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"You will say it when you are ready, Josephine. I love you, vackra. "
***
The days passed by in a blur for us as we wrapped ourselves in a bubble of contentment and solitude. The rainy season had rolled into Canggu, so we were either confined to the villa or forced to go out in the torrential downpour, which neither of us had any desire to do. We spent the time blissfully alone, making love and talking late into the night. Stefan told me what little he could recall from his human life in Sweden and enthralled me with tales from his long vampire life as he traveled from country to country.
I let myself begin to open up to Stefan and shared my own stories with him. I told him about my ongoing search to find my birth parents, my substantial trust fund and even shared my numerous insecurities with him. We both began to relax and enjoy the unconventional relationship we were starting to carve out for ourselves. Our days and nights were Lukas, Georgia and Anna-free for the moment and when we weren't in bed, we were sprawled on the couch, content in just being together. It was just us. No alarm clocks, no nosy friends and to quote Stefan, no "vampire bullshit. "
To describe it in a few words, it was heaven.
On the morning of the fifth day, I was greeted with warm sunshine streaming in through the window. I groggily glanced at the bedside clock. 11:25am. Lazily, I stretched and rolled over to Stefan's side of the bed and was surprised to find it empty.
"Stefan?" I sat up in bed and waited for him to answer or for him to come into the room. I tilted my head to the side, listening and trying to ignore the pounding of my heart.
Something wasn't right, I could feel it in my bones.
The house was eerily silent. I glanced at Stefan's pillow, expecting to see his standard note. The pillow was empty, still slightly indented from the weight of his head. My breathing increased as I swallowed back the fear that began twisting my stomach in knots. I gave myself a mental pep talk, telling myself that there had to be a note somewhere. I just needed to find it.
Rolling out of bed, I grabbed my robe that Stefan had tossed on the chaise lounge the previous night. I paused when I noticed that Stefan's duffel bag was missing from the chair. My heart dropped as I tied the belt around my waist tightly and made my way into the kitchen.
My eyes scanned the counter top for a note. Again, I came up empty. I picked up my cell phone and checked for a message. I swallowed back the lump in my throat when I realized I had no missed calls or messages.
Wanting to keep myself occupied, I went back to the kitchen and busied myself with making coffee. I tapped my nails impatiently on the counter while I waited for the coffee to brew. I methodically reached for my coffee mug, scooping sugar into it and then poured the steaming coffee in the mug.
Taking a tiny sip, I padded quietly back into the living room to sit back down on the couch and tucked my legs underneath me. I absently reached to move a pillow and noticed one of Stefan's t-shirts peeking out from behind it. Clutching the material in my hands, I fought the urge to hug against my chest.
I was unsuccessfully trying to convince myself that I was overreacting. I knew I needed to take it down a notch before I let paranoia completely take over my already panicked mind.
Three cups of coffee later and the clock nearing four o'clock, there was still no sign of Stefan. I picked up my phone again, this time dialing his cell number. My hands began to tremble when it switched to voice mail after a single ring.
/> "You have reached Stefan Lifsten. Leave a message after the tone. "
"Stefan, it's Josie. I'm wondering where you are. Call me back. " I quickly pressed 'end' on the phone. My voice sounded much calmer than I felt inside. I couldn't lose the nagging feeling that something was wrong. This wasn't like Stefan. He was like an open book, sharing anything and everything with me. His silence and disappearing act were out of character for him.
My hands ran through my hair and tried to focus on seeing anything in the future, knowing it was futile at best. I couldn't see vampires. I barked out a bitter laugh at the irony of the situation. The one time I wanted to see a vision, I could see nothing at all.
I was ready to toss the phone on the couch beside of me when it rang, causing my heart to jump in anticipation. My mind flickered and I didn't need to look at the phone to know who was calling me. It was Georgia.
Holding the phone in my hand, I considered ignoring her. If I didn't answer, she'd just keep calling. Gritting my teeth, I answered the phone.
"Hello?" I mumbled flatly. I wasn't in the mood for small talk or to hear a lecture from her on how to handle men.
"Well hello, sunshine. Who pissed in your Wheaties?" Georgia asked, her voice sounding concerned.
"No one did, Georgia. I'm just in a crappy mood. Am I allowed to be in a crappy mood?"
There was silence on the line for a moment. "Hunky's not around, huh? Want some company?"
"Yes, I mean no. Georgia, I don't know what I want right now," I whined, cringing at hearing Stefan referred to as 'Hunky' or even being mentioned. I hated that I was whining about anything, let alone over a man.
"I'm coming over. " Georgia hung up before I could respond. My eyes closed and I felt tears fill my eyes. Preparing myself for her arrival, I inhaled a shaky breath. I didn't want to cry in front of Georgia. I refused to let myself to break down in front of her.
A few minutes later I heard the door open and my mind was immediately flooded with Georgia's emotions. She was hesitant, angry and worried. I quickly slammed my shield down so I didn't have to deal with her emotions on top of my own.
Glancing down at my hands, I noticed I was still clutching Stefan's t-shirt. I quickly shoved it behind the pillow beside of me and hoped that her observant eyes hadn't zeroed in on it.
"Hun, what's going on?" Georgia walked over to sit down on the couch next to me, putting her hand on my knee. I raised my head to look at Georgia with tired eyes, not trusting myself to speak.
I wasn't sure I could do this right now.
