by Sam Crescent
Reluctantly, he took her to her bedroom, tucking her into bed. She didn’t wake or stir once.
He sat on the edge of the bed, looking down at her. She was so utterly beautiful, riveting to him.
“I’m going to take good care of you.”
Turning off the light, he left her room before making his way toward his own bedroom. He rested his head on the door, wishing there was something he could do to stop these feelings rushing through him. They were driving him insane.
He didn’t know how long he was going to last before he finally claimed April as his own.
****
Two months later
April stared down at her free leg without any cast. There were no signs on her body that she’d even been in a car crash that cost her best friend’s life. No lasting marks or visible memories on her body to remind her of all she’d lost.
Touching her leg, she winced even though there was no pain. Her leg had healed fine. She didn’t need crutches or to worry about falling over. April hadn’t told Henry about her doctor’s appointment or getting the cast removed.
She placed both of her legs onto the coffee table wondering what to make of them. Nothing stood out. It was like the car crash hadn’t taken place.
Standing up, she made her way toward the kitchen about to start dinner. The apartment was spotless once again. She never did anything to make it dirty.
Walking without the aid of the crutches felt strange to her. She didn’t realize how much she’d come to rely on those two simple sticks.
I’ve got to go home now.
She left the fridge and made her way into the bedroom. With tears in her eyes she packed away her few possessions wishing there was a way for her to stay. She loved Henry’s apartment, cooking for him, sharing meals, watching television. It had all become part of her routine, and she loved it.
Yanking her bags toward the door, she took a seat on the sofa and simply waited for Henry to come home.
At five o’clock he walked through the door. “What the fuck?” he said, growling the words out.
Looking up, she saw him walking toward her. “What the fuck are your suitcases doing packed in the hallway?” He dropped his briefcase to the floor without taking his eyes off her.
“It’s time for me to go.”
“April, I’m not going to argue with you about—” He stopped speaking as she stood up. Tucking some hair behind her ear she smiled at him. “Your cast?”
“Yeah, I went to the doctor’s today. It’s awesome. They said it was time for the cast to be off.” She gave him a twirl. “What do you think?”
He didn’t say anything, simply stared at her.
“You packed your bags.” His gaze returned to hers.
“Yeah, there’s no need for me to stay here anymore. I packed my bags. I was wondering if you could give me a lift back home. I really appreciate everything you did, taking care of me and all.” She stopped talking as he’d not done anything but stare at her. “What’s the matter?”
“You don’t have to leave.”
“Henry, I can’t stay here. I’ve got a life.”
“The job at the supermarket has gone.”
“I’ll get another job.” She’d already had three job interviews lined up. One of them was working as a receptionist. “It’s time for me to move on, and I think it’s best you did as well.”
She loved staying with him, but how could she continue to stay with him when Julia’s death was still raw?
“I’ll, erm, I’ll pull the car around.” He grabbed her case from the floor and turned away before she said anything else.
Taking one last look around the apartment she’d called home for the past three months, April was filled with regret. For a split second she’d actually thought Henry cared about her a little bit.
She took her purse and made her way down to his car. He sat behind the wheel, and she climbed in beside him.
“I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”
“I don’t want to hear it, April.” He navigated traffic, cutting her off every chance she tried to speak to him.
“It doesn’t have to be like this,” she said, reaching out.
Henry shrugged her off him. “You went to the doctors without asking for me to come with you. I’m pretty sure I know where I’m not wanted.”
“Don’t be like this. Our friendship isn’t like that.” She was hurting inside. His attitude upset her with every second that passed.
He parked outside of her apartment building. Henry surprised her when he got out and actually helped her with the bags. Her landlord greeted her as she arrived.
Once inside her apartment, she stared around at the small space. Compared to Henry’s luxury living, her place was in fact a dive.
“You don’t have to stay here,” he said, standing by the door.
“I’ve got to get on with my life, Henry. You should do the same. Everything is still raw.” She was talking about Julia. Her best friend hadn’t been dead six months, and she was growing closer to her boyfriend.
“I understand.” He turned on his heel and walked out of the room. The sound of the door slamming echoed throughout the small room.
She stayed looking at that door for several minutes before she started to put her clothing away. Henry had been through her place before to collect her stuff. He’d picked out her underwear, clothing, personal items, and not once did she miss anything he’d left behind.
It had to be luck that made him pick everything she held of value.
There were moments when they were together when she was sure he saw a lot more than he let on.
By seven o’clock April sat on the edge of her sofa wringing her hands together. The sounds of the city going by were easily heard through her thin windows. In Henry’s apartment, there were no sounds other than stillness.
She closed her eyes, wishing with all of her might that something could have been different. The love she felt for him had to be put elsewhere. He’d helped her overcome her problem with her leg, and that was all. She couldn’t expect him to take over the rest of her life.
Rubbing at her temples, she tried her hardest to clear her thoughts. Nothing helped. In the last three months Henry had proven he was more than a cold, unfeeling ogre who hated her. She didn’t really believe he hated her anymore. There’s no way someone who hated another person would put up with them for three months.
“Ugh, get over it, April. It’s all over, and you’re never going to see him again.”
****
The following week April interviewed for three different jobs. The first was as a receptionist at a law firm. She didn’t like the look or sound of the woman hiring, so she turned that job down. The next job was for a library position in the city library. She hated the quiet and strict order of the work. Once again, she refused the job, settling instead for the third.
Waitressing at a restaurant five nights a week paid more than her supermarket job which she’d worked all day. She was surprised by the amount of tips she got as well. The clientele were more upscale than she was used to. All of the men reminded her of Henry, only not as handsome.
One week rolled into another week. She didn’t make any friends and kept to herself. The owner, Marcel, was a chef with strict rules who forbid any of his employees to become overly friendly with each other or the clients. There were several strict rules in play while working. None of the employees could date each other. There could be no fighting. If Marcel saw any of them fighting inside his business they were instantly fired. He didn’t like it and wouldn’t care who he was hurting. The rules worked fine for her. She noticed early on that a lot of the employees stayed to themselves instead of getting to know one another.
When two months had passed, April started to get back into the flow of living again. The death of Julia was fading. Even though she visited her grave regularly, she could no longer warrant being off work with emotional stress. The days of working in the supermarket were long go
ne. She went back to cooking in her kitchen, planning days out, and she even went to the movies the other night just to do something with her time.
She was putting her life back together little by little since losing her best friend, but Henry’s absence really hurt. The love she felt for him never once died inside her. She’d be walking around the city convinced she saw him with other women.
“April, Antonio is trying to get your attention,” Donald, the barman said.
Glancing over her shoulder, she saw the host was trying to flag her down. Crap. She’d been so lost in her own little world that she didn’t even see any of the new customers coming in.
“Sorry,” she said, approaching Antonio.
“Never mind, don’t let it happen again. Marcel has a friend in tonight. He wants him treated with respect and proper care.”
“Why’s he giving me the table? I thought Rachel got the good tables.”
Rachel was another of the waitressing staff who’d been there a little longer than April and knew what Marcel wanted.
“Marcel said it’s your table and your time to shine. I’d do what he says.” Antonio handed her the menus and pointed in the direction of the table.
You can do this. This job is not hard. You’ve just got to keep your wits about you, smile, and pretend nothing is wrong.
“Good evening. I’m April, and I’ll be your waitress for this evening,” she said, smiling at the table. The smile on her face froze when she saw Henry sat on one side of the table. She had already seen the blonde woman with the fake tits and heavily made up face sitting opposite him.
“April?” Henry asked, frowning.
“It’s good to see you, Henry.” She gave them both their menus and continued to smile. Holding her hands in front of her she kept up the act by telling them about the specials. “Now, is there anything I can get you?”
“No thanks, honey. We’ll call you when we need you,” the fake blonde said, taking over.
Nodding her head, April turned away without looking at Henry. This had to be the hardest thing she’d ever done in her life. She went about checking her tables to make sure everyone was happy.
By the time she finished checking on her other customers, Henry was waiting.
“We’d both like your house special red wine,” he said. “Tell Marcel I want a word with him.”
Taking the drinks menu from him, she nodded, feeling a little sick. Was he going to tell Marcel to fire her?
“I’ll get your drinks and get Marcel.”
She told Donald the order then headed back to the kitchen.
“April, my beauty, why are you back here without an order?” Marcel asked.
“He asked to speak with you.”
Marcel glanced up from his fire filled saucepan to her. “What?”
“Your special guest asked me to get you. He wants a word.” Her palms were so sweaty with nerves. She actually liked the job more than anything. April got to be around food, see how the restaurant worked, and also she got the chance to have some semblance of a life.
“Okay, tell him I’ll be right out.”
“Sure, sir.”
She walked out, taking the red wine glasses and expertly carrying them. “Here is your house special red wine. Marcel will be out shortly, and please let me know when you’re ready to order.”
Antonio had already supplied the menus, so she didn’t have to worry about them. Ten minutes passed and she watched Marcel go to Henry’s table. The two men moved away out of her sight.
“Are you okay?” Donald asked.
“Yeah, I’m probably going to lose my job.”
She tapped her fingers on the counter watching the fake blonde primp her hair as if she knew what she was doing.
Five minutes later Marcel pulled her aside. “I want you to go back to my office.”
“Am I fired?” she asked, feeling the tears fill her eyes.
“No, sweet girl, you’re not fired.” He gave her a smile, which didn’t help her mood. His smile scared her even more.
“I love this job.” He escorted her to his office as she spewed out all the reasons why she loved this job.
“Stop worrying.” Marcel opened his office door and pushed her inside. “You’ve got nothing to worry about.”
The door closed without him even entering the office. Henry leaned on the desk, waiting for her.
Chapter Three
Henry took April in. She stood beside the door with her arms folded highlighting her full, rounded tits. For the past couple of months he’d done nothing but dream about her. Spending time in his apartment was a bust seeing as every corner reminded him of her. He’d gone to the supermarket only to find that they hadn’t taken her back into their employment. When he couldn’t figure out where she worked he’d started to panic. He could have gone to her place at any time, but he wanted to give her space.
Of all the places to find her, he didn’t expect it to be Marcel’s place as a waitress. Not only did he find her here but he was on a date with Angela. The fake blonde hair and tits were supposed to be a distraction to take him away from thoughts of April. Seeing her in the flesh reminded him that he’d already spent a great deal of time using another woman as a replacement. Julia didn’t deserve it then, and April didn’t deserve to be put through this. Angela wasn’t getting anything more than a good meal out of him.
April looked good, better than good. Her eyes were no longer dead with all the pain locked inside.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“Please don’t get me fired. I’m good at my job, and I like it here. It beats working at the supermarket, and I’m learning so much.”
He held his hand up. “I’m not here to talk about your job, April.” Actually, he was. Seeing the panic on her face, Henry knew he couldn’t do anything to jeopardize her workplace. Marcel wasn’t an awful man to live with, but he demanded a lot of his employees.
“Then what are you here to talk about?” She held her hands behind her back, staring at him.
It took every ounce of willpower not to glance down and stare at her curvy body. Did she even know what she was doing to him? All he wanted to do was bend her over this table and fuck her. He couldn’t do it. April wasn’t his.
“I wanted to see how you were doing. The way I left things was appalling. I should have respected your decision to move back home. I guess, I missed your cooking already.” He tried to make a joke, but it fell flat.
“You’re dating,” she said.
“No, Angela’s not really a date,” he said, lying.
April smiled. “I’m happy for you. It’s what Julia would have wanted.”
Why did everything they talked about have to come around to Julia? He didn’t want her to be happy for him or to think better of him.
“I doubt we’ll last beyond tonight.”
She smoothed her hands down the black skirt she wore. He craved those hands on his own body.
“Was there anything else you wanted to talk to me about?” she asked.
“No.” He shook his head.
“Can I go?”
“Sure, tell Angela I’ll be out in a moment.”
She nodded and left the room.
Seconds later Marcel walked back in. “If you want me to fire her, I will, but I’ll be pretty pissed about it, and I don’t like being forced to fire my staff. I happen to like her.”
“I don’t want you to fire her.” He couldn’t take that away from her. Henry wasn’t stupid or blind. April liked this job.
“Then why the need to speak with her? I don’t understand.”
“It’s nothing.” He stopped to look down at the ground.
“She’s Julia’s best friend?”
Henry glanced at his friend, gritting his teeth in the process. One drunken night at the restaurant he’d admitted his true feelings to Marcel. Since then, his friend had told him to come clean, to tell April the truth.
“She means a lot to me, Marcel. I need you to take
care of her. You and I both know there are certain men who come here that take what they want without a care to how it will destroy them.” He’d seen many women falling for the customers, which was why Marcel implemented the policy of no dating.
“I understand. I’ll take care of her.”
Henry nodded and walked toward the door.
“One question, Henry,” Marcel said, stopping him in his tracks. “If you’re in love with April and have been from the first moment you saw her, why are you dating the blonde outside?”
“April doesn’t know how I feel about her. She believes I hate her, and I’m not prepared to change who I am to prove to her. Julia’s death wasn’t so long ago. How do you think she’s going to feel if I tell her what I really think was supposed to happen that day?”
“You can’t blame yourself for what happened, Henry. Time will pass, but these feelings will not. April will find a man, and when she does, can you live with the knowledge you could have been that man?”
Henry left the room without saying a word. Over the months when April had gone on dates he was beside himself with worry. He hated the feeling of helplessness, of wondering if this date would be the one for her.
No, he couldn’t bear to see her with anyone else, but he couldn’t force her to be with him.
Sitting in his seat, he saw Angela look up. Her lipstick stood out to him. The thick red lips repulsed him along with the rest of her body.
“Are you okay, baby?” she asked.
Why did he even try to date this woman? She was the daughter of a colleague, nothing more.
“I’m fine. Have you decided what you’re going to order?” He took a sip of his red wine searching for April. She stood at the bar talking with Donald. Her gaze kept returning to their table, waiting to see when they needed her.
I’ll always need you, baby.
“I’ll just have a salad with no meat or dressing. I need to stay in shape, and pounding on the calories is not going to cut it.”
He tuned her out as she started to talk about her figure and how important it was to fit in. Her voice grated on his nerves, irritating him with every passing second. Couldn’t the woman think of something else to say?