Someone Unexpected(4)

Brian was a distant thought as I looked forward to prom with my friends.



Jeremy agreed that it would be fun if we all went together so we did and  we all ended up having the best time at prom. It was really nice to be  with someone without having to constantly be on my toes, making sure  that I didn't say the wrong thing, or be accused of flirting with  someone. There was no sign of Brian that night and I was really relieved  because in the back of my mind I thought he might try to pull  something. It wasn't until about halfway through prom, when I felt sure  that he wasn't there, that I was able to relax and really have a good  time. Jeremy was such a nice guy and prom ended up being one of the most  fun nights that I had ever had.



Graduation came and went with no contact from Brian and I realized that I  was thinking about him less and less. I was relieved that he had  finally gotten the message and had stopped bothering me. Jeremy and I  started dating each other after prom and about two weeks after  graduation he dropped me off at home after a movie and I told him I  would talk to him the next day. He gave me a quick kiss before I went  inside. I said goodnight to my parents to let them know I was home  safely (they always wanted me to do that no matter what time it was),  and I washed my face, brushed my teeth and crawled into bed. I was so  happy that I had met such a nice guy and I drifted off to sleep on cloud  nine.



I woke up in the middle of the night to a hand covering my mouth as  Brian's bloodshot eyes stared daggers at me. He hovered over me and  pinned me to the bed. "Do you really think that you can go to prom and  parade around town with your new boyfriend and make me look like a fool?  I told you that we were meant to be together Laney and I'm not going to  let you go!" I could smell the alcohol on his breath as I tried to  wrench myself out of his grip. "I love you can't you see that?!"



I tried to push him off of me and was finally able to get my mouth free.  "What are you doing here?" I hissed at him. "Get out of here right  now!" I didn't want to raise my voice because I didn't want to wake my  parents. I just wanted him to leave.



"I'm not leaving until you say you'll take me back! I love you Laney, I don't know why you can't see that!"



I struggled beneath his weight and continued to try to push him off of  me. "Brian, I told you that we were over and that you need to move on!  Now get off of me and get out of here! Leave me alone, I don't love you  anymore!"



His eyes filled with pure evil and he snapped. He started slapping and  punching me worse than he ever had before and I could feel blood pouring  into my mouth. I screamed for my dad and I heard his feet thumping on  the floor as he came running. Brian quickly jumped off of me and escaped  through my window, which must have been the way that he got in. By the  time my dad reached me I was bloodied and crying and I could see the  shock on his face.



"Oh baby! What happened, who did this to you?!"



When he found out that it was Brian who attacked me he was beyond pissed  and immediately called the police and an ambulance and they were there  within minutes.



I stayed in the hospital for a couple of days with bruising and a broken  rib and when I was released a detective came to see me and told me that  they had arrested Brian. I was able to heal physically, but the  emotional scars ran deep and I wondered if I would ever be able to live  without fear.



The state of Florida has zero tolerance for domestic violence and Brian  got 16 years for breaking and entering our house and attacking me. At  his sentencing hearing, he looked at me and mouthed the words ‘see you  in 16 years' as an evil grin spread across his face. A chill ran down my  spine and I tried to shake it off telling myself that he couldn't get  to me because he was going to be locked up for a long time.



I started seeing a therapist shortly after the attack, at the insistence  of my parents, and by the time I left for college I was on the road to  mental recovery. She referred me to someone in my college town and I saw  them once a week. No one knew that I was in therapy and I wanted to  keep it that way, I didn't want to appear to be different from anyone  else.         

     



 



I went off to college, occasionally keeping in touch with Jeremy but  that eventually fizzled out. Chloe and I talked once a week and even  visited each other at our colleges and our friendship was stronger than  ever. Brian was the thorn in my side that would not go away. I knew he  was locked up but that did not stop him from torturing me.



It was some time near the end of my first semester freshman year that my  world changed, again. I had really tried to not think about Brian and I  immersed myself in the whole college thing. I studied hard, I went to  parties and I even had a steady boyfriend. I tried to stay as busy as  possible and eventually it was starting to work, and then I received the  letter.



It was from the Corlus County Correctional Facility and a chill ran  through me when I saw the return address. The letter was 22 pages long  and Brian went on and on about how he couldn't wait to see me when he  got out and that when he did get out, we would finally be together. The  first time I received the letter I was terrified. I talked to my  therapist about it and she really helped me reclaim my strength and  helped me to not let Brian have power over me. The next month when I got  the letter I was angry and I decided that I would really try to not let  him affect my life.



I received a letter like that every 6 months like clockwork for years.  Brian always found me wherever I went and I felt like I would never be  able to get away from him, but I vowed to just try to continue on with  my life. I did the best I could, but every now and then, when my world  was still, I thought I could feel him watching me.





Chapter Three  –  Meeting Him



We were really busy that day at the hotel so I was more than ready to go  home by the time my shift was over. As I was gathering my things, my  manager came over to me and asked me the question that would change my  life forever.



"Elena, I know you're scheduled to have Saturday night off, and this is  not in your job description, but we are short one person for the Blu  Annual Gala that night. Do you think you can fill in?"



The Blu Annual Gala was the be all and end all of social events in  Miami. The who's who of Miami, red carpet celebrity crowd and A-list  entertainers were always in attendance. I had heard that the Gala raised  at least a million dollars each year for after school programs for  at-risk youth.



A server? There had to have been a ton of other people she could have  asked before she asked me, I mean, I was a manager! I did not sign up  for this job to be a server, but I wanted to look like a team player so I  agreed to help out.



"Sure Ms. Parker, I can fill in. What time should I be here?"



"Oh, thank you Elena, I need everyone to be here by 5:30 so that we can  go over who is going to cover which tables. Mr. Blu will be here and we  want to make sure that everything is flawless for him because, as we  know, he can be a real stickler for perfection. Stop by the office and  Stephanie will have your uniform for the evening."



"Uniform? It's not the same one I wear every day?"



"No dear, the galas are very special occasions and we have nicer  uniforms for everyone to wear. Mr. Blu likes pretty things so the  uniforms are bit more … dressy shall we say? You'll see when you pick  yours up."



Sebastian Blu along with his brothers, Spencer and Shane were heirs to  the Blu Sierra Hotel chain fortune. At 32, 30 and 27 years old  respectively, they were three of the youngest billionaires in the world.  You know how there's that saying "their reputation precedes them"?  Well, in this case, their reputation really did precede them because  everyone knew who the Blu brothers were. They were rich, tall, gorgeous,  and loved beautiful women. "Playboy" was the word that many people used  to describe each one of them. Whenever they were mentioned in a story  in the media they were always linked to the latest, hottest, most  gorgeous model. They all definitely seemed to have a type and it was the  same exact type, or at least it appeared that way.



I had never seen them in person but gossip columnists always described  them as "Greek gods" or "breathtakingly gorgeous" or something silly  like that. I could only imagine how inflated their egos must be because  of who they were, how rich they were, and the incredible life they were  able to lead. Men like that were the ones to stay away from because they  loved women too much. I'm sure their eyes wandered to the next pretty  thing on a daily basis. It didn't really matter to me, I just wanted to  make a good impression on Mr. Blu if I saw him at the gala and hopefully  that would help me get that promotion.