He chuckled before dropping his phone on the table after he sent the text, his pride was still hurt and now was the time he could show her who was boss—he obvious was. His phone vibrated again and he rushed to it only to find a text from his mum, informing him of the arrival of another gift.
He groaned before dialing her number but his numerous calls were ignored, she probably already knew the reason he was calling. Jackson took off his shirt and flung it on the sofa, glancing at his wrist watch and mentally calculating the time of her arrival."She should be able to navigate, find her way to cafe dium by 9:10 and get here by 9:15," he said to himself then remembered her conversation with Harry earlier about her not knowing her way around. He estimated her time of arrival to be 9:30 pm, after that he had other frustrating plans in mind—not for himself, for her.How the hell did she deem fit to equal him to a criminal? That was absurd.Another text came in. Your gift should arrive real soon, treat this one well. It took a while to get such good offer.Courtesy of his mother, of course. His anger spiked, as he quickly checked if all exits are locked, no one should be able to get in unless he opened up. That thought did much to relief him so he decided to take a shower before his new PA arrived— the same one he had high hopes of frustrating. He picked up a container of pills that sat next to his phone, it rattled as he opened it, plopping its content into his mouth. It was his daily medication that decreased the chances of an anxiety attack, he got them almost everyday especially when he was surrounded by people— an unappreciated gift from his career path.He took off his clothes and turned the dim lights on, it was going to be an excruciatingly longbshower or even a bath after he had sprayed Calvary's new men perfume countless times during the shoot. The smell still chocked him, leaving an extremely bitter taste in his lungs. He set a foot into his golden brown fully tiled bathtub after pouring a little of his Time Dye men body wash and scattering a few rose petals. Sometimes he liked to smell pretty, especially on a day like this.He sat in the bathtub regretting his choice of not bringing a bottle of champagne with him to complete his journey to nirvana. He'd be having a kiss scene with Natasha as soon as the shoot begins, that was enough reasons to be depressed. A kiss scene at the very beginning of the movie shoot, just a few weeks away. He had always hated kiss scenes, but the ones he'd had with Natasha, he hated them even more. He sighed before grabbing his soft sponge and scrubbed his tender skin with it.A sound came from the direction of the living room—faint but audible, he brushed it off, he was convinced that he was alone. But what if he wasn't? The thought caused bumps to rise on his skin and he jumped out of the shower, quickly putting on a robe and heading to the living room. The sound grew louder with every step he took—it sounded like the footstep of a person. Maria couldn't have gotten in, he thought. Then who?Who!? He mentally cried.After all he had done to finally get a place that was a secret from Paparazzi and fans, he still had to handle this? He even left his Penthouse behind for a location of peace and tranquility no matter how small.What if it was one of his deluded fans? He had had several encounters with a number of them; he got things like already worn panties and bras flung towards him. A particular one had traumatized him after landing directly on his head; a brown lacy panties that smelled like butt—it really did.His masculinity wasn't for situations like this, he was terrified out of his mind. Was he being burgled? Should he alert the police officers?No, he concluded. He needed to be sure so as to not make a fool out of himself. He'd man up and face whatever this was head on, his trembling hand said otherwise and he clenched them. He tiptoed to the living room where the sound came from.A resounding squeal occupied the room, and he couldn't believe that came from him, it sounded like the fire alarm a sound from a protesting little girl who had he doll snatched. He stood and prayed for his legs not to give up as he saw a creature prancing his living room under the dim light. The creature seemed to have noticed his presence too, so it stopped all movements and merely looked in his direction. His heart ran a thousand miles per second while his head went faint from the fear. Breathing got harder by the second and he knew he could pass out anytime soon.Mentally, Jackson was running to the light switch to enhance the view of whatever was the source of his horror, but physically, all the parts of him that aided movement didn't function. He let out another terrified scream as the creature moved closer to him but he still couldn't run. His knees weak and skin pale, he resorted to screaming till his own messiah comes—but no one did. On complete impulse, he ran to the other side of his room as his presumed predator moved closer. Luckily, that was where the light switch was. He flicked it on and his face fell. "What in the hell!" He exclaimed loudly as he realized what it was. No, it was a who. In his precious living room stood a man, agreeably the same age as he was, smiling and pouting. The image made him dizzy and his thinking got warped. The man was in nothing but a short, extremely short short and his skin glistening like he dropped into oil. He ran his hands through his overly gelled blond hair and blew a kiss to Jackson who was still appalled by what stood before him.The man flexed his muscles, he was tall and could pass off for a wrestler or a gym instructor. His fingers ran between his abs, he stuck out a tongue seductively and walked even closer; poor Jackson still shocked and putting two and two together crumbled against the wall with his hand on his head."You're such an eye candy," the man finally said, his voice being the polar opposite of his appearance. His feminine voice made Jackson's stomach rumble with discomfort. "I wonder why Mrs has to pair you up." He flexed his manicured fingers now. "Come over here sweetheart, daddy would show you a nice time."Like a kid who got separated from his favourite toy, Jackson couldn't decide whether his present emotion was sadness, anger or a mixture of both. He was too stunned to speak. His mother had graduated from trying to set him up with seductive girls, to weird, terrifying gay guys, did he ever mention to her that he was gay? Then why was she torturing him this way? Now over twenty strangers knew the password to his home no matter how many times he changed it!The stranger was relentless nonetheless, he still made attempts to get closer to Jackson, who jumped from one sofa to the other, yelling to be left alone, also threatening to call the cops and sue him for sexual harassment. The intruder soon caught up with Jackson and pulled him into a menacing embrace. He was a stronger counterpart which gave Jackson a hard time breaking free from the hug."Stop fighting your desire, candy," he said again as he pressed his chin against struggling Jackson's face.Their "intimate" time was broken apart by the voice of a lady recognizable to Jackson."I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed. "I- I shouldn't have- the door was open so I just-" his new PA stuttered almost running out of the room. If he were a multidimensional rabbit, he'd have dug a hole right there to another universe. But those didn't exist.He finally broke free from the breathtaking—literally—embrace."This isn't- this isn't what you think in the slightest!" He yelled before picking up a pillow and throwing at the man who stood before him—clearly unfazed. What else would anyone think if they walked into a room contained by two grown men—one in a boxer and the other in a robe—in that very awkward position. His face was drained of every color."Oh, I must have left the door open, hun," the stranger said fanning his face with his fingers. "I didn't know we were going to be having company," he turned to the astonished PA."Get out! Get out of my house! Right now!" He ordered, still throwing a fit. It would be a very ridiculous story if he had to explain this to the police. He'd rather just take it up with his mother.The stranger winked before heading out, and Jackson fell tiredly to the sofa."Your boy- uh, he's not wearing his cloth-," His PA said to him, pointing towards the door and he responded with a yell."Just shut up and give me the coffee!"She did as he said, but in a more composed manner. His rudeness didn't seem to affect her in the way he wanted. Again, his fragile pride was hurt."Where did you get this from?' he asked with a bitter expression on his face even though Café dium was clearly indicated on the cup as he earlier predicted."The coffee shop on the street, Cafe Di-"He interrupted as he spat out the content of the cup. "Did you get me cappuccino!? Weren't you informed that I hated Cappuccino?" He asked the lady who just stood staring into his eyes—unintimidated."Well, it's not everyday I resume twelve hours before my actual time of resumption and get coffee for my boss at 9pm," she started politely. "And you didn't indicate what you wanted so I naturally assumed everyone liked a decent Cappuccino.""I am Jones Jackson, not anyone!" He ordered handing her whatever was left of the cup, "Make me some of the one I have instead." He pointed to the kitchen with a smug grin. He'd do all he can to make her grovel, and he was already in a disoriented mood after his encounter with the stranger today so he might as well take it out on someone."Okay," she responded without protest and headed to the kitchen. This surprised him even more, he expected her to protest but she didn't. He'd just wait to see how long she could put up with this.She arrived five minutes later with a cup of coffee, its aroma filled his nose and the whole room. Now he just needed to find a fault in it."Too hot, are you planning to skin me alive?" He complained as he placed the cup on the table."I'd make another, sir." She left to the kitchen again, coming back with a newly made cup.He brought the cup to his nose, inhaling the sweet smell of coffee, then to his mouth. It was surprisingly good. Good enough to fit his need."Too light, I'm not sixteen, mum," he rolled his eyes and watched her go back into the kitchen with balled fist. This was fun for him.The door slammed shut and he jolted at the sound of it, then his mother walked in throwing her Black prada purse by the entrance and kicking her boots off. She wore a floral dress that clung unto every part of her body, complimenting her hour glass figure and a thin, blue monochrome scarf that tied her red hair. No one would believe she birthed someone as old as he was unless a birth certificate was available."Son! You messed this up again!" The angry voice of his mother filled the room. How did she even get in!"The goddamn password!" He cussed silently. He really should change it into something she'd never figure out. He watched his ever so boisterous mother match annoyedly into the living room."Theodore just told me how bad you treated him and I needed to come see for myself!" She ranted on then stopped as soon as his PA made his way out of the kitchen, with another cup of coffee in her hand."Oh!" Mrs Jones exclaimed, "I see what's happening here. Oh my goodness she's so beautiful," she walked to his Personal assistant—who had a confused expression on her face and pulled her into a big hug. "Why didn't you tell me you already had someone, son?!"Wait... what?*FINAL CHAPTER*"I found the pills, and- and I don't know what to say," she broke down and started to cry. "After all these while, you still take them? I thought you were done! I thought you were clean! God... it's been six months and you kept lying to me! You lied to me!"She watched him wince and he sought the right words to say. He crumbled before her. He looked like the ghost of his former self."Why do you keep going back? After rehab! After the therapy sessions, why do you keep going back!?" She yelled, frantic. Her terror was built up by the moment."Because no one understands!" He yelled back. "No matter how hard I try to be me, no matter how hard I try to stop, I keep finding my way back to it! I was clean! Till I wasn't. I tried! I tried and tried but there was nothing to help me get through it""But I am here-""No, not like that. I know but not that like that, okay?" He threw the cup on the table across the wall and grabbed his head, pulling and thugging at his hair, "Wha
Jackson- Jackson had been hit. She chanted in her head, it replayed over and over. The image of him struggling with Andrew, that was the last thing she remembered before the world fell into a threatening silence. Her eyes slowly opened to a blinding glow of light. She shut them back because they hurt. Maria tried again and opened her eyes slowly this time. It took a while to overpower the headache and realize that she was in a hospital, and next to her was Jackson, fast asleep with half his body on the bed and the lower half on the chair that was next to the bed.She would have shouted if her throat didn't feel clogged. Jackson was next to her. What had happened? It felt as though it's been months till she last saw him. Maria squirmed lightly, shaking the bed a little to wake him up. She needed to know what had happened. Everything felt like a threat."Jackson, Jackson," she called out slowly and when he didn't answer, she could feel her eyes begin to water, "Jackson, please wake up.
On his phone's screen was a picture of Maria unconscious and with a nasty injury on her head. He was still at Harry's when he received the picture. He had been shocked beyond word, and Harry had to squeeze the phone out of his hands to know the reason for his shock. The message came with an instruction of confidentiality and an address he was asked to come discreetly without company, if he did anything out of place, she would be badly hurt. If the shock hadn't been obvious on his face, Jackson would have thought going alone was the best option. He couldn't stand the thought of something bad happening to her. She had been through enough already. It's been long since Jackson experienced such crippling anxiety. It was as though every nerve in his body worked at a faster pace and then took a downward spiral at intervals. This was bad. It was really bad. He never should have left her, clearly, he underestimated Andrew. This has to be his doing, it wasn't traceable to anyone else. "Calm
For the brief moment that her eyes pried open, she felt that she was in transit. A vehicle or whatever mode of transportation it was, after that she drifted into another deep sleep till hours later. Or had it been days? Maria wasn't quite sure. She woke up with a splitting headache and tried to recognize the environs she found herself in. She didn't. And in the process of that, her headache got worse. Had she been hit? There was a banging pain at the side of her head, it hurts so much it could kill and she reached for it, except her hands weren't moving. It took all she had to tilt her head and see that it had been tied to the side of the chair in which she sat. Maria couldn't understand what was going on, she tried to recall and in bits and pieces, her memories began to sum up something more reliable. In violent glimpses, she could remember how foolishly she had opened the door for someone who was supposed to be her pizza delivery guy, when she tried to remember what happened after
Harry left a while after bouncing on and off their discussion, they discussed how factual the situation may be and possible ways of finding out the truth. All of which Maria heard. Was pretending she did not hear all this lying? She had to speak to Jackson about it, but somehow she couldn't find the right way to. She appeared in the living room with her happiest smile and liveliest gaze, it was sickening. The shock, the thoughts. It ate at her at an unbelievable pace."Good morning, sunshine," Jackson said at the sight of her, his smile was faltering, and so was his facade. "I was just about to find you an audition for the sleeping beauty two, did you sleep well?"Of course, he was going to hide all of it behind humor. Was she beginning to get mad at him for not telling her the truth immediately? How long does he plan to hide it? Again, at the back of her mind, she felt as though she had no right to react. "I think I'd be a better Cinderella or Moana." She responded and gave him a b
Things were going well, or they should be considering neither of them has brought up the issue with Andrew. It was due to be handled and Jackson had the perfect plan, but that could wait. Their relationship is what needed fixing. They didn't go back to the penthouse yet and everything was going okay, except for the never-ending apologies Maria offered and her 'do you still love me?" at frequent intervals. After what happened, Jackson was sure he could never stop loving her even when he tried, and her feelings were more obvious now after whatever discussion she'd had with his mother.Everything should be fine. They were back on track, and slowly and steadily, they'd be able to put their differences behind them. And of course, he was going to help her with her career, once the storm was over, he'd assist her in any way he could. She deserved to have her dreams fulfilled. It was morning and the coffee makers around him somehow only listened to Maria, so he has to sit and wait for her to