It would have been easier to take too, if when Ben was home he tried to at least pretend it was where he wanted to be. But as the temporary overtime s...retched into weeks and then months he grew more distant, more anxious, obsessed with the job even when he was supposed to be taking a break.Damn him, at least he could pretend to feel bad about spending so much time away from her. A lot of other guys still thought she was hot looking even if Ben didn't. The party tonight had been proof of that.. Jane’s house after all was the perfect place to look for some of that intimacy they once had, which seemed to fade away with the passing of time. A small, beautiful chalet in a solitary valley, lost in the woods of the low Carpathians Mountains. The nearest main road was a few kilometres away, the closest city was on the other side of the mountain. Sitting on the porch swing on the back you could only hear the noise of the waves breaking on the foreshore, bird singing and the natural buzz of. "I hung up and felt relieved only for a brief moment before frustration with my situation overwhelmed me again.My phone beeped beside me as a text popped in. Now what?It was a message from an unknown number. I started to feel sick for real as my face became hot and red. I opened up the message.---How are you feeling this morning?---Did I accidentally delete one of my friend's contacts? Or was this someone that knows what happened to me last night? I typed back.---Who is this?--- I stared at the. Maybe we can pretend I'm your girlfriend. Wouldja like that?" Uh... like... I guess so?" I still couldn't imagine what was about to happen but I was looking at her speculatively. Just what did she have in mind?"C'mon then. I got a secret place over by the creek. I go there most days and... like... I pretend I'm with Billy."The fat, little girl got up from the log and took my hand in hers. We were beside a hayfield and she led me through it, our passage leaving a trail in the knee-high grass..