Chapter Three - The Unexpected Visit

I just had a very weird dream. In that dream, I was unclothed with a man sleeping right beside me. When he turned around, it was clear that the man was Harrison. In my dream, he proceeded to move closer to me and caress the skin of my body. It felt very ecstatic. It has been years since I felt anything like this.

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It felt so wrong yet so right. The man in my dreams then moved his face slowly to my face as his hand crept all over my body. It gave me chills all over my spine. When he finally reached my ear, he spoke words only lovers would know. His voice was raspy and low, making my hair stand on end. I couldn’t make out what he said. After a few seconds of him continuing to whisper those dirty words, he finally stopped and looked at me with lustful eyes. He then grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and kissed me roughly.

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We stayed kissing for many minutes. I tried desperately to fight back but I failed miserably due to the fact that he had a tight grip on me. Suddenly, the kiss ended but not before Harrison left marks on my face. When I came to my senses, the dream was already gone.

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I woke up with a jolt. My heart was racing and I was sweaty from the excessive sweating I have been experiencing lately. The dream that I just witnessed is definitely one that I never expected to experience again. Ever.

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I was too nervous and shocked that I woke up all of a sudden. My head was spinning and felt heavy. My body felt hot and sweaty. I sat up on my bed, leaning my back against the headboard. Wow. What kind of dream was that? When I looked at my bedside clock, it was 3 AM in the morning.

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I was wondering how he could appear in my dreams. I never even talked to him once. Then again, it was probably because of my extreme curiosity and high admiration towards him.

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God, I really should stop. I am a twenty-nine year old woman working as a waitress. An eighteen year-old handsome heir would never be interested in me, right? Moreover, I am a single mother. No husband, no boyfriends. There is only one man that ever mattered to me and he left before we could even talk about it. So why does this feeling of loneliness still follow me around wherever I go?

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The stereotypes of being a single mother held a negative stigma in the eyes of the people for a very long time. It really traumatized me and my self esteem. It was more than enough to fuel my insecurities.

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I have had many partners throughout life, each one with their flaws. I am sure that most people did not have as many insecurities as I do. The thing is, I could not help it. I am a person who does not really know how to trust others. I am so afraid of trusting someone because if I did, then they would leave.

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This has been going on since I first stepped out of my childhood house. After deciding to leave the house that I was born in, the world seemed so much more brighter. I met some amazing men and started dating them. But something inside told me that I wouldn't be able to keep all these relationships. That was with men of my age, let alone with a guy much younger than I am. It would totally be impossible, at least that was what I thought.

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I really, really, really should stop admiring a guy that was much younger than me because he was out of my league; for sure. I mean, look at him. His hair was beautiful and silky, his skin so pale you could see the veins under it. He had a nice face, though, with large eyes and high cheekbones. And he had a cute laugh too!

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He wasn't like me, though. He looked way cooler than me in every possible way. Like he knew how to handle himself better than I ever would despite his age being much much younger than mine. But still… It felt like I wanted to admire him so much. Ugh! I don't know. I hate this gut feeling that I get from time to time.

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The glass of water on my bedside table felt so refreshing when I drank it. I was so parched, but the cool sensation of the ice in my throat helped calm me down. A few drops were left behind as I placed the glass back onto the bedside table. It would be a while before the anxiety went away and that thought alone made me feel nauseous. The room around me seemed blurry for a second before it all settled again. I closed my eyes, letting the sound of the wind outside lull me into a deeper slumber.

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Still, I couldn’t get back to sleep though. I tried reading the novel that I have put aside for so long. The story was set in the medieval era. The main plotline was about the romantic adventures of a young medieval prince who fell in love with one of his beautiful servants. I was told by my friend that the story is romantic but also very heartbreaking, but I haven’t reached that part yet.

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I read and read until my eyes were a little drowsy. I put down the book, knowing that I couldn’t continue on with such heavy eyes.

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The next thing I knew when I opened my eyes, the sun was peaking through the blinders. Amy was snuggled right next to me. She must have woken up much earlier than I did and went into my room to sleep with me.

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I hugged her tightly and kissed her. She smelled like a baby. My little baby girl. I caressed her cheeks and pecked on her forehead. She’s a spitting image of me. It’s like looking at myself, but much younger and smaller. Right when I snuggled Amy, I heard my doorbell rang. Who could it be?

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I sat up from my bed, still pretty drowsy. I looked at the alarm clock on the bedside table which was lit in red LED lights. It was 09:34 AM. I brushed my hair and put it up in a ponytail; getting ready to open the door.

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As I walked towards the door, I got an uneasy feeling inside of me. My heart started pounding so fast. This is unusual. I approached the door and peaked through the door hole. I saw a man standing with his back facing the door. He then turned around to press the doorbell.

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WOAH!

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MAN!

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I was shocked as heck! It was Harrison! What is he doing here?! Did he have the wrong address?

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Should I open the door? Dressed like this? Argh!

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I stepped back from the door as the doorbell kept on ringing. Shit! What do I do now?!

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I took a deep breath to clear my mind. I decided to put on a jacket that hung near the door because I was using a quite revealing dress. The doorbell rang one more time. I opened the door right away. And there, stood the visitor that I never expected would be standing in front of the door to my apartment.

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"Hello?" I said to him.

Harrison looked back at me with a bright smile and then his eyes landed over my figure. He didn't look away for a couple of seconds before his eyes met mine again.

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“Ah.. Hello...” Harrison spoke as he looked at me.

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“M-Mister Bonavich! How may I help you? Sorry, I was not really expecting anyone to come around here today, especially it being you, Sir."

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“Miss Ariadne Quinn. Please don’t be too formal. And... Uh... I'm sorry for the sudden visit. I must say I apologize for being such a nuisance today.” He said as he smiled softly.

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“Um, yeah. Don't worry too much about that. Please come in. Everything is a bit messy, though, I hope you would not mind.” I invited him in.

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“Thank you Miss Quinn.” Harrison said as he walked inside my small apartment.

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“Have a seat, please.”

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“Thank you.”

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I went to my small pantry and made a cup of tea for Harrison. As I brought it to him, he explained the reason why he came here.

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“I got your address from the employee data files that we have in the restaurant. I apologize for reading about your data, but I needed your address. I wanted to apologize for the incident in the restaurant, on behalf of my sister…”

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My face turned red, from anger and not from shame.

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He looked at me with pity as if I was some poor woman who had no one to blame but myself.

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Harrison continued, “I am sorry that you had to witness such an event. And I want to apologise for the damage done to you by my sister. Please forgive me.”

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“… So I brought this huge box of snacks. I thought you would like it.”

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I kept quiet and looked at the floor. The frown on my face was pretty apparent as I stayed silent.

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“I truly apologize, Miss Quinn.”

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It seemed like a long time until I answered him. When I finally spoke up, it wasn't the answer he expected.

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“There is nothing for forgiveness, but thank you for being concerned for me. I am fine now. Thank you for taking care of me. I appreciate it very much.”

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Harrison looked at me in shock, but I knew he felt very sorry. Maybe that really was not the answer that he had expected after all. He did not try to interrupt me nor talk back to me. I gathered all my courage to speak up to him, and let him know that I am not just a mere low life person who could be stepped on all over by people coming from filthy rich families. No. I am not one of those people.

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“I’m sorry, but, if your sister wanted to apologize, why couldn’t she come here and say it straight to my face? She could cuss me out in front of my face like that, but not apologize directly?” I spoke in a low, monotonous voice, but sheer of any aggression at all.

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Harrison kept quiet. There was an anxious look on his face.

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“Uhm… Actually, my sister didn’t want to apologize. So I came here, because I felt very bad about how my sister acted last time. I hope you’re okay with that…”

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I glared at him, which made him broke eye contact with me. He was looking at the floor.

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“I hope your sister regrets what she did.”

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“…”

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“The only reason I’m still staying at this job is because I have a daughter to feed. What your sister did was very wrong. She humiliated me in front of the patrons and my coworkers. It hurt my heart deeply.”

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There was an awkward silence. It was like we were both thinking about something. Harrison was looking down and biting the inside of his cheeks, while he was trying not to make eye contact with me.

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“I’m sorry, I truly am. I apologize for the horrendous things my sister had done to you, Miss Quinn. I apologize from the bottom of my heart.”

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Harrison apologised as he bowed to me. The young man was so shocked with what his sister had done. His father would never do this to him or any of their family, or even any of their workers. It was purely the fault of Elaine, actually.

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Harrison’s face was gloomy. He felt very awful and guilty. Where it wasn’t actually his fault. I pity him for having such an evil sister.

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Seeing Harrison like that made my heart melt a little. Surely it was not entirely his fault. I should have appreciated his effort for coming all over here to apologize to me despite the fact that it was his sister in the wrong. I guess I should probably soften up by now.

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I tried to open up and initiate another conversation to break up the rather awkward silence. Harrison still had his head positioned like he was waiting for a death sentence or something. His eyesight was darted right onto the floor. Guess I should not press him much further, he was just trying his best to compensate for the things that his evil sister had caused. I wonder how many times he had done this for the sake of her abominable sister?

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It must have felt very horrible to have a sibling that acted that way. Moreover, you have to be held accountable at times for the shit that not even you did yourself. I am glad I did not have a sibling that acted that way. I have brothers and sisters that loved me so.

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“Okay, Mister Harrison. Thank you. I appreciate your efforts for coming over here. I really do. Thank you for the snacks, as well. Amy would definitely love these.” I said slowly.

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I could feel a smile creeping up Harrison’s face right now. It must have felt like a huge load of boulders were taken off of his shoulders, I was guessing.

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“My pleasure. The pleasure is all mine,” Harrison said as his face slowly lighted up again. “I guess I’ll get going now, I don’t want to disturb your resting time at home.”

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“Thank you so much Mister Harrison.”

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“Um, if you don’t mind, is it okay if I take you to work later? I want to make up for my fault.”

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Oh? That question surprised me. I was silent for a few minutes. There were things that came into my consideration. What if somebody saw me in his car? It would be a huge gossip. It might also ruin my one and only job. Harrison might mean good and wanted to make things up for me since that incident, but he was young and the choices he made could be reckless at times.

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If his family, or his sisters knew about it, I would be in such a huge trouble, not to mention the paparazzis that would constantly take pictures and update the world on the newest gossips. I would be doomed. He seemed to have picked up on this thought as I still refused.

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He seemed so anxious, that he started fidgeting with his shirt and looking down at the floor instead of meeting my eyes. Was I too hard on him? Maybe he didn’t mean any harm.

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‘It can wait’, a voice inside my head told me. But I could not ignore the fact that Harrison had been staring straight at the floor during our entire discussion. It felt like he was waiting for my consent.

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“I’m sorry, but I must decline. I’m afraid there would be gossips here and there if somebody actually saw me, riding inside your car.”

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“No, it’s fine, I’ll make sure nobody saw us. I just wanted to cheer you up a little.”

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“No. It’s okay, Mister Harrison. Thanks, by the way…”

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His face turned a little gloomy. My words could seem soft spoken and yet somehow I knew the sound of them echoed in his head like thunder. Something inside me realized that he did not take rejections well enough. He probably had his way always since he was a young kid. Still, I appreciated the way he did not force his requests on me, though. Or probably it was because he came here to apologize? I did not know. I never really had the chance to know him thoroughly. All I knew about him was from the perception and rumours from other people, I just realized it.

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“Okay then, guess I’ll be going now. I don’t want to further disturb you.” He got up from the couch and shook my hand. “Thank you for accepting my apology. I’ll be going now.”

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Harrison turned his back from me, slowly but steadily. His movements sparked some unsureness. It was like he still wanted to be here, but he was reluctant because I was showing signs of disinterest. There were some differences from his gesture and speech. The way he walked and the way he talked was way much different from when we first met at the restaurant; when Elaine blew up on me.

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When he finally got out through the door, I closed it behind his back. I suddenly feel this huge wave of emotions. No. Not love. Not even butterflies in my stomach. It was more of a disappointed. Dissatisfaction, to be exact. I hate that it was Harrison that came to apologize to me. I have never been shamed in public like that before, so it probably took some toll on me. It was very embarrassing. If I had some power, I would totally take revenge upon Elaine. It was crazy enough what she did to me. She must know that I could do things crazier than she did.

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I hunched and walked slowly into my living room couch. The moment I did that, I let out a big sigh and dropped onto the couch. I buried my face in my hands and tried hard not to cry. The tears finally started flowing out of my eyes.

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I sobbed uncontrollably for a while before calming down enough to shut myself up. My breathing was irregular and uneven from crying so much. I felt dizzy and felt weak. I looked up to the ceiling just because I could not gain composure of myself.

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Maybe it’s my nerves acting up from the stress and nervousness that I experienced yesterday. I didn’t feel hungry at all today. Not to mention my body ached from the pain that I received. I didn’t think anything of it at first, since I was still in shock, but once I had gotten used to it, I realised that I was hurting even more than yesterday. Have I always really been this weak?

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No...

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What Elaine did to me was what made me remorseful. I wanted to do something to her now somehow.