Fatal Alliances: Chapter 31
Silence. Adrian said nothing to me, nor did I to him. I honestly thought we were going to be taking a flight to Carolina, but instead, he was driving there. That probably made me regret coming with him, now I had to sit in awkward silence for more than eleven hours till we arrived there. By the time we probably get there, it would be morning. God, let this time pass quickly. I wanted to ask him why he didn’t take the flight instead since it would have been faster, but I didn’t. He was so fixed on the road, completely ignoring my existence next to him. He casually rubbed his chin. For some odd reason that affected me in the weirdest way, I felt as if I was melting deliciously next to this man. God, what the hell was wrong with me? He nonchalantly passed his hand on his face and I was turning into glazed caramel. His face…oh god why couldn’t he have shaved? His stubbly facial hair was so irritating because it was so damn appealing. I had the strangest sudden urge to touch it.
No, no, don’t be a creep, Julie. Was this a hormonal change or something? Was it that time? Dear God, I hope not.
I tried to close my eyes to forget that thought of him. Even though the car was comfortable, sleep wasn’t an option for me. I felt restless, but not sleepy. It made me wonder how I was the materialistic one. I mean, he was driving a sexy black Porsche Panamera. I borrowed my sister’s sleazy-looking car. What he said never stopped bothering me, was I really materialistic? And why did I even care what he thought? He doesn’t mean anything to me. I never cared what anyone thought about me before. Shifting myself into a more comfortable position, I tried to close my eyes. I couldn’t, the ac was so damn cold. Wasn’t he feeling anything? I guess he really was cold-blooded after all. Almost as if reading my mind, he turned it to a more moderate temperature.
“You could have done that,” he said in annoyance.
Why was he even annoyed? I didn’t even say anything to him. This guy was just so hard to please. Everything was so complicated, everyone was, my dad, my life, me. I just wanted the pain to stop, I wanted to shut everything out. I was trying, at least to forget about it and move on. There’s no use crying over something that already happened. No use. Adrian seemed relaxed unlike me. For him, it seemed like nothing actually even happened. The way he casually held the wheel and leaned on his seat. I wish I felt like that.
“Are you hungry?” he suddenly asked.
“Huh?”
“I asked if you were hungry.” his voice irritated. Note to self, he doesn’t like to repeat himself.
Even though I was, the way he was acting seemed to turn me off. The less I said to him, the better. I didn’t want to put him to any trouble that he could possibly taunt me even more for.
“No.” I lied softly. I didn’t want to argue with him again, I didn’t have the strength to.
Closing my eyes, I heard him sigh as the car suddenly stopped.
“Get out.”
“What?” I asked.
“There’s a fast-food restaurant at the corner. Get out,” he replied as he came out of the car shutting the door back.
Doing as he said, I followed him to the outlet. It was empty, just us and the employees. Ordering a burger and a large cup of soft drink, he placed it on a table and pulled the seat for me. How odd, he actually knew how to be a gentleman. Sinking my teeth into the burger, he sat opposite me and used his phone.
“Aren’t you hungry?” I inquired while taking a sip of my drink.
He gave a soft quick laugh, “I don’t eat this junk.”
“Oh, so you think it’s okay for me to eat it then?”
“Don’t be ungrateful, Greene.”
“I’m not. Who said I was ungrateful?” I replied taking another sip, “Junk, says the guy whose fridge looks like the entire Wonka factory stocked in there.”
“That’s different.”
“Really? Huh, I must admit, I’ve never seen a man get all defensive for his chocolate.”
“Are you done?” He asked in irritation.
“Yes.” I sighed.
After washing my hands, we left. Maybe it was food that I needed; because I felt way better than before. Vandermir kept silent as he drove.
“Why are you so mean to me?”
“What?” He arched an eyebrow.
“I mean, I know that I wronged you, you have every right to hate me but…” I stopped taking a deep breath and closing my eyes, “Just… never mind.”
“I don’t hate you, Julie.”
His words drifted into my mind as I fell asleep. Maybe I was just imagining him saying that. Gosh, I’m losing it.
Opening my eyes, I felt the sting of the sunburn on them.
“Morning sleepyhead.” Adrian’s voice softly melted through me.
Sitting up, I looked out the window and noticed we were in Carolina already. Driving through this place seemed like a dream, it’s been such a long time since I’ve been here. Wait, had he been driving for that long? He must be really tired by now, yet he seemed to look physically fine to me.
“You could have woken me, I could have driven if you wanted.”
“You? Last time you drove, weren’t you attempting to murder someone?” He chuckled, reminding me of the man that broke into the house, the one I hit with the car.
“I didn’t kill him.” I defended.
“I said attempt, there’s a difference.”
As he continued driving, we went into a familiar street that I knew too well. In my hometown, I wanted to close my eyes until we reached another street. The memories were too painful now.
“How long do you have to drive again?”
“A bit, the hotel’s a little far.” He sighed.
I bit my lip when I looked out the window and saw a familiar lady struggling with her groceries while three teenage kids blocked her way.
“Adrian wait!” I blurted as he abruptly stopped the car.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“I know her,” I said as I looked at the old woman out the window. Vandermir seemed to understand what was going on as well and came out. Following him, something I found I was doing really quite often these days, he went up to the boys and raised an eyebrow at them.
“Is this what you kids do for fun nowadays?” He scowled.
Without a word, the boys looked at each other and walked away as if they didn’t care.
“Oh, thank you.” The woman said to Adrian with a smile. When she turned to me her lips parted, “Juliet Greene?”
With a sweet smile, I replied, “Hi Mrs. Gilbert.”
“Look how much you’ve grown up. Pretty just like your mother.” She laughed, pinching my cheek, “What brings you back to Carolina?”
With a quick glance at Vandermir, I nervously laughed, “Um… there were a few things that needed to be taken care of.”
“Oh I see, I see.” Looking at Adrian she warmly smiled, “This must be your-“
“-No, it’s not like that. He is my- uh…”
For that moment I really didn’t know who Adrian was to me. He wasn’t my boss, nor was he my friend. Associate even seemed to be too far off our relationship now. We didn’t even have any sort of relationship with each other, but I had to tell her something.
“He’s my ex-employer. Mr. Vandermir.” I finished.
That was the truth, wasn’t it?
“It’s very nice to meet you then, Mr. Vandermir,” said Mrs. Gilbert.
“When I used to live here Mrs. Gilbert was our neighbour.” I told Adrian who just smiled at her in courtesy.
“Oh, I still do Julie.” She laughed proudly, “Are you staying back here?”
“Well, just for a little,” I stated.
“Why don’t you stay back in your house? The Dawnlys had hired me to be the caretaker for the house Julie, how could I refuse? Your family had always been so good to me. You know, I always wondered when you and your sisters would come back.”
Go back home? Could I handle that? I looked at Adrian and noticed how tiredness had started to creep up on him now. He needed to rest and my house wasn’t too far away. No, I could do this. At least don’t think about yourself all the time, Julie. Don’t be so selfish. I’m not selfish. I’m not.
“Maybe we should.” I said to Adrian, “My place isn’t that far. We could go there.”
He was about to refuse when Mrs. Gilbert suddenly hugged me, “Oh, this is so nice. You’ll meet Snickers again!”
“Snickers?” Vandermir asked in confusion.
“It’s her dog.”
Deciding to stay at my place, he offered Mrs. Gilbert a ride home. Maybe going back home wouldn’t be so bad after all. I actually wanted to see how everything was after so many years. And besides, I don’t think we’ll be here very long. Stopping in front of the house I never thought I would see again seemed so surreal. Suddenly, I was interrupted by a loud thud. It came from Mrs. Gilbert’s house.
“Oh don’t mind that.” She said as she came out of the car as Vandermir and I also did.
“They’re just doing some renovation inside.” She coughed from the dust coming out of her house, “There had been a fire actually.”
“What? Are you alright?” I asked.
“Perfectly alright.”
“How long have you lived here?” Adrian suddenly questioned.
“Ever since I got married, my late husband had bought it.” She replied.
I always felt a bit sad after finding out about the sudden death of her husband a year after she got married to him. She didn’t even have kids to keep her company, “Well, why don’t you stay with us then? Since your house is under renovation, staying there isn’t good for your health Mrs. Gilbert.”
“Oh no, how could I do that?”
“Please don’t refuse. I’d love to have your company.”
With a sigh, she smiled, “Only because you insisted.”
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