He cooked while she sat on the breakfast table watching. Her hair was still wet. He noticed that she had relaxed a bit. She seemed a bit lost in thought.
He served a bowl of pasta and his signature spicy tomato sauce.
"So, what's your name?" She asked after a while.
He was startled by her question.
"Jack. My name is Jack".
She resumed her eating.
"Why did you follow me?" He decided to ask.
She paused her eating.
"I didn't want to end my life. I thought it was the only way. You looked like you could protect me". She said, staring at her food all the while.
"Protect you from what?" He asked, curious.
She pushed her plate and got up from the table.
"The food was wonderful. Thank you".
"But you've barely eaten anything".
"I've lost my appetite. Believe me when I say that this is the most I've eaten in months".
She said and waited.
"Very well then, go ahead". He said disapprovingly.
"Good night, Jack". She said and left.
He left the dishes for Adeline, his house keeper to wash the next day.
As he passed her room, he decided to check on her. Her door was unlocked.
He poked his head inside. She was lying on the floor with a flash light in her hand. She looked at him. The lights from the city shone through the glass wall, allowing him to see her eyes.
"Is there something you need?" She asked in a muffled voice.
He went further into the room.
"Why are you sleeping on the floor?" He asked, obviously irritated by her behaviour.
She sighed before struggling into a sitting position.
"I don't want to get too comfortable". Was all she said.
"Why?" He asked, softening.
"I'll only sleep on the bed if you promise to stay here with me". She said.
"You still haven't told me why".
"Because you don't need to know. Things are already ugly enough in the world, I don't want to add to that tally".
He could not argue further with her. She was every bit the lawyer.
"You want me to stay?" He asked, not sure he heard right.
"I'd feel safer that way".
"You want me to lie down next to you?"
She thought for a moment.
"No. You can sleep on the couch over there". She said and pointed.
"Okay". He said dryly.
He lay down on the couch and stared at the ceiling. She got up and climbed the bed.
"Good night". She whispered.
He too fell asleep.
He heard her scream. She was gripping a pillow very tightly.
She kept screaming "Don't! I love you!"
Tears were streaming down her cheeks. She kept shaking her head and clutching her pillow.
"Was her fiancee trying to hurt her?".
He tapped her gently.
"Wake up, Cassandra".
Her eyes opened immediately and she rose up.
"I'm so sorry". She said, sliding her feet off the bed.
"There's nothing to be sorry about". He said.
She clearly was not listening.
She picked up her purse.
"It was just a dream, you can relax now".
She picked shoes from the closet and sat down to wear them.
"Are you going somewhere?"
She said nothing.
He flicked on the light and looked at the time. It was one in the morning. Both of them had to take seconds to adjust their eyes to the light.
"You can't leave at this time. Why don't you wait till morning and I'd drop you anywhere you need to go".
"I have to face my demons alone. I don't want to drag you into it".
"Look, whatever you're scared of, I have the money and resources to protect you from it".
"That's exactly why I don't want you involved". She said and walked out.
He went after her. He may not know exactly what she was running from, but he knew he could help somehow.
"Where are you going to go?" He asked, resolving to give her money.
"Somewhere far away". She said.
"Let me send you some money, or better still, you could use my jet".
"I don't use accounts anymore. My bank information is not private". She said.
"I have cash. It's not much but it can help you out. Wait right here, let me go get it". He said and left. He took out all the money in his drawers and put it in a duffle bag. It was twenty one thousand dollars.
When he came out, she wasn't there. His blood ran cold. The bag dropped from his hands.
He ran downstairs to the elevator. The elevator door had just closed. She had just left.
He pulled out his phone and called Ross. He couldn't just let her go.
Ross picked up immediately. "Get Crawler and Anderson. I want you to track Cassandra down".
"I'm on it".
Jack hung up.
He paced up and down the foyer, waiting for the elevator to swish open.
When it finally did, he rush in and pressed the button for the garage. He decided to use his Mercedez. He placed his hand on the window and it opened. He hopped in and revved the engine. He drove out of his private underground garage and hit the highway. He drove slowly, just in case she was walking. He drove for miles without seeing her.
Ross called.
"Have you been able to find her". He asked, desperation etched in his voice.
"No. She's not with a cellphone, we can't track her".
He was sure that he had stopped breathing for a second. She was gone.
Where was she going to? She said something about going somewhere far. Was she planning on using the airport? Or maybe she would cross the border by road. He could track her down either way.
He drove back home. He stayed in the car and dozed off. He woke up when his phone beeped.
"Stop looking for me. You're attracting too much attention". Was all the text said.
It was from her. She knew they were looking for her?
That meant she was somewhere closeby.
He decided to give up. She didn't want his help.
He got out of the car and went to his pent house to get some sleep.