COMPLICATED – Episode 16

COMPLICATED 

 

Written by Princess Juliet

 

Episode 16

 

The sick girl he saved

 

It was not until the next morning that Jayden got discharged from the hospital and although hearty, he was still a little shaken up and just laid there on the bed gazing up at the ceiling as he waited for Nanny Evie to return from the doctor’s office.

 

His hair was in disarray, his eyes were sunken in, his face was ashen, and he looked so weak.

He didn’t-couldn’t sleep a wink last night as his mind was filled with the thoughts of his late mother.

 

His heart cried out bitterly just remembering her smile, her laughter, and the gentleness in her eyes when she talks to him. She was his angel that lighted up his world, his first love and friend who was always there for him, ‘Gosh!’ More anger stirred within him and he bit his lips to keep them from quivering, ‘You fool, Jayden! how could you have forgotten her?’He felt so much pain that he couldn’t forgive himself.

 

Thousands of questions began to pop into his head, all of which made him so confused.

Why did dad hide the truth from me? Why did he deceive me? Why did he lie to me? Who exactly is Mary to me? And what about Greg, Is he my mother’s son too?…….

 

The sudden sound of the door opening interrupted his thoughts and he turned his head in its direction, Nanny Evie was standing close to the door way and looked a sight with her red swollen eyes. She didn’t sleep all through the night and had just watched Jayden turn and toss helplessly on the bed.

 

“How did it go?” Jayden forced himself to ask her.

 

“Very well, son,” Her gaze landed softly on his eyes and her voice was gentle, “The Doctor prescribed some medicines for you. Alprazolam and Ben…benzodiap……’She almost bit her tongue when pronouncing that and Jayden couldn’t help but smile

 

“It is called Benzodiazepines,” He corrected her, “and it is an anti-anxiety drug that helps calm the nerves.” He explained.

 

Nanny Evie nodded her head, shuffled her feet, but said nothing. She was at loss as to how to respond, for she didn’t even understand him.

 

“Where is dad?” Jayden asked as he weakly climbed out of the bed. “Didn’t he come to pick me up?”He retrieved his jacket from the chair beside him, draped it across his shoulder and then proceeded to put on his boots.

 

“No, he didn’t.” Nanny Evie replied, “but he sent his driver to do that.” She quickly added seeing the bewildered look across his face and Jayden scoffed at her.

 

Without another word, he picked up his phone from the bed and walked out of the door and ran into Greg right in the hallway.

 

“Hey, little bro,” Greg’s face lit up with a broad smile and Jayden just nodded his head in response, he didn’t know what to think about him anymore.

 

“I can see that you’re already up and bouncing.” Greg teased, laughing with a rich, throaty chuckle and Jayden found himself smiling.

 

“You’re here to work, right?” He asked his brother.

 

“Yeah, sure,” Greg nodded his head thoughtfully, “I have an appointment with an important patient this morning and I don’t wanna keep him waiting.”

 

“Alright then, I’ll see you at home.” Jayden’s smile was strained as he walked past him and started toward the entrance. Nanny Evie followed silently behind him and was lost in thought wondering who exactly Greg was.

 

“Do you know what Gwapo is?”Greg’s question brought them to a standstill and Jayden’s heart skipped a beat. Every muscle in his body stiffened and slowly he turned, step by step, inch by inch, his mind a jumbled mixture of confused emotions.

 

“What…What did you say?” He wanted to be sure that he heard right and Greg noticing his uneasiness shrugged his shoulders with a nonchalant air

 

“I mean, I heard your whispers yesterday. That was the last word you said before passing out.” He looked straight into Jayden’s eyes as if trying to read him and Jayden turned away his face immediately so he wouldn’t notice his discomfort.

 

“Perhaps, I just blurted it out,” he said the first thing that came into his mind and then whispered to his nanny who just stood there watching them. “Let’s go.” With that, they both walked out through the front door and turned to the other side of the hospital, heading to the parking lot.

 

“And I safely dropped off your date, Atarah at her home should in case you are worried about her.” Greg called out to him and Jayden couldn’t help but feel grateful to him.

When he turned on his phone, he got more than two dozen voicemail messages, six of which came from Atarah.

 

“Call me Dr Jayden, I’m seriously worried about you.”

 

“You really need to call me right now.”

 

“Okay! Your brother offered to drive me home. Should I go with him?”

 

“Alright! Fine! I”m already on my way home and I seriously need you to call me.”

 

“Will you call me, for goodness’s sake?” She sounded a bit frustrated this time around and a smile plucked at the side of Jayden’s mouth, his eyes twinkling with humour as he listened to the last one which she had sent only a few minutes ago. “Good morning, Dr Jayden.”

 

“Good morning, princess.” He whispered these words to himself and Nanny Evie’s brow furrowed in guarded curiosity as she stared at him

 

“Your girlfriend?”

 

“No,” He grunted his response and climbed into the back seat of a white sports car. It was one of his dad’s collections and was his first time riding in it. “Are you coming with me, Nanny Evie?”He held his breath as he waited for her answer.

 

“Of course, yes,” She chuckled lightly as she eased her chubby body into the seat beside me, “I have to make sure that you get home safely before leaving.” Her response made Jayden smiled and he nodded his head slightly before signalling the driver to move.

She was the only one he could trust right now, his dad and Mary were nothing but d**n liars.

 

~~~~

 

They got to the mansion in no time as the driver passed through a shorter route to avoid the morning rush hour. Briskly, Jayden alighted from the car, slammed the door shut and walked straight into the house.

 

“Wait for me, Jayden.”Nanny Evie called after him but he completely ignored her and ran lightly up the stairs and to his father’s room. He needed his explanation, he needed him to give him a good reason, he wanted to believe that he, his father was right and that he had lied just to protect him.

 

Without knocking, he barged through the door and found his father standing in front of the mirror, shaving his face. He was still in his pyjamas and a white towel was loosely wrapped around his neck.

 

“Jayden?”Trent paused shaving and stiffened as he breathe in his son’s familiar scent, and then he spun around, bracing himself for the worst.

 

“What happened to my mum?” Jayden asked him calmly and he looked away from him and swallowed hard, “Your….mum…..Is…..is…….” D**n! He swore quietly under his breath and wiped the sweat that’d begun to form on his brow, he’d never imagined it to be this difficult. “She.. she… is………”

 

 

“Dead?” Jayden helped him out and he nodded his head slowly. “Why then did you lie to me?” Hearing the pain in his son’s voice shook him and he forced himself to look at him, “Why dad?” Jayden was so torn he couldn’t hold back his tears anymore, he let them pour down freely. It was just too painful for him to bear.

 

 

“I’m sorry, son,” Trent apologized for his mistakes, “so sorry for lying to you. You were so young and then you woke up from that coma looking lost and confused. You couldn’t remember a thing about her, you couldn’t remember your mother, and so I thought it was best everything remained that way……”

 

 

“And that is why you brought your mistress into this house, right?”Jayden drawled sarcastically and Trent let out a deep sigh before speaking

 

“Mary isn’t my mistress, she is my first love who later became my wife……..”He declared and Jayden froze, his face twisted with pain. ‘What?’

 

“……..The mother of my first son and your stepmother too.”

 

“Meaning you were cheating on my mum?” Jayden didn’t want to believe his ears. He stared at his father, shocked and horrified.

 

“No! No! No!” Trent shook his head vigorously and attempted to hold him, but Jayden took a step backwards and glared at his father. “Don’t.” He warned icily and Trent blinked his eyes, confused. “It’s not like that, I loved your mother so much….”He tried to explain but Jayden wasn’t ready to listen to his bullsh*t.

 

He stormed out of the room full of rage and trotted down the staircase into the sitting room where he found Nanny Evie waiting patiently for him.

 

“Take me to my mother’s grave.”He told her as he picked up his car key from the centre table and she nodded wordlessly and walked ahead of him out of the house and to the garage.

 

She could feel his heart, his pain, his fears and this made her so sad.

 

“Are you sure you can drive?” She looked at him compassionately, with her heavy eyes and Jayden regarded her thoughtfully for a few moments.

 

“No, you drive.”He tossed the key to her, opened the car door and slid into the passenger seat.

 

Nanny Evie let out a sign of sadness before climbing into the driver’s seat beside him and without wasting time, she stepped on the gas and sped off to the city’s cemetery.

 

~~~~

 

By the time they got there, it was twelve, bang on the dot and Jayden swallowed hard, fighting back his tears as he stepped out of the car.

 

Greyish white headstone dotted the landscape before him. Everywhere he turned, a silence prevailed. Amongst the trees, the wind wisped whisking his hair into his face and he shivered in response, breathing in the dirt.

 

“Let’s go,” Nanny Evie whispered, leading the way into the cemetery and he silently followed behind her as they walked beside an iron fence to a colourful tombstone surrounded by beautiful flowers.

 

‘Is this it?’ He felt pricking under his skin as he noticed the names boldly carved in the stone.

“Matilda. A. Hobsons and little Evie Hobsons”

 

“Evie?” He looked at his nanny and gave her a questioning look.

 

“Yes.”Nanny Evie nodded her head slowly and wiped at her tears-stained cheeks as tears continued to roll down her face. “That is your unborn sister, don’t you remember?” She asked in a whisper but got no response. Jayden was speechless with shock and could only stare blankly at the grave in front of him. “You gave her the name yourself, you wanted to name her after me.”

 

“Oh my goodness!” He panicked silently and collapsed sacklike on the ground, breathing heavily, his eyes heavy with tears. He had not only lost his mother but also his little sister whom he’d never even met.

 

 

 

~~~~~~~~Washington state university~~~~~~

 

 

Atarah kept on turning her head here and there. She was restless and uncomfortable in every position and was finding it hard to concentrate in class.

 

Her mind was on Jayden and at the same time on Gwapo…….Gosh! She still didn’t know his name but was so bent on seeing him. She wanted to have a one-on-one conversation with him, wanted to thank him for not giving up on her twelve years ago and also wanted to take back her neck chain. It was a parting gift from her late father, and she couldn’t wait to have it back……..

 

“That’s all for today, class.”The professor’s loud voice interrupted her thoughts and she was more than pleased to know that the boring lecture has finally ended.

 

“Thank goodness!”She breathes a sigh of relief and sprang to her feet, slinging her handbag across her shoulder. And with short quick strides, she walked out through the door and took a shorter route across the fields and down a narrow road to the bus station, without bothering to wait for Hilary.

 

‘I’ll ring her up later.” She muttered to herself as she got into the next available bus heading to the Hobsons hospital.

 

~~

 

Eventually, the bus came to a screeching halt and Atarah alighted after paying the driver. She looked around her and breathe in the clear air.

 

The hospital environment was so calm and peaceful, unlike yesterday when it was looking like a war zone, all thanks to the crazy reporters.

 

With a smile on her lips, she walked into the reception and straight to the front desk. “Good afternoon ma’am,” she politely greeted the nurse on duty, a brown-skinned woman with short ginger hair and freckles. “Is Doctor Jayden in?” She asked after Jayden first.

 

“No, he isn’t……..”The woman stopped in mid-sentence when she raised her head up and her eyes grew wide in recognition at the sight of her. “Oh! It is his beautiful P.A.” She joked and Atarah laughed a dry laugh as she was in no mood for jokes. “Is he in?” She began to tap the floor impatiently with her foot and the woman didn’t fail to notice her foul mood.

 

“No,” She put on a straight face and began to paw on her computer keyboard, “He left for home this morning.”

 

‘Thank goodness!”Atarah couldn’t hide her excitement, She grinned like a Chesire cat, “What about his brother?” She asked after Greg and the woman paused typing to gaze up at her.

 

“Dr Greg?”She sounded a bit surprised.

 

Yeah, Dr Greg.” Atarah nodded her head vigorously, acting like she knew his name and the woman looked at her rather strangely

 

“He is in his office.” She drawled and Atarah bowed her head slightly in appreciation, “Thank you.”She started toward the hallway but suddenly stopped when she remembered that she didn’t know his office.

 

Swiftly, she turned around and saw the woman was watching her.

 

“In front of you,” The woman mouthed before she could ask for direction and she passed her a smile before stepping into the huge and spacious office.

 

Greg was about to make a phone call, but paused when he noticed Atarah standing in the doorway.

 

He scoffed silently, “What are you doing here, miss?”He folded his hands and frowned at her disapprovingly.

 

“I want to talk to you,” Atarah replied in a tiny voice.

 

For a moment Greg just stared at her, his expression sour and then he nodded his head, telling her to go on.

 

“Erm…….”Atarah cleared her throat nervously before she began to speak, “I just….erm….. want to thank you for everything, erm…..want to thank you for giving me the hope to live…….”

 

‘Hope to live?’Greg lifted his brow in silent wonder, ‘when…..where….and how did I do that?’ He was confused.

 

“……That one visit did something to me that I cannot explain, it was magical….” She paused for a moment and smiled dreamily as her mind was flooded with memories, the beautiful memories from that hospital room, …….”And when you held my hand……” She went on, “When you assured me that I’ll live, I knew I had to fight. I knew I had to survive so that I’ll get to see you again.” She spoke with so much passion and this made Greg even more confused.

 

 

“Do you have a crush on me?” His question brought Atarah back to her senses and she bit her lip hard and mentally scolded herself for acting so foolish

 

“Erm…..yes, I mean no,” She chuckled, trying to make light of the situation but Greg wasn’t ready to let her alone, he wanted to push and tease her to see how far she’d let him.

 

He rose up from his seat and moved closer to her with a mischievous smile plastered on his face. “Why are you here, Joanna?” He whispered and Atarah swallowed hard, breathing in his scent. He smelled like a heady mix of male musk and something so faint and sweet, it made her want to press her face to the skin of his chest for a better smell.

 

“I…want…to…talk……”She spoke gibberish that Greg didn’t understand and he just stared down at her.

 

Their eyes locked and he was overcome with a raw emotion that he couldn’t control. Without thinking twice, he lifted her chin delicately and kissed her lips.

 

Atarah froze, shocked by his action. She wanted to push him away, but then she thought.

‘He is my Gwapo right? The one I’ve been searching for, my childhood crush and love.’ So she succumbed to his touch. Her hands seemed to move on their own volition, running along his broad shoulders and wrapping around his neck as she returned the kiss passionately. But when he pulled away, she felt no spark in her bone, she felt no butterfly in her stomach, she was completely empty. ‘Oh no! What have I done?’ A wave of regret hit her and she stepped away from him. “I need to get going.” She mumbled her words and ran out of his office, crying softly.

 

Speechless for a long minute, Greg did nothing but stared after her. Little by little, it dawned on him that he’d just betrayed his younger brother.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~2:50 pm~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The afternoon sun was hot, and its rays dripped over the thousand or so tombstones like golden paint over an art jar. Slowly and with great difficulty, Jayden staggered to his feet and began shaking the dirt off his trousers. Tears were still in his eyes but he tried to look brave.

 

“Let me help you with it,” Nanny Evie offered to help dust off his clothes but he caught her hand in mid-air and dropped it gently. “I’m no longer a ten-year-old kid, Evie.”He chuckled lightly and led the way to the car.

 

Nanny Evie smiled lightly through her tears and admired him from behind. From the square-toed boots to the white shirt loosely tucked into his black trousers, his lean frame was something to admire.

 

“Your son grew up so well, Matilda.” She muttered under her breath and then sighed deeply her whole chest heaving. ‘I guess it is time to tell him my fears.”

 

 

“Are you driving?” Jayden asked her as he opened the car door and she looked at him, a bit startled.

 

“No honey, I need to rush to work,” Her fingers squeezed his gently as she pressed the key against his palm and he gazed down at her with a puzzled expression.

 

“But I can drive you down there.”He didn’t want her to leave and Nanny Evie smiled seeing the worried look in his eyes. This was the Jayden she knows, the innocent kid who loves her to a fault, the kid who was never tired of having her around him.

 

“Don’t worry Jay, I’ll check on you from time to time,” She promised and a slow smile spread over his mouth and spilled into his eyes.

 

“Alright,” He nodded and to her utmost surprise, pulled her closer and hugged her loosely. “Thank you, Evie.” He whispered and kissed her forehead before getting into his car and slamming the door shut.

 

“Take care of yourself, child.”She waved him goodbye and he honked the car horn in response and made a quick u-turn, driving down the highway leading to Atarah’s home. He wanted to see her and apologize to her in person for the embarrassment he’d caused her yesterday.

 

Finally! After a twenty minutes drive, he got to her home and met her mother outside drying clothes under the sun.

 

“Good afternoon ma’am,” He greeted as he alighted from his car closing the door behind him and Atarah’s mum just stared at him, her expression blank.

 

Jayden chuckled nervously and ran his hands through his hair, confused by her attitude. ‘Does she not like me?’ He let out a quiet sigh and decided to try again. “I want to see Atarah, ma.”

 

She nodded her head this time around and looked him up and down, noticing the weariness around him. “Are you alright?” Her motherly instinct pushed her to ask.

 

 

“Yes, I’m……”Jayden started to reply, but she cut him off abruptly

 

 

“Should I at least get you water to drink?” She looked at him concernedly and he had no choice other than to agree.

 

“That’ll be fine with me, ma.”

 

 

“Alright, child,” She wiped her wet hands on her dress as she walked into the house, “Come in, please.”She told him.

 

Jayden stepped into the sitting room and could hardly hide his surprise at seeing how sparsely furnished it was. His eyes slowly wandered to the old-looking sofa, the television, the picture frames with the pictures hanging on the wall and that was when he saw her—The sick girl from twelve years ago.

 

 

TBC

13 Comments

  1. You need to see the way I screamed, I wasn't expecting the banger.

    I had thought Atarah would recognize him first and not the other way round

    Atarah see yourself! Now you have Kissi kissi two brothers, chai!

  2. Just started reading today and I must say I am impressed.
    I read only a few stories on the site and this is worth reading, unpredictable and mindblowing.

    Ride on authoress!

  3. Pls hurry up and Post the next episode please. Atarah will still know that greg is the gwapo and Jayden is the person who saved her and who she gave her neck chain

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