Page 29 of A Second Chance At Forever

I knew I didn’t want Chris, how could I after what he did? I no longer wanted to live the life I had been. I didn’t want to surround myself with fake people or have my every move watched. I wanted real friends, real love, a real life. But, I loved being on stage. I loved the heat of the spotlight. I loved the screaming fans.

Can I give up that part of my life, the reason I left to begin with?

I decided to take a hot shower to clear my head.

I turned on the water and began to remove my shirt. The bruises weren’t fading anytime soon. They looked even worse, if possible. Both sides, my stomach, and back were solid blue and purple. I stepped into the shower and sat in the bottom, letting the water wash over my sore body.

Once the water began to run cold, I pulled myself from the shower and stepped out. The bruise under my eye was fading. I was able to cover it with makeup, but once that washed away, it was prominent. I brushed out my hair without looking back into the mirror. It only gave me memories I didn’t want to remember.

I sat in bed and pulled the blankets around me. For the first time that day, I turned on my cell phone.

As soon as it powered on, I had a constant stream of alerts. Text messages, emails, voicemails, all begging to be heard at once.

I called Alissa first.

“Hey. Where are you?” she asked as soon as she picked up the phone.

“I’m at my dad’s, but please don’t tell anyone.”

“What the hell is going on Lennox? Chris has called me at least a hundred times today. Not to mention, you have work to do.”

“You’re going to have to cancel everything. I don’t know if I will be coming back.”

“Okay, Lennox. Spill it.” I heard the confusion and disappointment in her voice. Alissa wasn’t just my assistant, she was my friend and she was worried about me.

I let out a long breath before beginning to explain. “Chris and I got into another fight the other night. It was bad. He gave me a concussion and I’m covered in bruises. I snuck out and he doesn’t know where I am. So please don’t tell him and cancel everything.”

Once the words were out, I quickly made up an excuse to get off the phone. It was hard for me to tell her why I had been acting so strange. I was embarrassed that I had let Chris treat me so badly for so long. I never should have taken him back, no matter how sad and lonely I was.

I turned the light off and laid down with the memories from the evening running through my mind.

I drifted off to sleep with images of Mason. Everything from the first time we met, up until the most recent kiss. The hungry look in his eyes when he saw me walk into the bar. How gentle and loving he always was. Before I could overthink anything about us, I drifted off to sleep.

I wokeat two A.M. with my phone ringing. I answered without thinking. “Hello?”

“Lennox, where are you? Why haven’t you been answering your phone?” Chris asked, sounding composed.

I rubbed the sleep from my eyes but refused to give him any more of my fear. “I’m gone Chris, I’m not coming back. You need to accept it and move on.”

“Lennox, we’ve talked about this. You are mine. I will say when we’re done, now get your ass home.”

“No, Chris. I called off the engagement. I’m not coming back. Now please, leave me alone.”

“I will find you and bring you back.” I heard him yell into the phone as I was pulling it away from my ear to hang up.

After hanging up, I turned the phone off and went back to sleep.

The sun rose, stirring me from my peaceful sleep. I rubbed my eyes and stretched.

“It’s about time you woke up. Are you ready to go?”

I sat up and began to look around the room for the voice.

In the darkened corner of the room sat Chris. He leaned forward, the morning sun shined through the curtains, casting eerie shadows across his face.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, pulling the blankets around me tighter.

“I told you I would find you and bring you home. It’s time.” He stood from his chair.

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