

Bright light blinded him and he held up his hand to shield his eyes. Shaking his head, he tried to push away the cobwebs. "Ali?" His mouth felt like it was full of cotton balls.

"Sam..." Ali's voice had changed. Why was there pain in her voice? Something was not just wrong, it was very wrong.

He forced his eyes to focus on her. She was standing before him, dressed as if she had just come off the slopes in a puffy white jacket, her hair half-hidden by a red knitted beanie that was beaded with melting snowflakes. Were they at the chalet?

Sam searched his surroundings. This was definitely not the chalet. Then he noticed Vicky. What was she wearing? Sam thought she looked ridiculous, like an extra in a b-rated porn movie. Sam stared at her, then down at how he was dressed. He didn't like the looks of this situation.

He turned back to Ali to ask her again what was going on. But she wasn't there. He caught a flash of her running out the door. Taking after her, Sam's bare feet hit the freezing concrete of the porch. Jumping back inside, he jammed his feet into the first thing he found to act as shoes and bolted out into the frigid night.

Sam heard Victoria pleadingly calling his name behind him. He didn't care.

Ali had stopped before her car. Her hand was on the door handle, pulling it towards her when Sam caught up to her. Sam pushed on the window frame, slamming the door shut. Ali jumped at the act of aggression.

"Ali, I'm sorry." He hadn't meant to frighten her, he just didn't want her to leave.

"How could you?" She spat out, staring at the door handle.

It took Sam a moment to string together what she meant. Did she think he was apologizing for being with Vicky? "I'm not sorry about that."

Ali released the car handle and clasped her hand against her mouth, trying to stifle a small cry.

"No, no." Sam tried to think. Everything was muddled up. His words weren't coming out properly. "It's not that. It's not what it looks like." He scrambled to explain. But he didn't know how to continue. What was it exactly? He was confused.

Before him, Ali's shoulders were heaving, like she was trying to catch her breath after a long run. Sam reached out to comfort her and she recoiled, spinning away from him. It was like a knife to his heart, seeing Ali upset like this, knowing he was the cause of it and he couldn't comfort her.

Forcing himself to take a deep breath, Sam tried to push down the swelling panic in his heart and force himself to calm down. The cold air burned as it entered his lungs, but it brought the world into focus for a moment. There was a perfectly logical explanation for what was going on here. He just had to find it.

Sam looked back at the house they had just exited. The door was closed, but he saw the silhouette of Vicky in the bay window.

His subconscious screamed at him to not, under any circumstances, go back in there. There was...danger in that house.

Focusing on Ali, Sam tried to figure out what to do next. He had to get Ali to stop crying. He had to get her to understand that despite what it looked like, he was not cheating on her.

For a moment, his brain latched on to that fact. Ali thought he was cheating on her. He had a flash of anger. How could she think him capable of such an act?

The sound of Ali's voice brought him back to what was happening. Ali had asked him something. Snow was swirling between them and he watched it land on her nose. She was looking right at him, tears staining her beautiful face. She was expecting something from him.

Sam had lost track of what was happening again. A cold wind bit at his bare chest, causing him to shudder. Why was Ali crying again? He was so confused.

"Ali, please. Help me."