Story

It was windy and chilly evening of late June. I reached my home at nearly 6 in the evening. I did not want to miss the classes, well at least that’s what they thought, I just wanted to get away from the crowd. The apartment is so dusty, it will take the all of half day to clean it up. But right now I am tired and the cleaning can wait till tomorrow. I thought I could use a cup of tea I went in to the kitchen and took out the milk. Just as I was preparing my tea, I heard the doorbell ring. I wondered who would that be and went to open the door.

I was gazing up at two tall men standing at the door. One was older, he seemed to be in late forties but I suspected him to be older than I thought. The other, younger, handsome man must be in his late twenties. Both of them carried an aura of authority in their personalities. I did not recognize these men, but the younger one came forward.

“Hi, I am Jason Merchant of Merchant Charters and this is my father Harris Merchant. “  

“Hello, please come in”

It suddenly clicked to my mind that these two men are the owners of a famous plane charter company. I was nervous already knowing these men belonged to the upper crust of the local community, nut I had heard that they were nice people.

I was ashamed that I had to offer them my dusty sofa. They quietly took to their seats but their faces did not show any sign of upper class feelings even if they did feel it, I guess they were good at hiding their feelings. I opened my mouth to begin a conversation when Mrs. Merchant walked in and gave a wide smile to me and took a seat beside her husband on the sofa. As if I wasn't nervous enough before, the idea of that family sitting in my drawing room made me even more nervous. I didn't know what to say.

Jason began speaking, “You see Mrs. Roy and my mother happens to be very good friends and she insisted that we talk to you for one of the positions in our company. We were passing this way and she suggested that we visit your place and see you.”

I was raking my mind to find the words to respond to him. If I took few more seconds to reply to him, he would surely think of me as an awkward girl. I was an awkward girl, but I didn't want him to think that.

“Thank you for coming in and considering me for the position, I certainly….”

“I think it would be more appropriate to talk about this in my office if you don’t mind, we just came in to let you know so that next time I see Mrs. Roy, I don’t have to bear her cold looks” both he and his mother laughed at his joke, I smiled awkwardly. Even the joke couldn't lessen my nervousness.

“Yes, yes I will come to your office, please tell me the date and time and I will be there.”

“How about…next Monday 4.30?”

“Monday 4.30 it is.” I said with a smile.

I trying to hide my nervousness I had forgotten to offer them any refreshments to my dismay. I quickly offered them water and asked them if they would like to have tea. They looked like they did need tea. They accepted my offer so I excused myself to the kitchen. I looked back on my way to the kitchen at that family and they all looked strangely at ease in my drawing room. For such a wealthy family, they were certainly very down to earth people.

As I was preparing tea, I heard footsteps come in to the kitchen and stop beside me. I looked up from the tea pot to the person to find a beautiful young girl standing there smiling at me.

“Hi, I am Sofy, Jason’s sister.”

“Hi, I am Emily, nice to meet you.” I smiled back. “Would you like to have some tea as well?”

“Yes, please.” She smiled again.

“Coming right up.” I think we accepted each other as friend then and there.

After few more minutes of my clumsiness, I gave them all cups of tea. Every one sat there silently for few minutes savoring the hot tea on a chilly evening. After few more minutes I apologized for my dusty home and told them about my recent trip to the wedding party. Mrs. Merchant smilingly told me that they didn't even notice it until I mentioned it. She was being modest.

When they finished their tea they all stood up to leave. We said our byes. Jason was the last to leave my door, before he left he confirmed our appointment and left. I stood in the door until they rode away in their red Mercedes.

I took a long breath after closing the door, suddenly the feeling of relief washed over me. I had a week to prepare for the interview. After my hot bath I forgot all about the worries of interview and rest of my day passed smoothly.

After a day or two I was walking back to my home in the evening from my classes. I was enjoying the cool breeze flowing over my face. A red Mercedes passed beside me on the otherwise empty street for few meters ahead of me and stopped beside the sidewalk. It looked familiar. Sure enough, I could see Jason’s face peering out and waving at me. I walked up to him as he got out of the car.

“Hi” he said. The feeling of nervousness returned. There was something about the arresting look in his eyes that made me shiver involuntarily.

“Looks like you are cold.” It didn't escape his notice. I felt uncomfortable under his stare.

“No, it’s just the wind.” I tried to smile. What’s wrong with me? If I am imagining all this, hopefully by the time I reach home the chilly wind would either blow this feeling away or it will have frozen it to it’s death.

 “I was just passing by and saw you. Let me drop you to your home.” I felt the feeling intensified.

Just then we heard a voice from the car,

”Jason, I want to go home.” I looked at his face.

“That’s my youngest sister, Lily”

“Oh”

If I didn't imagine it, there was a smile on his face and his look softer somehow. Even if I did imagine it, all traces of that smile were gone and the look in his eyes back to that same arresting nature the next moment. I shivered again. The best thing to do seemed to shift the focus.

Bending down a little to see her face, I said “Hi Lily, I am Emily.”

“Hi Emily, are you a friend of Jason?”

“Hmm….no, we just”

“Yes she is Lily” I turned to look at Jason.

“I should get going, thanks for your offer but I am fine”

“Alright then”

We said our goodbyes. Before he rode away he stared at me for mere few seconds, and that made me uneasy to my stomach. I could not shake off that uneasiness for the whole evening. It felt as if those eyes are watching my every move. I hardly got any sleep that night.

I woke up next morning groggy and tired by the sleepless night but I was excited at the thought of going to the club with friends in the evening. The day was passing normally until the afternoon. I was sitting down for my lunch, when I heard the phone ring. It was Sofy, it was a pleasant surprise to hear from her. She invited me to her house for a cup of coffee and I gladly accepted. Our rendezvous was in the early evening so I thought I could avoid seeing Jason as he would still be in his office.

The moment I stepped into the Merchant Mansion, I could see Sofy on the staircase heading towards her room. When I called her, she came running down the stairs with a big smile and hugged me. I bet she could light up the entire mansion only with her smile. It was delighting to see her. She had that kind of effect on people.

“Hi, how are you Emily?”

“I’m fine. You look good by the way”

“Thanks, let’s go sit in my room and we can share our secrets” she winked at me.

“Yeah, let’s do that” I could not stop smiling.

We went upstairs to her bedroom. We were talking nonstop when a maid brought us two piping hot cups of coffee. Just as the maid was exiting Lily came running into Sofy’s room and tried to hide behind Sofy’s bed. Soon after that Jason entered too. He stopped, looked at me for few seconds then he looked at Sofy. She eyed at the place where Lily was hiding to let him know. I think he had just come from the office because he was still in his suit with his tie loosened.  And the brother and sister were evidently playing hide and seek with the youngest one. They all seemed very close to each other. Jason made an act of trying to find Lily and caught her hiding behind the bed, she squealed with joy. Jason told if she drank her milk he would take for a ride, she ran out the door quickly as if he will change his mind any second. Sofy told me,

“She is autistic, she’ll always be our little baby sister but she loves Jason the most. Every day he has to play the hide and seek with her the moment he comes home. It’s a rule in our house” she smiled looking at Jason.

“Yes, she’ll always be our little baby sister, you on the other hand will always be the spoiled one” he teased her.

She scowled for a moment before saying with wide grin,” you are right, Jason.”

“Hey, I need to leave now. Couple of my friends and I are going to the club tonight, would you like to come Sofy?”

“Yes, I would love that”

“Are you guys taking your boyfriends or is it just the girl scouts?”

He seemed to be holding his breath. Is it just me or is he really doing that. I had to know the answer for it. I looked at Sofy, and sure enough Sofy’s forehead had few lines on her fore head too but they disappeared soon. The next moment her smile was back on her face.

“We have couple of guys coming with us, no worries”

I looked at him. My answer did not entirely convince him.

“You girls be safe, call me if you need anything” He went away.

I gave a quick hug to Sofy and said bye. All along the road I was deciding what to wear tonight, I hadn't gone out for so long, so I was determined to enjoy this outing.

I tried every outfit that I had twice before deciding what to wear for the night. When I finally finished getting dressed, looked at myself in the mirror and I was satisfied with my look. I was wearing my favorite black halter neck, knee length backless dress. It hugged my figure perfectly, it felt nice on my skin. And red heels added a little zing to the whole look. I didn't feel like putting on any accessories. When I looked at the clock, I was already late. I took a cab and reached the club as fast as I could. All my friends had already gone in without me. There was a long queue; it would take nearly half an hour to get in. I stood in the line reluctantly, and thought I would miss out all the fun but it couldn't be helped.

“I thought you were bringing your boyfriend”

I recognized that voice; I told myself it could not be him. Finally I turned around on my heels. He was standing so close that I could only see his t-shirt and smell his sweet and spicy cologne, I stepped back a little to see his face, sure it was Jason standing there. It was that look again in his eyes.

“You got to be kidding me” I said under the breath.

“What’s that you are saying? Are you not happy to see me here?”

“No…I mean yes” tricky bastard. He smiled crookedly at my embarrassment.

“Let’s go inside, Sofy and your other friends are waiting for you inside”

I swear my skin felt like it burnt and I sharply sucked the air in when his hand lightly touched my bare back trying to navigate us through the crowd. I hoped that he had not noticed my reaction in the huge, noisy crowd. But I looked at him from the corner of my eyes; his eyes were fixed on me. I need some distance and alcohol to calm my nerves.

I felt somewhat relieved when we went inside the club, under the thump of the loud music and sea of people, I could get away from him and avoid those irrational moments with irrational reactions. Sofy and others were already on the dance floor enjoying. Yeah, my friends are waiting for me. He was saying something but I could not hear it over the music. I nodded my head to let him know that I did not hear what he said. He came close and bent down to my ear,

 ”You want anything to drink?” I nodded yes.

I thought I could sit down and have the drink before moving on to the dance floor, so I followed him to the bar. We both sat on the bar stools and ordered martinis. There goes the distance but hey, at least I‘ll have my alcohol. I gulped down the martini and moved towards the dance floor. Thank fully I’ll have some distance from him.

I joined my friends but they each had found someone to dance with so I guess m going to have to dance alone, unless I find someone too. They all waved at me when they saw me and continued dancing with their partners. I started dancing alone, I was enjoying even if I didn't have anyone to dance with. After a while I noticed that Sofy looked a little uncomfortable dancing with her partner. Suddenly the guy grabbed her and tried to kiss her, by the look of her face she wasn't into it. I looked at Jason he was moving fast towards the dance floor looking like a raged bull. If I thought he scared me before, I was terrified now. Terrified of what might happen, I moved towards sofy and her partner. By the time I had reached them, Jason reached too and he was about to smash the skull of this guy. I thought the scene could get a lot uglier if I didn't do something. On impulse I grabbed the guy and made him face him then hit him squarely on his nose. Ouch!!! My hand hurt like hell. I looked around and the whole dance floor was in standstill with every pair of eyes on me except the guy who just got punched. He was on his and howling in pain. Jason and sofy looked from me to the guy kneeling on the floor and then back to me. It had all happened in a split second, everyone was dazed and my hands started to shake from the kick of adrenalin. Like coming out of a stupor Sofy said

“You saved him, from him”

 With a grave face she pointed finger from the guy to Jason. I looked at Jason too but I could not understand the emotions on his face.

“We are leaving, I’ll take you girls home” Who does he think he is, The President?

“I am perfectly capable of getting home by myself” as if the earlier punch didn't prove it.

“What do you plan to do about the hand? You won’t even be able to move it after a while”

 I hadn't noticed it earlier; there were few blood stains as a result of the punch. He was right, my hand was already swollen. But I wasn't ready to give up yet.

“I can take a cab home”

He looked at me shrewdly and said, “You can either walk you butt to that car or I’ll carry you to it; either way you are coming with me”

I looked at Sofy for some back up instead she nodded her head to me and said, ”Em, no use arguing right now, please let’s just go”

“Fine” I stomped towards the exit door; behind us the dancing resumed on the floor again.

We parked the car and Jason helped Sofy to her room upstairs. Sofy went to use her bathroom and puked all over the bathroom floor. She was barely able to stand when we finally put her in the bed and closed the bathroom door from keeping the nasty smell coming to the bedroom. We were both silent for a minute looking at her, the sleeping beauty.

“She was right you know, you saved that guy from me; I would have done much worse than just breaking his nose” He eyes fell on me as he finished his sentence.

“I know” I said meeting his gaze. Then we were silent again, we could almost hear each other breathing.

“I need to use a bathroom, is there any other bathroom that I can use?” finally breaking the heavy silence creating havoc in my heart.

“You can use mine. I’ll show you to it, later we can take a look at your hand”

In trying to lessen the damage to that guy I had done some damage to myself. The swelling had increased and it was looking twice the size of my other, normal hand. I followed him to his room. It was massive with a four poster bed at one end and a seating area on the other. Exactly opposite the door there were huge floor to ceiling windows and a glass door leading to the balcony.

“The bathroom is over there” he pointed at the door behind the seating area. I excused myself to the bathroom. When I came back, the balcony door was open and I could see him standing with his back to the door. I stood there for a minute looking at him, really looking at him. The lose t-shirt he was wearing could not entirely hide the muscular body beneath it. An unexpected sigh escaped from my throat and he turned around. He smiled at me and I completely forgot all about my own existence and just stood there looking at the beautiful creature in front of me. It was in that moment, when I lost all consciousness; I understood why I felt the way I felt around him. I was afraid, afraid to lose control over my emotions and he wanted control, complete control over me. The fact that I understood those feelings towards him was even more frightening now. He came back to the room and sat on the chair near a study table. There was an emergency kit lying on the table along with a hand brace.

“Come here, give me your hand” I went where he sat and pushed my hand in front of him.

He applied some anti inflammatory cream and put the brace on my hand. Then he went to kitchen to get some ice. All this while, my heart was racing from his touch. I went to the balcony to get some fresh air but the air did little to calm my racing heart. Hearing the footsteps I turned my head to see him coming with an ice pack in his hand. He saw me and stopped in his track, his face changed. He slowly walked towards the railings and stood beside him facing away. He cocked his head to the side and asked if I am alright.

“I am fine.” He didn't know it yet, he didn't understand it like I did.

“You look…” he trailed mid sentence.

“Tired?” I did feel tired all of a sudden.

“No, I was going with beautiful”

 I avoided his stare. Opened my mouth to say something, closed it again. He turned and stood close behind me, the ice pack dropped from his hand to the floor. I wanted to move away, keep the safe distance between us but somehow my legs felt like they had grown roots. My heart was pounding in my chest; I feared he would hear it. He moved my hair to one side and slowly glided the back of his hand on my back. My heart skipped a beat. Suddenly I was full of so many feelings that I did not understand, they were all blended into one another like the rainbow, where one ended another started. But in the end one feeling ruled them all, it was my fear, fear of losing control. I turned on my heels to move away but stood there motionless. He too stood still at my sudden movement. I realized the size of his enormity then. Even on my pumped heels there was a distance of half a foot between us and he was lean muscled without an ounce of fat under that tan skin. I was staring at his chest without knowing what to do next, still holding on to the railings as if they would come alive and protect me; as if I needed protection. Few seconds passed like this. He bent down and lowered his lips to mine but didn't kiss me yet. I closed my eyes.

“Jason” Lily called from the room.

I opened my eyes and tried to move away from him. But he held my arm tightly securing me to the place where I stood.

“Jason, where are you? I can’t sleep”

“I’m here Lily” she shouted without still staring at me.

“Stay in my room Emily, I’ll be back soon” he whispered in my ear, turned and started walking towards the room. 

Walking away he shouted to his little sister again “I’m coming”

I followed him into the room when Lily was saying “I had a nightmare, I’m scared; will you please come help me sleep?” sitting in his lap on the bed.

She saw me then standing there and with all her innocence explained the reason of her coming to her brother as a matter of fact “I had a nightmare” I couldn't help but smile at the little girl.

 I said “How about we chase those nightmares with princess stories?” 

Her face glowed with a big grin and she said “really? Jason never reads me princess stories” she complained.

That’s because your brother is a macho. “Let’s go to your room hun” she quickly jumped down, took my hand and started pulling me towards the door in a hurry.

Lily slept before we could complete the first story. I couldn't sleep all night but I didn't go back to his room either. I didn't realize when I had fallen asleep but when I woke up it was already 9’o clock. When I came downstairs the whole family was having leisure Sunday breakfast. At first they did not notice me and I stood there trying to decide whether to leave the house or go to the family. At the same moment Lily noticed me, jumped down her seat came running towards me and gave me a hug. The rest of the family was looking at us. I smiled awkwardly. Mrs. Merchant invited me to join the breakfast club and Lily pulled me towards the table. I went reluctantly and took the empty seat between Lily and Sofy. Sofy was clearly having a hangover; she was drinking lemonade with hunched shoulders. I was served with hot pancakes by a maid. Jason was sitting beside Sofy, drinking his coffee. He looked like he just back from his morning run. And both parents were dressed up like they were going for a date.

“So Emily, how did you beat Jason to be Lily’s hero? From the minute she has woken up, she cant stop talking about you” asked Mrs. Merchant.

“It was the magic of Cinderella” we all smiled and Lily giggled. Her happiness clearly lit up the room. I looked at Jason and he smiled at her giggle and went back to quietly drinking his black coffee.

“We all tried to beat him to that place for such a long time, you know; but you did it in just one night!” said Mrs. Merchant.

Before I could say anything, she noticed the blood stains on my dress and my swollen hand in the brace “Are those blood stains? Did you get hurt? Are you alright?” I was raking my brains to make up a good story.

“I..I…”

“There was a fight in the club last night, mom; she punched a guy in the nose to help the girl he was misbehaving with, so a few blood drops splashed over her dress.” said Sofy in a breath.

“I hope you girls didn't get into any trouble” she looked from Sofy to me.

“Believe me mom, they are perfectly capable of handling any trouble” said Jason looking at me.

“I’m glad to hear that, girls need to be strong like you Emily. You better let a doctor have a look at your hand, it doesn't look too good”

“It’s not that bad Mrs. Merchant, I’m sure I’ll be okay in two days” “I should get going now, I’ll see you Sofy, bye Lily” I rose from my seat. They greeted me with goodbyes.

“I’ll drop you” said Jason rising from his seat too.

“I would not like to you bother you, please carry on” I said with a pressed lips.

Sitting down he said” you have your interview at 4.30 tomorrow, don’t be late” he was cold.

“I won’t be” I said and walked out of the house.

Next day I reached his office a little earlier than my appointment. His secretary showed to his office. As I entered his office I could see he was just finishing his meeting. He motioned me to take a seat in the corner. For the perfectionist he seemed, he was dressed unusually in a button down black shirt and a pair of blue jeans today. The first few buttons of his shirt were open so I could see the upper contours of his perfectly muscled chest. He looked nothing short of a male model. He was throwing his own rules into the air and did as he pleased and dressed as he please. I kept staring at him when they were all discussing their topics. I didn't hear what the topic was, I didn't care. When he was done with all the formalities and everyone walked out the door, he came near me,

“Do you mind if we can do this over at the café? I didn't have time for lunch because of the meeting”

“No, I don’t mind” I couldn't meet his gaze for more than a second, so I stood up and pretended to smooth my hair. He called his secretary and said he is done for the day.

I followed him out the office to the elevator.  The elevator arrived and it was empty; we would be alone in it. That made me nervous, even if the elevator takes mere seconds to reach the parking level. Just as I was entering the elevator, my shoe caught between the gap of the elevator and floor.  He caught me holding my waist from behind. I was mortified now. Freeing myself from him I stood in the corner. He pressed the button and turned around to face me. The elevator started descending. Where else can I look in a small box of an elevator to keep avoiding his gaze? Finally I looked up at him. He took a step close to me and I stepped back and hit the elevator wall. In the next second, the elevator stopped at a level and people started coming in. It became so crowded that Jason had to step even more close to me to make room for others. I felt his hot breath on me for the rest of the trip till lobby. When we reached the lobby everyone got out and we were alone in the elevator again. Even with all that room he didn't move away from me, kept staring at me. I was ready to run out the moment the elevator doors opened in the parking lot. When the elevator opened in the parking lot, he didn't budge from his place. I tried to move away but he blocked my way with his hand. He seemed to be in a trance, and did not seem hear or process when I tried to break his reverie. I was furious and pushed him away. He took a step back but grabbed hold of my hand. In his haste to exit the elevator, he yanked me by the hand. When we were out, there wasn't a single soul in that lot to my surprise. Still holding my hand he started walking towards the back of the elevator wall. There was a little corner concealed from the rest of the parking lot. He pushed me into it.

I was annoyed and anxious to get away. I asked him, “what the hell are you doing, let me go” He didn't budge.

“Jason” I raised my voice. He was still holding my right arm.

He let go of my right arm and grabbed me by the waist twisting my left arm back with the same hand and with the other he held my head firmly and kissed me. I was trying to push him away with the right hand, but it hardly had any effect on him more over my right hand started to ache. I stopped fighting him, it was useless anyway. A faint moan escaped from my throat and he deepened his kiss pushing me against wall. He released my arm but held onto my waist. My both hands felt limp on his chest. And suddenly he broke away from me. It was all too fast and dizzying so I wobbled on my heels, he caught me instinctively and steadied me.

“Are you alright?”

“No” I whimpered.

“Em..I’m really sorry, I.. I shouldn't have done that”

“As much as I’d like to blame you for it, I didn't break away from you either”, “Jason, I need to tell you something”

“Not here, let’s go to the cafe and we can talk about your job”

“I got the offer from Virgin and they want me to take up training from a fortnight” I blurted out.

“What?” his jaws were clenched with creased forehead.

“Yes. They called me this morning”

“Have you?..have you said yes?”

“I haven’t said anything yet” he seemed to relax a bit.

“Good. Then you can tell them no”

“Am I now? Why would I do that? Just because you said so?” hands on my hips, I glared at him.

“Then why did you come to me?” He was angry too.

“I didn't know that they would call me” I all but shouted at him.

He made me feel like it was my fault, which it really was not. He frustrated me, he angered me; perhaps it’s because we were too much alike. I could not stand there any longer. I was on the verge of losing the battle and run to him. But I’m not ready to lose yet, no I will not lose I told myself. I walked back to the elevator and pressed the button. The last thing I saw before the elevator doors shut was, the red Mercedes moving rapidly towards the exit gate. I came to lobby and took a taxi home. The next few days passed without any event whatsoever.

Sofy called me one day and asked me to join her for shopping cum girl’s day out. After the club night I hadn't talked much with Sofy, so we needed to catch up with each other. Besides I felt guilty of not talking to her about the fight in the club, so I agreed. Next day we did loads of shopping for her upcoming birthday party. When we got tired dumped all the bags in the car and went where all the young people from our town hang out; the beach. We got ourselves a few bears and spread out a sheet on the sunny beach. It was a perfect day. We took off our dresses, opened each a can of beer and lay on the sand sunbathing. When we had couple of beers and talked our hearts out, we drifted to a nap.

“You two, put on your clothes and walk back right your car” the shouting voice woke us up and we looked up to find Jason standing over us.

“No Jason, for once let me have some fun” Sofy said angrily.

“I’m tired of this. I can take care of myself. You don’t have to ruin my fun every time”

“That whole bunch is gawking at you guys for the last half an hour which I bet you didn't even notice till now, so no arguments Sofy! Do you want to wait till it’s too late?” he pointed to the bunch of drunk boys who were watching us.

“No, I said I can take care of myself, I’m not her so leave me alone”

His expression changed to a wounded animal. I couldn't understand what they were talking about or who they were talking about but I could see the words were aimed to hurt. I knew Jason was a control freak, he deserved it but I didn't want to be a witness to the sibling fight. Moreover I thought he would drag us both if Sofy pushed him.

“Sofy, it’s alright. We’ll go get coffee and enjoy the rest of the day” I tried to calm her. It worked; she got up, put on her dress and walked away with a beer can in her hand.

As I got up to put on my dress, “Emily, thanks for taking my side”

“I wasn’t taking anyone’s side, besides I think she was right. You should cut some slack with her, she deserves to enjoy her life” I looked at him and whatever I was thinking it all flew out of my mind, the images of his perfectly chiseled upper body were fast filling my head. When I was done putting on my clothes, we started walking towards Sofy’s car.

“I know that, but..I was just trying to be a protective brother”

“I think she knows that, so don’t worry; she’ll come around”

“Look, I am really sorry for what happened the other day, I feel terrible about it”

The memories of that day rushed back to me. When we reached the car, Sofy was in the driver’s seat waiting for me. I climbed in the passenger seat and Jason went the other side to talk to Sofy. They had a little chat and finally Sofy’s face loosened with a smile, she got out of the car and Jason gave her a bear hug. He told her he would make it up to us somehow. She pretended to pout and said “fine, it better be good.”

Her mood was relaxed once again when we reached the café.  We got ourselves some coffee and sat on the chairs on sidewalk outside. I was dying with curiosity about ‘her’ in their conversation.  I was wondering how to ask about it without being nosy.

“He likes you” said Sofy.

“How do you know?” Does he really now? That’s why he likes to push me around! I didn’t say it out loud.

“I know my brother very well, he is protective about you as much as he is about me”

“That doesn’t mean he like me, maybe it’s just because I’m your friend”

“I know how he looks at you Em” I didn’t say anything for a while.

“When are you joining the company?” she asked me. I told her about the offer that I had gotten from the other company. She sat silent for a few seconds and then said, “Does he know about it?”

“Yes, I told him the other day when I met him at his office”

“Oh! This is the reason for his mood swings he’s been having lately” she smiled at me.

“I haven’t decided yet” I answered to her unspoken question on her face.

“Whatever you decide Em, I’ll always be your friend” her smile reassured me.

I was still waiting to ask that question. “Sofy, I don’t want to be nosy but I’m curious about ‘Her’ in your conversation to your brother”

Her face turned to a shade of blue at my request. But soon she recovered from whatever she felt saddened by and started saying,

 “ They  were high school sweethearts. He loved her, loved her too much. She always got what she wanted, he used to make sure of that. He was too good for her, she knew it. To her he was just a means, everyone could see that; he could see it too. But it didn't matter to him. She started doing drugs just for the kicks and soon she started lying to him for money to buy drugs. She was desperate one day and went with few hippies because they promised her free drugs. By the time Jason got to know about it, it was too late. The hippies had raped her, and left her in the woods. He was the one to find her and took her to the ER but she died few days later. He thought it was his fault, he thought he should have stopped her before she was too far in it.”

Her eyes were welled up.  She was quiet, reliving all those horrible moments in her mind.

“Before she died, my brother never left her side even for a minute. I think he would take her place on the death bed if that was possible. After she died, he suffered for years with his guilt. Our whole family has suffered because of that incident. He immersed himself into the family business to forget about his sorrows and that helped for a little while. But soon it wasn't enough to heal his soul and he started drinking. But thank lord for our little angel, Lily. She saved him. He was drunk one day and wandered to an orphanage, saw lily as a small baby. He tells us how tiny she was and how he fell in love with this beautiful little angel holding his finger, smiling at him. You should see that smile on his face Em, when he describes her as a small baby. You would think he’s crazy” She laughed remembering her brother’s smile with tears flowing down on her cheeks.

“Sofy, I’m sorry, I made you remember your worst nightmare” I didn't know what else to say.

She continued with her story, “He came straight home from the orphanage and made my parents sit together. He told them that he has found his angel and he needs their help to adopt her. You should have seen my parents’ faces, Em. Imagine a 17 year old boy asking his parents’ help to adopt a baby.”

She laughed heartily now. The most difficult bridge was crossed, and her eyes were looking at the green pastures now. She took a long swig from her coffee cup, set it down and started talking again.

“He couldn't adopt her because of his underage so my parents decided to do it. She healed him like no other medicine could. He stopped drinking because he needed to take care of her. The papers say that my parents are her parents but in reality he is more of a parent to her than my parents are. Even after everything was back to normal, he couldn't forget that incidence and day by day grew very protective of the one’s he loves.”

We both sat quiet for a long time after that. Finally when we finished our 2 or third cup of coffees, we got up and left the cafe. I walked home that night, took the long route to home. The revelation had changed me somehow. From being arrogant control freak, Jason transformed into a beautiful soul filled with love. I respected him now. But I still had my question looming over my head. Would I stay, or leave?

That night I dreamt about a little baby, laughing in a beautiful voice. Oh that voice! It sounded so sweet, so pure. But soon the laugh transformed into the sound of my alarm. Ugh! Stupid alarm. I patted it’s head and went back to my sleep again. In my half sleeping and half awake state realized that tonight was Sofy’s surprise birthday party for Lily and I hadn't bought a gift for her yet. I had to go shop for the gift before noon as I would be busy after that. I dragged my body out of the bed and got ready. I was crossing the road opposite the park when I saw Lily running around alone in the park. I couldn't see her usual bodyguard anywhere near her. So I went inside the park where she was playing with few other kids. As soon as she saw me, she came running and hugged me. I sensed the trouble then.

 “Hi pumpkin, I missed you” I said hugging her back.

“I missed you too, that’s why I came here. Jason said that you would never come back to our house so I got angry and came here looking for you”

“Oh honey! Your brother thinks he is always right, but he is not. How could I ever do anything to hurt such a beautiful little girl?” I needed to take her back to her house before her brother could find out.

“Lily, have you told anyone when leaving the house?”

“No, I was angry” she reminded me.

“Pumpkin, we need to go home before your brother brings heaven and hell together to find you”

As we exited the park, a red Mercedes came to a screeching halt in front of us. Oh God, think of the devil and devil’s here. Jason shut the car door with a loud thud and walked angrily towards us. The poor kid got so scared of him that she hid behind me as Jason stood in front of us.

“Lily, let’s go home” If she isn't crying now, his voice will certainly make her.

“Jason calm down, now’s not the time. Let me talk to her.” I faced lily and knelt down still holding her hand. She was so scared that she wouldn't let go of me.

“Lily, honey, you need to go home. Mom is worried about you”

“I’ll go only if you come with me”

I looked at Jason and he nodded at me. “Okay hun, get in the car” she obediently climbed up the back seat and Jason closed the door behind her.

“Emily…”

“Not now Jason, let’s get her to home first” He nodded and we both got in the car and drove to his house.

As soon as she climbed down from the car, she held onto me and wouldn't let go of me. I took her to her room changed her clothes, sat beside till she ate and took her upstairs to Jason’s bedroom for her afternoon nap because she was used to taking naps in his bed. There was nobody at home except for me and Jason. I guess everyone was doing last minute arrangements for the birthday party. Jason waited till she fell asleep beside me, lifted her in his arms and walked out to her room to put her in her bed. I waited for him to come back so that I could talk to him about what Lily said in the park. When he came back,

“Jason, she told me that she was angry because you said that I will never come back to see her again”

“Isn't that true? The sooner she realizes it, the sooner she will..”

“No, it’s not true” I cut him mid sentence.

“What?” he was dazed as if he couldn't believe what he’d just heard.

“I’m not leaving”

“But ..you..left me in the parking lot” he was confused now.

“I’m not leaving now”

He smiled faintly and but next second his forehead was creased. He came near me and touched my hand half expecting to wake up from a dream. But it was all real and I didn't disappear magically. He grabbed the hand he was touching softly earlier but he let of it a second later. After a second he grabbed me by the waist and pulled into him. I gasped at the sudden movement. He waited to see if I was going to fight him, when I didn’t he started saying,

“Em…” his voice was thick.

“Shh..”

He pushed me against one of the posters of his bed and kissed me hungrily. Soon it wasn't enough for him.

“Emily..” I understood his need.

“Yes” I nodded.

“Are you sure?”

“uhun” I nodded my head.

That was all the encouragement he needed. He locked the door and came back to me, lifted me in his arms and put me on the bed.

He needs time to lose his controlling attitude but until then I was willing to step down.

When I woke up, he was nowhere to be found. Apparently he had done some shopping while I was sleeping because I could see the dress hanging at the foot of the bed with a small note attached to it. It was the same kind of dress with a low back which I had worn for the club night. I got up and read the note.

“Wear this and come down, I’m waiting for you” control freak.  I smiled.

Sofy’s eyes went wide when she saw me coming down on the stairs. When I reached her,

“Did you…?” she asked

I couldn't help but blush.

“Oh my God” I smiled widely at her and she too smiled and gave me a hug.

“Does that mean you are staying?”

“Yes”

She giggled like a small girl and hugged me again. Jason walked towards us and put his arm around my waist. I blushed even redder and Sofy rolled her eyes at both of us. Soon it was time to cut the cake. We all gathered around Lily and her cake, sang her happy birthday. Jason helped Lily cut the cake, Lily took the piece of the cake and fed it to me. The cake tasted funny, sort of like metallic; there was something metallic in it. I spit the metal out on my hand, it was a ring. RING! Engagement ring! I looked around to see if anyone had lost their ring. But everyone was smiling at me, I couldn't understand why. Jason crossed over the table, took the ring from my palm and knelt down on one knee in front of me.

Oh my God! I couldn't believe what was going on. I pinched myself, sure I could feel it, so this was not a dream after all. Everyone laughed, Jason too. He was still on his knee waiting for my answer. There was nothing more than a word to tell him.

“Yes”

 He kissed me lifting in his arms, the sound of claps and their voices echoed in my ears.