13

He had never been more scared in his life. His heart hammered as she grew limp in his arms, her eyes grew white before they closed and he felt her neck. Relieved that there was still a pulse, he laid her on her bed, covered her with her sheets and went into the bathroom. He came out with a wet towel folded into a small rectangle and placed it on her forehead. Her breathing evened out and he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.
He saw a landline on her bedside table and used the directory next to it to call the kitchen.
“Good evening, Miss Jean. What may I whip up for you this evening?” came the voice of an elderly woman.
“Good evening ma’am,” he answered, “Jean isn’t feeling too well and it would be wonderful if you could send a hot bowl of chicken soup.”
The cook was obviously very surprised to hear his voice but she agreed and the line went dead.
During the next ten minutes, James rummaged through the medicine drawer in her bathroom and brought out some aspirin for her to use when she woke up. As he dropped it on her bedside table, a knock was heard and he opened the door to see a young maid with a scrutinizing gaze as she eyed him from top to bottom. These people were obviously not used to Jean having any ‘visitors’.
However, he was more interested in what she was carrying; a covered bowl that smelled really nice and a glass of orange juice.
“Thank you,” he said as he collected the tray from her hands, “do you think you can also get an energy drink? I think she really needs it.”
The maid nodded and scurried away. But she was back minutes later with a Lucozade Boost. He thanked her and went to Jean's side as she seemed to be coming to.
“Here.” He shifted the pillow under her to make her comfortable as she got up on her elbows. She gave him a questioning look asking what happened.
“You kind of blacked out due to a reason I don’t understand.”
Jean nodded but immediately grabbed her head as a throb of pain jolted through it.
“Oh, God. Head hurts,” she got a whiff of the chicken soup as he uncovered the bowl, “so hungry.”
The tray had little legs underneath so he stood it in front of her and watched as she finished it and gulped down the aspirin with water and the energy drink.
“Feel better?” He asked as he took the tray away from her. She nodded and looked at him with squinted eyes as if she was just noticing that he was the one in the room with her.
“What are you still doing here? Won’t your wife and son miss you?” She felt guilty at the slight edge in her voice. It wasn’t fair of her to be angry that he had a happy family. She could have one too if she wanted but things just didn’t go well that way for her. He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his slacks and set his eyes in a grim line.
“My son, yes. But my wife… I seriously doubt it.” He said the word ‘wife’ through clenched teeth. “She must be having a blast.”
As if on cue, a shrieking voice shouted from what sounded like the stairs.
“No! I demand to see her this instant!” shouted the crazed voice.
They heard Jean's head security guard answer her in a calm voice though they could tell he was slightly irritated.
“But ma’am, we have to confirm with her first and don’t you think it’s quite late? This is exactly ten-thirty. She will attend to you tomorrow and besides, she should be asleep by now.”
“Yes, I know she’s asleep,” said the voice, “the whore is asleep with my husband.”
Both Jean and James zapped their heads to look at each other wide-eyed. How did Avery know he was here and what was she doing here herself? They heard rustling and feet climbing up the stairs. James dashed out of the room just in time to see the security guard grab a hold of Avery once again before she slipped away. She caught his eyes and hers soften.
“Jamey,” she whispered, “what are you doing here?”
Then her eyes zeroed in on the room he just came out of and using the element of surprise, she slipped out of the guards hold, past James and into Jean's bedroom. The first thing that caught her attention was the size of the room. She was amazed. She had seen the rest of the house and it was pretty impressive bur she didn’t know what to expect. Jean could be sleeping in the basement for all she knew. The room was magnificent with white and purple walls, beautiful decorations and a queen-sized bed that was also purple and white. The wood was matte lilac while the sheets were pearl white and the duvet, a royal purple. Definitely fit for a queen.
Then her eyes caught the brown eyes of the so-called ‘queen’. She looked pale, Avery noticed. Her skin was pasty instead of the usual shiny brown and her eyes no longer held the usual glint in then. Her fingers which rested on her duvet were looking thin and twig-like, the hollows in her cheek were more than obvious.
At that moment, all the fire in Avery died down and she couldn’t help the guilt that gnawed into her heart as she thought of the fact that she was part of the reason a human being looked like this. She opened her mouth to say something but no words came out. Her mouth was as dry as raw guilt and she just turned around and headed home.
She sneered as she passed by James not saying a word. The security guards watched her walk away before their head went to knock on Jean's door. At the beckon to come in, he started apologizing without fully entering the room for respect's sake. However, Jean held her hand for him to stop and she spoke instead.
“Don’t worry about it, everything’s fine. Let the gentleman take the Kia Optimum home and give him this note as he leaves.”
Jean scribbled something on a sticky note in her bag and folded it, giving it to the older man. He muttered a thank you and left. She turned over and fell straight to sleep, not at all dazed by the nights' events.
James was surprised when he was handed the keys of the car after being led to the garage. He should’ve known that Jean's kind heart would get the best of her. She would never leave him stranded like that. he thanked the man and after taking another long, sweet look at the assortment of beautiful cars in the garage, he opened the one meant for him and slipped inside, breathing in the sweet smell of leather. He backed out and just as he was about to exit the garage, the guard stopped him and handed him a note. He looked at the man quizzically and the guard happily answered his question.
“From the sweet lass, my boss.” There was a twinkle in the man’s eye as he remembered the younger lady.
James opened it and in Jean's writing that he loved so much was written boldly:
THANK YOU
He smiled at himself, she never forgot her courtesy. He thanked the guard and left the estate, mentally noting to add this to his archive of her memories.