EIGHT
1800 Words
Riley Anderson
I don’t think waking up to Alessandro’s eyes on me is a great idea, especially looking like I was just pulled out of a bomb blast. As soon as the nurse confirms everything is okay, Alessandro puts me in a sitting position, and he just stares at me until I look away shyly.
"Thank you for saving; I don’t know what I could have done without you. I would be dead and in another realm of reality." I mumble, and he shrugs.
"It is nothing; I was able to help because I was coming back from work when my guys saw you and I recognized you. Riely, what were you doing outside so late in the night? "Do you know how dangerous this city is?" He asks, and I smile nervously. "I am sorry; I didn’t mean to be so callous to you." He apologizes, and I smile.
I like how cute he looks when he is mad. I don’t know, but I feel like destiny brought us together. Maybe I wasn’t going to see him in a long time, and since Brandy had not called back, I assumed she was not going to find Alessandro the busy man he was.
"Why are you smiling?" he asks, bringing me back to earth.
"It is nothing; how long have I been out?"
"Not long, a day or so. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, it has never been better. I am just grateful that you were there to save me. Thank you, Alessandro. "I will be out of your house as soon as my legs can support my frail body. I don’t want to be an inconvenience to you, especially since you are a busy man.
"Oh no, that should not worry you at all; this house is big, big enough to accommodate a whole school in here. You are welcome to stay for as long as you want."
"Thank you. I need to call my friend, Brandy. She must be sick and worried about me." I urge him as I sit up, and he holds my hand. I feel a rush of blood through my veins, and his warm hands are not doing me any justice.
"You are safe here; do you want to talk about what happened or should I let you rest? I came straight from work because I was worried about you."
"You were?" I ask, surprised, and he nods.
"Yes, I am glad we met again. I had even asked one of my guys to look for you. Not for s*x, but I just wanted to get to know you better. "You seem like an interesting person to have around."
"Hahaha, yeah, I guess the world has its way of making people meet. I know this might sound like a joke to you, but thank you. I would be alive were it for you. I was running away from my stepfamily when I bumped into some aggressors who seemed like they weren’t going to let me walk away. They took everything from me, stabbed me, and left me dead. "I am just glad they didn’t take advantage of me.
"I am sorry that you went through all that, but I am here now, and I am going to protect you. You can stay for as long as you want because I know you have nowhere else to be. What happened with your family, your dad? your mom?"
"It is a long story, but I will make it brief: my mom died in a car accident about ten years ago, my father married her best friend, and they moved in together with her daughter. "My life has never been the same again; my father stopped taking care of me, focused on his two daughters, and just let them bully me, mistreat me, and do what they like," I explain, and he closes his eyes. I can see the veins popping on his hands.
"That bastard! How can you abandon your only child because of a woman? "Sorry to say this, but your father is a piece of trash."
"Don’t be sorry. I have told him that countless times, but he won’t change, so when I found out I was pregnant, I had to run away because those two were planning to give up my child for adoption. I couldn’t let that happen." I add, and he nods.
I know you are wondering why I am lying to him about the pregnancy. What if he also has some ill intentions against me? I just don’t think it is the right thing to bombard him with news about my pregnancy, and I have already burdened him with half my problems.
"Yeah, I wanted to ask you about that because the doctor said your baby is okay. "What happened to its father?"
"I don’t know much about that; it was a horrible act that led to the life of this innocent baby I am carrying in my womb, so I decided to keep it; someone took advantage of me, and I have to live with it my whole life. My father grounded me because he thought I was planning to escape and my stepmother threatened my life. I had to run for my life and ended up getting robbed, stabbed, and left for dead. I don't know you that well, and I just don’t trouble you as much as I already have." I say this while looking at him, gauging his reaction.
"I wouldn’t have let you in my house if I didn’t want to help; just relax and focus on healing." "I can help you get back on your feet; I can get you any job you want, but since you said you have only graduated from high school, we can enroll you in any of the online classes for a course you want. He suggests, and I am dazed beyond words.
"Why are you helping me?" You don’t even know me?" I ask curiously, and he chuckles softly, gets up from his seat, walks to the window, and looks out through the window.
"Riley Anderson, I know you are confused right now, and I want you to relax and heal first, we can talk about why I am helping you. I am not a social person, and I don’t go around talking to women and helping them from their assailants. You are special; you deserve every good thing in life, and that is what I am about to give you since your bastard of a father wouldn’t do that for you."
"Thank you, Alessandro. I know we shared our first night, and I don’t want it to feel like I am pinning myself on you. I am a hard worker; I can do any kind of job. I don’t want to sit around doing nothing." I beg him, and he exhales sharply.
"Well, I know all that, but why don’t we focus on your healing first? I am a billionaire, Riley. I just don’t do all the work by myself; I have maids, guards, and chefs to take care of this big house. Just trust me and relax."
"Okay, I can do that." "Thank you, Alessandro," I mumble, and his phone rings before he can reply.
"I am sorry, but I have to take this." He excused himself and left. A few minutes later, he emerges wearing a worried face. "I have to leave you for a while. I have a work emergency that needs my attention. Can you hold on for me?"
"Yeah, sure, and before you leave, am I allowed to leave this room? I hate hospitals, and this makes me nauseous." I plead with him, and he smiles.
"Yes, I have one maid assigned to you. She will take care of you and make sure that you are comfortable. I will see you when I get back." He says so and leaves in a hurry.
A few minutes after he leaves, a maid walks in, and she smiles at me. "Miss Anderson, I am here to make sure that you are comfortable, so be sure to ask anything you need."
"Thank you…" I trail off, not knowing her name.
"I am Penelope, but everyone calls me Penny." "Would you like anything?"
"Yes, please. I hate lying down for a long time. Can you help me out of this bed? "I would like a different serene one from this one.
"Yeah, sure, I will speak to your nurse." But you know my boss will be so mad that I let you walk on your own from the bed."
"Don’t worry, I won’t mention your name. Can I at least use your phone to call a friend of mine? She must be sick and worried about me."
"Yeah, sure, here is it; I will give you some privacy." She hands me her phone, and I thank her.
I dial Brandy’s number since I know it off-hand; it rings three times before she picks it up.
"Hello, who is this?"
"Brandy? Is it me? Riley." I reply, and she shrieks happily on the other end.
"Riley, where the hell are you? I have been trying to reach you. I even went to your house, and your evil mother was there, looking happy that you left. "Are you okay?"
"I am now."
"Where are you?" I can come get you."
"No, there is no need for that. I am safe now; I am recuperating well."
"Recuperating? What happened to you? I found Ricco’s number, and I was going to give it to you. "Do you still want to tell him about your pregnancy?"
"There is no need for that because I am at his house right now."
"What, how?"
"I will elucidate it to you when we meet. I just wanted to let you know that I am safe now and you don’t have to worry about me. Don’t tell anyone about this; I am only telling you this because you are my friend."
"Okay, yeah, I understand. "When can I see you?"
"As soon as I am in good shape, right now I look like a train ran me over."
"What exactly happened to you?"
"I was running away from home; I got mugged, stabbed, and left for dead. I am okay now. Keep your phone close to you; I will call you soon." I say this before I hang up.
"I am sorry, I didn’t mean to sneak up on you like that. "I just wanted to let you know that your room is ready, and one of the guards will help carry you to your room," Penny says as she walks in, and I nod.
"Okay, thank you for the phone. "You are a lifesaver."
"No problem, anything for my boss’s visitor." She fakes a smile.
- Writer
