Songs Unsung - Book One

Chapter Thirteen

Dedicated to zahiyahaj - A Loyal Fan - X

"Squuuuuuueeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaal"

I pulled the phone away from my ear and let out a small shriek of pain. Hovering it closer to my ear to see if the deafening noise had stopped.

"SHHHHHH He'll hear you!" I breathed down the phone to Mia.

"He won't hear me through the phone!" Mia rebutted

"Maybe not, but I'm worried the whole house will hear you from Australia!" I let out a small laugh

"I can't believe you're in Chase Thomas' house!" Mia squealed

"I know, It's utter craziness but that's not really why I called" I said with a trailing voice

"I can't imagine there would be anything more exciting to tell!" laughed Mia

"Seriously babe, I'm scared"

"What do you mean?" Mia snapped to sincerity immediately "Are you okay Belle??"

"Remember how I met Candice on the flight over..." I spent the next ten minutes explaining to Mia about the bar, Antonio, Chase, falling to the floor and waking up in Chase's house.

"Whoa!" wailed Mia "I don't know what to think right now. All I know is I don't really want you there anymore Belle"

I became emotional hearing Mia's concern. "I don't know if I want to be here anymore either M" I said with a small sob "I've barely been here a week and look what has happened. I miss you .. I miss Caleb" tears were now steadily falling down my face.

Mia tried to console me by hushing my cries. "You know what Belle?" she continued with a strike of confidence in her tone "You could come home, go back to life the way it was before you left, have Jessica walk all over you, wonder if you and Caleb will ever be together again and go about the day to day routine that was your life, or you can overcome this. Refuse to allow this Antonio douche bag to scare you out of living possibly the most exciting chapter of your life and continue on enjoying LA like this never happened. Sure, be careful, but don't let this engross you. It's up to you"

Immediately I felt stronger, I wiped the tears from my cheeks and stood up straight "You're absolutely right M, I don't need to let this consume me. I need to get back on the horse and keep living!"

"That's my girl!" said Mia enthusiastically "I want you to call me anytime, like you did today. If you need to come home, come home. Do whatever you need to do and, no matter what, I will support you."

"Thank you M, you don't know how much I needed to hear that" I stated, relieved.

"Go get 'em girl, we'll talk soon okay?"

"We will, Bye M"

"Bye darling" said Mia with love in her voice.

_________________________________________

After showering, I looked at the selection of perfumes sitting perfectly on the basin. Spraying them one by one into the air, I closed my eyes and smelt each as the mist fell in front of my nose. My senses erupted as I smelt Giorgio Armani's Acqua Di Gioia "Mmmm" I breathed as I sprayed the fragrance over my neck and wrists.

I walked into the bedroom to view the collection pant suits, pencil skirts, blouses and dresses in an array of colours hanging neatly on a large silver hanging rack. Under them lie a range of high heel shoes in every colour imaginable. I took a bright blue dress and matched it with a pair of strappy cream high heels.

Whilst assessing myself in the mirror, I wondered how Chase knew my dress and shoe size. The fit was perfect and I instantly felt confident as I turned to view every angle of my body in the mirror. "If only I had a purse to match this" I thought to myself as I admired the dress/shoe combo. I realized immediately that I was acting spoiled. "This would be an easy life to get used to though" I thought.

I made my way toward the door of the bedroom and noticed a line of purses hanging from their strap on the rack, previously hidden by the pant suits. "You're kidding?" I thought as my face glowed with excitement. I chose a simple cream clutch purse to match my shoes and spent another moment admiring my outfit in the mirror before leaving the room.  

I found Chase sitting by the grand piano in the foyer. His smiling face had been replaced with a look of disappointment and brooding. As I walked toward him, my heels clicked on the white tile beneath my feet. Chase snapped his head in my direction as I approached and I watched as his eyes lit up and a look of surprise took over his face. "So everything fits then?" asked Chase with a slight smile.

"Yes, thank you so much Chase. But, how did you know my size?" I asked, looking puzzled

"We have my Assistant, Lacey to thank for that" he smiled "I should really give her a raise" he continued with a chuckle. "You're ready to go then?" he asked as he directed his hand toward the door.

"Yes, thank you again for everything Chase. Before I go though, I've given it some thought and I'd rather not give Antonio the satisfaction of affecting me. I'd like to go home tonight and continue living life as normal" I explained with a deep expression on my face

Chase looked strained. He took his hand and rubbed the back of his neck "If that's what you want, okay, but I still want you to be on your guard for a while"

"I will, I promise" I said trying to comfort his obviously worried mind.

"Well, that's that then I guess, Leonard's phone number is in your phone... So is mine" he said whilst looking down at me "Don't hesitate to call".

I was confused, how did he manage to get the numbers in my phone? I just had it with me.. "Oh, last night when I was asleep" I said out aloud. Chase gave a small smile as he placed his hand on the curve of my back and ushered me toward the front entrance way. "Go easy today" he said as he nodded his head toward mine and looked at the butterfly clips that held my cut together. "I will" I replied "Thank you again for everything". He smiled whilst opening the car door for me to step into. Once I was inside, he closed the door and immediately had a look of dismay fall over his face.

"Downtown LA please Leonard" I said before the car started pulling away, leaving Chase standing at the front of the home, watching us as we drove away.