[Story] AFRAID TO LOVE (Episodes 51 – END)

Mr RockNovember 22, 2016

Afraid to love

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Episode 86

Her thoughts travelled back to when she first rode in Jeremy’s car. It was a surprise. He took her to his home and she met his dad for the first time. At that moment, her face grew pale, she felt pangs of loneliness. She so much missed him – his voice, his sweet talks, his piercing hazel eyes, his smiles, the deep roll of his laughter, his kisses and being in his arms. She longed to see his face and hold them in her slender arms; even for a minute. That was how badly she wanted to be with him. She wondered if he was alright. She smiled sadly. “How is Jeremy?”

Wasn’t she ever going to forget him. “I have no idea.”

“Tricia,” she painfully pronounced the name, “Tricia Cayson. Did she not contact you? Tell you about his health?”

“Nope. We no more contact eachother.”

She hung her head, unhappy. She was playing with her fingers. “I guess you two finally got what you want.”

He had an urgent meeting to attend to. If it were in his power, he’d have called the meeting off and spent a great deal of time, chatting with his Melisa. “I have to get going now.” He drew himself to her and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek.

Purity didn’t flinch, neither did she resist his lips touching her right cheek. She only closed her eyes and pictured Jeremy kissing her.

“Don’t do anything funny. Stay put,” he instructed, lovingly.

Purity smirked. “What makes you think I’ll try running away?”

“You’re a strongwilled woman.” he stroked her hair, “Its easy to tell what you can do.”

She held his gaze. “There’s hope. A glimmer of hope. I can feel it.” she closed her eyes and sucked in a breath. “I’ve never felt this way all my life. Its a new feeling and I’m so sure of it. It brings me joy. I have no reason to escape,” she reopened them. “Jeremy’s going to get me from you.”

That sent a shiver down his spine. He shuddered slightly. He was relieved she was not able to notice his little fears and insecurity. “You sound so confident. Why is that?” Jeremy had not contacted her in any way. He was too careful, no one most have seen him or followed him. He made sure she gets no contact. Why was she speaking with so much conviction?

“I believe he has feelings for me. Even if its not love, I’m sure he’ll search for me and would not spare anyone who messes with me,” she boldly informed him, sounding courageous.

“Suit yourself,” he mumbled and walked out of the room, locking her in.

Purity plodded. She plodded round the room in deep thoughts. He had to come. Jeremy was to rescue her. She believed in him. She hoped in him. She had faith in him. Before it all goes bad, he’d do something. She had love in him. She had given her heart to him. She was sure of it this time. Purity Theodore’s no more afraid to love. She had a big grin seated on her pretty face.
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Her words troubled him. It told him something was wrong. Something bad could happen. He had to act fast. It had to be urgent. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing her again.

Her dug his hand into his pocket and brought out his cell phone. He quickly dialled a number. “I’m heading to your place.”
*
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“Aaron!” Prudence called, she sounded worried and tensed. She had not heard from her only daughter for five days now. She could not take it anymore. She had to see her, hug her, talk to her, know how she’s doing. It couldn’t happen because Purity had gone missing. Something had to be done. Its not like her daughter to just disappear that way. No matter how crazy Purity was, she’d never go away for days. She was always scared, away from her family. She never really liked staying all by herself.

“My darling,” Aaron answered, trying to ease every bit of concern out of himself.

“Can’t you see its getting up to a week?” she raised her voice at him – a thing she hardly does. She couldn’t help it. “I need my daughter back. My Purity! Let her come home.”

Aaron took his wife by the hand and led her to a couch. He sat her down and gently rubbed her shoulders, placing her head on his laps. “She’s fine, my darling. She’s okay. I promise she’ll get home. You will see her,” he comforted his wife in a soothing tone. “Be strong.” He took a deep breath, trying to swallow his forthcoming tears. The truth was that he wasn’t strong. When it came to Purity, he was weak. He was trying to be brave for his family. He hoped that Jeremy was rescue her soon. That hope kept him from going crazy.

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Episode 87

“This is interesting,” Jeremy said, flipping through a notepad in his hand. It was Purity’s notepad. It contained many scribblings written by Purity herself. What she wrote had to do mostly with her personal life. Her inner person, her very true self. It was a life not many people knew of. She wrote things about her day. Her whereabouts, her success and problems she encountered. The words were poetic and touching. She was very emotional. Jeremy named it ‘Her Life’s Book.’ He had known much about her and he was glad he had found it among her things.

While he and Darren and gone through her things at the office, he took what he could find with him. Her purse, books, notepads, and her cell which was already dead. He got this strange feeling that it’d lead to somewhere, something he had to unravel.

“What?” Darren and Allan asked in unison, out of sheer curiosity.

“Its private,” Jeremy quickly withdrew the notepad from the prying eyes of his friends.

They resigned and retreated to their former potions, sitting on the sofa.

“I have the record of Ernest Turner, indirectly confessing what he did to Purity. Its crystal clear he has her with him,” Allan informed Darren. “He didn’t hide it.”

“Even if he tried to, its out in the open,” Darren remarked.

“There was something I saw in his eyes. A gleam of uncertainty and remorse. I just can’t understand it. His words were in direct contrast with his gaze. He was battling to hide it, I still saw it.”

“You’re not a psychologist, Allan,” Darren reminded him.

Jeremy paid no attention to them. He continued to peer into ‘Her Life’s Book’ which he found so intriguing. He wasn’t willing to lift his eyes off it. He was definitely going to complete it that very night. He kept reading till he came across a very disturbing line. His brows creased as he read it over and over again. What the hell does this mean? What does she mean by this? “‘I struck a b—h on her face. The tramp tried messing with me. No one does that.’?” He mused for minutes over this. Who could this ‘b—h’ be? He went further to read more. “‘I took a picture’?” An idea hit him. “Get me Purity’s cellphone,” he said to no one in particular.

Darren got it and passed it to him. He powered it immediately. It requested for a passcode. “s–t!” he cursed under his breath. “What on earth is her passcode?”

“Do you mind telling us what’s going on?” Allan questioned, his curiosity increasing.

Jeremy couldn’t keep this from them, he had to make it known. “Its about Purity. Here, she wrote she slapped a b—h and she has the picture in her phone. I want to know who she struck and why. First, who? The phone’s requesting for a code,” he bitterly explained.

“You’re good at hacking into phones, right?” Allan asked the detective, hopefully. He wasn’t sure if he did the right thing, but he had to. A better part of him hoped for a positive answer.

“Um….,” the detective began. “I’m quite good at electronic gadgets. Hacking? I don’t think so.” He looked at the both of them. Their eyes gleamed of disappointment. Had he let them down? “I could still do something,” he assured them. He was not certain, however, he had to do something. “Let me have the phone.”

Jeremy obediently passed the cellphone to Darren. He was full of hopes. There was something in that phone that could lead them to the third person involved in her kidnapping. Darren couldn’t let them down, not now. The person must be taking revenge because Purity hit her. Who could that be?

Darren took the phone from Jeremy. This should be easy, right? He stared at it and it stared back at him, without blinking. He was confused; what could he do? He hid his confusion from his friends. He was gonna try his best. He got to work.

“Jeremy, try to remember. A password is something someone can easily recall. It must be a part of her. A word she always say or a number. Try to think back. We don’t want to put all our hopes on Darren, if you understand what I mean,” Allan propounded. He tried to sound so convincing and persuasive.

He was right. Darren had admitted that he couldn’t do it. He could really use some thinking. He left his seat and began shuffling from one corner of the living room to another. He tried recollecting all the words of Purity. What word did she always use? What would actually be that code?

EPISODE 88

Tricia, come lets have dinner,” David requested. He was in a good mood. He had a blissful day and was interested in spending the rest of it with his lovely daughter. He had specially prepared the meal, whistling joyfully as he did so. It was all for his darling, she’d definitely love it.

Tricia Cayson heard her father call her to have dinner. It was a good thing, she thought. Her dad was a great cook, though she never learned from him. She hauled herself off her mattress where she had been day dreaming of Jeremy Broderick. She was in a hurry to quench her desire to eat a special meal. But something her father said had not been right.

“That’s my darling,” David cooed, with a pleasant smile on his face, on sighting Tricia.

She in turn, smiled back and helped herself into the dining chair on the right hand side of her father. That was her permanent seat. It was her space and she began to cherish it so much after her mother had passed away – a tragic memory.

Tricia’s mouth watered as the aroma filled her nostrils. She smiled at her father as she sniffed into the tempting aroma of the butter nut chili. “This is great.”

“Shall we get to eat?” David patiently enquired.

“Sure,” Tricia agreed, picking up the cutleries neatly arranged on the table. They were meant for her.

David been eating too. He stole glances at his daughter, making sure she was happy. She was his source of joy and his priority. Nothing else mattered to him than putting a smile across her beautiful face which made her more pretty. He was contented, feeling her happiness.

“Father,” she called, wiping her mouth with a servette, “You seem very happy tonight. Why?”

“Its you, my daughter,” David grinned.

“Dad, could you do something for me?” she asked with a glitter in her eyes.

“Anything for you,” David replied, smiling. He was ready to do whatever she asks.

“Why’d name me Tricia?” she bluntly questioned, gazing into her father’s eyes.

That, he never thought she’d ask in her entire life. “What sort of question is that?” the surprise was much evident in his voice.

“Just answer me,” she desperately said.

David couldn’t get why she asked that. He sighed deeply. It could be out of sheer curiosity, he concluded. “It was your mother that gave you that name. Its what she wanted for you. Its a wonderful name. I love it.”

Tricia rolled her eyes, listening to her father’s explanation which she termed ‘boring.’ It wasn’t enough reason. “I no longer like the name. You’d have named me something else.”

“Why are you sounding like this? What’s wrong with the name? I’m your father. Your mother and I decided to give you that name. You can’t change that now. Its beautiful, like you are,” David pressed, sounding persuasive as he could. Something was definitely wrong with his daughter.

“I want something chaste, clean,” she insisted. “Call me ‘Purity’!”

“What?” he looked intently at her. “Purity? What’s up with that name? What’s wrong with ‘Tricia?’” he demanded, getting angry. He couldn’t believe she’d reject the name his precious wife had given to her.

Tricia couldn’t explain. She had no answer to give him. She could not even understand herself, why had she requested that? She thought her head was going to split into two. She nervously pushed her chair back and got off her seat. “i don’t know! Just do as I asked, make me happy!” she shouted at him and walked away.

“Tricia!” David called to her retreating figure, but she didn’t answer or even look back. He sadly stared at her unfinished food. He was sad he couldn’t fulfill her wish, he couldn’t make her happy. He had promised to always call her ‘Tricia.’ He wasn’t going back on his words. That was more important than fulfilling his daughter’s ridiculous request.
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Yes! It finally hit him. That’s the word she always used. It made her feel in a highly placed position. That was how she always saw herself. He rushed to Darren and snatched Purity’s cellphone from him. He looked at Darren quizzically and back at the phone. Darren had not even done a thing. That wasn’t the problem. He just had to punch the words that had come into his head.

He breathed deeply and typed the words into the phone. To his surprise, the phone chimed. He was excited. This was good. “Pretty princess,” he muttered, grinning. “Now lets get to business,” he said to his friends. “Lets see who this woman is.”

Episode 89

“What the hell is this?” Jeremy asked to no one in particular, his tone mixed with amazement and anger.

Darren and Allan rushed to his side and saw what got him pissed. They both gasped. “Its Tricia,” Darren whispered. This could be it. It could prove Tricia had a hand in Purity’s disappearance. They didnt have all the details yet. But he was convinced that she did it. She was Ernest’s partner.

“We don’t know what happened that day. Did she tell you anything about this?”

“No, none of them did,” Jeremy replied, recovering from his shock. “Purity had met with Tricia? How’s that even possible? Tricia never mentioned this to me, neither did Purity. I hate this, she should have told me,” Jeremy lashed his anger into the empty space. His countenance was twisted with rage, perplexity and surprise.

“Don’t jump into conclusions, yet,” Allan rebuked him.

“He’s right,” Darren supported, “She may not have known Tricia was your ex. You dont know the whole story yet. Wait till you hear it,” Darren quickly added, hoping to reduce his rising anger.

Jeremy shook his head. Where was he going to hear the story from? Who was going to give him the full details? Just who was gonna do that? Tricia had to answer his questions. What exactly did she go there to do? He peered at the picture in the phone for the second time, scrutinizing it. Then he noticed something he hadn’t seen before. The dress Tricia was wearing. She had visited him in that dress. That was the day they had a fight, a disagreement. She promised to deal with Purity. Did she actually do that? Or was that what she was doing? Who did she visit first – him or Purity? He surely needed answers. He was going to get to the buttom of this. Who could come out with the truth? Who? Tricia could lie. “Heather,” he answered himself.

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Purity lay on the soft bed Ernest had brought in for her and closed her eyes. She felt relaxed and her nerves were soothed. It’d been days since she had craved for a beauty sleep, she was glad she was going to have one tonight. She patiently waited for sleep to erode her, to take her into a world of dreams and fantasies. All that would make her forget her loneliness, the pain and anger she felt towards Ernest. All she wanted was a good night rest.

Seconds rolled into minutes, yet she was not a bit sleepy. Minutes stretched into hours, but she was still very much awake. She found herself thinking about Jeremy. She wondered if he was alright and in good health. His memory – had he gotten it back? Did he think of her or was Tricia Cayson by his side. Probably, they’re together in bed, she sadly mused. Who was this Tricia by the way? She was not sure she’d seen or met with her. The only thing she knew about her was that she was Jeremy’s ex girlfriend.

Purity hastily pushed those thoughts aside. She was not going to start thinking of another woman being with Jeremy. She wasn’t going to get hurt or jealous. She just had to stop. She thought about her parents and her brothers. How devasteted they must be feeling because of her absence. She wondered how they were coping – especially her mum. Her papa was strong, he could handle almost anything. At that moment, she missed them, she missed everything and everyone. Her life, left behind was meaningful. Now she knew the importance of family and being surrounded with loved ones. She had learnt a lot and if she was going to make it out alive, she’d never trade her family’s love for anything else.

The urge, the need to get back, to escape was eating her up. She had to leave, to help herself. She needed to do something. But there was something else, it was stronger, powerful and overwhelming. That hope, that confidence swept through her. She did not need to fight back – that was what she had always done. This time around, it wouldn’t be so. She was going to face it, allow it to come around. The confidence that Jeremy was coming for her had a strong effect over her entire self. She was not going to run away. Jeremy was going to rescue her and Ernest was going to hand her back to the man who deserved her. A weak smile flittered across her face. She was going to do just that – wait till she will be set free.

Slowly, she dried her eyes with the back of her hands, “I believe he’ll come,” she muttered.

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“Heather?” Jeremy called into his phone.

“Yes, may I know who is speaking, please?” came a voice. A voice whom he recognized as Heather’s.

He heaved a sigh. “Jeremy Broderick?”