Chapter 37: Unfortunate Evening
"Sir?" Pattison looked at Gabriel with confusion. He still laid down on a sofa in a waiting room, struggling to get up. "I've brought breakfast and coffee."
"Two sets?" Gabriel asked as he rubbed his eyes.
"Yes, sir."
"Take one with milk and sugar to Claire. She's in her office."
"Yes, sir." Pattison nodded.
Gabriel turned around on the sofa with a grunt.
Pattison walked into Claire's office to find her sleeping, her head still resting on Gabriel's sweater.
She shifted at his footsteps and looked up with her eyes half-closed.
"Good morning, Claire," Pattison said in a soft voice. Claire quickly sat up straight and moved her hair out of the way.
"Oh my goodness…" she mumbled. "Good morning, Mark." She rubbed her face. "Oh no, no, no…"
"Claire?"
"I must've fallen asleep here." Claire looked around trying to work out what time it was.
Pattison passed her the breakfast that he brought in. "Coffee?"
"Thank you." Claire took it with a smile, only now realising that she held on to the male's sweater. "Where's Gabriel?"
"Mr Moore is just down the corridor."
"What is he doing there?"
"Probably still sleeping on the sofa in the waiting room."
"What is he doing here at this time?"
"I could ask you the same." Pattison smiled.
"Thanks for the coffee and…" Claire looked into the back. "Breakfast."
"No problem."
"Now, it's time to make Gabriel miserable." Claire decided as she stood up.
"Claire?" Pattison looked at her baffled.
Claire walked along with a sweater in her hand. Pattison was right, Gabriel was still curled up on a sofa.
"Not yet, Pattison." He grumbled at Claire's footsteps.
"Why are you in my department?" Claire asked sharply.
Gabriel opened his eyes and sat up straight.
"Claire." He mumbled. Claire took a big swing and threw his sweater in his face. Gabriel was definitely not prepared for it as he flinched. "Yep, I should've expected that. Good morning, Claire."
"Were you creeping around me while I was asleep?!"
"I wasn't creeping around."
"So how did your sweater end up with me?"
"I just thought you'd be more comfortable." Gabriel still looked confused. Claire raised her brow, partially because she found Gabriel's vulnerability rather appealing.
"Never get near me again. You pervert!"
"Claire, I didn't do anything." He sighed, still too out of it to even try to argue. "If you're awake, I'll take my leave." Gabriel stood up and put his sweater back on. "Are you thinking of coming home at all today?"
"Not if I can avoid it."
"I knew I should've packed you in a car while you were sleeping. Pattison is going to bring you the set of keys for whenever you do decide to come back." Gabriel walked up to her. "But, do remember that you must stay at your permanent place of residence for at least 50% of the time outside work, otherwise it is a breach of contract. Right now you're falling behind that."
"I'm at work."
"These are not your contracted hours." Gabriel walked out, Pattison following him.
Claire returned to her office. As she sat down again she felt particularly appreciative of the coffee and breakfast that were brought to her.
Her phone rang which startled her.
"Dad?" She answered with a fear that she will receive bad news.
"Sorry to bother you, Claire."
"Is everything alright?"
"Your mum regained her consciousness."
Her dad started crying on the other side.
"I'm on my way!" Claire said as she hurried out of her office.
Within an hour she was rushing through the hospital
"Dad!"
"Come on in." Her dad patted her on her back.
"Mum…" Claire said softly as she noticed her mum's gaze on her. Her mum still struggled to move or speak but Claire was so happy to see the minimal response. She sat with her mum for a while, telling her about her projects as friends, purposely omitting anything about Gabriel and her move to the villa. Her mum didn't say much but she tried her hardest to listen. Claire then let her mum sleep, while sobbing silently.
"Claire, why don't you go home? You have work tomorrow." Her dad asked as he passed her a tissue.
"I haven't visited you in the new apartment yet," Claire said apologetically.
"Don't worry, we can have a proper catch-up once we get through this."
"Thank you, dad."
"No, thank you, Claire. All this is because of your hard work."
"Would you like to get a coffee before I go?"
"Of course."
They walked downstairs and sat down together reminiscing on the past and sharing their hope for Claire's mum.
As the evening started to fall, Claire's phone rang. And then it rang again, and again.
"Is it someone important?"
"Not really, dad." Claire sighed. "It's probably just some spam." Claire lied as she saw 'Gabriel' pop up first and then 'Mark' repeatedly. She put her phone on silent and she hid it in her bag.
"I never saw a spam caller have an assigned name." Her dad smiled. Claire blushed in embarrassment. "It's okay, you don't have to tell me."
"The first call was from my boss. The following twenty from his assistant. It's probably about the project I'm working on." Claire sighed.
"That boss of yours seems to be harassing you. Are you sure you are okay at Diamond Corporate? If they don't treat you right, maybe you should find somewhere else? You're such a smart girl, Claire. Don't suffer for us."
"It's alright dad."
"Zoe and Gina made it clear that it isn't."
"They're exaggerating." Claire put her hand on his. "Don't worry, dad. I'll quit when it becomes too much. For now, I'm really trying to expand my portfolio and gain more experience. And the projects I'm getting are doing just that. I've worked with some of the greatest firms in the world."
"Claire…" her dad started carefully. "I always told you that there are some good people in the world, and then few that aren't. I know that you're a good person, Claire. You care so deeply for so many people. But I'm so worried that your heart is misleading you."
"What?"
"Men with power, like Mr Moore, pick on young naive girls to use them and leave them hurt."
"What?" Claire repeated, still confused by her dad's words.
"I'm worried that you like him, Claire. I'm worried that you will get hurt. Men like this do not take relationships seriously, especially at their age. He will never own it up and marry you. He will never treat you right."
"I do not like him, dad. He is the first person ever that I do not care about. It's quite scary because I think I might hate him. He might be the first person that I cannot emphasise with." Claire explained quietly. "I am just trying to do my job."
"I hope that you're not angry at me for my words. When the girls mentioned that he was bothering you I thought that you might be dating, and from my life experience, that never ends well for a woman, especially someone as kind-hearted as you."
"Zoe and Gina have a knack for making things seem worse than they are." Claire smiled. "They're so bored with my life that they try to make it seem ever so more exciting."
"Maybe you should make it more exciting? Maybe a date or two wouldn't harm." He smiled.
"You just gave me a lecture about how horrible men are." Claire laughed.
"It's a difficult thing to navigate. You know, relationships and love."
"You and mum always made it look simple."
"It wasn't. Not always. See, relationships are like diamonds. At first, they are rough around the edges, and with time and work you make them shine."
"That's such a beautiful metaphor." Claire nodded, for some reason wondering if her relationship with Gabriel could ever be, but she quickly reminded herself that they were solely bound by the contract and nothing else.
She left the hospital and sat down in the car taking a few minutes to recollect herself. She looked at her phone realising that it was getting late but also realising that she missed a total of 26 calls, and she only had 1% battery left. She decided to not call back as she was going back home anyways. The rain started pouring heavily, making the entire day seem even more miserable.
She drove slowly and carefully, as she could barely see through the waterfall on the windscreen.
She almost reached the city centre when the engine started spitting and the car started slowing down. Claire looked around in worry, but before she could spot any service station her car stopped. She tried to turn it back on but it choked and went silent. On her third try, it didn't make any noise at all. Claire screamed at top of her lungs and hit the steering wheel. She was still miles away from the city and home, it was pouring down, and she was alone in a broken car. She got out of the car and lifted the hood to see the engine. After some thought, she checked for sparks. Nothing. The fuse was blown and she didn't have anything to deal with it. She reached for her phone and handbag. She hoped to order a taxi or car recovery services but her phone naturally run out of battery. She was already soaked and it was getting cold, and all she had on was a simple dress and her favourite cardigan. It was nearing 10 pm. Claire looked around in despair, but no cars were coming at this time and on this side of the city. Claire started walking on the side of the road, abandoning her car. After the first mile, her feet hurt from the heels she was wearing. Her shoes were soaked through anyways so she decided to take them off and hide them in her handbag. As she looked in her handbag, she realised that her wallet was missing. She tried to recall when she last had it. Her dad offered to pay for a coffee so it must've been in the office. She swore and screamed again into the empty fields. Four more miles, an hour and twenty minutes later, she reached the city. It was already past 11:30 pm. She hasn't eaten all day and she was feeling increasingly ill. It was at least a 30-minute drive from the city to Oak Avenue. Claire was trying to count how much longer it'll take her to walk. Her tights were ripped and she already scratched her feet on several rocks. Somehow she still preferred that over the heels. At least she could keep up the pace.
She swore as she saw buses and taxis passing. At this time her company was locked down anyways. Everything was closed. Nothing was going to be open at almost midnight on Sunday night. Claire continued walking, swearing and crying, either exchangeably or simultaneously. As she went on, she slowed down further. She managed to scrape her entire underfoot, which was now leaving a blood trail that run in with water.
As she was walking through the darkest roads, she could only tell where she was going by the surface of the road and some distant lights.
Her muscles were getting tired from the spasms of shivers on top of the 10-mile walk she did so far. Her head was spinning and pounding at once, making it even harder to see the road as she couldn't focus. Her feet were so hurt now that they started to become numb. She did lose feeling in her hands and face too from the cold of the night and rain.
The light at the top of Oak Avenue gave her hope as she reached it at 4 am. The last stretch was the worst. The villa was placed at the very end of the road which was uphill.
At 4:45 am, Claire finally reached the gate. She was crying silent sobs, invisible tears were running down her face ceasing to exist with the streaming water. She also realised that she never received the keys from Pattison, now stranded just outside of the finish line.
She wondered if she should just lay down there and pass out as she didn't want to trouble anyone at this time. She walked around the gate and when she reached the sidewalk with a smaller gate she pressed on a handle, only to find it opened. She walked across the yard up to the door.
She rang the buzzer but before anyone answered she slid onto the floor and leaned against the wall.
"Miss Thompson?" Martha opened the door in her nightdress.
"Martha. I'm so sorry to wake you up." Claire uttered. "I'm so sorry."
"Oh my goodness! Miss Thompson." Martha run out towards her. Claire couldn't utter the strength anymore. Martha called Jonathan for help and they brought Claire inside, placing her in the living room. Martha rushed to get blankets and Jonathan called Gabriel.
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