Love, Lies, and Deception(59)

I paused and glanced out the car window. “It was with the maid, Kristian. I have no clue how many times he’d made a fool out of me.”

Kristian clenched his teeth and growled, “What a f*cking douche bag. He doesn’t deserve you. I mean, look what you’re going through for him. I wish I could’ve kicked his ass for you.”

Dejectedly, I nodded. “I know, I wish you could’ve, too. It just goes to show that he couldn’t change from his past. I should’ve known better.”

Kristian squeezed my hand again, and thankfully we finished the rest of the ride in silence. We only rode in the car for about ten minutes before we pulled into the driveway of an immaculate beach house. I was amazed at how huge it was. It was three stories of pure beach bliss with bright blue siding and white shutters.

“Why did you rent such a huge place for just yourself? This is amazing,” I breathed in awe.

Kristian laughed and got out of the car; I followed suit. “Do you like it?” he asked curiously, giving me a sheepish look.

Wide-eyed, I gasped, “I love it. What’s not to like? If I could afford it, this would be the place I’d love to live in when we move here.” His grin grew wider, more mischievous. He was up to something, I could tell.

“Why do you look like that?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

Kristian grabbed my bag from the backseat and started walking toward the door. “What would you say if you could live here while you went to school?”

“I would say that’d be amazing, but there’s no way I could afford something like this.”

Kristian walked up the front steps, and unlocked the door. Pushing it open, he allowed me to enter first. The living room had a whole wall of windows that peered out to the ocean beyond, and a row of rocking chairs that adorned the whole patio. The house was airy and light, smelling of coconut and the salty sea air. I was immediately in love with the house.

I walked out the patio doors and leaned against the railing, peering out at the rolling sea. Kristian came up beside me and bumped me with his shoulder.

“I have something to tell you, and I was going to wait to do this, but seeing your face when you got here I’ve decided that I can’t. Plus, you could use the cheering up.”

“What is it?” I asked curiously.

Kristian took a deep breath, and turned to look at the horizon which was slowly turning pink with the setting sun.

“I lied about renting this place, Mare. When I made the decision to move here, I found this place and bought it. The first day I put my house in Boone on the market it sold. It made a really good down payment for this one. Needless to say, I moved while you were gone.”

I gasped. “So that’s why Emily said she hasn’t seen you. Were you even in Boone when I called you from the airport?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I was. I was packing up the last of my things. So what do you think about the idea of living here? You and Emily would both have your own rooms and all I ask is that you pay just a small amount of rent.”

Wide-eyed, I stared at him completely frozen in place. “If this wasn’t one of the shittiest days of my life I’d be running around here screaming at the top of my lungs. It’s amazing, Kristian, and I’m more than ecstatic about living here. I just can’t believe this is really happening.”

He grinned at me, and I couldn’t help but smile back. “See, I told you I could make it all better. Things are going to look up for you, baby girl. I know it sucks about what Alec did to you, but you will move on from it. You could do so much better than him. You’re a strong woman, Marissa, but now the only thing we have to worry about is keeping you safe.”

I scoffed, “Tell me about it. I wonder if the psycho that’s after me will leave me alone now that it’s clear I don’t mean that much to Alec.”

Kristian’s eyes grew dark and he clenched his teeth. “Right now I’m not taking any chances. Tell no one you’re here or where we’re at, but you need to call your sister and the detective to tell them you’re okay. The last thing we want is them searching for you.”

Gasping, I cried, “Crap, you’re right. What if Alec already has them searching for me? My sister is going to be so mad at me for ignoring her calls.”

“No she won’t, she’ll understand once you explain everything. I’ll just go inside so you can have some privacy. When you get done I’ll have a shot of vodka ready for you.”

He smiled and kissed my cheek before leaving me alone on the patio. I still hadn’t looked at all of my text messages, and I knew I wasn’t ready to see them, but I looked at a few of them anyway.



Alec: Where are you? Please come back. I need to know you’re okay.

Alec: I didn’t do what you think I did. I love you.

Alec: I’m worried about you. Please call me back.



There were about twenty text messages like that, not including the voice messages I still hadn’t listened to. He could rot in hell for all I cared. I skimmed over his messages and went down to Emily’s.



Emily: Rissa, where the hell r u at? Alec is freaking out.

Emily: Bitch, u better call me now!

Emily: What the hell is going on?



I felt bad for not calling her back, but hopefully she’d understand that I just couldn’t at the time. I texted her back.