Mason Jade

As Onyx was stirred awake from his slumber, he felt warm, utterly warm. He slowly opened his eyes and was taken aback to find Ophelia snuggled in his arms even after sleeping under two different duvets. Her head was pressed against his chest, and one of her arms draped across his torso, her fingers were tightly gripping his shirt. She was peacefully sleeping in his arms, as the warmth and comfort she radiated were almost unbearable to him, causing his breath to hitch. Holding her in this manner felt horribly wrong, but somewhere deep down inside it felt just right! It was still dark outside, and he was sound asleep, so he wondered what had woken him up. When someone knocked on his door, he knew the reason why he was woken up.

He carefully tried to untangle himself from Ophelia, but it looked like she was unwilling to let go of warmth as she clung herself to him. After a few tries, he finally untangled himself from her grasp and she voiced her disappointment with a loud groan. He chuckled and tucked her inside her duvet. And he went forward to open the door for the intruder who had woken him up at this hour. Onyx frowned as he opened the door to find one of his bodyguards standing there. He stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him.

"What is it?" Onyx inquired. He wasn't surprised that they had tracked him down, but he was surprised that they had woken him up in the middle of the night. They would never have distributed him at this hour unless it was an emergency.

"It's your grandfather, sir. Sir Keegan, he took his last breath about an hour ago." The bodyguard's voice was laced with sympathy and sorrow as he delivered the news of Onyx's grandfather's death. "We tried to reach you all evening, but your cell phone was-" he was cut off in the middle of his words as Onyx lifted his palm, stopping him. Onyx didn't waste another second as he dashed down the motel's hallway towards the waiting cars.

How could this have happened? He was perfectly fine when I left this morning. How can he die! He was screaming in his mind as the grief of losing the person he loved the most consumed him. His grandfather was the person he was closest to, closer than he had ever been to his parents. Onyx was fond of his grandfather from the moment he was born, and he grew up under his wing. Keegan guided him, adored him, trained, and honed him into the fine man he is today. Keegan was the person who kept Onyx sane from the horrors and monsters inside him. And now that he is gone, Onyx doesn't know what to do anymore. As the car drove down the empty dark road, the grief and sorrow ate him up inside. All those days of laughing and crying in his arms as a child, those days of brutal training to take on his role, those days of drinking under the night sky, and sleepless nights in the hospital corridor waiting for him to wake up. How can he be gone, leaving him in this miserable world!

"Hello, Dallas, this is Ophelia." She said into the telephone as soon as Dallas answered the call. It had been quite a few hours since she had woken up. After a shower and cleaning her clothes as much she could she found the receptionist of the motel. Even though she didn't want to, she had subconsciously waited for Onyx to show up. After many attempts at communicating with the receptionist, who did not speak English or any of the languages Ophelia knew, she was finally able to get Dallas on the phone.

"Ophelia! Where are you? Are you all right? We've been looking everywhere for you!" He hollered from the other end of the phone line. When Dallas finally calmed down, she told him nearly everything that had happened. And soon Dallas was on his way to pick her up.

She had to wait in the motel room for several hours while he got to her. After hours of waiting, Dallas had picked her up and they were on their way to Luxembourg City. Ophelia's mind was preoccupied with Onyx's thoughts the entire way to the hotel. She couldn't stop thinking about him, their day together, and the way he left her alone in that motel room in the middle of nowhere, no matter how hard she tried. Didn't he think twice about leaving a girl alone in an unknown place like that? He could have done way better, or she should have lower expectations from a wealthy man like him. No matter how much she thought through his actions, she only got increasingly angry. She could have been abducted, murdered, or raped! At the very least, he could have locked the door before leaving! All of these thoughts raced through her mind as she was filled with rage over Onyx.

After they arrived at the hotel, Ophelia changed her clothes and charged her phone. She received an email from her airline as soon as she turned on her phone. As Ophelia sat on the balcony of her opulent hotel room, she read through the mail. She was called back, and she was going to return to her regular life. Her heart was filled with void as she put her phone away and stared at the setting sun on the horizon. Within about an hour, she had packed her belongings and was checking out of the hotel, having said her goodbyes to the crew who had been with her for the short while. And she was soon boarding a plane bound for Los Angeles to report for her next flight. She was glad, relieved that she was finally going away from Onyx. She looked back at the small country of Luxembourg as the plane took off. She had only been there for a week, but the county had given her many memories and people. She will miss this beautiful nation, but she wishes she could forget those memories and that man.


Throughout the next week, she flew thousands of passengers from county to county. She was busier like before, taking a breather in between flights. She didn't give herself even the slightest bit of chance to think about the days in Luxembourg or about him. It was as if she was completely ignoring that period of her life, and it was working.

Ophelia yawned as she splashed water on her face and patted it dry with a clean towel. As she walked out of the restroom in the John F. Kennedy International Airport's Crew Lounge, she set down her towel. Her phone started ringing in her pocket, and she sat in a lounge chair as she answered the call.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Ms. Jade. Eva from Enloe Medical Center here."

Ophelia dashed to the aviation center in an instant, and after receiving clearance, she boarded a flight to California. Her heart pounded in her chest and fear captivated her as she contemplated the uncertain future of her father's health. She only hoped she would arrive in time to catch a glimpse of him.

After six agonizing hours, Ophelia had finally arrived in California and without wasting another min was on her way to Enloe Medical Center. She dashed to the reception desk and hurriedly inquired.
"Where is Mason Jade being kept?" The receptionist looked up at her and replied, "Room number 328," after clicking away on her computer.

Ophelia exhaled heavily as she approached her father's room on the hospital's second floor. She stood outside the door, peering inside. Inside, a doctor was monitoring Mason Jade's vitals and completing check-ups. Ophelia stood by the door, waiting for the doctor to emerge. The door soon opened, and the doctor walked out.
"How is my father's medical condition?" She inquired as soon as he stepped out, taking him by surprise.
"Are you the daughter of Mr. Jade?" He inquired, and she nodded.
"He suffered a heart attack followed by a seizure, but the heart attack was not catastrophic and we were able to stabilize him, and he is now doing well. Even though the heart attack could have been fatal for him, it is a good thing that he awoke." She sighed with relief at the news that, he was finally awake.
"Can I go visit him?" Ophelia inquired,
"Of course," said the doctor with a smile.
"Thank you so much." She walked in quickly after opening the door. Mason was fast asleep, with a slew of medical devices strapped to his body. Ophelia knelt beside her father's bed while the cardiac monitor beeped, indicating that he was breathing and alive. Her legs had finally given up due to the stress and anxiety. She took Mason's cold hand in hers, and tears flowed down her cheeks as she pulled it closer to her forehead. Her body shook uncontrollably as she sobbed. After pretending to be strong, holding herself up high, she finally broke down. How much can a person withstand? From a shattered childhood to battling enemy forces in the sky, to taking care of a sick father who is in debt. Working for hours and hours making barely enough to pay off the huge debt and trying to keep afloat the drowning business, she was tired, so very tired. Her sobs faded as she succumbed to exhaustion and fell asleep.

Ophelia was jerked out of her slumber when something fell over her body, she lifted her head to her father's weakly smiling face. He'd just sat up straight after putting a blanket over her on the floor.
As she sought warmth in her father's protecting arms, tears streamed down her cheeks once more.
"My Princess," Mason grumbled as his daughter wailed in his arms, nestling into him. "I was so scared, Dad!" She sobbed even more as he caressed her head tenderly.
"I'm sorry, my sparrow oops, my raven." She chuckled as he corrected his mistake, "I apologize for scaring you. But don't worry, I'm here now." As he tried to comfort her, he lovingly caressed her head.
"I've missed you so much!" She wept as he cradled her in his arms tighter.
"I missed you, too." He drew back as his cold hand wiped away her tears. "But that isn't an excuse to fall asleep off on the floor. You know I don't have the strength to carry you to your bed, or in this case, the couch." He attempted to sound stern, but she laughed and apologized. "I'm sorry; I'm not going to do it again."
"Gosh, you've grown so much!" He remarked this as he looked at her in her pilot uniform.
"Dad, it's just been three months." She chuckled, wiping away the tears on her cheek.
"You've grown a lot in three months!" He proudly boasted as he straightened her blazer collar. She gave him a sad-eyed smile in return.
Her phone rang in her pocket, and she took it out to check the caller ID, denied the call, and slipped it back into her pocket. The phone rang again, but she did not answer it, instead deciding to silence it.
"Pick up the phone, sweetheart; it's all right." Mason proposed, "it's no one important. They can wait." She said this as she got down from the bed. "Please lay down and don't strain yourself; I'll go call the doctor." She said as Mason lied down and she pulled the blanket over his body. She folded the blanket on the floor, placed it on the couch, and turned to face her father, saying, "I'll be right back." Ophelia smiled as he nodded and she walked out of the room.

Ophelia stood by the couch as the doctor performed his examination, asking questions while Mason responded. When her phone vibrated in her pocket for the tenth time that day, she decided to answer it. She strolled out, phone in hand, and sought a quiet balcony.
"What do you want Owen?"