Love’n’Lust

“Did you call her yet?” Ben asked Belle as she left the room to join him in the living room. He wanted to know if she had called Brie because she kept on repeating that she needed to call her sister to notify her of her safety.

“Yes, I have to go see her, she sounded really worried,” Belle said to him, intending to really leave at that particular moment.

“Now?”

“Yes.”

“No,” Ben said with finality in his voice.

“No?”

“You need to get some more rest, that’s after we get back. I’m taking you out so we can have breakfast, after that you get some good rest.”

“But…”

“Your sister can see you later, we will have breakfast and you get some rest like I said. I already asked my doctor to come see that you are alright.”

“She’s sounded so worried,” Belle insisted.”I wanna go see her, I can have breakfast at her place.” She said lastly before it turned quiet between them both.

“Come, I’ll take you there.” He accepted her decision, picking up his suit jacket and holding the door for her to go through after he opened it.

****

Nathan was at Brie’s apartment. Mrs Johnson had mentioned that Belle had been found and was okay so he decided to see for himself. He checked her files and got the address she submitted while applying for the internship.

“So you haven’t seen her yet?” He asked Brie after she explained over again that she only got a phone call from Belle and hadn’t yet seen her.

“Yes,” Brie sighed.

“What… what did she say? Will she come here? Did you let the police know that she called? Do they need to find her?”

“She said she’s fine and doesn’t need finding. I’m sorry, who did you say you were again?” Brie had to ask seeing the way he sounded concerned about Belle.

“Nathan. My name’s Nathan, I also work at the Crisp-tv media house.”

“Oh, so that’s how you know her, huh?”

“Yes. Please have my number, if she gets here, place a call to me m so I see her?”All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

“Uhm, I don’t know you.”

“I know, I know but just have my number, please, I’m just worried about her too,” He convinced Brie

“Okay, I’ll get my pho…”

“I already wrote it down here,’ He stopped her from going inside, afraid that she would close the door and not come back out because he could tell that she was wary of him.

“Okay,” she took the paper from him.

“Please call me,” He added a reminder.

“Yeah,” Brie said before closing the door.

Nathan walked down the stairs like he came up, got into his car, and started the car to drive off. It was at that same time that Ben’s car was arriving. Belle wasn’t looking out the window for anything in particular but her eyes caught Nathan in his car as he drove off. Ben stopped the car at the spot Nathan just drove out from. Belle looked over and Ben when he opened the car door for him, he seemed not to have also seen Nathan; Thankfully.

She started up the stairs and when she was midway gone, she turned back, a little shocked.

“Are you coming with me?” She asked Ben after she heard him behind her. He nodded.

“Wow,” She found herself chuckling. She knew he didn’t like the place; she had noticed the way he usually squint his eyes whenever they came to her like he didn’t want her living in such a place.

He didn’t think they would ever have to come back there after he got her a new house but here they were, she had to come show her sister that she was okay.

Belle knocked on the apartment’s door after ringing the bell beside it, maybe it was spoilt and hadn’t been fixed. After knocking for a while, the door finally opened with Brie came out, she looked angry.

“What do you want?! I told you she’s not here already, didn’t I?!” She yelled in irritation but suddenly realized it wasn’t Nathan, it was Belle.

“Belle?” Her angered look turned into one of bewilderment. She became dumbfounded, scrutinizing Belle from her head to her shoes to be sure it was her.

“Belle, you’re okay,” She finally said something else before hugging her sister. “You ARE okay, thank goodness. I was so worried ever since you disappeared, I couldn’t do anything but fear for you and your well-being,” She continued, still hugging Belle tight.

“I don’t even know what I would tell our Nana if anything had happened to you.” Brie sniffed, trying not to cry as she had already done a lot of crying all through Belle’s disappearance.

With her head on Belle’s shoulder, she saw Ben. She hadn’t noticed him standing there all this while.

“You!” She separated herself from the hug. “You…” She said again angrily, she didn’t know what to say to him but she knew she was angry with his presence.

“Brie,” Belle called her to get her to stop glaring her teary eyes at Ben.

“It’s his fault,” Brie snapped.

“Brie,” Belle tried again but to no avail.

“He’s the one who convinced you to accept a house from him and then boom! You get kidnapped, right outside the house he got you!”

“Brie, you are gonna make the neighbors come out of their apartments.”

“And then he called your phone like he didn’t know you’ve been kidnapped.” Brie didn’t want to listen to Brie, she had been holding in quite a lot on her mind but now she wanted to pour it all out on Ben.

“Brie, can we go inside first? We could talk about this inside,” Belle told her sister, giving Ben an apologetic look.

“Look at you standing there with your hands in your pockets, like I’m spitting rubbish but you know I’m right. You have a hand in this!”

“Brie!” Belle couldn’t take it anymore.