by Anna Lewis
Of course it all made sense now… Greg had released the real images to butter me up before dropping that bomb shell on me. He hoped that it would make things alright, but he was wrong.
I felt good about my decision, positive about the future, and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that this time I was right.
***
Ellie
When I left Talia a few hours later with a big hug and the hatchet well and truly buried, I decided to head home first. I wanted to grab some fresh clothes before going to see Kyle again because I’d already ran out of what was there. Plus, I probably had mail that needed going through, and bills that wanted to be paid. I couldn’t continue to ignore all of that, however much I wanted to. Real life was still going on, the world was still turning, and I needed to keep up with that.
There was a massive smile on my face that I couldn’t seem to shake no matter how hard I tried. Everything was all coming together, and that was all I needed to know. I had Kyle, an up and coming career, friends… I had it all. Nothing could shake the good feeling that gave me.
That was until I spotted a man standing by my car… no, wait, he was inside my car, rifling around. Looking through my things, touching my stuff, invading my very personal space. It made me feel so nauseous that I wanted to throw up there and then.
“H… hey!” I yelled, trying to ignore the way that I stammered as those words left my mouth. My entire body was trembling with fear, but I needed to stand up for myself regardless. I needed to break out of my shell and make this man leave me well alone. “Hey, what the hell are you doing?”
I pulled out my phone, as if to call the cops, but as the guy pulled his head out of the car and I realized who it was. It was him. That paparazzo who’d been following me. I would recognize that creepy smile, those yellowing teeth, the few strands of greasy black hair that he had, those sunken eyes, anywhere. He’d gone beyond following me to breaking and entering.
I’d wanted to forget about him, to act like he wasn’t having any impact on my life, but now he was here, at my home, in my car. This was all too much. I couldn’t stand for it, I wouldn’t.
“What are you playing at?” I screamed loudly, sounding like a crazy person. The drunkenness was coming out in my voice, and there was nothing that I could do to stop it. “Why are you in my car? What are you looking for? What do you want from me?”
He stared at me, looking deep into my soul, and for a split second I thought that I might be finally about to get my answers. I assumed that he might actually be about to tell me the truth… but of course he didn’t. He spun on his heels and ran quicker than he’d ever gone before.
This time I wasn’t going to take it. I was going to chase him. I slapped my feet hard against the concrete. I moved so quickly that a sickness began to swirl in my stomach, mixing with the liquor there. My heart pounded so painfully that I feared it might burst from my chest. My breaths came out so ragged and painfully that I thought that my lungs could explode.
I didn’t want to lose him, but I just couldn’t keep up. I thought I could, I assumed I would be able to, but either he was far quicker than I thought, or I was terribly unfit. Either way, I couldn’t catch him.
“Fuck!” I screamed out, my body giving up, the exhaustion becoming too much for it.
Tears streamed down my cheeks, frustration knotted in my stomach, and I looked at my phone once more. I needed to call someone, and right now I didn’t feel like speaking to the cops. I wanted Kyle. I just wanted him to help me, I needed him to comfort me.
I called through to him, but he did not answer. My body slumped to the ground in fear and sadness. I needed Kyle, I needed him now, but I couldn’t get through to him. What was I going to do? How the hell was I going to solve this problem all by myself? I was too scared, too weak, too afraid to tackle it all alone.
“Kyle,” I whimpered to myself. “Kyle…”
I tried calling again, and again, but he was either on the phone or he had it switched off. Couldn’t he sense that I needed him? Didn’t he realize that I wanted him? If the paparazzo had been sent by Heather, then she really needed to back off. If he was with the media, then I would sue his employer for all that they were worth.
But what if it was someone else? Someone that I hadn’t even considered? I had spent so long considering only those two options that it hadn’t even occurred to me until now that I could be wrong.
But who?
Who would hate me enough to want to ruin my life? I thought that I’d gone through my life without making any enemies, but it seemed that I was wrong. Was it another model with a grudge? Someone from back home? But who?
The phone rang. I almost burst into tears of relief. I was finally getting through to Kyle. He would help me to solve this problem once and for all.
***
Kyle
I held my head in my hands as I finally hung up the phone to my lawyer, exhaustion flooding through me. That was long and arduous, but at least the process had begun. At least Greg wouldn’t be in the business for too much longer.
I had proof, a confession from him that he’d tried to undermine my business. That would help me if he tried to contest anything if we ended up in court. I didn’t think it would come to that. I got the distinct impression that Greg would cave pretty quickly, his adoration for Heather overshadowing everything else.
As my phone blasted out again, it took all that I had not to roll my eyes at the sound. I had spent the whole damn day on the phone, and it had worn me out. I didn’t need more.
But then I saw Ellie’s name on the screen, and my heart lifted. That was someone that I really did want to speak to.
“Hey, babe, how was your lunch with Talia?” I started, but it quickly became obvious that she was crying. My heart beat faster. “Are you alright?”
“I… I… he…” she was trying to speak through the sobs, but she wasn’t doing a very good job of it.
“Where are you?” I insisted, needing to get to her. If she couldn’t tell me, then I would have to find her and get her to show me. “Where are you, Ellie? I can’t help you if I don’t know where you are.”
“I… home… my home…”
That wasn’t much, but it was enough. “I’m on my way.”
Everything spun like crazy inside of me as I hopped into my car. Things had been building for weeks, getting worse and worse, and now something had finally happened on a day when I was distracted by something else. I’d been consumed by it all for so long and the one day I’d been sorting the business out, something had happened.
I’m coming, Ellie, I thought determinedly in my mind. Wait for me, I won’t be long I promise.
I sped along the roads, and soon found her standing outside her home with tears streaming down her face. I jumped from the car and grabbed her in for a hug, whilst waiting patiently for her to feel ready to explain.
“Him… the photographer… he was here, breaking into my car.”
“Is anything missing?” I asked, pulling back to look into her eyes. “Did he take anything?”
“No, no, I checked and I can’t see anything gone…”
“This has gone too far now,” I insisted. “We have to go to the police, it’s the only way.”
***
As we walked out of the police station, I felt terrible. Not only had they been very unhelpful, they’d made Ellie feel bad too. There were no fingerprints, as the man had been wearing gloves, and he’d gotten into the car because Ellie had accidentally left it unlocked. That all meant there was no physical evidence of the break-in, and the police could do nothing. But then they treated her like she just couldn’t handle a paparazzo, or that she’d brought it on herself! It made me feel bad.
“I’m sorry,” I told her sadly. “I thought they would be more helpful. I didn’t know what else to do.”
“You never know,” she shrugged, trying to look like she wasn’t as hurt as I suspected she would. “Maybe I scared him off, maybe he won’t come near me a
gain.”
“I hope you’re right,” I told her seriously. “Because if I ever see him again, his life won’t be worth living.”
For a man to terrorize a woman like that, he deserved to be punished. He deserved to be beaten to a pulp, which was exactly what I would do to him. In fact, I hoped that she hadn’t scared him, I hoped that he would be around tonight so that I could finally put an end to it once and for all. I should have done it that very first night when I saw him, but I didn’t realize then how bad things were going to get.
Well he wouldn’t get away from me again. I would never make that mistake. I would kill him first.
“Let’s go back to my place,” I told her, just wanting her to be safe for now. “We can get some rest and decide what to do in the morning.” I knew in that moment that I wouldn’t leave her alone again. I wouldn’t let her be attacked or worse, not until her pursuer was gone.
She clung to me tightly, clearly not wanting to let me go. I wrapped my arm around her. I kissed her on the forehead with a silent promise to protect her, then slid her into the passenger’s seat of my car. Ellie looked sad and weary, almost beaten by it all.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” I told her, rubbing her hand gently. “But this won’t last forever, I promise you.”
“I know,” she said, nodding slowly. “I just hate that this has ruined such a good day.” She turned to look at me with a weak smile playing on her lips. “I saw the pictures, I know what you did for me, and I want to say thank you for that.”
“It’s…” I started to explain the story, before giving up. I would tell her everything soon enough, but now wasn’t the time or place. I would get to that when things were less chaotic. “You’re welcome.”
***
Ellie
It had been such a confusing day, but there was one thing I was certain of. When Kyle actually realized that I needed him, he was there in an instant, supporting me, helping me, wanting to do the right thing for me.
I loved him, and I wanted finally to tell him. I didn’t want to be weak and pathetic anymore. I didn’t want to wait for him to say it first anymore. I just wanted to tell him.
As we walked through his front door, I decided to show him, rather than tell him, so I grabbed him and kissed him, allowing all the emotion to flow from my lips. He responded enthusiastically by pushing me up against the wall, and running his hands all over my body. He stroked my hips, my breasts and my thighs. Eventually he began simply tugging at my clothes. He wanted me naked and I couldn’t have agreed more. I needed to focus on the sensations, I needed to get the hell out of my head and I couldn’t think of a better way to do that than to be completely naked.
I stepped backwards and slowly peeled off my clothing for him, giving him something of a show, and from the way his eyes devoured me and his breaths became ragged I knew that I’d done the right thing.
“You too,” I panted at him. “Get those clothes off.” Luckily for me he complied willingly, allowing my eyes to drink in that amazing body of his once more. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was. This was the sort of man that I never ever dared to hope for, never mind fall for. He was the sort of guy that I wouldn’t think would look twice at me. Yet here he was, with me, giving me everything.
Once we were both completely naked, he pressed my back up against the cold wall. He grabbed onto my knee to lift one of my feet up. Then he stood between my legs, allowing me to feel his throbbing erection, increasing my ache for him even more.
I slid my hands down his body until I reached his length. I took it in my hands, shivering lightly with desire as I did. He pushed his fingers into me at the same time and as he moved inside of me, I matched his rhythm and speed exactly. As we worked each other’s bodies, my head fell to one side in pleasure. I allowed my eyes to slip closed.
We both began panting, growling, groaning, almost losing it. Right at that moment, he decided to replace his hand with his cock, giving me exactly what I craved.
He slammed up into me, pushing me back against the wall. I gasped at the feeling of fullness. When he couldn’t get the exact angle that he wanted, he simply picked me up as if I didn’t weigh anything and wrapped my legs around him, giving me all the access that he so clearly desired.
As the pleasure-filled pressure started to build, I could feel them finally coming, the words that I’d been trying to keep inside for such a long time. The bliss was coiling, springing inside of me, and soon I could control it no more.
“I love you,” I panted loudly. “I love you so much, Kyle.”
He stopped for a second, staring into my eyes to see how sincere I was being. I did my best to show him everything. I wanted him to see how deeply I was feeling everything, even if it was crazy. I just wanted him to know. If it freaked him out and he ran away, then so be it. As long as he knew, that was all I cared about.
“I love you too,” he replied, before pressing his lips hard up against mine. I lost myself in his kiss, swimming in the realization that he loved me too and that we were in it together.
I never had to be alone again.
I wanted to scream it from the rooftops, I wanted the whole world to know. I wanted everyone to see that I was joined with the man of my dreams and that I was happy.
But for now I was just content with us knowing how we felt.
As the pleasure raced through my veins, I held on to Kyle tight, never wanting to let him go. Things might not have always been perfect till now, but the fact that we’d made it through hard times and come out the other side had to mean something. It had to mean that we were strong, and that we could survive anything.
For a split second I allowed my imagination to run free and I pictured us doing all the normal couple things, the milestones I hoped that we would eventually meet. I saw myself in a wedding dress, walking down the aisle towards him in a fitted tuxedo, making my heart pound faster. I pictured us saying our vows, declaring our love to one another for the rest of the world to see. I imagined myself pregnant, us with a baby, us with a bunch of kids, then us growing old together. It was everything that I wanted.
“I really do love you, you know?” he told me as we clung to one another breathlessly. “I have for a very long time.”
If nothing else had made me feel safe and secure in my relationship with him, then it as that. It meant that he was in it just as much as I was, that his playboy past was way behind him and he wanted to do this for real.
“I love you too,” I replied softly, stroking my hand along his skin. “I really, truly do.”
***
Kyle
“Okay, thank you Michelle, that’s great news,” I said into the phone to Michelle, the new manager of KM Styles.
“My pleasure. Anything else,” she said.
“Yes. I won’t be in today, but I might see you tomorrow,” I said.
Michelle was brilliant. She was organized, no nonsense, and had the company’s best interests at heart. I had struck gold with her.
I was trying to be in as much as possible, to ensure that people knew how dedicated I was to the business, but it was hard when I didn’t feel like I could leave Ellie’s side. I just couldn’t stand to leave her in danger for even a second. I knew that it was impacting on the rest of my life, but she was my priority. I needed to protect her.
“Go to work,” Ellie hissed at me. “I have a job this afternoon anyway, so I won’t need you.”
“Maybe, we’ll see,” I replied, hanging up the phone, but I already knew that I wouldn’t. Just thinking about Ellie being alone caused my stomach to tie up in knots and my skin to start breaking out in spots. I just couldn’t do it, even if I really wanted to.
She rolled her eyes at me, almost as if she’d forgotten how much that paparazzo upset and scared her. I could not forget him, though. Never ever… not until he was gone.
“So, what time do you need to be at work?” I asked her casually. “I’ll walk you there.”
“I have to be there at 2 PM. I think they wa
nt a late afternoon light in the background,” she replied casually, as if she was being totally cool about it all. I knew that she was worried about this job, and that she wanted to get it right, so I wanted to be there for moral support as well.
“Okay, so why don’t we go out for brunch? Get you ready for the day,” I said. I wrapped my arms around her, which caused her to relax, just a little bit. “It’s a big day for you today.”
“Yeah, that sounds good,” she said. She grabbed hold of her bag and swung it over her shoulder, before sending me a strained smile. With that I took her hand in mine and led her outside. “Oh no,” she whispered, her entire body language changing. She stood behind me, hiding, tensing up.
“What? What’s wrong?” I glanced everywhere, trying to work out what the hell she was talking about. Then I saw him. “That’s him?” I half asked. “That’s the guy who has been following you?” This was it, the moment that I’d been waiting for, the chance to make things right.
I shook Ellie off me, and stalked towards him. I felt bad for leaving her there alone, terrified, but I needed the answers. More than that, I really needed him gone.
He took snaps of me as I got closer, feeling too cocky, too confident to feel the need to run just yet. If he thought that he could outrun me, he would be very, very wrong.
As he stood, I grabbed him tightly, scaring the living daylights out of him and I pulled him roughly towards me until his face was touching mine.
“What are you doing?” I spat out angrily. “Who are you? Why won’t you leave Ellie alone?”
“Please, I… Please let me go…” he stammered, sweat pouring down his forehead. He looked terrified, but I didn’t care about that. He deserved to be terrified after all the hurt and pain that he’d caused Ellie. “I’m sorry.”
I pulled my fist back, waiting for him to get the hint, waiting for him to spill everything, but he didn’t. He simply continued to stand there, whimpering, so regretfully I slammed my fist into his face, causing it to snap backwards. I hurt my hand, so I sure as hell must have hurt his face.