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Short Story 8 – Eventide 8/1 – Dark Refuge

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‘Eventide’ was originally written as ‘Micro Chapters’ a psychological, erotic, personal story of emotional abuse at the ripe age of forty nine. It ended with me desperately struggling to hang onto my sanity and life. Due to threat of defamation I now write the story as a factual fiction Psychological Thrillers. Meet Me.

Gibson Hotel, Dublin, Ireland.
Gibson Hotel, Dublin, Ireland.

Hi how are you? Miss you?

She had thought of blocking him, but she did not have the resolve to go that far. She wanted him out of her life, but she buckled at the thought of never speaking to him again. She was feeling unsettled, his behavior from the first few months of idealization seemed to have waned. He had become unpredictable and unpleasant in his behavior. He rang her a couple of days before the break up asking her would she like to go for an early after work dinner. She thought that was a lovely idea and they planned for her to meet him at his office at around 6.30pm. She duly arrived to the office. He was not there and his PA, Lillian advised that he was gone on a client dinner.

“That can’t be possible, he rang me only a couple of hours ago and arranged to meet me here to go to dinner.” she was incredulous. She dialed his number but here was no answer. She sent him a text.

‘Waiting in your office.”

Then Lillian called him and he answered. She informed him that Aliki was waiting in the office for him.

Within seconds of Lillian hanging up from Chris, Aliki’s phone rang.

“Why are you in my office?” he demanded aggressively.

“You rang me earlier to meet here for dinner. What’s going on?”

“You must have misunderstood me. I can’t take you out to dinner. I am busy.”

“Chris, I re arranged my evening to go for dinner.”

“You are becoming very tiresome. I am not putting up with it. I am busy. Leave me alone. I will call you tomorrow.” He hung up.


Aliki felt herself losing her senses. She knew she had to get away. Her heart racing she starred at the first message in less than twenty-four hours of her telling him she needed a no contact break. She felt a sudden heart-wrenching pain. Her heart twisted tightened like it was being squeezed and wrung out to dry. Her mind fought to stay indifferent; she struggled with choked breathing. She starred and starred at the text – How are you? I miss you.- desperate to text him back. But she thought “ I can’t.” She threw the phone into her bag.

She had broached with him the fact that he had grown distant, his consideration for her had ebbed, he was dismissing her feelings, blaming her for everything. He shrugged his shoulders, his eyes flashed with anger,

“If that’s what you think then maybe you are right we should break up. That’s all in your imagination. I love you, but I can’t put up with your expectations anymore. You make everything very hard.”

And that was it, she got up from the table at the Sandymount Coffee House. She walked out. Chris followed her as she got into her car. He knocked on the window. She rolled it down. He smiled, his sheepish boyish smile that always endeared her.

“We can still be friends.”

“No Chris, it’s over. No contact. Take Care.”

She rolled up the window, maneuvered the car from the parked position and without a backward glance speed off. Her mind racing, her heart pounding, she was already being tortured by the thought of never seeing him again. But this was her intention and she was not going back, now matter what.


But now she was on the way to see him. For the last three days since the first message, he text her constantly asking her to meet him; telling her how mush he missed her. At first she did not respond but then her anguish took over and here she was doing exactly what she had sworn she would not. As she was driving to the Gibson Hotel, a favorite of theirs, where they had arranged to meet she wondered at her rational. Why would she want to see Chris again? He had treated her so carelessly as the relationship evolved. But then she realized there was no rational; she needed to feel his breath on hers. It was like an addiction, like the craving for a drag of a cigarette.

It was a deceptively sunny but cold January day. She wore a pair of skinny leather jeans, with a cropped jumper over a t-shirt and wrapped up in a  grey cashmere coat. The traffic was heavy, and she was running late. Chris hated her being late. So she decided to text him.

On the way. Sorry for delay, traffic awful.

I am here waiting for you. No rush.

Well, that was unusual, he used to lose the rag with her. She drove down the ramp of the hotel underground car park and was lucky she got a spot right outside the car park hotel entrance. Stepping into the glass lift, she was amused to see Chris’s jeep parked in the private loading bay. From the lift the bar was just to the right of the reception with views across dilapidated buildings and the canal. She loved the urban view from this hotel.

She saw him sitting just inside the door. The spot they sat at the last time they were there. She took a deep breath and reminded herself to stay calm. She was met with a warm smile, a hug and kiss. A smile she knew from their earlier months together but had not seen much of before she ended it.

“I missed you. You look beautiful,” he hugged her again tightly. She steadily took her seat beside him.

“I ordered a few minutes ago.”

She looked at him carefully, meeting his blue eyes. His concentration on her was intense. She felt his glare reaching deep into her soul. He took her hand leant forward and kissed her deeply. Her body shuddered, how she missed him, ‘oh that kiss.’

“I have a suite booked.” he whispered into her ear.


She woke from one of those after sex doses, with her heart racing. She blinked her eyes opened and saw nothing for a moment, then a figure – Chris had already risen and was talking on the phone. ‘Say nothing’, she thought. ‘Do not open my eyes. Just listen. And maybe this will just be a dream.’

He finished his conversation. She was rolled over on her side; he lay down with his face to her head. She felt his breath on her neck.

“I missed you so much. You are the best thing that ever happened to me. Don’t leave again. ”

She rolled over touched his face, their eyes connected.

“No baby, I won’t leave you again, but you have to keep your promise to treat me properly.”

“Yes we have broken through that barrier. Our relationship is now at a different level. If I did take you for granted, It won’t happen again. Promise.”

He jumped up from the bed.

“Good news, I got a great new client.”

She stayed still in the bed. His words “If I did take you for granted.” resonating in her head. ‘You did take me for granted you bastard ‘she thought. But his words “I love you, we have moved to a much deeper level than before,  I missed you, I need you, we are soul mates”  resonated even stronger, grabbed her heart, fed her agony for his desire. She was consumed by him, he had a  hold on her like no one every had before.

She was now in deeper than before, and the scene was set by Chris. She had now entered into a dark, treacherous, impregnable refuge.


This is part one of a two part Dark Refuge.

Eventide 7– Crazed Passion

Meet the Author