by Emma Vikes
“Audrey? Audrey?” My eyebrows furrowed in confusion at Mom’s panicked voice.
“Mom? What’s wrong? Did something happen?” I could feel my own heartbeat racing in fear of what was going on.
“Your Dad. We had to rush him to the hospital. He…sweetie, please come.”
Suddenly, I felt as if I was doused with cold water. My system began to shut down and I felt numb and paralyzed with fear. I could faintly hear someone coming downstairs but I could barely turn to see who it was. Someone was calling my name but the fear that I felt kept me from responding as my mind conjured scenarios that weren’t ideal.
Someone took my phone from me and I saw Theo talking calmly on my phone and then ended the call. He placed both hands on my shoulder as he looked at me evenly. “I’ll go tell Julian we have to go to the hospital. They can borrow my car. I don’t really care. I’ll drive you to the hospital. Just give me five minutes, Audrey.”
I wasn’t really sure how I was meant to respond with the fear paralyzing me completely. A few months ago, Dad fainted in the middle of a meeting and it was then we found out that he had low potassium levels and was advised to have a diet that would boost the levels. He was given medication but it couldn’t be taken every day since apparently, potassium was a tricky electrolyte to deal with.
Too little levels could damage the heart and too much could result in the same thing. And that’s why Dad decided to step down from his position so he wasn’t too stressed and Mom could take care of him and his diet. He used to skip meals a lot and it was through his diet that we could make sure his potassium level would be normal.
I felt someone tap my shoulder gently and Theo was there again, nodding slowly at me while handing me a denim jacket. Julian and Audrey were downstairs too, and I could notice worry in Violet’s eyes while Julian seemed curious. Theo spoke to Julian in a low and even voice.
“You have my number. Just call me when you can get me back my car, Julian.”
Theo gently pulled me out of my house, unlocked my car and made sure I was seated and had my seatbelt on as he slid into the driver’s seat. I wasn’t sure where we were but halfway through the drive, I turned to Theo and asked. “Do you think he’ll be okay?”
He glanced at me briefly and flashed me a reassuring smile. “Of course, he is. Your Dad’s as strong as a horse, Audrey.”
I could only nod and desperately held onto my friend’s words for reassurance. When we finally arrived at the hospital and he led me to where my mother was. Mom sat in the waiting room, her head buried in her hands and she looked nowhere near her neat and regal appearance. Mom hailed from the Upper East Side of New York so she always looked like she had a million bucks.
“Mom?”
She looked up when she heard my voice. “Oh god, Audrey.”
I was wrapped in her embrace and neither of us said a word as we hugged each other. It took us another moment to finally let go and Mom led me to one of the seats. The worry was clear in my mother’s hazel eyes and her hand was tightly wrapped on a rosary as she closed her eyes and uttered another prayer, a free hand reaching for mine to hold.
Of all the things that I adored about my parents, it was how deeply and truly they were in love with each other. They met when Dad was vacationing in New York and was attending a high society ball. A guy born and raised in Los Angeles and a woman bred in the high society of New York. One would think they’d clash but I’d never witnessed a love as true as theirs.
“Mom,” I said quietly and she turned to look at me, her eyes shining with unshed tears, “what happened?”
She shook her head as the tears began to stain her face and I pulled her close. I was worried about my Dad and although my own worry and fear paralyzed me earlier, I knew I needed to be strong for Mom. I felt relieved that Theo stayed with us in the waiting area and catered to our needs until the doctor came out of the operating room.
“Mrs. Finch?” His voice sounded tired and although he wore a mask, it was clear that he looked tired too. He removed his mask and nodded at Mom and I when we stood up. “Mr. Finch is stable now. We have put a pacemaker inside as you’ve agreed to it. He needs to be closely monitored so he has to stay here for a while. You can see him now but only one person is allowed in the room.”
Relief flooded through me as we thanked the doctor. Mom was the first one to see my father, and I was slightly relieved as I didn’t really want to see my father hooked up in machines and looking frail so I didn’t argue. Theo stayed with me in the waiting room in silence until his phone pinged with a notification and I watched as he quickly typed in a reply.
“Julian’s outside with my car. I’ll just get the keys from him. You’ll be okay here? Need anything?”
I smiled at him weakly and shook my head for a yes and watched him go. I stayed there in my seat, my head leaning against the wall with my eyes closed. The events of the day had taken its toll on me. It had started out as a fun-filled day with me trying to make breakfast with Violet and then ended up in an argument with Julian, to worrying for my Dad. Tired and weary, I just wanted it to end.
The smell of cinnamon wafted into the waiting area and I slowly opened my eyes. Even with the baseball cap he wore and the sunglasses, the jacket gave him away. “What are you doing here?”
He tossed me a brown bag and then sat on the vacant seat beside me. I wanted to ignore the items inside the bag but the smell overpowered my senses. I opened the bag and my heart melted at the sight of cinnamon cookies, still hot which meant they were freshly baked. “I got it from the pier. An old lady was selling it and I thought you would like some after…”
Julian’s voice trailed off and I could feel his piercing gaze on me. I wasn’t sure how I was meant to react but I appreciated his gesture even if he was mad at me from what happened earlier. I let out a shaky breath to calm myself before I explain but Julian cut me off. “You looked upset earlier. I thought the cookies would cheer you up, even just a little.”
“Thank you,” I said softly and hoping he heard the sincerity in it but Julian merely nodded and looked down. I inhaled deeply and then let it out as a long exhale, a trick I had learned from Amber when she went into therapy. “A couple of months ago, my Dad fainted and we rushed him in the hospital. It turned out he was hypokalemic.”
“Low potassium levels,” Julian said, nodding slightly and I was a little surprised he knew that. The corner of his lips twitched into the familiar smirk I’d grown accustomed to. “I have an older brother who’s a forensic scientist. Sometimes, he doesn’t shut up about his cases.”
I couldn’t help but smile at that. Julian loved talking about his family and it was clear that he missed being around them. “That’s why he had to step down from his position and I had to take it over. But the board didn’t think I was good enough. The guy at my house earlier…he’s the son of one of the board members and he’s the acting CEO at the moment till…”
“Till we sign up with you guys,” Julian finished for me, understanding my situation. “If you ask me, that’s a load of bull. I may not know a lot about how companies work on the inside but it’s not like you’re completely stupid when it comes to running it.”
My heart warmed at his words and it seemed like Julian was basking in a different light. At that moment, I didn’t feel any kind of hatred towards him. “I’m sorry for being a jerk and not telling you about all of that beforehand. I just…I didn’t really see the point. But for what it is worth, your music is amazing. It has always been, and Dad made a big mistake rejecting your band the first time.”
It was quiet for a moment and I felt like a weight had been lifted on my shoulders as I let out a sigh of relief. At least now, Julian knew the reason why I was so desperate. Maybe he’d change his mind regarding the agreement being called off. I wanted to ask but now didn’t seem to be the right time to do so because I didn’t want to ruin the moment we were in.
A little while later, after remaining in comfortable silence, Julian cleared his th
roat. “I think I should get Violet from Theo. He took her out to grab something to eat.”
I wasn’t sure what came over me but the thought of Julian leaving, after the comfort he provided, didn’t really sit well with me. “Julian…”
He was about to stand up when I said his name and I could feel his gaze on me again. “Yea?”
I bit my bottom lip and then I placed my head against his shoulder and closed my eyes, allowing my heart to steadily its beat again. “Stay a little while longer, please?”
15
Julian
“You’re picking up your brother later, right?” Audrey asked me as she stood up from her seat at the counter to head to the sink, picking my plate along the way too. It had been a day and a half since her father was rushed into the hospital and since I found out the reason for her desperation to sign with us. I was relieved that things between us went back to normal. She was still my assistant and we had about two weeks left into the whole agreement before things were final.
And to be honest, I think we were both aware of the direction this was heading.
Things felt different between us. Audrey was a lot easier to deal with like there had been a thorn plucked out of her and she was more carefree and less uptight. Or maybe it was because of Violet, who cheered her up more than the cookies I gave her that night. And also the fact that her Dad was stable now, and there was less to worry about.
I nodded. “Yes. You still heading to the hospital?”
She shook her head, “I went there first before I got here and Dad’s fine. Besides, how are you going to pick up your brother if not with my car?”
The corner of my lips twitched into a smile and I put the pen I was holding down on the countertop as I watched her wash the dishes. After I stayed with Audrey that night at the hospital, her mother came out and took Audrey inside to see her Dad. When Audrey returned to the waiting room, her face blotched with tears and my heart melted at that sight.
I stared at the white hospital wall blankly. I wasn’t the biggest fan of hospitals since I had spent a lot of time visiting my grandfather when he was sick and it wasn’t the kind of memory I liked reliving. My grandfather’s moans in pain still echoed in the recess of my mind. But then I heard a tiny gasp, it was almost inaudible and I sprang to my feet.
I followed where the sound was coming from and I saw Audrey sitting on the ground, her knees pulled close to her chest and her shoulders shaking. The sight of her so vulnerable tugged at my heart and I remembered how I had wanted to hug her once, as tightly as I could, if it meant bringing back all her broken pieces together.
The door was shut tight next to her and I wondered, for a brief moment, if something was wrong with her father. “He’s fine.”
She had looked up and met my eyes. She let out a shaky exhale and tried to stand up but fell down and then let out a soft curse. I offered my hand for her to take and she did so without hesitating. I pulled her up gently, giving her my support to stand. “He’s fine. I’m just…I was scared seeing him with a tube and connected to machines…”
Audrey didn’t have to finish what she was trying to say because I knew just how she felt, so I pulled her close to me and wrapped my arms around her tightly. She was caught off-guard for a moment but she stood between my arms, completely still.
It took her another moment before the tears started again and her sobs were muffled into my shoulder as she cried away her worries and fears in my arms. I held onto her because Audrey and I may not see certain things eye to eye or argued about 99% of the time, but there was one thing I was actually certain of about her,
I wanted to piece back all the broken pieces that she was trying to hide from the world, even to herself.
I guess there was something about seeing someone in such a vulnerable state that severed any animosity held.
“Why don’t you just let me borrow your car and let’s say, you can borrow mine?” It wasn’t that I didn’t want Audrey’s company. I knew Violet would be upset to find out that Audrey wasn’t coming with us to pick up her Dad but I wanted to see if the friendship- if you could call it that- that we had now established went as far as Audrey letting me drive her car.
Fun fact: Audrey didn’t allow anyone else to drive her car aside from her and Theo.
She placed the washed dishes in the dryer and then dried her hands with a hand towel and turned to look at me. Her smile looked more like a grimace- something that I was more familiar with than the sincere smiles she had been flashing lately, and she quickly shook her head. “Bold of you to assume that I’ll let you drive my car when you’re a crazy driver.”
I made an annoyed face, when Violet zoomed into the kitchen, followed by Julio and José who ran after them with a Nerf gun. It took me a moment to notice that Violet was herself carrying one and was trying to shoot at José too, I couldn’t help but shake my head in amusement. Audrey watched in horror as both of them almost broke a vase and even the pictures we’d hung on the wall for decoration.
Just then, the doorbell rang and I sprang up in my seat with excitement, fully aware of who it could be. Violet and José stopped running and Julio had started barking, waving his tail excitedly as he followed me to the door. From the corner of my eye, I watched Violet move closer to Audrey, and Audrey wrapped her arms around my niece, protectively pulling my niece closer.
That sight made my heart flutter.
As I opened the door, a delivery guy handed me the package. Before Violet had arrived, I had already ordered it and made sure that it came when she was still here. All the while she had been with me, I was hoping for the package to arrive so my surprise wouldn’t be ruined. I was relieved that it did.
“What’s that? You didn’t ask me to order anything,” Audrey said when I walked into the living room. She and Violet were settled on the couch, with Julio stretched out on both their laps, his head on Violet’s as my niece patted him gently. My mini bull terrier seemed to be having the time of his life.
“I ordered it before you became my assistant,” I said, sinking into a bean bag as I tore the package open. José came in, the Nerf gun still in his hand, and sat across from me. He knew what it was and kept glancing at Violet in excitement, which made me want to slap him at the back of the head for being so obvious.
“Megan told me that Violet had been eyeing a kalimba for a while…” I let my voice trail off as I finally ripped the remaining cover of the package and then grinned when I saw the box. Violet squealed with excitement and quickly stood up which caused Julio’s head to fall abruptly onto the couch and he whimpered but Audrey soothed him as Violet rushed to get her hands on the instrument.
Violet immediately began to test it out and then she launched herself at me, wrapping her tiny arms around my neck and hugging me really tight. “I love you, Uncle Jules!”
Ah, this girl was the only one who could thaw my Cassanova heart…
When Violet pulled away from me, she immediately turned to Audrey. “You told me you play this! I saw it in your room!”
I was taken by surprise at that because I didn’t know that Audrey played instruments. Hell, it never even occurred to me that she would have any kind of knowledge when it came to instruments. People like her who had a talent company or ran a record label often had other people scout talent for them, while they usually just sat in their chairs and waited for the talent to make money. It never occurred to me that they could be people talented in that field too.
“You know how to play?” José was finally the one to ask the question. I just sat there awestruck, watching as her thumb expertly moved around the keys of the instrument and music flooded the living room.
Violet was squealing in delight beside her and I watched in amazement as Audrey played Can’t Help Falling in Love. I couldn’t help myself so I began to sing along with her until we were reaching near the end of the song. “Wise men say, only fools rush in but I can’t help…”
Just then Audrey looked up at me, as the sunlight flooded thro
ugh the window and shone on her and made her eyes looked like the shade of cinnamon, so warm and inviting and enticing all at the same time. God! how she seemed to wrap me in a warm embrace with her gaze as I sang.
“Falling in love with you.” Rather than singing that line, I said it, my voice sounding sturdy as I stared at Audrey whose eyes softened when the five words left my mouth. I swallowed hard as my heart began racing in my chest and almost bursting out of my skin as Audrey slowly lowered the instrument after finishing the song.
There seemed to be a faint ringing in my ear, blocking out any noise that could quite possibly ruin the moment and the lyrical sound of the kalimba echoing in my mind. All I could see was Audrey and my body buzzed with the warmth that she radiated towards me, craving for my skin to be pressed against hers, to bury myself in her warmth.
God, I wanted to press my lips against hers so badly.
“Holy shit, that was amazing!” José exclaimed loudly and whatever trance that Audrey and I were in suddenly broke with the sound of his voice. As if his exclamation was the fine needle that broke through the bubble we were in.
I never wanted to hit the guy as much as I wanted to as of this moment.
Beside Audrey, Violet clapped excitedly and tugged at her hand. And just like that, I could feel Audrey’s gaze on me slowly rip away as she began to focus on my niece. I let out a long exhale and abruptly stood up, ignoring their stares as I quickly walked out of the room. Once outside, I began pacing around, running my hand through my hair in exasperation.
I slapped my palm against my forehead. “What the fuck is wrong with you, Julian?”
First, I couldn’t stop thinking about the way our lips brushed against each other. Second, I kissed her without a good reason and enjoyed it. And now, the last thing that didn’t make sense to me, was that I wanted to kiss her again. I wanted to feel her warmth spread all over me. I wanted to wrap my arms around her and provide her the very same thing I craved from her.