DON'T TOUCH ME

JADE

When I opened my eyes in the morning, I felt sore down there. Last night, Max had gone on and on until I passed out. My head ached and my body felt weak but I knew I had to get the money from Max to the doctors.

I got up, put on my clothes, and looked around the room but there was no sign of Max Anderson. Ignoring the pain in my body, I rushed into the bathroom but he wasn't there.

I became alarmed, thinking he had left without giving me the money but then I spotted a cheque slip on the table beside the bed. A hundred thousand dollars was written on it along with his signature but there was no name and date on it.

I heaved a sigh of relief and quickly left with the cheque slip. When I arrived at the hospital, Henry's mom was by his bedside sitting dejectedly.

"I got the money," I said, giving the cheque to her.

She took it from me and stared at it in shock, "A hundred thousand! Max Anderson? How did you get him to give you this cheque?"

"I got a job working for him," I replied.

She pulled me into her arms and hugged me as tears rolled down her cheeks, "Thank you so much, my daughter. Let me write my name on the cheque so I can quickly cash it. I'll be right back."

She ran out and I sat by Henry's bed, staring at his unconscious face which had become pale. I squeezed his hand and said, "I'm sorry, Henry, I had no other choice. I love you so much."

About an hour later, Henry's mom ran into the room and I instantly stood up. She pulled me into her arms again and hugged me, saying, "Do you realize what you have done for me? This mother will always be grateful to you. No matter what happens, my son will spend the rest of his life with you because I only want you as my daughter-in-law."

I smiled, "Thanks, mom."

The doctors soon came in and I was informed by Henry's mom that they were going to leave the country for his treatment and were expected to be back in two to three weeks.

That was a long time for me, but it was worth the wait if Henry was going to return healthy.

After they left, I went back home to rest a little before going back to work. I bumped into my aunt whom I lived with and she gave me an earful, telling me how useless I was for sleeping out.

I lied that I was forced to work through the night by my boss before she let me be. After resting for a while, I freshened up and bought some snacks before going back to the club where I worked.

My friend, Cassandra became excited when she saw me and said, "Hmm...see who's glowing. Yesterday you were hesitant but now, you got a hundred thousand dollars for doing a good job. Tell me, how does it feel?"

I stared at Cass in surprise, "How did you know that the amount I got was a hundred thousand dollars?"

She chuckled, "Why are you surprised? The news is all over the place. A lot of people here are envious of you now."

My face fell as I felt a tightness in my chest.

Cass rolled her eyes, "Don't be dramatic. What's the big deal if everyone knows you slept with Max Anderson for a hundred thousand dollars? Others would do it for free, you know."

I bit my lips, "I didn't know Max Anderson was such a blabbermouth. I can't work here anymore."

I turned to leave but Cass pulled me back, "You got an extra fifty thousand dollars so even if you decide not to work for months, you'll still be fine, so cheer up."

I shook my head, "No, I gave all the money to Henry."

Cass's mouth widened in surprise while I turned and walked away.

I went straight to my boss's office and he smiled the moment he saw me, "If it isn't my favorite employee."

I knew Max must have paid him a lot of money last night, considering how happy he was to see me.

I sighed, "Sir, what happened last night has somehow reached the ears of everyone and they're all talking about it."

He smiled, "Is that so? Maybe one or two people must have slipped their mouths, but forget about it. It happens! I mean, how many virgins do we have here?"

I shook my head, "No, sir. I cannot work here anymore."

"What? Come on, Jade. After what you did last night, I'd like you to keep working here. You never know, Max Anderson might breeze in some other time and still ask for you."

I stared at him in surprise, "No, sir. I'm not doing that again. I only did it because someone's life was in danger, and I needed to save him."

He sighed, "So, what do you want?"

"I want to resign," I replied.

"You want to resign? You do know it's not yet the end of the month. I can't pay you if you leave now." He told me.

"But I've worked for more than fifteen days this month. Please, sir."

"Don't be greedy. You got a hundred thousand dollars last night, so I'm sure you still have a lot of money." He said in an annoyed tone.

"No, sir, I don't have any money with me. Everything has gone into the treatment of..."

"What treatment? You asked for fifty thousand, and Max Anderson was generous enough to give you a hundred." He snapped.

"Please, sir, just write me a cheque, even if it's not the entire sum, just for the period I have worked," I pleaded.

I finally left after he wrote me a cheque. The money I made there was good enough and I had planned to work for two years while saving up for college. I had already spent all my savings on Henry's treatment so I had nothing.

I quickly cashed the cheque and went back home with some dollar notes. My aunt came home early and was surprised to see me. When I told her I had lost my job, she asked me to move out if I planned on being a burden to her but I gave her some of the dollar notes and promised to get another job.

I left the house later and began to search for a job. I was lucky to get one in a restaurant. It didn't pay as much as I earned in the club but it was still good enough.

The next three weeks proved to be difficult for me as I missed Henry so badly and couldn't get through to him or his mum. Almost four weeks later, I decided to stop by his house on my way to work, and to my surprise, I noticed that their blinds were open.

There was a brand new SUV parked in front of the house and just as I approached the door, Henry's mom came out of the house.

"Mom!" I exclaimed and ran to her.

She hugged me and smiled, "Oh my God, Jade! It's so nice to see you again. We came back last night and I was just about to call you before heading to the store."

Henry's mom looked beautiful and was putting on designer clothes. I could immediately tell that Henry's surgery was successful. I peeped into the house and saw him sitting on a chair.

I excitedly ran into the house and stared at him. He had been unconscious for more than five months but now he looked healthy and also wore designer clothes.

"Henry!" I exclaimed and sat beside him. I leaned forward and hugged him, careful not to hurt him in any way.

"Hey, Jade," he replied.

He did not return my enthusiasm and I concluded that it was because he was still recuperating. I took his hands in mine and my eyes brimmed with tears as I said, "Welcome back, Henry. I missed you so much. You have no idea how happy I am to see you."

He nodded, "Thank you, Jade. Mom told me that if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have gotten treatment."

"Let's forget about that," I replied. "You know I will do anything for you."

"I'll see you guys later," his mum called out before walking away.

The moment she did, Henry pulled his hands away from mine and said, "Don't touch me with those filthy hands of yours. You disgust me!"

"What??" My face fell in shock.