Disappearance
I sat at my vanity table, staring dismally at my reflection. My tear-strung eyes were blackened with mascara. Red eye shadow framed them beautifully, red lipstick covered my slightly frowned mouth, and long auburn hair framed my pale, saddened face.
"Chlo?" I heard Bonnie's soft voice behind me.
I turned my head to see her. She looked beautiful in a black Notte by Marchesa lace-bodice dress, Christian Louboutin Boulima exclusive d'Orsary heels, a cute pyramid cuff, make-up understated and black hair pulled neatly in a high ponytail.
"Ready to go?" She asked.
I stood up slowly, stepped towards the full-length mirror and stared at my reflection, searching for any flaws. Compared to Bonnie, I looked a little overdressed. But then again, Bonnie might've looked underdressed next to me.
I looked funeral-chic in a black Lanvin tiered satin skirt, a Lanvin ruffled zip-front blouse that was in the darkest of reds, black Christian Louboutin Zipito zip-front stiletto booties, black Wolford over-the-knee stockings, and a MCL by Mathew Campbell Laurenza pave square ring and large crocodile bangle.
"Never in a billion years did I ever think I'd be attending Meghan's funeral, nonetheless in Lanvin and Louboutin." I whispered humorlessly. Bonnie and I always agreed we'd come to Meghan's funeral in Target or Wal-Mart, not designer.
"I know," she said, a tear escaping her eye. "Never in a billion years did I ever think I'd be sad on Meghan's funeral."
"Neither did I." I said breathlessly.
"Ready to go?" A masculine voice sounded.
Unanimously, Bonnie and I turned our heads and nearly gasped at Cap's unstoppable beauty.
"You clean up well," Bonnie said.
And he did. Cap looked absolutely dashing in head-to-toe Dolce and Gabbana. He had on a basic black suit, which was tailored to absolute perfection, with a thin, black tie and a black dress shirt. Black loafers completed his outfit. Guys had it so easy.
"You two look beautiful," Cap said after displaying his crooked smile out of shyness. He was just too cute.
"Are you sure you're not just talking 'bout Chloe?" Bonnie asked, nudging me.
Cap smiled at Bonnie but his eyes never left me, looking at me in adoration. I flushed and hooked into his arm. Even through his one-button blazer I felt our (in)famous otherworldly connection.
I grabbed my black patent leather Louis Vuitton mid-size tote, which had eye-catching red accents, before we headed out the door and into a funeral I never thought I'd attend.
Meghan's funeral was absolutely heartbreaking, but it didn't stop them from entering my conscience. The thoughts. The accusations.
Why did Cap have your bag? A voice told me as the pastor spoke.
Wasn't it supposed to be stolen? It stressed as I mumbled an Our Father.
He's hiding something. It insisted as I almost broke down when I dropped a single red rose - Meghan's favorite flower since first grade - into the hole where Meghan's lifeless body now laid - in ten thousand dollar vintage Dior no-less.
But perhaps the most thought inducing, and the one that ate at my conscience the most was: How can you love a guy who doesn't trust you enough to tell you what he's hiding?
As annoying and thought-provoking as the voice in my head was, it had a point. How could you love someone who went to such lengths to prevent you from finding out they're 'secret'? How could you feel something so strong for someone who could break you as easily as snapping a twig? How could you trust someone that couldn't trust you?
Thoughts surrounded my conscience as the last pale of sand forever covered Meghan's body six feet under. Not only were the thoughts slowly driving a wedge between my feelings for Cap, but it also questioned my sanity.
The night I was robbed was blurry to say the least. What I did know was that I was followed and out of fear I was driven to walk into the clichéd dark alley. Then I was robbed and picked up by Cap. But anything after that was a blur. I didn't know how the criminal looked. I didn't know how I reacted. Hell, I didn't even remember being picked up by Cap.
The weird thing was - well, besides my apparent short-term amnesia - that I felt like something more happened. Something I couldn't seem to remember. It was as if I was told to remember something... and nothing else.
"Chloe," Bonnie's worried voice rang in my ear, snapping me out of my daze of thoughts.
Blinking slowly, I took in my surroundings. I was kneeling on the ground next to Meghan's grave and besides Bonnie, I was completely alone. Dazed, I got up from the ground and dusted the dirt off of my Lanvin skirt and sheer Wolford stockings. "Shit, I'm a mess," I said, wiping the tears from my hysterical eyes. "Where's Cap?" I asked.
"He's in the car. Says he can't stand funerals. Probably prefers cremation." Bonnie said. I winced at the thought of ever having to cremate Cap.
"Compact?" I asked. Bonnie dug into her tote and took out a black compact mirror. "Thanks."
I winced again, this time at the sight of my reflection.
I looked horrible. My auburn hair was mangled, mascara smudged so much that my red eye shadow was intangible, and mouth carved into a distraught frown.
"God, I'm a mess." I said as Bonnie handed me cloth to wipe my face.
"Well, you just witnessed you're best frenemy going six feet underground." She said, a warm smile on her face.
As we began walking back to Cap's Jeep I reapplied my make-up and tried my best to recover my composure.
"Meghan's funeral isn't the only thing causing me to break down."
"Finally. I thought I'd have to drag it out of you."
"It's about Cap."
"Isn't it always?" Bonnie half-joked, half rolled her eyes. I grimaced.
I sighed before I spoke. "Remember my dark-alley robbery?"
"The one where your bag was stolen?"
"That very one." I tried joking. After a lengthy unwelcome awkward silence I continued. "Uhm, I kinda found my bag in Cap's closet." I blurted out nervously.
"The one that was stolen?"
"Yeah."
Much to my surprise, instead of Bonnie breaking into a hysterical fit she said, "Are you sure it was your bag?"
"I didn't look in it, but I'm sure it's mine."
"Chloe I have to go." Bonnie said with unsettling urgency.
"What? Why?"
"I'll tell you later, 'kay?" She said, hugging me before she headed in the opposite direction.
"Wait, Bon! How are gonna get home?"
"I'll take a cab!" She yelled out, her voice trailing away the further she 'walked' away from me.
Through the ride home I remained stealthfully silent, staring to the man-made abyss in front of me, my eyes glistening with tears I refused to let fall.
"Chlo, what's wrong?" Cap asked as he led me to my front porch, a black umbrella protecting me from the rain.
"N-nothing." I lied.
"I can't believe you." He whispered in silent shock.
"What?" I said in disbelief, stopping dead in my tracks, rain pelting me relentlessly as I stepped out of the umbrella.
He turned around and walked back to me, for whatever reason, dropping the black umbrella on the floor. I gulped as he came towards me, cupping my head in his hands and staring deeply into my eyes.
"I can't believe that you have something to say to me, but you're to afraid to tell me it. Even after -"
"What?!" I yelled, forcing him to let go of me. "You're the one to speak!"
"What?"
"You've been hiding something from me since the day we met! And that Saturday night you did something-"
"Chlo, I-"
"No, Cap. It's true and you know it."
"I was just doing it to protect you."
"Then why'd you mess up my memory? Why do you have my bag?"
"To protect you!"
"From what?"
"Me."
"Not with that shit again! Cap, I can protect myself!"
"Not from me."
"Cap, loving you is a risk, I know. But I don't need your protection."
"Yes you do!"
""And what makes you sure that I can't protect myself?!"
"Experience, Chloe! And... and I know better than anyone that you're not safe around me. Not now. Not ever."
"Cap, how can you be sure that keeping whatever secret you have will protect me? How do can I be equipped to protect myself if I don't even know who you are?"
"I do... by not telling you this secret, I can protect you from my world, from my kind."
"Your kind?" I said, tears threatening to join the rain that ran down my face, smudging my make-up to a point of no return. "Cap? Say something... please..." I said when he didn't answer.
"I've said too much already..." He mumbled, pain reflecting not only in his eyes, but in his words as well.
"You haven't said anything!"
"Chlo, you just have to trust that I'm doing it for you... to keep you safe and, and alive..."
"You're not doing it for me... you're doing it for yourself!"
"Trust me, Chlo. Please." The desperation and heartache I saw reflecting in him broke my heart, but I needed to know I was safe with him... I needed to convince him that he didn't need to protect me from 'his world.'
"How can I trust someone who can't trust that I'm strong enough to protect myself? How can I love and trust someone so hellbent on keeping his secret to himself?!"
"Chlo, I-"
"No Cap. You see the problem is that you don't trust me." I said sharply, tears finally breaking the barrier I so desperately tried to keep intact.
"I do," he insisted, his eyes set in a desperate sorrow.
"Then tell me!" I yelled in emotional dismay.
"I... can't..." He told me in a breathless whisper.
"And I can't be with someone I can't trust to tell me everything..." Okay so maybe I was being dramatic and overbearing, but I couldn't stop the words from exiting my mouth.
"What, what are you saying?"
"I'm sorry Cap, but I can't be with you anymore." I whispered softly, my heart cracking when I saw the heartache in his black eyes.
"Chloe..."
"Goodbye Cap," I whispered, kissing him lightly on his lips and trying my best to maintain composure.
I turned around and left him staring at me in dismay. When I reached the door I turned around once more to see him staring desperately at me, pleading with me to understand.
Reluctantly I turned my head back towards the door and even more reluctantly turned the doorknob and walked into the house. Closing the door was the hardest thing I'd ever had to do. I'd shut Cap out of my life, and now it felt hard to breathe.
Leaning against the door, I slowly slid down and began to sob desperately. The vibrations of my BlackBerry broke my out of my hysterical crying.
I looked at the caller ID. It was Bonnie.
Hesitantly, I picked the phone up and was greeted by a hysterical Bonnie.
"Chloe!"
"Yeah, Bon. Is something wrong?"
"Yes... no... maybe... I don't know. It has to do with Cap." Tears shot to my eyes at the mere mention of his name.
"Cap? I, I just broke up with him..." It was a mission on itself to say his name and not cry, so you can only imagine how hard it was to say we'd broken up.
"You did! What happened?"
"Besides my supposed stolen bag being in his closet, and other weird things?"
"Of course."
"Well, I told him to tell me what he's hiding, and he didn't. So I decided that I couldn't be with someone if they didn't trust me enough to tell me everything."
"And that's why I'm calling."
"Huh?"
"I think I know what Cap's hiding."
"What? You do?" I said in disbelief. "Bon, you still there?" I asked when she didn't answer.
"Chloe, I, I think there's someone here!"
"Here?"
"In my house!"
"Bon?" I asked, worry instantly building up in me. "Bon?" I asked again when there wasn't an answer. "Bon?!" Still no answer.
"There's someone here Chlo!" Her voice was hysterical. I could feel the fear she so easily projected.
"Bon, I'm coming over right now!" I yelled, a dangerous cocktail of fear, sadness and worry flowing through me.
Through the phone I could hear Bonnie's rabid panting. I tried calling for her but she didn't answer. The other side of the line was dead-silent.
As I got into the SUV, the last thing I heard on the opposite line was Bonnie's muffled terror-filled scream. And then the line went dead. Hopefully Bonnie wasn't.