Never Is A Long Time

Chapter 14

FADED

"Wake up Dee-Dee girl! Last night you told me you're going to meet someone today." Clara shake her body as Deenah won't get herself out from bed. They were having a party and stayed up late yesterday. So Deenah still hangover because of it. "Come on. Can I get 10 minutes more?"
"It's 10 a.m Dee. You'll be late."
"Pleaseeeeee."
"Whatever, but Josh will be here in 10 minutes." Hearing that, Deenah quickly gets herself up, "What?"
"I bet you won't see him right?" Clara smirks, "You're right. I won't."
"So get yourself ready and go to work." She helps her getting out from bed and pull her to have a shower. While she's having a shower, Clara shouts from the outside, "Hey Dee?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you mind to... You know.... Cool things up with him?"
"Who?"
"Josh. How long you're gonna avoid him?"
"Umm. I don't know. Never think about that. Why?" Clara looks at the window, knowing Josh is already here to see her dad. "Nothing, just wondering. By the way he's here."
"He's what?"
"He's here."
"Oh shit." Clara hear her turning off the shower and rushing out. She takes her clothes and put it on. "I need to go."
"You can't. My dad said that we will eat together."
"Ah, come on! Are you kidding?" Deenah is getting panic. "I need to go. Pleaseee?"
"Okay, but it's up to my dad. I don't have any rights."
"I'll talk to him."
"Sure, go ahead." She smirks, knowing that her dad would never let her go without breakfast.

"Hi Sunny!" Deenah walks passed her and give her a hi-5 to her. "Where's daddy?"
"He's in the kitchen. With Josh."
"Oh shit." She's about to cursed but then Sunny looks at her, confused. "Nothing honey. Just continue your practice okay?" She takes a look to the kitchen, while hiding behind the wall, trying to check the situation.

"So, you're good? You've been sick for days." Flea says to Josh. Giving him an apple. "Yeah. I'm good. I'm getting better after some good rest." He looks around, "Where's Clara? She doesn't eat with us?"

"Hi dad!" Clara push Deenah from behind so now both Flea and Josh can see her. "Hi... Everyone. I need to go now, and I'm umm...."
"Sit there Dee. We will eat together."
"But Flea.... I have to meet someone today...." Flea cut her. "No excuse little kid. You need something to eat. Sit down." He smiles widely, exposed his tooth gap. "Alright." She let out sigh and pinch Clara's arms. "Ouch!"

They sit around the table which Josh is right in front of Deenah. "Dad, I want jelly." Sunny ask his dad. "Here's your jelly honey." Flea gives the bowl to Josh and he gives it to Sunny. "Where do you want to go?" Flea then ask Deenah. "Umm. Work. I had appointment on 11." She emphasize it when she said 11. "Oh, okay. You needa ride?"
"No. I mean, I can take a cab or bus. I see you um.... Have a guest so I think I'll go alone." She says, makes Josh looks up from his plate, to her. But she looks away. "Flea?"
"Yes Dee?" She looks to Josh for a second and then quickly looking back to him. "Can I go now? I won't be late. It's my first day so..." Josh then looks to Flea, gives him a sign to let her go. "Alright. I will put your meal on a box and...."
"Umm, no need to do that. I'm already eat some and that's enough." She forced her smile. "Bye everyone." She takes her bag and rushes outside.

Just after she left, Flea says, "Clara?" He knows his daughter tried to bring Deenah and Josh together because she didn't tell him that Deenah had appointment at 11. "What? Sorry. I'm just trying to help these love birds." She raises her eyebrows and continue to eat. "Don't do that. She clearly don't want to see me." Josh says. "But Josh..."
"Don't do that honey. You hear him."
"Okay dad."

Soon after Clara and Sunny finish their meal, Clara take her outside. Meanwhile, Josh stays to talk with Flea. "I'm sorry Josh. Clara just..."
"That's fine Flea. She just wants to help. But I know Deenah had been avoiding me since that photoshoot incident. She won't pick up my phone or replies my message." He sighs. "Yeah, I see that." Flea says, "And how about you? Still thinking about it?"
"Thinking? Yes. But I realized it won't solve anything. Anyway.... You said you got something for me. What's that?" Josh changes the topic so they don't have to talking about her. "Whole Child International Gala. You and Anthony will play there right?"
"Yes, why?"
" I think about bringing Sunny there...."
"She's already on the list...." Flea cut him, "With her classmates."
"Okay.... That would be nice. What can I do?" He's getting excited. "Can you help me to bring them in?"
"Of course! I'm gonna talk to bring them in. That's not a problem."
"Great! I know I can trust you on this!"

°°°°°°

"God! That's so close. I can't even stay any longer, looking at him." Deenah still thinking about how Josh staring at her as she said to Flea that she needed to go. "I swear he knows I didn't want to see him. It's so obvious." She walks as quick as she can from the cab inside Ronald's office. She rings the bell. "It's Deenah."
"Deenah? Comes in. It didn't locked." After sure she open the door, she walks straight into the building, and upstairs to the room that used to auditioned her back then. "Hi Ronald!" She close the door and greet him as she walks in. "Hi! Sit down. Let me introduce you to my assistant, Leia Russel. She will explain to you all you need to know about this project. You can ask her anything about that."
"Hi. Deenah. Nice to meet you." She shaking hands with her, "I'm Leia. Nice to meet you too."
"So. I'll go to make some calls while you two are talking. Excuse me." He leaves the room and let Deenah and Leia talk together.

"Mom?"
"God! Please go back home son.."
"I will mom. But I got something to do first." He's getting excited "Whatever it is, don't do that sweetheart. Please."
"No, mom. You don't understand. I do this for you. You told me that you want to see me with my wife right? I'll bring a beautiful bride for you mom."
"No. Son. I just want you to go back. I ask nothing more."
"I'll call you later mom. I promise." He hung up the phone and walking back to his office.

°°°°°°

"Why don't you just tell her?" Flea put some food in his mouth while talking with Josh. "Tell what? About my break-up? Bad idea. She might be mad to hear that."
"But it might be not like what you think. It might solve a lot of things." He really thinks that to let her know will somehow brings a light between them. "I don't know Flea. I still think it's a bad idea. She even told me to stay with Geska. How can I tell her now that I broke up later?"
"You don't try, who knows?"

°°°°°°

Good luck Dee!

She just check her phone to see a text from Zach. She doesn't know that he knows about her appointment today. She's smiling and somehow can get the nervous feelings out of her. "Your boyfriend?" Leia ask her and giggles a little bit. "Umm... This? He's my best friend. He said good luck to me."
"Really? That's sweet."
"I know." She smiles and then gets up. "Can I use a bathroom?" Leia looks around and points out a door at the corner. "There."
"Thanks. I'll be back."

Right after she close the door, Ronald is back with a rope on his hand. "Hi Ronald! Ummm.... What's that for?"
"You're fired." He says, with a cold tone. "What? Did I do something?"
"No. Just get out from here. Please."
"What you're gonna do? Ronald?" She see an expression from his face that tells her to go as soon as possible. "I hope you did nothing bad with that shit Ronald."
"Get. Out." She's so scared that she takes her bag and almost running from his office. But he quickly stop her. "If you dare to tell anybody. Remember this, I know where you live." He stares at her, making her body shaking from head to toe. She nods and running out from there.

He waits there patiently on the couch. Hiding those ropes behind it. "Oh hi! Where's Leia?" He smiles to her, "She's going home. Probably forget something. She'll be back."
"Oh okay. I'm gonna wait here then." She take a seat in front of him and then see a cup of tea on the table. "That's for you." He says to her. "Really? Thanks a lot. I'm so thirsty you know." Deenah take the cup and swallow it all at once. "You had a boyfriend?" All of sudden he ask her. "What? Oh? Leia must be tell you about him. But no, Zach is not my boyfriend. He's my best friend." She giggles and then put the cup back on the table. "Right. So.... What do you think about me?" He ask again. "You're seems like a good man. Why?"
"No, just wondering...." He gets up and tak a seat besides her. "You're seems like a perfect wife." Then slowly he grab her arms and attempt to kiss her, but as she knows martial art, she quickly let go of his hand and get up. "I'm sorry. I think you misunderstood the situation." She slowly takes a step back and becomes aware of him. "No, I'm not. I know we're gonna be perfect together..."
"Stop there! Don't you dare to think about touching me. I can totally beat you up." He smirks, "You think I don't know? I read your paper. Black belt? I know that." He won't stop walking, closer to her. "I said stop, or I'll beat you...." Then she feels a pain on her head. She quickly looks at the cup, knowing that she messed up. "Oh, the tea? Of course. You put something huh?" All he do is just smirks, knowing that the tea already works like he wants. "I just want to be with you..."
"Step back!" She's getting panic, secretly push a quick dial in her pocket over and over again. Hoping Clara will pick up and she start to think how to get out from that place. When she starts running, her headache becomes more painful. As she tries to reach the door, she is suddenly falling and she can't feel anything.

YOU GOT ME

When she open her eyes, all she knows is she can't move her body. He tied her right hand on a metal pipe at the corner. She tries to figure it out what happened to her and she see a wedding gown on her left side. She can't even move her left hand and then he's coming down, looking at her. "Already up, sweetie?" She looks at him, still blurry to knows what's on his hand. Turns out he has a scissor with him and he start to cut her clothes. "What...are you doing? Let....me go." She begs him, still with a weak voice. But he won't stop ripping her clothes then he take the gown. Put it on her body as she can't move at all. "Beautiful." He kneel down and kiss her. "I'll be back. Soon."

°°°°°°

Clara just finished her job and take Sunny back home when she checks her phone. There's 3 missed calls from Deenah. "What happened?" She get inside the car and tries to call her back. But everytime she calls her, she always turn it off. "What?" She's so confused and decided to leave a message. "Alright. Maybe she's working now. I'll call her again at home." She put her phone back to her bag and drive away.

°°°°°°

Now she's fully wake up, even with a pain on her head. She finally can see how she's on a wedding gown with her right hand tied on a pipe. "Fuck!" She tries to open the rope but she can't make it. "You tried to call your friend, didn't you?" He comes in and then sit in front of her. "You called your friend."
"What?"
"She called you back. But I text her, I said you're okay and turned it off." He show her the phone and put it on a table. "Don't ever think to get out from here unless I let you to."
"You're sick!" She shout at him but he doesn't say anything else. He just sit at a chair, blocking the door and lay his head on the door. "What do you want???"
"Me? Just bring you to Italy. As soon as I got tickets for us."
"Italy? What??? I don't want to go there! Dick head!" Rather than going mad with her insult, he's just giggles and then close his eyes. "My mom is going to like you. She's swearing a lot." Later he's slowly fall asleep. She looks at a clock on the wall.

It's 10 p.m. Clara will looking for me right?

She talks to herself, hoping Clara will somehow find out that she's not fine.

What if she thought that It was me who texted her. What if she thought everything is just fine?

Her phone is up there on the table, she might be able to reach that. But she's not sure if it will wake him up or not.

°°°°°°

Clara just arrived home and she see that Josh's shoes still on the rack. So he's still there with her dad. When she go in, she can't find Deenah anywhere. "She told me she want to stay here for 3 days. Did she change her mind because Josh was here?" She says, remember what she did to her in the last morning. "Dad?" She shouts to him while walking through the living room, her dad is probably in his reading room with Josh. "Yes dear?"
"Did Deenah called you this evening?" She go straight to the reading room where she see both her dad and Josh are talking. "No. What's wrong?"
"Nothing. It's just, she's not back yet. Do you think she was back to her home?" Flea looks at her, confused. "But as long as I remember, she told us she will stay for 3 days."
"Yeah, she did. But... Maybe she..."
"What? Avoid Josh?" Flea cut her and straight to his point. "Mayyybe. I don't know. She called me 3 times, some hours ago."
"Did she say something to you?"
"No, it was a missed calls so I called her back but she turned it off. Also, she texted me she was okay. So I thought I'm gonna call her when I reach home. Can you call her dad? I'll text her."
"Okay. Let me call her. Hang on...." When he's about to make a call, Clara suddenly stop him, "Dad....."

°°°°°°

After reached her phone with her let hand, forcing her arms to stretch as far as possible, she quickly type a message to Clara. But at the same time she see Ronald starts to wake up. She didn't make it to the last but she sent it anyway, hoping Clara will get the message."What are you doing?" He runs to her and grab her phone. Throw it and smash it into two. "Fuck! That's a new phone. Asshole!"
"Don't play with me! I told you, you will never get out from here." His face is only 2 inches from her, exposed his angry face and she knows he's not playing around. "Don't do something that makes me do something bad to you. I really won't hurt you. You know."
"But you already did. Let me go and fight me like a man!"
"That's no use. I'm not gonna fight you. I like you, my mom is gonna love you."
"I won't go anywhere! You hear me!!" He doesn't answer her and leave the room. Then she hear a sound from the door. "Shit! Did he just locked me here? What a jerk!" She's looking around, seeing her phone crashed on the floor. "Damn it, how can I reach out to Clara or Flea? I need to find something. I have to get out from here."

°°°°°°
"What? What's that?" Flea turns to her, knowing that she just saw something from her phone. Josh, is other hand also getting worry about it. "Clara. Tell us."
"Do you remember a stalker that used to stalk me outside my studio?"
"I do sweetheart. Why?"
"So Deenah knew about him and then she.... She told me that she will protect me from him."
"I know that too. But what happened?" Flea can feel his heart is beating faster as he see his daughter's shaking hand. "Clara. Is there something to do with Deenah?"
"We had... I mean, she had this code. It's 'choco pies'. She told me to use that code everytime I see that stalker..." She takes a deep breath and her words start to shaking too. "But I never expect that she will be the one who used the code." Hearing that, Josh grab her phone and read the message on it.

choco p

"She can't even finish the word. Something happened." Clara start to crack and Flea tries to calm her daughter. "Should we tell her parents? Or Zach?"
"But, dad.....Her parents are out of town, Zach had shows for the next 2 days."
"Tell me you know where she is." Josh suddenly ask her, hoping she will say something. "Umm.... I... I don't know. I mean, she told me she go to work but she didn't tell me where." There's a big worry drawn on Josh's face. Everyone knows how he care so much about her. "Damn it! She didn't say anything about the place?" He stop talking and then remember something, "Wait, I will call her again, maybe this time someone will pick up. He dials her number and hit the call. After a couple minutes, his face turns into more panic. "I can't reach her phone. It's inactive."
"What should we do?" Clara hold her dad's hands tightly, scared that something happened to her close friend. "Josh?" Flea turns to him.

"For now, let's call the police."