Seasons [h.s]

Spring - Part 5

I didn't think it was necessary to let him know that hearing Jared's name had indeed made me nauseous at that moment. "I'm just worried is all. I don't want him to find Mia."

"Love, we don't even know if he came to that art show looking for you. Annaliese is a household name, and her shows bring in guests from all over the world. Don't you think if he was looking for you he would've made it known?"

"It's not a fluke," I said shaking my head.

"But how do you kn-"

"Because it's Jared!" I retorted. "Jared doesn't make mistakes! I would know, I dealt with him for years."

Harry's hands tightened against the steering wheel, "okay."

"I just want to keep him away from Mia."

"I promise he won't come anywhere near her."

"You don't understand, Harry. He won't stop until he has his way, and if he does he'll-" My voice broke. "He'll take her away from me."

He laid his hand against my knee and rubbed it softly. "I promise Grace, I won't let anything happen to either of you."

I wanted so badly to believe him, but he had never experienced Jared the way that I had. He hadn't seen who Jared turned into after he was introduced to drinking. Memories of Jared's rampages haunted me for the rest of the day. Luckily, Annaliese had a lot of artists coming to sell their work which helped keep my mind off of my personal life. Well, for the most part.

"Grace?" Annaliese's voice jolted me from my thoughts that afternoon. "A young man is waiting for you in my office - says he's an old friend of yours. Let me remind you that I do not like having unwelcomed guests in my personal space, okay? I only let this one slip because I might want to make him my boy toy later." She laughed lightly. "Don't take too long, Darling."

My heart dropped. "An old friend?" I murmured to myself as I walked to her office. I couldn't possibly think of anyone who would know that I worked here.

That's when it hit me. It could only be one other person.

Jared.

I stopped dead in my tracks and slammed my back against the wall. Had he already seen me? I was only a few feet away from Annaliese's door. My breathing became shallow and unsteady as my mind ran through every scenario that could become reality at any moment. He could blackmail me, he could follow me home after work, he could kill me...

Before I could talk myself out of it, I made the decision to confront him on my own. He was already here, I needed to get it over with.

For Mia.

"You're not afraid," I told myself and lifted my back from against the wall. "This is for Mia," I placed my trembling hand of the office door. "This is for Mi-" My words stopped once I saw him. He was standing behind Annaliese's desk - arms surprisingly at his side.

"Hello, Grace." His eyes were softer than in the relentless dreams I had been having. The room also didn't reak of alcohol which was what I had been expecting.

"What do you want?" I said in a low, leery tone.

"I'm just here to talk." He held up his hands to caution me, "can we at least do that much?"

"You think I want to talk to you?" I growled. "What the hell are you doing here, Jared?"

"Grace, I'm sober."

"What?"

"I took your advice and checked in to a rehab facility; I've been sober for the past 10 months. I'm just here to say thank you."