บท 14: 14. It's different.
"Is that okay? Do you want more?" Lola looked like a worried mom as her eyes went from the food to Rissa.
"Are we here to shove her with food?" Sandra Flynn didn't seem to be liking the scenery as the trio sat around a table at Springles.
Lola mouthed a 'can you please keep shut?' but she only looked away.
Rissa smiled knowing how worried Lola was, she was trying not to look pitiable but the more she tried, the more she looked it.
"I think I'm full now" She took the last bite of the burger. "I'm good" She gave a reassuring smile.
"You sure?" Well, she almost finished the plate.
"What do you mean is she sure? What about feed her a horse too?" Sandra Flynn wasn't having it.
"Ugh.. Sandra" Why had she even joined them? "Can't you see how lean she looks, she hasn't been feeding well and as her friend, it's the least I could do" She gave a quick stern face before smiling back at Rissa.
"First of all, when did we get that casual to call me Sandra? Don't! " She held her index finger in the air.
"When you borrowed my clothes because you puked on yours cos we got drunk, when you slept over at my place, when we shared a meal, when we all gossip about other people, when you fixed me with a blind date, when you-"
"Okay-Okay, I get it" She had gotten so acquitted to Rissa and Lola. "I mean we don't have to shove the food into her, look at how miserable she is eating them" She said again.
Rissa suddenly started laughing, Lola and Sandra were making her laugh really hard with the way they were arguing.
"Are you both alright?" She asked them with a satisfied smile. "You both are always arguing and picking on each other" She said to them.
"That's because she's always unreasonable and unnecessarily mean" Lola gave her a light slap at her back.
"Me?" She laughed sarcastically." You are always overdoing things and always ignorant! " She said back folding her arms.
They definitely looked like siblings arguing like that even though Sandra was a bit older than the both of them.
"Thank you, Lola. I'm good, at least for now." Now the smile was a bit sad, it was a sad smile.
"You're welcome, Hun." She smiled back.
"Men are brutal, mahn!" Sandra spoke. "To think he was a Pastor" She added again.
"Can you NOT talk about it?" Rissa suddenly said back.
"I'm just saying, you have to get yourself back together, it's been a year" Sandra countered. "I know you loved him but if he returns you don't want him seeing that he actually caused you looking like a piece of shit" She said again with no atomy of feeling bad for what she said.
"It's been a year I don't care any-more" She dragged her words.
"You like to think you don't" She was blunt.
"Can you take a pill and chill?" Lola turned to Sandra for Rissa's defense. "You're not helping matters" She tried to talk to her with her eyes too.
"I'm chill" She sighed. "Seeing her miserable is enough torture." She honestly felt bad for her, well, men don't shock her.
"I'll be fine guys, let's eat up and head back to work." She didn't want to stress her friends about herself since they were trying so hard to cheer her up.
It's been a year since Luke left for Italy, six months went by and he became difficult to reach or even speak to, he only called her about once in two weeks saying things like one thing or the other held him down till she couldn't take it and blocked him off and he actually never returned. What if something bad had happened to him? She thought but he was okay because the preacher said he got to reach out to him once in a while and he said it's all work making it difficult for him. She had sternly warned her family to avoid any calls from him and they weren't, no one should come talking to her about him. She had moved on, well, she tried to think that, at the end men are just the same, she said to the Preacher. She had remembered him saying Luke wasn't the same Luke a year ago...
The night shift had to be the worse of it all, Sandra had a afternoon shift so she wouldn't get to see her while she had already seen Lola, she had a morning shift going. It was 8am in the morning, her shift just ended. Having your eyes up with a mug of black coffee was so draining, she had to attend to few patients during the night. No surgeries but she had a convulsed patient and it was hectic.
Have you ever felt like wanting to disappear for a while and reappear in about few days or more because she needed it to get rid of a lot...
Getting into the car, with a sigh she was about to fix the key into ignition when she felt something cold hit her neck, it felt edgy but she couldn't place what it was.
"It'd be great if you don't move!" She heard a calm yet loud voice, almost like he was forcing himself to sound mean but it wasn't at all.
"Uhm.. what do you want?" She actually wasn't scared, she was just thinking of how they got into her car but then again technology and she was at gun point.
Another voice seemed to chuckle. "I like the fact that you are straight to the point." He sounded impressed. "You can turn."
Rissa didn't think this two people behind her car were ruthless, she slowly turned her head. They were dressed in black suits and black shades, she didn't see their eyes but they looked more like security guards than thugs that she had expected.
"You just have to cooperate with us." The calm voice spoke. "Take the wheels, Ric." He said to his partner who got out and Rissa had to go join the other behind.
"Please--don't hurt me." She pleaded as the other began driving the car.
"We dare not!" He said calm again.
"What?"
"We just need you invincible." This time he smirked as he took out an injection. "Just a little nap." He kept the smile on with the gun still on her face.
"Plea-se.. don't do this." Rissa was feeling very bad for herself, why her now??
He poked the needle into her left arm. "You'll be fine." He sounded like he was trying to assure her or something.
"Are you done?" The other driving asked.
"Yeap." He tucked the gun into his pocket and was staring at her.
All she had to do was hit this guy and take the gun, that's the only way out of this, she was thinking of how to escape this but as she tried to lift her hand, she couldn't feel it even her legs went numb and lifeless like no stream of blood was visible. Her eyes were blinking, was she feeling sleepy?
"What? Wha-t? What was that?" She checked to see if her mouth worked.
"Just a little sedative." He watched her closely.
"Wha--"She went off, her head fell on his legs.
"Will she be okay?" The guy driving asked not sounding worried or concerned but scared.
"Of course." He said immediately placing her head properly on his legs. "Don't try to make me nervous, hurry up. We've got a long trip, the plane must be waiting." He was nervous already.
He was dressed in a black soft long cotton sleeves, it was turtle necked and a plain grey pants which seemed branded like the Givenchys but it had a large imprint just around the waist since he was tucked in, one could see it, HAZEL. He looked pretty expensive with the wine glass in his hands.
"I'll leave now" Mr Carter said with a sigh lingering around his face. "I don't know if what you did was right and I feel bad for not discouraging you." He finally let the sigh out.
He smiled only with the corner of his lips. "I'll see you tomorrow, Carter." He proceeded up the large wooden stairs.
He watched him go, there was actually no way he would have successfully changed his mind because once Luke Maddins set his mind to something, there was no going back and considering the kind of person he was now, he was unstoppable. He was rich, famous and rebranded now. He wasn't that struggling student he had come across, he was now a man with no happiness coming from love but he had respected the fact about him that he would never sleep with any woman even with his acquired wealth even though the women were shamelessly throwing themselves at him, he never gave them a second glance until Diane came along but still it was all contract and he didn't lay a finger on her but it's not something they would want to tell people but he knew, he had eyes for only one woman, Rissa.
Her eyes scrutinized the room she was, where was she? How had she arrived her? What had happened to her? The wooden furniture of the dresser was what caught her eyes, it looked beautiful. She gently got out of the overly comfy bed and that was when she realized how large it was, six people could fix in conveniently and sleep well, she looked around. Not so much details but well fixed and it all smelt unique, was she in a cabin or something. There was no way it was a cabin, she walked over to the large view of the darkness that glowed in, she slide the large glass door and stepped into the balcony. It was a great view, wait! This wasn't Dallas anymore, she was convinced that she wasn't in the country anymore. The large building that surrounded, she stepped out of the balcony and took every details of the room in, it's fragrance of wooden spray that was dipped into a lemon cologne.
"You're awake." He said the moment he walked into the room. "That's a relief, was taking you ages." He walked over to the sofa at the foot of the bed and sat in it.
Rissa looked like she had seen a ghost, that explains why she had not freaked out when she woke up or even get scared, she felt relaxed. This was the reason but there was something about him, he looked richly different. She couldn't believe it, he had this scanty beards he always had but they seemed styled this time and his skin, did he get tanned? His hair was in a rough style just to make him look ravishing, the turtled neck sleeves was sitting fitted on him even though he was tucked in, looked like he got off work or something.
"Just got back from an important meeting." He said calmly like he read her thoughts.
"Wh-what are you doing here?" She finally spoke after much debate in her head.
He scoffed and stood up. "It's my house, Rissa." He called her name so gently. "One of." He quickly added.
Was this the Luke she knew because this one seemed cocky, nonchalant and rich.
"How did I get here?" She asked again taking a glance at herself and realizing she wasn't in her outfit, she was wearing a black lacy night dress. It felt so comfortable that she didn't even notice that she had it on.
"Ella got you changed if you are having ideas." He quickly said. "Buh- I wouldn't mind." He closed the gap between them with a smirk.
Who the heck is Ella and what did he even take her for! "You must think I'm so naive." She lashed out a slap on his face and it stung her palm, must be painful.
He said nothing, he knew she was hurt but he had no regrets for any of his action. He just felt sorry that it had to hurt her, his decisions definitely cost her pain.
"That hurts." He rubbed his cheek. "You must be hungry, come with me." He took her hand.
"Let go!" She snatched her hand out. "Am I a joke to you right now because you made some shitty money?" She raged.
All the money he had made were all clean and legit, he worked for them all. Not a single thing was shitty. "Don't say that.." It sounded more like a plea. "I wanted to be the man that makes you happy and take you around the world, I wanted you to be proud of me, Rissa." He said softly.
"Proud of?" She let out an awkward laugh. "I'm definitely feeling proud right now." She glared into his eyes.
"You have every right to hate me or vent on me but for now, just fill in your energy. It's been over eight hours you've been asleep without nothing." He took the hand again. "We can do this again after you've had something." He added.
"Eight hours?" She seems taken aback. How could she possibly forget the two people who had kidnapped her, they were his men. No wonder, they were so gently with her. "You had to kidnap me?" She questioned firmly.
"C'mon, that wasn't what it was." He smiled.
"Then how do you explain two people with a gun injecting me and suddenly I'm here." She said back .
"They had guns? Did those two point a gun at you? Shit!!" He dropped her hand in shock.
"Don't act like you don't know plea--se" She looked away.
"I told them strictly not to use guns." He seemed pretty mad though. "I'll take care of them later. " He seemed calm again and took her hand.
"Stop holding me!" This time she couldn't free herself, his grip was tight.
"We need to feed you." He pulled her along holding her hand as they both walked out of the room.
There was no room for struggling, his grip was really firm like it was stuck to her wrist and it kind of hurt. She had never seen him be this insisting, well, apparently a lot she didn't know about him, at least for now. They went through the hallways and down the large wooden stairs, was she in a palace or a mansion? This place was just too big but really magnificent too.
The large dining table surrounded by twelve chairs was the first thing in this large space, then the exit door was just close by, there was no visible kitchen too.
He pulled her to a close seat and she actually complied, well, they needed to talk. She should probably relax. "I had them make varieties because I wasn't sure what you might be craving." He was talking about the widespread foods on the table, was this some feast or something. Was food even that important to him right now?
"I'm no-t hungry.." She was a bit calm now.
He laughed. "You can't even say it properly, please eat now, Marissa." Well, he still called her that. Was that supposed to be relief.
He began getting the lids off the food pots, there was a lot. Her eyes were fed.
He touched the electronic bell on the table, why was that there? She was marvelled! Wasn't he being too extra because he had some money to spare? The bell rang lightly but loud enough for anyone in the room to hear that is if they were any though.
Rissa could hear food steps and it seemed to be in a rush, it was coming from the hall way just away from the dining table.
"You called sir?" A girl dressed in what seemed like a uniform which was a black short gown, she seemed to be in her early twenties and she looked pretty too but the sweat dripping looked like she was busy doing something. Who else lives here?
"Were you busy?" He asked seeing how sweaty she was too.
"Not really." She said quickly with a smile. "I was eating."
"Ella do not eat near the heat, please. You look a mess!" He cautioned.
"I'm sorry, sir." She nodded her head much more like a bow. "I was by Mrs Eddie." She kept the smile.
This was definitely a boss and worker situation, he seemed nice with his worker or workers, the way she smiled said that.
"It's fine." He sighed. "Can you come with Mrs Eddie, I have to introduce you both to my fiancée ." He turned to her with a mischievous smile.
What the heck was he blabbing about now, fiancée since when!! He definitely was just bluffing and all talks, she tried to tell herself but then again, she still had his damn ring on her finger right now.
"Oh-okay." She smiled. "Excuse me then." She hurried away. She looked pretty naive but bubbly.
"Don't glare at me like that." He kept that known smile. "Are you alright?"
"Am I supposed to be?" She questioned back. "Why are you making everything sound like all of this is okay when you know it's not??" She was not pleased with the way he was handling things.
"Relax, Marissa." He said carelessly. "I know none of this can change anything and you have a lot to say and ask me but just relax, I'm here now." He added with a bit assurance.
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" She rested her back still not quite comfortable with all of this.
"Of course not." He smiled. "You should be asking me about the fiancée part, I'm disappointed." He didn't sound it.
She heard another round of footsteps but it wasn't one person's steps but two.
Another woman was with the Ella girl, she was pretty much in her late forties or early fifties. She was sure of that, she was a bit chubby but well fit and she was also dressed in a uniform but hers were grey and much longer, obviously.
"Marissa?" Luke called out to her. "Meet Mrs Eddie, my housekeeper and chef while Ella basically assists her, they manage this house and make it look as sparkly as possible which I really appreciate." He said gently. He definitely appreciated them, that was for sure.
Rissa got on her feet, she was pissed but not too pissed to be polite and courtesy demanded that too. "Nice to meet you, ma'am." She shook hands with Mrs Eddie who held a warm smile which was so motherly, speaking of which. Her mom must be worried sick, what the heck was she saying! Everyone at home would be in total confusion right now.
"It's a pleasure meeting you, miss." Mrs Edie said letting go, she seemed to like Rissa immediately.
"Ella right?" She smiled at the young lady who took her hand for a shake immediately.
"Yes." She blushed. "At your beck and service." She added all flushed.
Well that was that about the pleasantries.
"She is my fiancée, so please give her your utmost service as you do for me." He said looking up at them. "Respect should be reciprocal, okay?" This time he sounded like he was talking to all of them.
They seemed satisfied with the instructions and left.
"Quit the fiancée thing, please." She was actually pleading. "I don't remember you going on your knees to beg to walk me down the aisle. " She countered.
"What was I supposed to introduce you as? " He asked firmly. "Girlfriend?".
"None!" She almost yelled. "I'm none of that, you should have had that planned since you decided to kidnap me." She fired back.
"I didn't kidnap you, c'mon." He knew she won't be easy. "About the kneeling, it will happen, so let be and secondly you are still wearing the ring which looks like an engagement ring-so--" He shrugged his hands.
She felt defeated, why was she putting on the dumb ring, she pulled it off in a rush almost bruising her finger. "That's your damn ring!!" She threw it at him, okay she was loud now and was very sure they would be heard.
He sighed as he picked it up, he stood up with hurt written all over his face. "I should let you eat.. " He made to leave.
"Why are you always running away from this conversation! " She stopped him in his tracks. "That's what it is looking like to me, are you hiding something because you can't run forever." She demanded.
He said nothing and went away, he wasn't running away from the topic but was he hiding something then!!!
That was definitely a chaotic chapter!
Did I stir up you guys emotions? I feel stirred up but what could Luke be hiding though?
Please like, vote and comment. Thanks .
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