CHAPTER I : The Nightmare

''Dad, what is happening?!'' Gideon asked his father, nervous and confused.

Ten years ago, a fatal car accident smashed the small town. It was ten o'clock in the evening when Glenn Grande had his seventeen-year-old son in the car. Glenn was apprehensive at those times while driving the car. He is driving too fast while chasing the one car.

''Just fasten your seat belt on, son!'' Glenn said to him.

Having no idea, Gideon just obeyed his father's command. He put on his seat belt and nervously watched his father furiously drive.

"I will kill you, William. You will see!” Glenn shouted and continued chasing the car.

Gideon was shocked. "Dad, what are you saying?! Please look at the lights, it's a warning!”

It seems that Glenn didn’t hear the voice of his son, but instead focused on chasing the car full of madness on his face. 

Because of driving fast, Glenn no longer obeyed the traffic light. He continued to drive without being aware of an oncoming car, and due to the fast driving, their car was thrown on the road just as hard. 

------

''Dad!'' 

Gideon gets up soon after the nightmare. That was not a dream. It really happened ten years ago, yet it is still fresh in his mind.

His head is still throbbing from the hangover.

"Damn, my head," he mumbled as he gently arose from his slumber, and he was surprised when he turned his sight to the woman sleeping next to him.

"Sucks, what did I do again?" He asks himself as he stands up and puts on his boxers and pants.

After a time, the door is knocked on.

''Damn!" He murmured as he slipped his pants on.

He attempted to awaken the woman whose name he had forgotten, maybe she is one of the bitches she got drunk with yesterday night.

"Babe, I'm still drowsy, let me stay here," said the woman.

He was taken aback when this woman called him "babe."

Until his Uncle Sam slammed the door open.

"Gid, I knocked several times—-Ow," he said as he noticed the woman lying on the bed.

"Nah, Uncle, I don't even know who she is, believe me," Gideon says, scratching his brow.

Sam took a big breath, saying, "Never mind, go fix this and I'll come back to you later." and exited the room.

Gideon nodded and looked at the woman.

He walked into the bathroom and stared at himself in the mirror, wondering how long he could distract himself from a nightmare he would never forget for the rest of his life. He returned his attention to his body, the scratch on his chest that would never fade.

"Babe! I'm leaving now; I'll see you later," he heard the woman say in his room.

He didn't say anything; instead, he rolled his eyes and proceeded to shower.

------

Jodie awoke in her bed at seven o'clock in the morning. She peered out the window, her gaze drawn to the sunlight beyond the apartment. She was surprised at how lovely the environment was, but she saw that the beauty of the world seemed to be the polar opposite of her existence. She abruptly closed the curtain and prepared to leave her room.

She went to the restroom to wash her face. She looked in the mirror and stared at herself. She didn't look gorgeous at all, or so she thought. After her parents died in the tragedy, she raised her younger brother. She virtually forgot about herself, not wearing make-up or buying her own clothing. She must work hard for her brother in order to pay for his schooling as well as his asthma medication.

"Good morning," her brother said as he stepped out of his room.

"Good morning, my lion!" she said joyfully.

"What's for breakfast?" He inquired as he sat on the couch

"Name it, and I'll prepare it for you!" She said cheerfully.

Even though they no longer had parents, Jodie did everything she could to help her brother feel less alone and unhappy.

''Uh uh, fried scrambled eggs are still much tastier," he added, winking at his elder sister.

Jodie grinned and approached Jake, her brother, kissing him on the cheek. "As you wish, master," she said.

Jodie goes to the kitchen and prepares the stove pan for cooking..

After an hour, Jodie decided to go to the Collins hospital to follow up her brother’s free medication.

''Ms. Jodie Ellen, continue to the counter," the lady instructed Jodie, as she made her request for her brother's prescription.

Jodie stepped up to the counter with some documents in her hands.

"I'd want to apply for my younger brother's free medicine," she told the woman behind the desk.

The woman said nothing but checked the papers.

Jodie was patiently awaiting the response.

"And when was his last asthma attack?" "

"Last three days, Ma'am."

The woman nodded and returned to her computer.

"Did he cease taking his medication before attacking?" The woman asked once more.

"Yes, Ma'am, because I don't have enough money to buy him medicine," Jodie says sadly.

"Leave your contact information here, Ms. Ellen, and we'll notify you when the doctor accepts your application," the woman stated as she withheld her documents.

"Thank you, Ma'am," Jodie said as she collected the documents and nodded. 

She then went away from the hospital.

After leaving the hospital, she went straight to her place of work, to a small restaurant as a waitress. She actually worked twice as hard to meet the needs of her youngest brother. At times, her boss scolded her for not following a customer's request properly. Even though it was hard, she had to endure it, because she didn't know a job because she had dropped out of college, since their parents passed away.

When she was younger, she hoped to become a famous writer. She enjoys writing, and her imagination is boundless, so even though she has yet to find a job, she continues to write every night.

-----

At Grande Group, everyone is busy working, including Sheila, Gideon's college friend and now his secretary in the company.  Sheila was managing the staff at the moment as they researched a concept for greater empathizing with their work.

"I'll get your work later, and please remember to highlight the best headline," she says as she walks to the CEO's office.

When she knocked on the door, Gideon let her in. He was signing documents on his table.

"Gideon, I'm particularly stressed this morning since our staff didn't work properly, and how many times have I instructed them to highlight and emphasize their work?" she grumbled.

Gideon, on the other hand, refused. Instead, he still signed the papers.

Sheila gets bored, "As always, you didn't talk to me when it's not important," she said while putting up her hands in the air.

"Did you come here only to tell me that?" Gideon asked coldly.

"Well, Mr. Grande, I just wanted to share it with you because you are the CEO of this organization." She widened her eyes.

Gideon shook his head and put down his pen. "Just do your job, Sheila, and I'll get you a meeting with them after this," he added. 

"Alright, and just to refresh your memory. The company will be celebrating its 20th anniversary next week. "Sheila explained.

"Please incorporate that in the meeting later," Gideon thought. ‘’You can leave." He orders Sheila.

Gideon was always chilly to her, and he didn't even notice her seductive clothing today. She looked back at Gideon, who was busy signing the documents on the table, she rolled her eyes and left the office.

 -----