TWENTY-FIVE

Nothing had been said for a while, Alexander had simply joined Yalda in bed, they had lay facing each other while saying absolutely nothing at all. Yalda hadn’t returned to sleep, and after what seemed to be hours of just lying there and staring at each other, she spoke;

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”. She asked him.

“Why aren’t you falling asleep?”. He in turn asked her.

She wasn’t sleepy, neither was she hungry or in the mood to do anything at all; she just wanted to lie here and continue to stare at him.

“I’m not sleepy”. She replied.

“I can see that”. He said as he rolled his eyes subtly. “What I don’t understand is why. What are you thinking about?”.

She stirred so she was lying on her back before heaving a sigh.

“Did anyone get hurt?”. She asked him, a thought that had been on her mind.

He shook his head.

“No. Your car though…”. He replied.

She nodded. She could deal with that, but how could she possibly deal with her conscience if she had hurt someone?

“Your stuffs are in your room”. He told her.

She nodded once more.

“Onlookers say you weren’t looking at the road when it happened”. He said. “They said you were distracted”.

She cleared her throat quietly before nodding. Of course, she had been distracted by her phone, she had been distracted by a dumb text which she still hadn’t even read.

“I know, that was stupid of me”. She said. “You don’t have to point it out”.

“I wasn’t going to”. He said simply.

A moment of silence stretched between them before he spoke again.

“Jaxon called”. He told her. “He said you weren’t picking up his calls and he was worried about you”.

Her eyes widened slightly and she turned to face him once more. And the fact that he was talking about Jaxon with such a straight face after they had had an intense argument over him mystified her.

“I told him you were in an accident. He insisted on coming over to see you but I told him there was no need since you would be discharged by morning”. He concluded.

She nodded consideringly. Wasn’t Jaxon suspicious about the fact that Alexander had so much information about her? Wasn’t he suspicious about the fact that he had been at the hospital with her? Was every boss that way with their secretary? Was Jaxon that way with his secretary?

“I should check my phone”. She said quietly.

A part of her felt guilty for some twisted reason; she had asked him to stay with her and he had, but here she was, intending to reach out to another man. She shoved the thought aside after reminding herself that he would do the same; he had no regard for her or her feelings, she knew this well enough.

He in turn nodded.

“Are you hungry yet?”. He asked while reaching for his own phone. “I’ll other breakfast now”.

She merely nodded as she pulled herself upright and climbed out of bed. Perhaps she should have been slightly ashamed that she was dressed only in his shirt while intending to return another man’s call, or perhaps she was simply a joke. She shook her head as she blew out a heavy breath; she was almost tired of herself and the petty disputes between them, and the fact that he seemed entirely unbothered about it made it seem even pettier.

“I’ll be in my room”. She said quietly.

His gaze was fixed on his screen as he tapped away completely unbothered. A faint smirk curved his lips as she spoke.

“I thought you didn’t want to be alone”. He asked simply.

She cleared her throat quiet as her gaze darted around. She thought of what to say, thought of an excuse to come up with, and when she found nothing, she settled for the truth. What did it matter to him anyway?

“I have some calls to return”. She replied.
He merely nodded.

“I’ll let you know when breakfast arrives”. He said.

“Alright. Thank you”. She said before turning around and heading out determinedly.

She wasn’t going to feel bad or ashamed for doing the exact same thing he always did to her. The walk to her room was quick because for some reason she was excited to return Jaxon’s call, soon enough, she was seated on her bed tapping on her phone to return Jaxon’s call; there had been at least ten missed calls from him.

Normally, she wasn’t inclined towards clingy men; she didn’t like men or guys that left her a lot of messages and called her frequently. But something about her situation with Jaxon made this case different, something about Jaxon made her want to make an exception. It was probably because she wanted to spite Alexander, or because she so desperately wanted to prove him wrong.

It wasn’t long before the mechanized ringing ceased and Jaxon’s smooth voice replaced the sound.

“Yalda”. He said her name as though he had been waiting for her call. “I have been worried sick about you”.

Why did she find that endearing? What was she even doing?

“Hi”. She replied almost awkwardly.

What else was she supposed to say to that?

“Hi?”. He asked almost in disbelief. “Are you alright?”.

She nodded though he couldn’t see her, a habit she wasn’t sure she could let go of.

“I am. There’s quite no need to be worried”. She replied.

“Have you been discharged yet? Where are you? I need to see you to believe that you’re truly alright”. He said. “I almost lost my bloody mind just waiting to hear from you”.

Where was she? Was she to tell him that she was at her boss’s place? That would be absurd, very absurd indeed. She chuckled awkwardly, almost uneasily.

“I’m really alright”. She told him. “I’ve been discharged. It was nothing serious; just a concussion”.

He scoffed.

“Don’t laugh, Yalda. And do you really think a concussion isn’t serious?”. He asked her. “Is it okay if I stop by to check on you later?”.

Her eyes widened slightly. Why was he insisting on seeing her?

“Um…..i don’t know”. She replied. “There’s quite no need for that”.

“Yalda, I insist”. He said.

She shook her head.

“I wouldn’t want to bother you”. She said.

“It’s no bother at all”. He replied almost immediately. “Yalda, I need to see you, I need to know you’re alright”.

Something about the way he spoke made her understand that he wouldn’t drop it, something about the way he spoke made her concede even before she could rethink things through.

“Alright”. She replied.

“Alright”. He repeated as though he wanted to confirm her response. “What time is convenient for you?”.

Her gaze flickered around uncertainly. It was still early in the day, she needed time to have breakfast, shower and head back to her apartment.

“1pm”. She replied efficiently.

By 1pm, she would be all set and ready to have a visitor.

“Alright, Ms. Harris, I’ll see you by 1pm”. He replied.

She nodded once more.

“Alright then”.

A short moment of silence stretched between them before he spoke again.

“It’s really good hearing from you”. He told her. “I’m surprised at how unsettled I’ve been since yesterday”.

She chuckled. How could she have forgotten how dramatic he was? He in turn chuckled.

“Funny yeah? Only I wasn’t joking”. He said.

Her smile wavered considerably at his lighthearted revelation which was rather deep. What was she to say to that?

“Oh well, looking forward to seeing you”. He said.

She nodded quickly. It was getting awkward; it was time to end the conversation.

“Thank you so much”. She said to him. “I truly appreciate your concern”.

He chuckled lightly.

“No need for thanks”. He replied. “I’m just glad you’re alright”.