Welcome To Crete Chapter 41

A Chapter by Repgreece

Fay is distraught and confused

Sal arrived at the office in a quiet and sombre mood, and by that time neither Fay nor Adam were feeling energetic enough to question her about the evening. Adam drove them both home, dropping Fay off first and then heading further into town to Sal's new apartment.

As Fay climbed the steps to her apartment she fumbled in her bag to find her front door key. Her fingers scrambled around in the bottom of her bag but could not seem to make out the object they were searching for, so she gave up and decided to use the spare key that she had left under the mat for Sal to use during the time she had stayed with her.

Moments later however, the shock of what had greeted her when she opened the front door had prompted her to telephone Adam. He had warned her to leave the apartment in case the burglars were still on the premises but later, after rethinking the situation and tentatively checking the other rooms, she had decided to stay and try to work out what had been stolen. The items that she would have expected a burglar to take were surprisingly still there. Her laptop and stereo were still on the shelving units and her television had been left as well. Most of the mess seemed to have been caused by the intruder's attention to her files and p.c., although that too had been left behind.

"I thought I told you to go to a neighbour," Adam said with some annoyance as he stood at the open door, watching her gather up an array of papers that had been thrown across the floor. He startled her and most of the papers in her hand fluttered back onto the ground when she jumped nervously.
"They had gone by the time I got here, and anyway," she added, trying to sound nonchalant, "they don't seem to have taken anything. The only problem now is this awful mess."
He took the door handle in his hand and inspected the lock. "Any idea how they broke in? It wasn't through this door that's for sure as it's still intact."
She looked puzzled. "It had to have been through that door, it's too far from the ground for them to get in any other way."
"Well they didn't break in then. Do you give your keys out to random strangers by any chance?" he mocked.
She stood up and crossed her arms defensively at his tone. "What do you bloody well think?"
"I don't know, but they got in somehow. How many keys do you have?" he asked. She sighed as she realised that she would probably have to admit to him that she had left her spare key under the doormat.
"I have two keys, one which I have in my bag and one which Sal used," she said, avoiding disclosing all the information.
"Would Sal have dropped it, or leant it to anyone?" he asked.
She sighed again. "No, I have her key here but I think I may know how they got in," she paused, trying to think of how to tell him in a way that wouldn't make her seem foolish for leaving her home unsecured. "The key was under the mat...but I don't know how they would have known that," she added quickly when she saw the anger in his face.
"It wouldn't take a genius to work it out!" he barked at her, passing the front door and pacing the lounge. "And by the way, I wouldn't be surprised if half the town knows that you keep your key there. I knew about that only a few days after we had met," he left the comment hanging in the air for her to figure out how.
"Go on then Sherlock, how did you know?" she said with rising agitation at his arrogance.
"Remember the pool night when you ran out on me? You texted Sal then; not the best person to tell considering her lack of discretion."

She suddenly kicked the pile of papers on the floor as she became infuriated with his cutting tone and her own stupidity.
"Fine! I'm an idiot! Isn't that what you want me to admit?" she shouted.
"You said it!" he yelled back.
"Well you know what?" she grated out, storming over to him, "never in all the years I've been here has anything like this happened to me. And now that you've appeared, I find it strange that suddenly all these inexplicable events keep happening."
"What are you trying to say," he frowned, "that it's all my fault?" Silence fell around the room as she simply stared crossly back at him. "Oh wait, you think that I robbed you?" he added incredulously.
"I don't bloody well know!!" she screamed, throwing the papers she was holding at him and striding away. "All things considered, I think it's best that you go now," she said with her back to him as she stared blindly out of the window.
"Now you want me to go!" he said in disbelief, coming up behind her and swinging her around to face him. "Now that you have accused me of robbing your apartment. You've got to be kidding!"
She growled. "Okay, I don't really believe that, it's just that..."
"Just that what?" he prompted.
"Well you have to admit that this all started when I began working for you!"
His eyes bore into her.
"Maybe..." she was reluctant to say the words but her fear and anger prompted her to do so, "...maybe we should call it a day."
His eyes widened, and it was hard for her to judge his reaction as she had never seen such an expression on his face before.
"What exactly do you mean by 'it' when you say 'call it a day?'" he asked in a disturbingly quiet and calm voice.
"You know, the job," she replied, not wanting to prompt any more anger.
"And us?" he asked.
"Us?" she queried.
"Don't play games with me Fay; you know exactly what I mean. Are you calling it a day with us?"
She could see his anger returning and it made her nervous, so she resorted to a calmer, more reasonable tone.
"Look, I value our friendship and we are bound to bump into each other around the town so I don't want there to be any tension between us, but I just want some normality in my life again." she finished with sincerity.
"You want to know the truth?" he asked, seemingly penetrating her mind with his eyes, "I don't know what scares you more, all this," he gestured around the room, "or us."
"Whatever," she frowned, tired with the conversation, "what does it matter?"
He snapped then and pushed her roughly away from him. "You know Fay, sometimes you can be a real cold b***h!"
"Okay, that's it! Get out!" she screamed, pushing him back. "This is my house and this is my life, and I want you out of both!"
He stood for a moment, grinding his teeth, but then he turned abruptly and strode out of the front door.

She looked around her apartment and laughed bitterly at the realisation that her lounge was as much in pieces as her life at that point. She stood there for a while with a terrible aching, empty feeling inside of her and she fought back the tears, afraid to start crying for fear that she wouldn't stop. Walking over to the sofa, she pulled at the arm of it in desperation to turn it upright again but her strength failed her and she collapsed onto the floor as the tears began to fall down her face. Never before had she felt so alone in the world, and so wretched. She held her stomach in an attempt to stop it's intense aching as she struggled to breathe through the sobs that wracked her body.

Suddenly she felt a sharp pain in her arm and she looked up in shock to see Adam grabbing hold of her, and hauling her up towards him.
"You can't stay here tonight, it may not be safe," he frowned, taking a quick look at her face before ushering her towards the door. She resisted, unwilling to leave the familiarity of her apartment, even in the state that it was.
"I'm not arguing with you Fay," he said calmly, predicting her resistance and bending to catch her around the legs with one arm as the other held her around the waist. He carried her towards the door, at which point she began to struggle and tried to turn around so that she could slip out of his arms. He jerked her back into a position which made it easier for him to carry her and headed down the stairs.
"Are you out of your mind Adam? I don't want to go anywhere with you!" she shouted.

He ignored her and exited the building, stopping when he reached his car on the street. He had the key in his hand ready, and before she knew what was happening he had thrown her onto the front seat. Immediately she went to push past him with the intention of getting out of the car but he pushed her backwards and climbed in the passenger door, shutting and locking it behind him and climbing over her to the driver's seat. She made to unlock the door again but he held the automatic lock down and started up the car.

"Let me out!" she screamed at him as the car headed away from her apartment block. He continued to ignore her, which incensed her further. "This is kidnapping you know, I could have you charged for this," she pointed out. Silence. "I'm not staying with you Adam, you can't make me," she said with determination. Still no reply. She tried desperately to think of a way to get him to react as his silence fuelled her anger further. "You think I want you to do this don't you? Well you're wrong. I don't want you. I never have. You forced your way into my life and now you're just angry because I don't need you anymore."
"Oh yes you do," he said suddenly, breaking the silence.
"You're kidding yourself Adam, I don't even know you! For all I know you could have been the person behind all of this."
"Stop acting like a bloody fool Fay, you're an intelligent woman and I wasn't born yesterday either."
She tutted. "You act as if you know everything about me but you don't know me anymore than I know you."
"I know enough," he stated, determined not to be pulled into another argument.
"Enough for what Adam? What exactly do you imagine is going to happen between us?" she said, goading him.
"I'm not getting into this with you now Fay," he said as he pulled into his driveway, stopped the car and turned to her. "I know you may find this hard to believe but right now I'm actually just concerned for your safety."

He unlocked the door and got out of the car, at which point she also got out but bolted away from him down the road. He swore loudly and ran after her, catching her around the waist and carrying her back to the house. He slammed and locked the front door, and despite his earlier resolution not to get angry again, he could feel the tension rising in him.
"Don't be so damn childish," he barked at her. She went for the door again but he blocked her way.
"Listen to me," she said slowly and mockingly, " I...am...not...staying...here!"
"Yes...you...are," he came back.

She growled at him and reached for the door handle but he took both of her wrists in his hand and picked her up bodily, carrying her into his bedroom. She began to panic then, slipping out of his reach and running for the door when he put her down. He lunged after her and caught her around the waist, dragging her back to the bed before she had time to get to the door. She screamed loudly, both with fear and anger when she felt his weight on top of her.
"Calm down!" he shouted. "For god sake you're making me feel like a bloody rapist!"
He wrapped his arms around her to stop the wild movements of her arms and legs as she struggled against him. Then suddenly she went limp, realising that it was impossible for her to get away. She felt tears in her eyes and moved her head sideways in torment.

Don't start crying now! That's what he wanted, to see her all weak and helpless, but she was not! She wouldn't let him take over like that!

He shifted then and grabbed a corner of the duvet, pulling it from underneath their bodies and flinging it on top of them.
"Why won't you let me go?" she asked weakly as her tears overflowed and fell onto his neck.
He looked down at her distraught face and for a moment his eyes seemed to glisten a little more than usual.
"I can't," he said simply, and then he turned her around so that her back was to him and his arms were wrapped firmly around her middle. "Now go to sleep."
"How am I supposed to..."
"Shhh," he cut her off.

She lay in the semi darkness of the room, with his body next to hers, and wondered how on earth she would ever get to sleep like that. As time passed however, the emotional turmoil of the last hour hit her and her eyes were just closing when he broke the silence again and spoke in a whisper.
"I can see, in my head, a time in the future when all of this is sorted out and we are both so happy... but sometimes I can also see that slipping away from us and it terrifies me Fay. Please don't give up on us sweetheart," he begged.
"I'm frightened," she admitted, as her body began to shake. "And I'm so confused and uncertain about everything."
He tightened his arms around her and nestled his face into the back of her neck. "Then I'll be certain for us both."