The next week flew by quickly and uneventfully. Sophie managed to steer clear of both father and daughter although it wasn't because she'd tried so hard. She hardly saw Alex except when he had to eat or take his drugs; he was almost always in his room or study and even then he hardly ever spoke to her. Angel on the other hand only had enough time to eat breakfast before going to school with the school bus and usually wasn't back any lesser than five pm, exhausted and hungry with a ton of homework that she hardly had time to make Sophie's life hell like she promised. That didn't mean she didn't try though 'cause she did play silly pranks on Sophie, more than once.
Sophie resumed six thirty am everyday so she could make a light breakfast for Angel before she had to go to school. Thankfully, they served free lunch at their school. Raymond usually left shortly after then it was just her and Alex.
She'd make breakfast for him, ensure he took his drugs, watch TV, cook lunch, his drugs then back to TV. She'd offered to start cleaning the house too but Raymond had declined her help on that. She'd also started preparing dinner though Alex didn't eat, he mostly took fruits in the evenings when it was time to take his drugs but that was all.
Raymond had tried contacting the house help agency they used but news about what terror Angel was must have spread because no one wanted to come work for them anymore. She assured him she didn't mind though, they sometimes made dinner together whenever he returned early and she usually ate there before going home.
Soon enough, it was time for Alex's check up at the hospital. He hadn't wanted her to go with him although how he'd been planning to go to the hospital by himself on a wheelchair was beyond her. The doctor had insisted she come and he'd grudgingly agreed. Sophie had a feeling the doctor had something on him.
Surprisingly, it wasn't Dr. Andrew that examined him but an older doctor. Taking advantage of the fact that Alex was in the examination room, Sophie decided to get some answers from Dr. Andrew.
"Doctor, I noticed his drugs are without labels and I don't recognize some of them."
He seemed surprised but recovered quickly, "Yes, but that was mostly because of Alex. He's a very stubborn man. I was afraid if he knew the names of the drugs he was taking, he'd stab the hospital entirely and start getting them himself."
That seemed plausible. It definitely sounded like something Alex could do. Sophie nodded although for some reason she didn't believe that was all. There was something else the doctor wasn't telling her.
"Will he be off drugs after the three months is over?"
"Most likely, yes."
"Will he be able to walk again?"
For some reason, the doctor laughed at that. Still smiling, he answered her, "Yes, he will."
Sophie nodded, relieved for some reason.
"You can leave and come back later. They're going to take a while."
"How long?"
"A few hours," the doctor replied. He continued at the look she was giving him, "They're going to do a scan, then he's going to see a physiotherapist. You don't have to wait for all that. Just go get some fresh air. I'll call you when he's about done."
"Alright, thank you doctor," Sophie said as she stood up. She decided to call Ama and see if she wanted to hang out. That was one advantage of having an unemployed friend.
* * *
Raymond called a few hours later to let her know he was at the hospital and would be driving his brother home so she didn't have to return and could go home. Since it was a Saturday, she didn't have to go back till Monday. Ama was thrilled at the news.
When Sophie had called her, she had been with a potential client not far from the hospital and had asked Sophie to wait at a cafe nearby. They were still there when the call came in and they decided to go home after.
"Oh my God! I'm so exhausted," Ama said as she fell face down on her bed.
Sophie rolled her eyes at her best friend as she sat on her bed, "Exhausted from doing what exactly?"
Ama turned to her friend with a mock offended look, "Hey, you don't know how it is to work with people who want a top notch decor but are not ready to pay for it. Add that to me trying to get my own office space and establish something on my own."
"I know, babe and I'm so proud of you"
"I haven't even accomplished anything yet."
"Maybe but it's only a matter of time. Is it not you?"
"Awww, I love you too", Ama cooed as she flung herself on her friend, strangling her in the guise of a hug.
"Okay, okay," Sophie said as she removed herself from her friend's embrace.
Ama let herself be shaken off and she positioned herself on the bed to face Sophie "So..."
Sophie gave her friend a blank look, "So what?"
"Well, we haven't really had time to talk this past week. You come back late and I wasn't around on Sunday. I expect you to have a lot of gists for me already," Ama said, emphasizing on 'a lot'
Sophie scoffed. "Sorry to burst your bubble but there's no gist."
"Don't be like this now," Ama whined. Seeing her friend didn't budge, she pressed, "What about Raymond?"
For some reason not known to her, Sophie flushed and stammered, "W-what about him?"
Noticing her friend's reaction, Ama burst out laughing, "I knew it! You like him."
"No, I don't!" Sophie denied hotly, her cheeks on fire.
Ama kept laughing so hard she even rolled down the bed, gripping her stomach. Annoyed, Sophie threw a pillow at her friend.
"I-I can't..." Ama tried reining I'm her laughter though looking at her friend's face just made her laugh harder.
"It's not funny, I don't like him!" Sophie insisted.
Ama snorted, finally calming down, "It's okay, he seems to like you too."
Sophie was annoyed at her friend but still wanted to know what she meant by that. Begrudgingly, she asked, "What do you mean?"
Ama faced her squarely, ready to bequest her knowledge. "Well, for one, he's so nice to you."
"So he's a nice person," Sophie shrugged.
"Yeah, maybe," Ama nodded. "Two, he feels bad for making you work so hard and finds ways of relieving you of them any chance he gets"
"What do you--"
Ama cut in, "Take today for example, he didn't have to send you home during your working hours." Ama held a hand up to her when she was about interrupting. "Before you say it's not your job description to cook and clean, let me remind you that if not for that, there's really nothing you'd be doing in that house to earn two hundred and fifty so there's absolutely no reason he should feel bad."
Sophie cocked her head to the side, thinking, "Yeah but that's just your perspective. These guys are rich and two fifty thousand does not mean as much to them as it does to us. He did only employ me to look after his brother and from his point of view, it's understandable that he feels bad."
Ama tsked, "Ugh! Why must you be so reasonable?"
Sophie laughed at that.
"But I still think he likes you," Ama concluded, falling back on the bed. "No objections"
Sophie obliged her, mostly because a tiny part of her wanted it to be true.
* * *
Over the next couple of days, her routine remained very much the same. Raymond became so much busier playing both his and his brother's role in the office. He came back really late and looked more exhausted by the day. Sophie felt sorry for him.
That morning on arriving, she'd met Raymond and Alex arguing in the living room which was strange because Alex was hardly ever out of his room earlier than seven thirty which she suspected was even because of his drugs.
Raymond stood glaring down at his brother while Alex's brows were furrowed, his arms crossed over his chest like a petulant child.
"Good. Sophie, come here," Raymond said as soon as he spotted her.
What now? Sophie wondered as she went to stand beside him.
"I found out this morning that my brother has been having online meetings with some of our clients and our staff at the office," he stated frowning at her. "Do you know anything about that?"
Sophie was confused then realization dawned on her. That must have been what he had been doing in his study, under the guise of reading. She turned to face him and he gave her a look, daring her to say anything. Sophie shook her head and remained silent.
Raymond sighed. "I'm disappointed, Sophie. The whole reason you're here is to keep an eye on him and make sure he observes absolute rest. Can't you do that?"
Sophie felt rebuked and bowed her head in shame. But what was she supposed to do when he insisted she must not enter his study or his room and threatening to fire her if she disobeyed? She couldn't afford to get fired. She needed the money.
"I don't want to have to fire you, Sophie."
That made her head snap up, hurt flashing in her eyes. He must have seen that because his expression softened but she looked away and gulped "I understand, sir."
Raymond turned back to his brother, his anger gone and now replaced by exasperation. "I'm trying hard, Alex. Can't you see? I might not be able to do it as effectively as you but I am trying. Do you not think I can run the company in your place for three months? You think I'll ruin you before then?"
"Of course not. I have no doubt you can run the company perfectly, maybe even more so than me," Alex replied swiftly, rubbing his eyes. He looked defeated, "It's just hard for me to stay here all day doing nothing. I have to work."
Raymond nodded, "I know, but that's what caused this in the first place. You work too hard and it's affected your health. The doctor recommended three months of complete rest and that's it. I'll take your phones and laptop if I have to."
The two brothers glared at each other, neither budging until Alex angrily wheeled himself away and into his study, since he couldn't go up the stairs without help.
"I mean it, Alex!" Raymond called after him and the door slammed. He turned back to Sophie. "I'm sorry if my words earlier seemed harsh. I know my brother can be very stubborn but I can't just leave him like that."
Sophie nodded. She'd needed that wake up call. She'd started to forget Raymond was her employer but she'd thankfully been reminded that morning. It was just a job and she could get fired. She had to stop daydreaming and start working. Her sister's life was at stake.
"I understand," she said to him.
"Sophie, I--"
She cut him off, "I have to go prepare something before Angel comes down. I promise to keep a better eye on him. Excuse me." Her words were rushed as she hurried away.
* * *
Alex had decided to take out his frustration on her apparently. He'd threatened to fire her when she had insisted on either following him into his study or him staying in the living room and had gotten pissed when she she had insisted. But what was she to do? She'd thought about it and concluded Raymond's threat held more weight than Alex's. He wouldn't be able to fire her if Raymond disagreed.
When she had asked him what to cook for lunch, he had ignored her as if she hadn't spoken. Apparently, he was giving her the silent treatment but that didn't bother her. It wasn't as if he ever really talked to her.
It came time to eat and he was staring at it like it was poison.
"I'm not eating that," he told her.
She'd prepared poundo yam with vegetable soup. That was the first time she was preparing swallow. He always told her what to prepare and had never mentioned swallow. The only reason she'd prepared the soup was because Raymond had told her once that he liked it.
"Why?"
He raised his brows at her, "I don't want to."
"I asked you what you wanted but you didn't answer me. You need to eat to take your drugs. I'll call Raymond if I have to," she threatened.
His expression hardened as he glared down at the food. Did he really not like it? Or was he allergic?
She was beginning to panic but then he washed his hands, ignoring the fork she'd placed there just in case and took the first swallow. He didn't say anything else and he took the second, third, fourth...
Sophie let out a relieved breath as she sat there awkwardly. He didn't finish it though before he stretched his hands to her, asking for the drugs. She handed them over to him and watched him use them.
Then he began to cough. She patted his back, thinking he'd choked on the meds. His coughing soon subsided and he removed the hand he'd used to cover his mouth.
Her eyes widened. Was that blood?
He saw it too and tried covering it but it was too late, she'd already seen it.
"You just coughed blood," her voice was fleeting, like she couldn't quite believe what she was saying.
His gaze slitted over to her and he shook his head.
He was denying it when she saw it herself? Panicked, she stood up, "I should call the doctor."
Her phone was in the living room and she was already rushing to get it. She already had the phone to her ear when a hand yanked the phone from her.
She gazed up at him. Yes, up. He was standing next to her, holding her phone. No wheelchair in sight.
What the...