It has been a month since the incident with Kimberly and the company has been the same except there twice as much security in the building. Now all of the workers have a work pass and an authorisation key for every area they work in. There's different keys for different floors so there's no confusion or threats to the company. I've been doing better and haven't had any new nightmares or electric sensations since that day. Désiré has been constantly checking in with me and I always answer that I'm okay.
He doesn't believe me but I am.
Today, I had just finished calling other companies and I have a meeting later in the week about partnering with the company, Zelta, the gaming company, to invest our supplies to make their consoles more advanced. I'd say it was a good investment to make since they are the fastest growing gaming company in the market right now.
I was now on my way to lunch after hanging up the phone for the last call of the hour. I had my lunch packed by Mum and I exit my office to walk around for a place to eat. Usually I would eat in the office but the security made it hard to eat alone. I ask them to stay in their places while I eat outside. They were reluctant but they let me go anyway. I go outside and open my lunch which was a simple beet salad and water. I begin eating and Désiré comes around and sits across from me. He smiles softly at me and also begins eating. He had a marmitako for his meal and finished rather quickly. It seemed like he hadn't eaten in a while which couldn't be true since his father is so rich. Once he was finished he stared at me as I ate. I ignore him until I finish my food and finally, I stare back at him.
"Why are you staring at me?" I ask and he shrugs.
"I heard something about you and I'm wondering if it's true." I raise my eyebrow at him.
"And what have you heard?"
"That you can't feel anything..." I nod and he leans back confused.
"And what is your assessment?"
"My assessment is that that's just not true. I know you can feel something but have probably barely experienced anything so you can't identify what you're feeling..." He puts his arms behind his head and leans further back in his seat. This was the most I've ever talked with him since working here months ago. He seemed...interesting.
"Yeah? And what makes you think that you know if that's the case? You've barely talked with me even after I've tried making simple conversation with you and after only two months suddenly you know a person like the back of your hand? Seems spontaneous." He was taken aback as he sits in the seat properly. Was that too harsh again? I forgot that normal people have sensitive perceptions about the world and about others.
"While it may be true that I barely know you, I could see and feel your emotions coming through from time to time..." I knew were this was going now and he sighs. He leans in closer to me and whispers. "The whole Kimberly thing-" my timer goes off and lunch has ended. I gather my things and throw my trash away as Désiré follows me to continue the conversation.
"The Kimberly situation had an elicit response, yes, but that doesn't mean anything because I don't feel emotions but I can still feel pain. Don't forget that you tackled me." We walk onto the lift to go to my office.
"Yes, I know I tackled you but-"
"Yes, and I am extremely grateful for that but it doesn't mean that I will suddenly feel something after years of not feeling anything."
"Okay, okay, but hear me out-" He says as we enter my office and I sharply turn around to meet his eyes. He flinched but regain his composure.
"I will say this from now until the end. I...do not...feel...anything!" I emphasised and he pauses as I sit at my desk. "Now, if you need anything, just ask." There was that silence again, it was strange how it inflicted a different perception.
"I need to know one thing," I look up at him inquisitively. His head was down facing the floor. "Did I...Did I hurt you?"
"Well, that doesn't matter since you saved my life-"
"Yeah but!" He yells but corrects his tone. "But did I hurt you? When I tackled you?"
"I can't really answer that...I don't know-" I say and he slams his hands on my desk making my body shudder.
"How do you not know? You said you could feel pain!" I begin sweating again like before with Kimberly and the nightmare. "I'm sorry for yelling, sir...I don't mean to scare you—wait, you're scared!"
"No, I'm not, I don't even know what that is." I notice a strange heat entering my body and swiftly taking over. It was different from the electric sensation. This heat wasn't pleasant but it wasn't harmful either.
"Sure...but just know that denial is a river in Africa..." I look at his face light up then dull down as he tries to figure out what to say next. I'm still his boss after all so I expect his nervousness to flood back and everything will resume usually.
"What does that have to do with anything?" I sigh as I watch him slowly walk backwards outside my office—his gaze never leaving me.
"Oh, you'll see..." I raise my eyebrow as he fully dismisses, hopefully he went back to work. On that thought, I decided it was also time for me to work but notice that my heart was still beating fast and the mysterious heat was fixed on my face. It resided in my cheeks and it seemed similar to a light burning sensation like when I stood out in the sun for too long. It wasn't going away for some reason so I take my cold water from lunch and put it on my face. After about a minute, the strange heat dissipates and I get back to work.
After a couple of hours of non-stop planning, paperwork and endless filing, I was finally done for the day. I check the time and it was so late in the evening already. Usually I get off around 4 but it was now 7 PM. It was darker than I thought and as I walked out of my office, there was about seven people getting ready to clock out. They wave bye to me and I walk out of the building to go home. As I walk to the curb, Keith wasn't here with the limo. I should call from the office.
I turn around and bump into a locked door. I can't get in and there's no limo. I can't call anybody because Mum didn't like the idea of me ever having a phone so the only other option is;
To walk.
I begin walking in the same direction that Keith usually drives and walk in silence. After about an hour, I hear a car honking behind me which was unusual because there were no cars in sight. The car's headlights blind me as it drives next to me. It was too dark to see the driver and it seemed like they had tinted windows. I keep walking but the car follows me and keeps honking so I stop in my tracks and approach the car. The driver rolls down the window and it was Mr Madizza and Désiré in the car. Désiré was in the backseat and was looking out of his window away from my gaze.
"Camilo, were you on your way home? It's quite dangerous for the son of late billionaire, Antonio Rodriguez, to be walking by himself, you know?" He smiles at me dearly and I blankly stare at the man.
"I'm fine, Mr Madizza, thank you." I turn to keep walking but he drives beside me again.
"The thing is that I'm not really asking you, Camilo," He smiles again but it was a different kind of smile that said, I won't ask again. I get inside the car and he drives off. I guess he already knew where I was going since he didn't ask where I lived. Désiré was his usual quiet self and didn't say anything to me the entire ride. Madizza pulls into my driveway and Mum was outside asleep on the bench outside. I carry her inside and lay her down on the couch since I got tired while carrying. I head back outside thank Madizza and say bye to Désiré but he doesn't reply to me. I go inside and change to go to sleep.
I enter the kitchen to get ready to make breakfast. It was a beautiful day as the sun's rays shone through the stained glass windows. I put on my apron that read; Kiss the chef on the front. I only wore pyjama shorts underneath. I decided to make croissants with butter and jam with some fresh fruit and chai. I make the dough and roll it up to bake. Finally, my husband enters and hugs me from behind. I couldn't see his face but I knew it was him.
"I knew you were up making breakfast already," I smile and turn around to see a gun staring directly at me. No, this wasn't what happened. I could've swore these dreams had stopped a while ago. This wasn't real but the emptiness in my body was. It was the same emptiness from that day. My body ran away without my control. I begin running in a random direction which became an endless corporal corridor. At every turn, I could see a shadow figure chasing me from behind. I look back and turn the next corner but bump into Désiré who immediately tackles me.
I wake up in cold sweat again, breathing heavily. I look around rapidly in search for the shadowy figure but I was solely in my room. Once I see my environment, my breathing slows down and I sit up in bed. It was pitch black but my eyes adjusted quickly.
"Mum?" I call out but my voice was hoarse. It sounded like a floor creaking or a creaky door opening. From the corner of my eye, I see a shadow moving directly next to me and my body tensed unintentionally as I heard a low growl. My heart beat throbs as if it wanted to leave my body and rush out of my room. I slowly move away from the ever-growing shadow then as I put one foot on the cold wooden floor, I recognise that it was mum.
"...Camilo?" I hear her tired voice say and my body eases which was unusual. I don't understand any of these new bodily functions and it seemed like my body was loosing some control. I didn't want to say anything just in case mum becomes even more anxious and protective of me. I lay back down to go to seep instead, ignoring the dream I just had.
A/N: Ok so I know this is a shorter chapter but I wanted to use this chapter as a small little fluff and for some mild character development lol. But anyway, what do you think of this chapter?
Thank you for reading and don't forget to vote and comment on the story to let me know what you think!