by Unknown
When he reached Alice’s bedroom door, he knocked on it softly, but there was no reply.
He closed his eyes, and knocked once more, willing her to reply, but he knew in his heart she wouldn’t.
When no reply came, he reached for the handle and opened the door slowly.
As he stepped inside, his heart sank further when he saw all her belongings were gone.
Parker had no idea how this had even happened. After she had got on the elevator the night before, he returned to his apartment and told Ginger to get the hell out, and never come back.
Parker tried to call Alice over and over again, but each time it went to voice mail. He left messages saying that it was just a misunderstanding, but she never returned his call.
Now he was standing there in her room; he realised he should have never let her walk away until she had listened to him. But she had been so upset, and Parker was surprised how much it bothered him to see her like that.
As he stood there, looking at the now empty room, he had no idea what he was going to do. What surprised him the most was, he wasn’t even thinking about himself. He was thinking about Alice.
He needed to try and find her. But he knew, even if he did, she probably wouldn’t listen to what he had to say.
As he slowly turned to leave, he spotted a picture frame lying on the floor next to the dressing table. He picked it up and found it was a photo of Alice with a lady that must’ve been her grandmother. He studied it closely and sighed when he saw how happy she looked. He had seen a glimpse of that girl over the last couple of days, and he had liked it.
He studied her closely and for the first time, he noticed that she really was very beautiful, in a girl next door kind of way. Parker could see the love she had for her grandmother in the picture, but that didn’t surprise him. Alice was a kind, caring girl that always seemed to put others before herself.
That’s when it hit him and it suddenly all became clear. She was doing all this for her grandmother. He didn’t know why, but he knew that she needed this, and he had made it too hard for her to stay. He felt like a complete asshole.
He stood up and hurried back down the hallway towards his bedroom.
“She came by earlier this morning,” Maria called out as he passed the entrance to the kitchen.
“She was here?” Parker stopped dead in his tracks and turned back towards the kitchen.
“She arrived a short while after me,” Maria replied. “She didn’t say much, just that she had come to collect her things. She was here about twenty minutes. Then she set her keys on the counter and left.”
“Why didn’t you wake me?” Parker demanded.
“I didn’t know I was supposed to,” Maria looked him straight in the eye.
“Did she say where she was going?” Parker asked hoping she may have left a forwarding address.
“No, she didn’t say,” Maria said as she pulled something from her apron pocket. “But she did leave these.”
Parker looked down at what Maria had pushed towards him on the counter. He sighed when he saw her copy of their agreement, the card for her bank account Parker had set up for her with the five hundred thousand dollars, and also the card for her expense account.”
“She said that it’s all there except the thirty thousand,” Maria continued. “But she asked that you give her a week or so, and she will pay you back every penny.”
“With what,” Parker sighed, knowing she couldn’t afford to pay him back, not that he wanted her to.
“That’s all she said,” Maria replied as she smiled sadly.
“Okay,” Parker said as he turned slowly and headed toward the hallway once more.
“It’s a real pity,” Maria said stopping him once more. “She was a good girl. She was exactly what you needed.”
“Maria, it wasn’t like that,” Parker replied at he turned back to the woman. “It would never have been like that.”
“If you say so,” she shrugged, as she continued to prepare the food she was working on. “But if that were really true, why are you so upset?”
“I’m not upset,” he replied sharply, knowing Maria had touched a nerve.
“Then it’s my mistake,” Maria sighed, giving him a knowing smile.
Without saying another word Parker continued to his bedroom, as Maria’s words still played in his mind. Was he upset? Maybe he was.
He reasoned that he was just upset that their arrangement seemed to have fallen apart. He would have to face his father and admit he screwed up once again. That would mean he would lose the company for sure now. But deep inside, he knew it was more than that.
He wanted this thing between him and Alice to work, and he wasn’t ready to give up on it yet.
He showered and dressed quickly, then got his phone and pulled up his assistant’s phone number, and hit call.
“Mr. O’Neill,” Zelda said the moment she answered the phone.
“Zelda, I need you to cancel all my meetings today,” Parker said as he grabbed his jacket from the end of the bed and headed for the door. “Reschedule everything for later this week.”
“Certainly,” she replied sounding surprised by his request.
“I also need the address for a Ms. Jennifer Frost,” Parker said as he walked past Maria in the hallway. She gave him a smile, but she didn’t say a word. “She works in Sam’s Coffee Snug. Send her address to my smartphone.”
“Certainly, Sir,” she replied as Parker reached the elevator.
“I’m waiting on it, Zelda,” Parker said as the elevator doors opened. “I’ve got to go.”
He hung up as he stepped onto the elevator, and called up his driver and told him to meet him out front as soon as possible.
By the time Parker reached the sidewalk outside his apartment building, his phone had beeped in his pocket, and he knew it would be a message from Zelda with the address he had requested.
Just as he saw the car he was waiting for approach, a camera flashed in his face and stunned Parker for a moment.
“Mr. O’Neill,” the man behind the camera said as Parker blinked and tried to remove the white glare that distorted his vision. “How is married life treating ya?”
“Have you lost your mind,” Parker snapped angrily at him. “You almost blinded me.”
“Is it true that your wife moved out this morning?” The guy asked, ignoring Parker’s protest. Parker recognised the man as his vision cleared, but he didn’t know his name. He had ambushed him a few times before, and Parker was becoming tired of his behaviour.
“Get the hell out of my face,” Parker snapped, angry that the gutter rat seemed to know that Alice had left before he even did.
As the car pulled up next to the kerb. Parker pushed past the photographer and slipped into the back of the car.
“Are you okay, Mr. O?” The driver asked, looking back at Parker.
“Just drive, Tom,” Parker instructed as the asshole with the camera continued to snap the car.
Once they were away from the photographer, Parker reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He opened the message from Zelda that contained Jenny’s address, and he quickly instructed Tom on where to go.
About thirty minutes later they reached the address Zelda had sent him.
“Can you wait for me, Tom,” Parker asked as the man opened the door for him.
“Certainly, Mr. O,” Tom replied.
“I probably won’t be long,” Parker said as he straightened his suit jacket and walked towards the building. He pushed opened the door and made his way up the dimly lit, four flights of stairs to the second floor; taking great care not to touch the dirty walls, as the sound of a screaming baby, and a couple arguing echoed the hallways. It was like something from a movie and Parker couldn’t believe that Jenny would live somewhere like this.
The thought that this was where Alice was now staying too made him feel a little angry.
When he reached the apartment that he was looking for; he took a deep breat
h before he knocked on the door. He knew Alice would not welcome him with open arms; he just hoped that he could make her see that nothing happened between him and Ginger the night before.
Parker held his breath as he heard several locks on the door being opened before finally the door opened, and he was face to face with a very stunned looking Alice.
“I know you said you never wanted to see me again,” Parker blurted out in a sudden rush of words. “But I couldn’t leave things as they were.”
“How did you know where to find me?” Alice asked, looking at him like he was the last person she expected to be standing there in front of her.
“Does it matter?” He asked as he stared at her. He thought she looked sad, and he knew it was all his fault, but he had no idea how to make it right.
“If this is about the money…” she said as she dropped her eyes to the floor, suddenly unable to look at him anymore.
“You think I give a fuck about the money?” Parker asked as he stepped a little closer to Alice. “Keep the damn money. That’s not why I’m here.”
“Then why are you here?” Alice asked, looking back up at him. Her eyes fell to the small cut on his lip from where she had hit him when she lashed out the night before.
“I’m here because I want you to come home,” Parker said as a look of surprise filled her face. “You don’t belong in this place. And I swear, nothing happened with Ginger last night, I didn’t even know she was going to turn up. I haven’t talked to her in months; you have to believe that.”
“But there will always be another Ginger, Parker,” Alice sighed as she turned and walked back into the apartment. “And I can’t live like that. I thought I could, but I was wrong.”
“I give you my word,” Parker promised as he followed her into the apartment. “There will be no more girls turning up like that.”
“It’s not just about the girls,” Alice said she finally turned to face him. “We don’t belong together, even if we are just pretending. We are from different worlds.”
“I think that’s complete crap,” Parker replied, refusing to believe that she was right.
“Parker, I should have never agreed to do this,” Alice sighed. “It’s just too complicated.”
“I know you did this for your grandmother,” Parker said and the surprise on her face, told him he was right. “I don’t know why, but you needed that money for her…”
“My grandmother has nothing to do with this!” Alice replied suddenly angry. “And as for the money, you will have it back in a couple of days…”
“I DON’T WANT THE FUCKING MONEY, ALICE!” Parker yelled in frustration. “I want you to come home. I don’t want you here in a place like this… you’re still my wife…”
“Do not stand there and pretend that you are the dutiful husband, Parker O’Neill,” Alice spat back, stopping him mid-sentence. “Were you thinking about me when you brought that girl home the night you married me? Don’t pretend that you care about me, because you don’t. You only care about your company, and saving face in front of your parents.”
“That’s not why I came here…” Parker insisted, but he knew Alice wasn’t buying it.
“Well, whatever the reason was, I‘m not interested,” Alice said as she marched to the door and looked at Parker expectantly. “This was all a stupid idea that was never going to work. Now please just go.”
“Alice this is stupid,” Parker said determined to make her see that was not why he was there.
“Just go, Parker,” Alice said giving him a determined look. “Please.”
Parker sighed. He always knew when he was beaten, and this time, he was beaten. He walked towards the door and stopped in front of Alice.
“If you ever need anything, and I mean anything at all,” he said as he looked down at her. “You know where to find me.”
He stepped through the door but stopped as he remembered something he had almost forgotten about.
He turned back to Alice as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the bank card she had returned earlier.
“This belongs to you,” Parker said holding it out for her to take.
“I can’t take this,” Alice whispered as she looked up into Parkers eyes.
“I want you to have it,” Parker insisted as he placed it in her hand. “You don’t belong in this place, Alice. At least now you can afford to buy somewhere nice and safe.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Alice said as she looked down at the card in her hand. “Thank you.”
“Take care of yourself, Alice,” Parker sighed and gave her a sad smile before he walked down the hallway, leaving her behind.
Chapter 12
Alice
Alice stood there long after Parker had left. He had just given her half a million dollars. She stared down at the card in her hand, and to her surprise, the only thing she felt was sadness.
She wasn’t sure why she felt so unhappy. Alice hadn’t believed for a second that anything would ever become of her relationship with Parker beyond their business agreement.
Still, Alice couldn’t help but think of their night with the ice-cream, and how much she enjoyed Parker’s company that night. She knew it was ridiculous, but part of her was going to miss him.
Maybe it was a good thing it ended when it did. If she felt like this after knowing him for a week and a half, how would she have felt after spending twelve months living with him?
It was better this way; her head knew it; she just needed to convince her heart.
She looked down at the card once more and sighed. She was grateful for his offer, but she knew she couldn’t keep it. It wasn’t right, and she knew in her heart she had done nothing to deserve it.
She suddenly had an overwhelming need to see her grandmother. Alice knew she couldn’t tell her grandmother what had happened, but still, she knew seeing her, would somehow help to make her feel better.
She grabbed her bag from the sofa and slipped the card that Parker had given her inside until she figured out how she would get it back to him.
Forty minutes later, she arrived at the nursing home.
“Hey, Gram,” Alice said as she walked into her grandmother’s room and found her sitting on her armchair.
“Sweetheart!” Sophia exclaimed with surprise as she looked up from the book she was reading. “What are you doing here so early?”
“I just wanted to come and see you,” Alice said as she walked around her grandmother’s bed and sat down facing her. “I just missed you.”
“What’s happened, Peanut?” Sophia asked as she stood up and came to sit beside her granddaughter on the bed.
“You haven’t called me that in a long time,” Alice replied with a laugh while her eyes filled with tears.
“Alice,” Sophia said as she wrapped her arm around her granddaughter and drew her close. “What is it?”
“It’s nothing,” Alice sighed as she quickly brushed the tears from her face. “I’m just being stupid.”
“It’s not nothing if it has you upset,” Sophia said as she took Alice by the chin and tilted her face up so that she was looking at her. “Is it a boy?”
“I think I’m too old to be having trouble with a boy,” Alice laughed through her tears.
“Okay,” Sophia smiled as she reached for her knitting at the end of the bed but instead of picking it up, she moved it and lifted up something from beneath it. “Then it must be something to do with this.”
Alice looked down at what her grandmother had in her hand, and to her horror, she realised it was a newspaper. Alice could feel her stomach heave as she reached for the newspaper and took it from her grandmother.
“I found it down in the day room yesterday,” Sophia explained as she looked at her granddaughter with concern.
“Gram…” Alice said as she took the paper from her grandmother, unable to look at her. “I can explain.”
Alice could barely breathe; her heart was racing so fast. How could she tell her grandmothe
r she had messed up so badly? But as she sat there, she knew she didn’t really have a choice.
“I messed up,” Alice finally whispered and tears filled her eyes once again before they trickled down her face.
“Sweetheart,” Sophia said as she reached out and took her granddaughter's hand. “Tell me what happened.”
“I just made such a mess of things,” Alice cried as her grandmother squeezed her hand so tightly. “And now I’m so embarrassed because I made this huge mistake, and the whole world knows about it, and I don’t know how to fix it.”
“Is it about the boy in the newspaper?” Sophia asked, and Alice just nodded her head, confirming it was him. “Has he gotten you in trouble?”
“What? No!” Alice exclaimed as she wiped her nose with the back of her hand. “I’m not pregnant. That was one mistake I didn’t make.”
“Then what is so bad, Sweetheart,” Sophia asked as she glanced down at the newspaper sitting on her granddaughter‘s lap. “Is what the papers said true? Did you marry this boy?”
Alice slowly nodded as a fresh wave of tears took hold of her.
“Sweetheart,” Sophia sighed. “Please don’t cry. So you made a mistake. It’s nothing that can’t be fixed.”
“I know,” Alice sobbed softly. “It’s just so complicated. I don’t think it will work out…No, I know it won’t work out, and now I feel so stupid.”
“Then you move on and start again,” Sophia assured her granddaughter. “Sweetheart, why are you always so hard on yourself.”
“I’m just so embarrassed,” Alice whispered.
“Why didn’t you tell me you met a boy,” Sophia asked, and Alice could hear the tiniest trace of hurt in her grandmother’s voice.
“It all happened so fast,” Alice said, and though she knew it wasn’t the truth, it wasn’t completely a lie either. “And I didn’t know how to tell you. I didn’t want you to be disappointed in me.”
“Sweetheart, I could never be disappointed in you,” Sophia replied. “To be honest, I’m a little relieved.”
“Relieved?” Alice said, surprised by her grandmother’s remark. “Why?”
“Because I’m worried you’re wasting your life,” Sophia admitted. “You work so hard, and when you’re not working, you’re here. You just seem so sad, and I am just afraid that life is passing you by. So you made a mistake, at least it proves you are living.”