by S. G. Sonysa
“You are so small. You should have asked someone else instead of trying to reach them yourself. Did that stool even help you reach the books?” He offered me his hand.
I placed my hand on him, but when he tried to pull me up, I cried in pain.
He stopped pulling me and knelt back down to look at my foot.
“Are you feeling pain in your foot?” he asked me, and I nodded.
Then his eyes landed on my elbows and hands that were bleeding. He cursed under his breath then picked me up bridal style. My heart started to beat faster at the closeness of our bodies, and my face felt hot. I was numb to my body’s reaction.
He put me on the study table.
“Don’t move. I’ll be back in a minute,” he said, making his way out of the study.
After a few minutes, he came back with the first aid kit and placed it on the table beside me. He opened the first aid kit and took out the alcohol wipes, and cleaned the scrapes, and cuts then put an ointment on them.
Then he took my foot and pressed the swollen area.
“Ouch.” I hissed in pain.
“It’s not broken. You might have twisted it when you fell down,” he said then pulled out a nude color sock.
“What’s that?”
He rolled his eyes at my question.
I was wearing a skirt, so he moved it up to my knee easily then pushed the sock on my swollen foot.
“This is a compression sock. Wear it for a day or two, and it will help reduce the pain,” he said, patting my knee.
I felt shivers where he touched my skin.
I smiled at him, and he stared at me with the same intensity. Everything froze around us, and we stared into each other’s eyes. My heartbeat accelerated. Our faces were getting closer.
Suddenly, his cell phone rang, and he pulled it out from his pocket.
“Yeah, I’m coming out in a second,” he said on the phone
My smile vanished when I realized he was leaving. I wanted to spend some time with him.
Chase didn’t leave right away. He remembered about the books. Without any support from the broken stool, he picked the books from the top of the shelf then placed them on my lap.
“You better not try something like this again. You might end up hurting yourself badly. Take a rest if you want to start walking on your foot again,” he said before leaving the study.
I was just staring at him in daze and confusion. He helped me, and in his own way told me to take care of myself.
It made me happy. The care he showed a few seconds ago messed up my heart, and I wanted to hear the same care in his voice again.
His smile was contagious. I wanted to see him smile more around me.
Chapter Six
Pain of Losing a Loved One
Hailey
It had been a week of living with the Edwards. Everyone in the house had been very nice and friendly with me except Kate. Kate was Chase’s twin sister. She always gave me death glares, which scared the hell out of me. She made snide remarks about my appearance and clothing. For me, she was like a second version of Emily.
Every morning I would wake up at eight so I could see Chase before he left for his classes. I hurriedly got ready and went downstairs to the kitchen to give my mother-in-law, Eva, a helping hand.
When I reached the kitchen, she was almost done preparing breakfast. I asked her if she wanted me to set the table and she nodded with a small smile.
I took the coffee tray from her hands and put them on the table.
It had become my routine to help Eva in the kitchen while she prepared breakfast for everyone.
I picked the coffee cups and placed them on everyone’s side of the table. Kate liked to drink orange juice during breakfast. Everyone took their seats at the dining table.
“Good morning,” I said with a small smile.
My father-in-law replied. “Good morning, dear.”
“Good morning,” Chase said, and I smiled then put the plate of toast and cheese omelet in front of him
Kate didn’t reply to me. Sighing, I picked the bowl of cereal and put some milk in it then started eating.
We all ate in silence. After breakfast, my father-in-law left for the office. Chase and Kate went to their rooms to get ready.
I was cleaning the table when they appeared, ready to leave.
Kate was wearing black jeans with a white crop top and knee-length black boots. Her straight brown hair was left open, and her face was flawless as always. There was a black bag dangling on her shoulder while she was busy talking to someone on the phone.
Then my eyes moved to Chase. He was wearing a dark blue fitted shirt with blue jeans. His face was perfect, clean, and handsome. His brown hair was a mess, making him look like he had just rolled out of bed. The sneakers he was wearing were black with some white logo on it, a simple black bag hung over his left shoulder.
My mother-in-law told me that Chase and Kate were both studying in NYU. Kate was studying fashion design while Chase was studying business and it happened to be his last year, more like there was three months left before his graduation.
They both said goodbye and left in a hurry as they were getting late for their classes.
After cleaning the kitchen, I went to the backyard, which was kind of a small decorated garden. It was the part of the house that I often went to. I loved reading in the peaceful and calm atmosphere it offered.
I took the empty chair in the corner and sat down on it. When I opened the book, I found myself lost in the story.
The book I was reading didn’t belong to me. It was Chase’s elder sister’s book. She didn’t live in this house with us because she was already twenty-eight years old, happily married, and had two beautiful kids.
It was evening when I finished reading, so I got up from the chair and made my way inside the house. My mother-in-law was watching TV, and when she saw me, she asked me to join her. I didn’t tell her that I was tired and wanted to rest instead I sat down beside her.
After one hour of watching her favorite show, she asked me to help her in the kitchen, and I did without complaining. She told me that Amy, her maid, was on leave because her cousin died and she will be back soon.
When dinner was ready, I excused myself and went to my room. I took a shower then blow-dried my hair. I took out my blue jeans and red full sleeved top from the closet and changed into it. Then I went downstairs and heard the doorbell. I opened the door and found Chase and Kate standing there.
I took a step back and opened the door wider, making room for them.
“Hi,” I said and tugged a strand of hair behind my ear.
Kate entered first, purposefully hitting my shoulder with her bag and making me stumble back, but Chase’s arm circled around my waist and stopped me from falling.
I stared into his beautiful grey eyes. They were simply magnificent.
“Sorry,” Chase said, removing his arm and helping me to gain my balance back.
“It’s okay,” I mumbled.
I shut the door then we made our way to the kitchen.
“Hi,” Chase said, planting a kiss on his mom’s cheek.
“Hi. Go freshen up and come downstairs before the food gets cold.”
He nodded and went to his room.
Chase came downstairs changed in a fresh set of clothes. He told his mom that his dad called and said he couldn’t join us tonight for dinner.
When I was done setting the table, all of us took our seats and started eating. We were almost done eating when Chase’s cell phone rang loudly.
He picked up his cellphone and said, “Hello, Dad.”
Suddenly, he was up from his chair and mumbled a hasty “okay” before ending the call.
“Mom we need to go to the hospital. Granddad needs us,” he said, looking scared and upset.
I started to worry about him, but I couldn’t do anything more than stare at them. In a few minutes, he and his mom left for the hospital, leaving Kate and me alone in the house. Kate
and I waited for them to come home, but they didn’t come back.
After hours of waiting, Kate was sleepy and went to her room while I stayed in the living room, waiting for them to come back. At some point, while waiting, I must have dozed off because when I woke up, it was midnight. I heard the noise of someone entering the house and sat up on the couch. I rubbed my eyes to see clearly and found Chase staring at me with a dazed look on his face.
“Why are you sleeping in the living room?” he asked me.
“I was waiting for you to come back.”
He looked taken aback at my response.
“I am going to my room. Mom and Dad need some time alone so they might come home late tonight. You should go to your room and sleep there,” he said, making his way upstairs.
I nodded my head, but I wanted to know what happened.
“How is your granddad?” I asked him.
“He is gone. He left me.” His voice sounded hollow.
I was shocked and looked up at him, but I found him standing on the stairs, making his way to his room. I wanted to go after him and comfort him. I wanted to tell him that everything would be alright, but I knew he needed some time alone.
After doing my night routine, I changed into my nightshirt and pajamas then went to my bed. I fell asleep thinking about Chase and what he must be feeling at the loss of his grandfather.
The dream started with me standing in the middle of a beautiful garden. It looked familiar, but I couldn’t remember where I had seen this place. Then my eyes caught a silhouette standing behind the tree, hiding someone from my view.
I took a step forward and looked closely to see my dead grandma standing there. I stepped faster towards her, but she started running away from me, making me follow her deep into the forest. I followed her into the deep woods, but some kind of force pushed me down on the sticky mud of the forest. Then I heard the ear-piercing scream of a woman, and my eyes snapped open.
I was breathing hard and looked around the room, taking in my surroundings. I was in my room, not in any woods, but my body was trembling with shock.
“It was just a dream, Hailey. Just a dream!” I repeated the same words in my head hundreds of times to calm myself.
I pulled off the quilt from my body and got up from the bed. My throat felt dry, so I looked for a water bottle and found it sitting empty on my bedside table. I groaned in frustration because now, I had to go downstairs to get some water.
Opening my bedroom door, I made my way out of the room but stopped dead in my tracks when I heard weird noises. I followed the noise, and they took me to Chase’s bedroom. I twisted the doorknob and entered his room to see him standing on the balcony dressed in shorts.
He didn’t notice me, and I stared at his bare muscled back in astonishment. I had never seen a barely dressed man before if you don’t count the time when I accidentally entered my cousin’s room, and he was lying on his bed only in shorts, but he was eight years old. I guess he was more embarrassed after the incident.
My eyes followed his strong biceps but the sight of him turning around and repeatedly throwing punches at the black bag hanging in the middle of his balcony disrupted my train of thought.
The expression on his face was murderous as he threw punch after punch. I noticed the rigidness and tightness of his muscles. My eyes moved from his arms to his hands and widened in horror.
Bloody hell! He was BLEEDING!
Without thinking twice, I rushed to his side and placed my hand on his biceps making him freeze under the touch of my extremely cold hands.
“Chase, please stop.” I pleaded him, staring into his angry eyes.
His body relaxed, allowing me to assess the injury of his hand. I felt sick to my stomach when my eyes caught a large slit in the middle of his palm, bleeding. My hands started to shake, but I pretended to be calm. His right hand was heavily bruised, bloody, and swollen.
I didn’t know where he got that slash from, but my question was answered when I saw a broken vase on the floor on the left side of his bed. I dragged him to the right side of his bed and forced him to sit. Then I went downstairs to search for the first aid kit, and when I found it in one of the cabinets, I ran back to his room.
I knelt down on the floor and took his hand in mine then cleaned it with some wet towels that I fetched from his washroom. Then I poured some alcohol on the cut. Chase hissed in pain. I felt the tears brimming in my own eyes but I held them back. I applied the ointment on his cuts and wrapped the bandage around them. My horrible past taught me how to patch up cuts.
I looked up at his face. His face was free from any sort of emotion except pain. My heart was crying for him, and I wanted to do something to make him forget all the pain. I hugged him, and he stiffened in my arms. I waited for him to feel some comfort, but his body was still rigid like a statue. I pulled away from him and got up to leave the room when he stopped me.
He hugged my waist, snuggling his face into my stomach and that was when I felt him shaking and crying. The tears I was holding back started to spill out. My hands went to his head, and I ran my fingers through his hair to calm him down.
I didn’t know how long I stayed still and let him cry while holding on to my waist. He was like a little kid who didn’t want to let go. After some time I found myself stepping away from him and pushing him on the bed.
When he was lying on the bed, I pulled the quilt on his body and sat beside him.
“Chase, go to sleep,” I mumbled, making him close his eyes.
“Don’t go.”
I sat beside him and pulled the quilt over my body. He placed his head on my lap and closed his eyes. My hand was shaking, but I took the risk and started running my fingers through his soft hair. He said nothing to stop me, silently crying on my lap.
Later, he fell asleep while I stayed awake. When I was sure, he was in a deep sleep I removed his head from my lap and placed it on the pillow then I slipped out from the bed.
I was not sure why I did that, but I placed a soft kiss on his forehead.
“The pain will go away with time. You just need to be strong. And I know you are really strong.” I mumbled.
Picking up the broken pieces of the vase, I dumped them in the trash can and cleaned the floor so he wouldn’t get hurt because of the broken vase when he woke up in the morning.
I didn’t see him as a wimp for crying in pain over his granddad’s death. I felt like he trusted me enough to show me his honest emotions, and it was his way of giving me a chance to be with him when he was in such a fragile state.
I knew very well how it felt when someone you loved left you.
I was glad that he allowed himself to break down in front of me because keeping all these emotions pent up in his heart would make him miserable, just like it did to me.
Chapter Seven
No, You’re Not Alone
Hailey
I woke up in the morning and remembered how Chase broke down in front of me last night. Getting inside the washroom, I hurriedly showered then changed into my black trousers and white top.
I went downstairs and saw my mother-in-law working in the kitchen.
“Good morning,” I said to her.
“Good morning, dear.”
I looked around and saw a bowl of cereal and glass of juice in the tray.
My mother-in-law saw me staring and asked, “Hailey, dear, do you want to eat cereal?”
“No, I was just looking,” I said.
“Oh, this breakfast is for Chase. He has a fever, and he can’t come down for breakfast, today.”
I instantly became worried. I wanted to go to his room, and check how he was, but then he might not want to see me after last night.
“I’m taking this tray to Chase’s room. Please turn off the stove for me,” she said, and I nodded.
If I went to see him with the breakfast, there would be fewer chances of him getting angry with me.
“Eva, I can’t find the file that I put on the bedside table yest
erday. Did you put it somewhere?” My father-in-law yelled from his room.
My mother-in-law rolled her eyes and handed me the tray.
“Hailey, please take this to Chase’s room and make sure he eats everything,” my mother-in-law said, walking to her room.
I stared at her retracting figure and the tray in my hand. After turning off the stove, I made my way upstairs to Chase’s room.
I knocked twice, but when he didn’t open the door, I twisted the knob and went inside to find him asleep on the bed.
Should I go back downstairs and tell her that he was asleep or wake him up?
I walked closer and placed the tray on the bedside table then put a hand on Chase’s shoulder to wake him up. When my hand came in contact with his skin, I realized he was burning.
I searched the medical box and found some Advil. I put them on the tray and shook Chase’s shoulder. He groaned and grabbed my hand.
“Chase, wake up,” I whispered.
He opened his eyes and looked at me.
“Hailey, what are you doing here?” he asked me, closing his eyes.
“I brought breakfast and medicine for you.”
He groaned and turned his back to me.
“Chase, you have fever. You need to take your medicine. Please, wake up,” I said, making him turn back to me.
He glared at me then sat up on the bed. The quilt that was covering his body fell around his waist, and that was when I remembered that he was shirtless.
Did I blush?
Yes, I did.
“Has anyone ever told you how annoying you are?” he said.
“Many people told me I’m annoying, awkward, and silly.”
He shook his head at me and rubbed his hands on his face in irritation then glared at me.
“You are stupid too,” he said with a roll of his eyes.
I didn’t know what I should say to him when he seemed so cranky.
“Umm, breakfast,” I said, picking up the tray and placing it on his lap.
He looked at his hands that were wrapped with a bandage, and I averted my eyes. I hoped he didn’t remember anything about last night.
