Wonderings: She Still Cares

[Kael]

I ran out of Terrence’s office. If I had spent another minute in there I would’ve beaten him up. I ran down to my car and I drove to a bar closest to my mansion. I went inside and ordered a ton of drinks. Drinking one after the other. The bartender looked like he wanted to stop me but he knows me. I hate being disturbed. 

After a few drinks, a girl came up to me.

“Hey handsome.” I ignored her but she was persistent. She tried to grab my attention. After taking another shot, I turned to look at her. Suddenly, I saw Amelia. Is it really her? I held her hand but it felt different. I blinked multiple times and saw that she wasn’t Amelia. Why am I seeing her all of a sudden? 

“Get away from me.” I pushed the girl away. I slammed my credit card on the counter. The bartender took it and charged me my drinks. He gave it back to me and I put it back in my wallet. At this point, I was drunk. I walked outside to my car. My body couldn’t keep up with my thoughts. I want to unlock my car but my body feels heavy and I keep dropping my car remote. My car doesn’t need to be unlocked using a key, just swiping the remote by the scanner by the door. I’m just too drunk to do anything. 

“Kael?” I heard a familiar voice behind me. I turned to look and saw Amelia. Her face was filled with concern.

“What…a-are you… doing… h-here?” My words began to slur. My knees couldn’t keep me up and I fell to the ground. Amelia ran to me.

“Are you okay?” She asked. I couldn’t answer. She grabbed my car remote and swiped it by the scanner. The door opened and she helped me inside. I was in the passenger seat and she went to the driver’s seat. I was too drunk to tell her what to do but she seemed to know. She put on my seatbelt and she drove off. I fell asleep in the car and I woke up when Amelia woke me up.

“Kael, come on. I’ll help you inside.” I opened my eyes and saw her face close to mine. She held my arm and put it around her shoulder. She somehow helped me even up the stairs. 

“Where’s your room?” She asked. I pointed to the one at the end of the hall. She guided me through the hall and into my room. She pushed me into the bed. My body felt really heavy. I heard her moving around in my room. Then I felt her arm on my face. I felt something wet and cold over my forehead. I opened my eyes a little and saw Amelia dabbing a wet cloth over my forehead. She stood up again and grabbed some clothes from my closet.

“Kael, you should change.” When she said that, I felt like I needed to vomit. I couldn’t hold it in and I vomited all over my clothes. My head started to hurt. Amelia slowly took off my clothes. Her soft skin on mine felt nice. She helped me change into a pair of pajamas and a shirt. After changing, I fell asleep. 

The next morning, I woke up with a really bad hangover. I looked over to my bedside table and there was a glass of water with a note attached to it. 

“Make sure to drink a lot of water.” That’s what the note said. I barely remember anything that happened last night. The last thing I remembered was seeing Amelia by the bar. Did she help me get home last night? I looked at my clothes and saw that I had changed into my pajamas. I stood up and saw my clothes from last night, washed and neatly folded on top of my desk. I took the glass of water and drank it. I went downstairs to the dining area and saw that there was food on the table. 

There was congee with boiled egg and a glass of orange juice. There was a note attached to the glass of orange juice. 

“Make sure to eat these. They can help get rid of your hangover.” Again, there was no name on it. Was it really Amelia who helped me last night? After eating breakfast, I went through the security footage of my house. There I saw everything that happened. Amelia helped me up to my room. I vomited on my clothes and on her as well. She helped me change clothes. When I was asleep, she washed the clothes I vomited on and she even prepared me breakfast. The left my mansion at 7 am this morning. I checked the time, it was 8 am. I woke up at probably 7:30am. It means she hasn’t slept through the night just to take care of me? Why did she do that? 

I took a shower and went over to her apartment. When I got there, I parked my car. I was about to go inside the building when I saw Amelia on the street. She was wearing something casual. Maybe she’s job hunting. She looked surprised when she saw me.

“Kael…” She said. I walked up to her.

“Where were you?” I asked. She looked down.

“I… I wanted to buy something from the convenience store but I changed my mind.” She answered. 

“Oh okay, well I came here to say thank you.” She looked up at me, surprised.

“Oh so you knew.” She answered. 

“Why did you help me?” I asked. She looked at me and smiled.

“I saw you last night; you were drunk and couldn’t get into your car. I couldn’t just leave you there.” She answered. I looked at her smiling face and I felt something warm inside me. 

“You didn’t have to do that. You don’t work for me anymore.” I said. She stopped smiling and looked at me. 

“It had nothing to do with me working for you. I did it because I wanted to help you.” She answered. I looked at her and she was firm with her answer.

“Excuse me Kael but I still have a lot to do. I need to pack my stuff.” She said. Pack her stuff? 

“What do you mean pack your stuff?” I asked. She walked past me. 

“This apartment is for DRIVEA employees, right? I’m no longer an employee so I don’t see any reason for me to stay here.” She answered. She kept walking without looking back at me. 

“Where will you go?” I asked. She stopped on her tracks and turned to look at me. 

“You don’t need to worry about that.” She answered. Before she entered the building she turned back and walked up to me. She took something from her bag and placed it in my hand. It was the phone I gave her. 

“I should return this too. It’s a company phone, right?” She left it in my hand and she walked inside. I was left there, speechless. Why is my chest hurting by the thought of her leaving like that? I looked at the phone in my hand. How can I track her now if she doesn’t have this phone with her? Why do I even need to track her? I placed the phone in my pocket and went to my car. I drove to DRIVEA and went on with my day.

The new assistant my father hired had already started working. She was not like Amelia. She did well in her work but it didn’t feel right. I was so used to hearing Amelia’s voice and seeing her almost every day. What’s wrong with me? 

It was almost 6pm when I checked my watch. I wanted to see her again. I went to the parking lot and got in my car. I drove to the apartment building where she used to stay; hoping to see her again. Just as I was about to leave, I saw her exit the building, she turned to look at it one more time before she walked away. I got out of my car and called out to her.

“Amelia!” She turned around and was surprised to see me. 

“Kael, what are you doing here?” She asked. 

“I wanted to tell you something. Would you like to have dinner with me?” I asked. I’ve never felt shy asking women that but with her in front of me, I was nervous. She looked at me and smiled.

“Sure.” I felt giddy inside. I led her to my car and I drove to one of the restaurants nearby. When we were seated, I ordered for the both of us and we waited for our food. Amelia looked at me and smiled. 

“I wanted to say I’m sorry.” I said. She looked at me, surprised.

“Sorry? For what?” She asked. I took a deep breath. 

“For everything that I have done to you.” I looked down when I said that. I felt her hand on top of mine. I looked up at her and saw that she was smiling.

“It’s okay Kael. I understand why you did those things.” I felt a strong pain in my chest. Why is she okay with that? Why isn’t she mad at me? She’s being so considerate that it makes me feel even guiltier for what I did. 

“I want to make it up to you.” I said. She looked at me and shook her head. 

“You don’t have to.” She answered. Even if you don’t want me to, I’d still do it. The waiter arrived with our food. After dinner, I offered to take her home but she declined.

“Your house is that way. It won’t be along the way. I’ll be fine. I’ll just take a cab.” She said. I didn’t force her. 

“Wait, before you go. Can I have your number?” I asked. She smiled and I handed her my phone. She typed in her number and I saved it immediately. She waved me goodbye and I drove off. I looked at her through my rear view mirror. She waited until I was out of sight before she hailed a cab. 

When I got home, I took a shower before I texted her. 

“Did you get home safely? Kael” I texted. A few minutes later, she replied.

“Yes, I just got home.” She must be tired. I want to talk to her more but I don’t want to force her. 

“You must be tired. You should rest.” I texted. A few minutes and her reply arrived.

“I’m not the one who had a 10-hour shift today. If you want to rest, it’s okay. We can still talk tomorrow.” I chuckled from her response. We said our goodnights and I turned my phone off. 

The next morning, I was eager to talk to her. I grabbed my phone and sent her a message.

“Good morning.” I took a shower while waiting for her reply. After showering, I checked my phone and saw a message.

“Good morning. You’re early today.” She replied. So is she. Did she find a job already? 

“So are you. Have you found a job?” I asked. I changed into my suit and waited for her reply.

“Yes, I got a job. Today’s my first day.” Did she accept Terrence’s job offer? Is she working for him now? Just the thought of that made my blood boil. 

“Where?” I asked. I went downstairs to prepare my breakfast. My phone buzzed and I read the message.

“At the public library. I work as the librarian’s assistant.” She replied. I was surprised. I thought she would accept Terrence’s offer. But it didn’t matter. As long as she’s not working for Terrence, I’m happy. 

“That’s great. Good luck on your first day.” I replied. She replied with a thank you and I put my phone back in my pocket. I ate my breakfast and went to my car. I drove to DRIVEA and parked my car in the parking lot. Today, the projects from the partnership with Grimes Corp will begin. I’m expecting Terrence and his father in my office today for the finalization and for any changes they wish to make. 

I arrived at the top floor, my new assistant greeted me but I ignored her. I miss seeing Amelia in the morning. I went inside my office and Terrence was waiting inside.

“Aren’t you a little early?” I asked. He looked at me and smirked. 

“You’re just late. My father couldn’t make it so I’ll be discussing the plans with you.” He said. I sat on my chair and faced him. 

“I heard Amelia didn’t accept your job offer.” I said mockingly. He seemed annoyed but he quickly regained composure. 

“I’m not forcing her to work for me. I just gave her an option.” He answered. 

“Is that so? Do you know where she’s working?” I asked. I bet he already knows but if he doesn’t, I won’t tell him. 

“Of course. Do you?” he asked. 

“How could I not know? She’s the one who told me.” I answered. He looked at me menacingly. He cleared his throat and went back to business.

“Anyway, for the projects, I want to…” Our discussion lasted until 4pm. Our fathers had assigned the planning to us and the both of us worked really hard to not disappoint them. Even though I hate Terrence, I learned to separate my work from my personal life. 

After our discussion, he excused himself. I took the chance to call my assistant in.

“You called for me, sir?” She asked. I nodded and she stepped forward. 

“Get a bouquet of roses and send them to this address. Tell them it’s for Ms. Young.” I handed her a piece of paper with the address of the public library. She took it and went out. 

I’ll make it up to you, Amelia. I promise.