Raphael's Captive

Chapter 19

Even though she didn’t kidnap herself, she was here agreeing to stay with her kidnapper, in hopes that her family would somehow believe her lie and forgive her eventually.

"I'm sorry guys," she said truthfully. "I never wanted this to happen."

"So why did you leave like that!" The tone of Amy's voice took Tami by surprise, but she had expected it.

This was sort of good, she thought. This meant Amy believed her. Still, Tami had no other thing to say than sorry.

"I'm sorry."

Tami could hear the distant cries from her mother too, and she knew that she'd hurt them with this lie.

'Only until summer,' she told herself. 'Just do this for you, and by the end of summer you can sort out anything'.

"I'm young, guys. I haven’t truly lived like someone in their twenties, you know? I promise to stay safe and be home soon. Please forgive me. I love you both so much."

"Have a great holiday, Tami." That was the last thing she heard from her sister, before the line went dead.

She let it all out right there and then, sliding against the glass to her bottom as she pulled her feet to her chest and let the tears fall.

Raphael was there in a second, holding her against his chest as she cried. It took everything out of him not to call his pilot and arrange for a flight home for her. From the looks of it, he could see that her family was really hurt by what she told them, and he knew it was all his fault.

If only he had pursued her in a normal way, where he would eventually meet her family and they'd all have dinner and discuss the future.

But he believed time was against him, and he couldn’t have the only form of peace in his life, to slip away just like that again, after sixteen years of misery.

Tami had agreed to stay with him until the end of summer. She agreed to put her own life on hold, and give him a chance that he didn’t even deserve.

In that very moment Raphael made a promise to himself that he would make these few weeks the best for her, showing her how grateful he was for her, and showing her just how much he needed her more than breathing itself.

She paid a large price to be with him even when she shouldn’t have. So he knew, just knew, that he had to make it perfect for her.

***

Tami curled up on her bed after stuffing her stomach with ice cream for the umpteenth time today.

After having her mood tarnished, she couldn’t do anything else but watch movies and eat ice cream. Unfortunately, Raphael had an emergency with work, and had been spending the last three hours trying to sort it out.

What a wrong day to be a CEO.

After two movies and no enjoyment whatsoever from them, Tami exited Netflix and decided to skip through the hundreds of TV channels that she had.

Raphael really outdid himself when it came to her luxury, she had to admit that much, as she couldn’t decide on what channel to decide on.

However, she immediately skipped a few channels back when something, or someone, caught her eye. A very familiar face--a face she knew since birth--was plastered on her huge TV screen, on the local news station.

Tami turned up the volume even more to hear what her mother had been saying.

"I don’t believe she left. That's so unlike our Tami. I think that whoever took her, forced her to make that call. So I implore you, disregard what my younger daughter had been posting on whatever social media she uses. My Tami is still out there in trouble."