Blood Diaries Ch. 01

PART ONE- Winter Evenings

I logged on and didn’t see him right away so I checked my e-mail and there was a message from him that read:

My Love~

I may be a bit late today, I had something to do. But never fear, you will hear from me some time tonight.

Love Always,

Dean

We had met over the internet, he had proposed over the internet and we kept communication over the internet. It wasn’t unusual for him to leave on short notice; he always had work to do ever since he had graduated college.

It was getting late and I hadn’t eaten all day so I put up my away message and went to get some dinner. It was almost the middle of winter and it had gotten dark at about 4 o’clock. The snow had just stopped about an hour ago and all the college freshmen were out throwing snowballs in the dark. I hid behind a “barricade” and made several snowballs and chucked them at the unsuspecting people and ducked back down unnoticed.

“I saw that… you will have to be punished for such deeds!” The voice sounded menacing and I slowly turned my head around. All of a sudden, my good friend, Thomas, smashed a snowball on the top of my head.

“Very funny! Now I’m cold!” I pouted.

“Awwwww. I’m sorry! How can I make it up to you?” he said, offering me his hand.

I got a devilish thought and grabbed his hand, pulling him face first into the snow bank. “We are even!” I said as I got up and dusted myself off.

I continued walking to this little diner that was always really popular in the wintertime. You could get fresh hot roast beef sandwiches or cream of broccoli soup at any time of the night. I was greeted familiarly by the woman at the cash register and she immediately cleared my favorite seat at the long bar and handed me a menu. I ordered the “Soup-of-the-Day with Grilled Cheese”, my favorite late night snack. She served me quickly and I sat there gazing out of the window. All of the shops that lined the street were decorated for the holidays.

It was my first holiday away from home and surprisingly I really loved it. I went to so many parties with all of my roommates and never felt alone. Since I was the Culinary Arts major, I was assigned to cook Thanksgiving dinner for all of them. I used the kitchen in my classroom after school and made everything the day before and reheated it when it came time to eat. Turkey, stuffing, cranberries and fresh pumpkin pie were on the menu for us. We had leftovers for 3 days!

I had made friends easily in Rhode Island. I was always the life of the party, which was unusual because I never used to go out to clubs and parties before I was on my own. But every day I would come online and type away to my fiancée.

I finished my sandwich and tipped the waitress well and wished her a good evening. I went to use the bathroom in the back of the diner and I stood there staring in the mirror as I washed my hands. I had long brown hair that curled in large ringlets. I had a very petit figure; small waist, round face and only a little over five feet tall. Many had told me that I look like a little faerie and my fiancée had even called me “Morgaine of the Faeries” on several occasions.

I walked back to my dorm and took the elevator up to my room. I looked at my computer and had gotten no messages. I felt a little dishearten but remembered his hectic schedule and felt I had no reason to complain. I went and got undressed, hanging my coat on the rack and putting my wet boots on the rug. I was about to slip into my pajamas when the phone rang.

“Hello,” I said

“Hello my darling,” said the voice on the other end. I immediately recognized it as Dean’s voice.

“How are you? But more importantly, where are you?” I asked

“Well I had something I had to take care of and I couldn’t put it off any longer,” he told me.

I heard a knock at the door, “Hold on a second, there’s someone at the door. It better not be Thomas with a snowball!” the last of which I said loud enough so that the person on the other side of the door would be able to hear me.

I opened the door and a man was standing there with his shoulder resting in the doorway: a tall man in a very nice suit. I stared into his eyes and then it hit me. It was Dean and he was holding his cell phone in his other hand. A flood of emotions came over me as I hung up the phone and wrapped my arms around him.

“Oh my goodness! How did you get here?” I asked

“Well I took a flight out of-”

“You flew here?!” I said as I cut him off, “Flying is very expensive! And you don’t have the money to be spending on trips to see me!” I snipped.

“Well ‘technically’ it’s a business trip. I told my boss that we should look for investors in the Northeast and I volunteered to go scouting. I had already done much research and I have gotten all the possible investors to come to a 30-minute meeting at the end of the week. The trip is free, the hotel is free, and the meals are free… I have it made! I even have a free rental car and I can even wreck it if I want to because it’s insured!!”

“Oh,” I said sheepishly, “I’m sorry to have snapped at you then. And let’s not go wrecking any rental cars hunnie!”

“Apology accepted! Now lets go out for dinner or something.”

“Dinner sounds fine. Even though I just ate, just being in your company would be lovely,” I said.

“Now we are going to a fancy restaurant, not that cheesy little diner I saw you go into so you have to get dressed up real nicely. The company is going to be expecting large tabs at good restaurants because I’m supposed to be persuading clients,” he explained.

“This is all very sudden,” I said as I took a seat on my roommate’s bed.

“Come on my love, the night is young!”

I agreed and we picked out my clothes. It took him a half hour to decide which dress he liked better after we narrowed it down to three choices. Then as I got dressed, he picked out my accessories, none of which matched so I switched them when it was his turn to get changed. I brushed out my hair quickly and put it up in one of the really popular styles, my curls hanging down along my face. I went to go put on some make-up, which was an oddity for me, but I wanted to look my best for him. As I started to take it all out and stand in front of the mirror, he stopped me and turned my face towards his.

“You don’t need make-up, you are beautiful as you are,” he whispered to me.

“Thank you, that means a whole lot to me,” I embraced him warmly and put on my jewelry.

As I went to put on my ring he stopped me once more and pulled out a fuzzy little ring box and handed it to me. It was my engagement ring that he had promised me. I wept upon sight of it and he placed it on my finger and kissed my cheek gently. I put my brush in my handbag and tossed in a box of Altoids and my lip-gloss.

“Let us be off m’lady,” he said in an English accent.

He escorted me to the elevator. We looked so sweet together. He had on a pair of black pants and a sport coat with a red shirt and darker red tie and I had on a lovely blue dress that swayed when I moved. As the elevator doors opened, he bowed down and held the door for me and I went in first. He treated me like such a lady. When the elevator stopped at the first floor he escorted me to his car and then, being a gentleman, opened and closed the door for me. This wonderful treatment continued the whole evening.

We went to a classy French restaurant. (…HA! the French! What do they know about cuisine and tastes?! They put hollandaise sauce and caviar on everything *makes gaggy noises*…) The waiter seated us and gave us our menus.

“I’ll take a cup of hot tea and a Caesar salad,” I said

“And I will have the filet mignon and roasted potatoes and a bottle of white wine for later on tonight,” Dean said with a wink.

The waiter scurried off and left us alone. He began playing footsie with me and I blushed a brilliant red. He stretched his hand across the small table and I held it tightly. I felt so shy! He leaned across the table and took my hand to his lips and kissed the back of my palm. I felt as if I would just die. He was so kind to me and always a perfect gentleman. When our food arrived we made idle chatter about school and his job and how we would spend this week together. I finished before him and tried to loosen up a bit. I excused myself to the bathroom and he got up and pulled away my chair for me. I went into the women’s room and locked the door.

“Relax Dana! This is the love of your life here in front of you, the man you want to spend the rest of your life with! Why must you be so shy around other people?!” I censured myself out loud

I splashed a little water on my face and used a paper towel to pat it dry. I unlocked the door and resumed my seat at the table. Dean was just finishing his dinner and he paid the bill using his company’s card.

“Are you ready to go? It’s only eleven… there is still plenty to do and a nice bottle of wine to share later,” he said.

“I guess so. What else are we going to do?” I asked.

“Well, the hotel I’m staying at has a nice pool and spa so we could go for a dip and then retire a bit later,” he suggested.

“That sounds really good except for the half-naked in a swim suit part,” I jested

“Oh come on now, we have to stop and get some things for you like your pajamas and suit and toothbrush, so it will be twelve before we get to the hotel. Please! It will be fun!” he pleaded and gave me the sad puppy-dog look.

“Maybe, let’s just drive around for a while and figure it all out. I’m getting really tired though. I’m sorry I’m not the life of the party,” I said, a little downhearted.

“Awww, don’t say that. If you are tired we can go get your things and just camp out either at your place or the hotel, but I feel the hotel is a bit nicer, with free room service!” he said, completely understanding.

“Thanks,” I said.

He pulled out my chair and I got up and he wrapped his arm around my waist and we walked out. He drove to my dorm and we got out and I ran straight to the room. I wanted to get comfortable so I quickly changed into a pair of khakis and my favorite blue shirt. I tossed Dean his clothes and told him to change back into his normal clothing because it was making me feel ‘uncomfy’. He just chuckled and started stripping in front of me. I turned my head away, blushing. He laughed even harder and grabbed me from behind and pulled me on the bed. I squealed and ‘fought’ against him, but he was extremely strong and held me firmly in place.

“Let’s get to the hotel, darling,” he said

“Yes, let’s!” I said getting up as he released me from his grip.

He grabbed my bag and stuffed some more of my ‘fancy’ clothes in there: the dresses he debated tonight, a pair of pumps and a few accessories. He zipped it up and we walked out of the dorm room and I locked the door. He held my hand as we went to the car again and he started it up and turned on the heat. It felt really nice against my skin.

I reclined the car seat and said, “I’m just going to rest my eyes for a minute.”

“That’s fine, we will be at the hotel in a little bit.”

He covered me with his coat and kissed me on the neck and this incredible warmth flooded over me. It was very unusual but I was too tired to care about it too much. He woke me up when we pulled into the parking lot.

“I could carry you but it might seem a little odd to the hotel manager when he sees me carrying what looks to be a dead body to my room… and her luggage,” he chuckled

I drowsily walked with him to the room and flopped down on the bed. He let down my hair and ran his fingers through it, tousling it all over the pillow. He laid me down and took off my shoes and socks. He rummaged through my bag and pulled out my pajamas and dressed me in those, of course in perfect Dean style, they weren’t even a matching set! I just laughed and turned towards him as he stripped to his boxers and climbed into bed. He held me close and kissed my forehead, I was like his little china doll to him. He began kissing me all over and I began feeling warmer and warmer. I took off the sleep bottoms to try to cool down.

“Hunnie, do I have a fever? I feel very warm all of a sudden,” I asked

He had stopped kissing me for a moment and felt my forehead and shook his head ‘no’.

“Maybe you just need some sleep. Good night my love… pleasant dreams,” he said as if he knew he would keep the bad dreams away.

I fell into a deep and satisfying sleep as he held me close. When I awoke the next morning the sun was streaming in though the windows and it felt nice. It had snowed a bit more that evening and the frost on the windows made the room full of a soft glow. Dean was gone but he had left a note on the side table, which read:

My lovely~

My boss called this morning on my cell phone and I had to meet with some clients. I have something important to tell you over dinner tonight, which will probably be the earliest I will see you today. I love you and Be Good!

Love,

Dean

P.S. You have a massage scheduled for 1:30

Well this was a business trip so it was to be expected. I decided to close the curtains tightly and sleep in so I might be able to spend the evening with Dean instead of sleeping. I managed to stay sleeping until twelve. When I had risen the second time, I ordered tea and a bagel for breakfast and sat by the terrace, soaking up the sun.

The masseur came promptly at half past one. I felt really embarrassed because I had never had this done before. He set up his bench and I came out of the bathroom wearing only my robe, which was customary, he told me. I lay down and he began working sweet smelling oil into my back. I felt as if I was in heaven. When he was finished, he covered me back up and I got off of the table and gave him a nice tip. When he finally left the room I turned on the TV. and flopped down onto the bed, which still smelled of Dean’s cologne. I watched infomercials and then a movie on HBO.

I was stranded in this hotel, in a part of Providence I didn’t normally frequent. I really wanted one of those grilled cheese sandwiches from my favorite diner right about now, or to hang out by the dorm with the other freshmen and throw snowballs. I decided that I couldn’t stay in this room all day so I got dressed and put on my heavy winter coat.

I went to the man at the front desk and told him “If Dean wonders where I am, tell him I went for a walk.”

“Ma’am, I am under strict instructions not to let you go out on your own. May I send a bellhop with you, or send for one of your friends? A taxi will be provided at no expense to your guest,” said the man, politely

“This is very odd but if I can’t leave alone I wish that you call Thomas Shelton at the West dormitory and let me talk to him.”

The man dialed up the phone and asked for Thomas and then handed me the telephone.

“Hey Thomas, are you doing anything today?”

“No, not really,” he answered

“Well something weird is going on and I was wondering if you could help me out. If you say yes I will send a cab for you,” I explained

“Ummm, sure. Michelle just left to go to her parent’s house so I’m free for the day,”

“Yay, the cab will be over shortly. See you soon,” I said

“Okay, see you.”

I handed the man the phone and he called the cab company and gave them strict instructions to only pick up one person, Thomas Shelton, and to bring him straight here.

“Do I have to stay in this neighborhood, because I was looking forward to something from this diner I like going to?” I asked him

“You can go anywhere you please, as long as you do not leave alone,” he explained to me again. “Would you like to see the note he gave me?”

“Yes, please,” I said

He handed me this note written on hotel paper in Dean’s handwriting that said:

‘The woman in my room is my fiancée. It is very important she is kept safe. She is not to leave this hotel unescorted. You may offer her a bellhop to go with her, appropriately dressed or she may call one of her friends. She is to be provided with a taxi to be charged to my account if she wishes. These rules are to be followed strictly, do not let her talk you out of your obligations.

Sincerely,

H. Dean Hunter’

“He is completely treating me like I’m a child,” I said as I slammed the letter down on the counter and pouted. “I will be in my room. When Thomas arrives, please show him there. We will leave shortly afterwards so have the cab wait and we will be going back to the dormitory area and going to Hal’s Diner. Is that explicit enough, sir?” I said, thoroughly angered.

“I’m dreadfully sorry ma’am but I can get fired if I do not do as I’m told. I don’t need to know your exact location, even though it would be nice, in case Mr. Hunter does call to check on you. He obviously cares about you, he went through all this trouble, didn’t he?” he said

“I’m sorry I yelled at you sir. I will be in my room waiting,” I said, much calmer now

I walked down the hall to the elevator and pushed the small ‘up’ arrow and stood there until the door to opened. I went up to my room and slid my key card and unlocked the door. When I got in I locked it from the inside and turned on the TV. There was nothing to watch so I basically put it on for some noise in the room. I sat on the chair by the window and thought about all the weird things that were going on.

“Why would I need to be protected so highly? I have been in this city for a while now and nothing has happened to me yet. I fear nothing. I don’t need anyone to baby-sit me!” I said to myself, renewing my anger once again

I got a sheet of paper and wrote him a note:

Dean~

Your treatment of me makes me slightly angry! I don’t need anyone to ‘protect’ me. Since you desire to know where I am at all times… I will be taking a taxi, I don’t know what number it is yet but that is just one detail I will just have to leave out. I will be going with Thomas Shelton, he is a fairly tall man, about 6 foot tall, with brown hair, brown eyes and he always wears a black coat with red lining. We will be in the taxi together and will take Washington St. to 14th street and then to the dorm. We will then go into the dorm and go to his room, room number 170, where we will spend approx. 30 min in there talking. Then we will go to Hal’s and I will order “Soup-of-the-Day with Grilled Cheese” and tip the waitress well. After that we will take a walk around the dorm and probably go back to my room.

Sincerely,

Your prisoner,

Dana

Well the letter made me even angrier so I crumbled it up and threw it on the floor. I lay against the bed in a little ball, waiting for Thomas. When I heard a knock at the door I looked through the peephole and let him in. he had been escorted by, not one, but two bellboys!

“Hey Dana,” he said as I closed the door.

“Hey”

“Dude! That was like the weirdest thing ever! They cabby kept looking at me funny like I was a wanted man. And when I got to the hotel, the man at the front desk told me to take a seat and then he called for these guys to show me to your room! What is going on?!” he questioned, a little anxious

“Let’s just get out of here… I need to go for a walk or something. I need to explain some things to you,” I said.