Raphael's Captive

Chapter 10

TAMI'S EYES shone in excitement as Raphael raced through the town.

It had been years since she was at Grand Bahama, and it was obvious that a lot had changed. Still, she didn’t mind how fast the buildings and features rushed passed in a blazing blur as Raphael drove.

It was almost as if he had been in a rush. But in reality, he only did it because he liked how her eyes lit up when he went up a notch with the speed. The car would skid ever so often when the drifted around corners, and instead of screaming as most women would, Tami simply squealed as she held onto  her seat for support, as if she was on a ride.

Raphael liked this new look on her, as he had gotten quite sick of her gloomy eyes over the past days. He also knew he was the cause of her grief, hence this car ride giving her joy made him the happiest. He was almost disappointed when the airport came into view. He could already see his jet waiting for him too.

But then he thought, if she loved the car so much, wouldn’t she like the jet even more? This very thought allowed a sardonic smirk to pull on his lips, as he quickly flickered his eyes to where she was sitting.

She was still on cloud nine as he slowed down, and it was becoming quite obvious to her too that they have arrived at their destination. At least for now.

"Raphael that was fantastic" She laughed as she unbuckled her seatbelt, completely forgetting that she was 'suppose' to be upset with him for all he had done to her.

"Yea? Will you like to have a drive back home when we're back?"

Her eyes lit up even more at this, and she even avoided the fact that he called his house 'home', referring to it as her home too.

"You would let me do that?" She asked in utter excitement.

"Of course. As long as we're out of the town, I'll give you a spin" He smiled down at her as she did a mini victory dance.

It also got her considering her escape plan for when they 'arrive' in Puerto Rico. Was she really willing to give up a chance at seeing her family sooner, just for a drive in this expensive car? Probably not. But if she should fail at escaping again, she wouldn’t hesitate on taking up the offer.

They alighted the car simultaneously, as the coastal breeze whipped her messy curls all about. Luckily, Raphael had successfully pulled her hair in a high puff, so it was out of her face and eyes.

He offered her his hand after grabbing their two duffle bags with the other. A bold move for him, considering they hadn’t been getting along until they got in the car.

She eyed his hand weirdly as all the emotions that had been suppressed by her excitement began to resurface. As she looked around, she realized that their was no way that she could make a run for it and escape.

The section of the airport was way too empty, and seemed far away from the terminals. It was almost as if Raphael cleared out the area himself, specifically for this flight boarding. Little did she know that he actually did.

"I can take my own bag" She spoke softly.

He ignored the pang in his chest at the fact that she refused his hand. He knew it was a long shot, after all. He also decided to heed to her request and handed her the bag. He knew how stubborn she could be too.

"Oh crap" She cursed, pausing dead in her tracks as she remembered something.

"What is it?" Worry etched on Raphael's face as he saw her disappointment.

"I left my- I mean the laptop that you had given me. I need it" She frowned deeper, remembering that she was committed to doing her daily logs. Raphael relaxed at that, as if saying it wasn’t a big deal.