Chapter 2
2194 Words
Scott met Arya looking around for him. He actually scared her even though there were many people around.
"What are you doing?" Arya asked with a faint smile.
"Nothing, just playing hide and seek"
"You asked me to wait for a sec and then you just disappeared" She complained grabbing a drink from a passing by waitress.
"Yeah about that I forgot the baby monitor, here it is. See you around I got to go" He said and this time kissed him on the forehead before rushing to the parking lot.
Scott was sending her mixed signals. One minute he was kissing her and another he was kind of avoiding her. She watched him get into the car and drive away. Maybe it was time she lowered her expectations. Five months were a long time for him to heal if he really wanted her he would have. She was starting to think it was the rational game theory. Scott wanted to bring her closer to an extent she thought they were a thing then manipulate the relationship to his advantage.
"Looking at someone?" Ben asked coming from behind her.
"The immortal now sneaks on people" Aria said.
"It's a skill the ghosts use, if it makes you feel better I would love to see you and him do what we did today" He said.
She smiled. Ben was good at making her feel better.
"He is.."
"Confusing you I know but give him time. Melissa is still in his heart"
"But for how long?"
"Don't tell me you are seeing someone else" Ben said.
She laughed lightly.
"No, there is no one else sir, congratulations on your wedding by the way"
"Thank you, come on lets have fun" Ben said dragging her away..
She was glad he was back and she hoped he would never leave again.
*********
Scott was cursing himself all the way. He did not known what was happening to him or rather what Arya was doing to him. For the past five months he had been having this confusing feelings towards her and the day he confirmed it is when Jake told him she had a boyfriend. Scott went nuts. He lost his appetite and his mood became forlorn for days. Avoiding Arya was the only way he could restrain himself from asking her about it. She was a grown up, the mother to her child but she had the freedom to choose who to love and who not to.
"Why do I even care?" He asked out loud driving on the Fort Canon Women correction center road.
And that day he kissed her. Willingly she did not even ask for it one minute they were talking and the next he was on her lips. He blamed it on automatism. Involuntary movement of his mouth muscles towards hers.
"There was no way I did it myself" He said mistakenly hooting the car.
The guy in front of him was not impressed.
“What the fuck men can’t you see the traffic light?” He asked poking his head through the window.
Scott just raised him arm in the air to show he was sorry. When the lights went green he drove away very fast. He was going to see his wife Melissa. Although they were not legally married and despite what she did he still considered her as his wife he once loved so much. She was serving an eight months jail term for conspiracy to murder but in a special cell for people with mental health problems. The shock of seeing Ben when she thought he was dead did some damage to her. Melissa was never the same since that night. She kept talking to herself and behaved like a child.
“Welcome Mr. Richards we missed you” A female guard said flashing a smile.
“And I missed you too Angela, how are you?” Scott asked looking through his pockets.
He gave her a two hundred dollar tip after she opened the gate for him.
“Thank you sir”
“Welcome” Scott said and drove off to the parking lot.
He parked his car and locked all the windows before he got out. Scott took a sigh of relief and then walked to the administration office. Being a visiting day the queue was long. Scott was not in a hurry so he made the queue. Who could be in a hurry to see someone that doesn’t understand them anymore? Someone emotionally available with memory lapses, who kept talking to themselves? More than once he had said he was not going to show up there. Seeing her in that condition and yet he couldn’t help her was saddening and escalating his pain.
“Sir, please follow me” A random guard said.
She was new.
“Why? Am okay here” Scott said.
“The prison warden asked me to fetch you, I insist” She said.
“Okay and how did he see me?”
“The security cameras sir besides you are a Richard, you stand out” She said.
Scott smiled.
“You are now flattering me, I will follow you” He said.
“This way sir” She said leading him through another entrance.
It was not his first time there. If he was counting it was his fourth visit and in the previous visits the warden never asked him in his office. Something was different or he would said something was off. They got to the office, a brown door with a shiny brass plate above it written “PRISON WARDEN” in bold. His tour guard Knocked. Scott could hear the voice of the six foot tall heavily built Mrs. Agnes Mount roaring three the office. She was the most feared woman in there with the ability to knock anyone out with one punch. At heart Scott was afraid of her.
“Come in” She finally said.
The guard opened the door and remained outside.
“Glad you can join us Scott” She said.
In there was Martha Price with her daughter Melissa in white dungarees. She had brought her toys and she was playing with a toy car at the carpet, roaring like an engine as she pushed the car.
“Thank you, Mrs. Price...”
“Come all in Scott, I have nothing against you son” Martha assured getting up to meet him, “Melissa Scott is here” She said.
“Mum who is Scott?” she asked.
“Come on turn around and look at him” Martha said.
She had not seen him. She obediently stopped her driving in the middle of the road and turned around to look at Scott. She smiled.
“Scott! It’s you” She said happily hugging him.
He held her tightly. Staring at Martha and Mount, they nodded.
“What did you bring me Scott?” She asked happily.
He had nothing. Martha swooped in to save him.
“Melissa, the gifts were from him” She said.
“Ooh thank you” She said and hugged him again before she went back to her driving.
The awkwardness of the situation was sending a cold shiver down his spine. Scott could not move, his Italian leather shoes were heavy or maybe glued to the carpet. He remained standing until Mount realized he was not okay. She got up to help him. The giant woman with a good heart had to literally drag him to a chair. And Martha saw it too. The sadness in his eyes. She was not alone in that fight.
“What can I bring you?” Mount asked.
“Get him a glass of water” Martha said, “Scott dear, all will be well. I engaged the best doctors she is on treatment”
Mount went to bring water.
“Thank you Mrs. Price am sorry” He said.
“No, don’t apologize. I should be sorry” She said looking sad, “I let Lincoln ruin my daughter right under my nose. I can’t say sorry enough son”
“It’s enough, the past is behind us what we need right now is not a blame game we need to figure out how to help her”
Martha started to sniffle. Mount brought in the water and excused herself. The family needed some time alone.
“Mum, are you crying?” Melissa asked.
“No sweetheart mum had something in her eyes”
“I could hear you sniffle you know, it will be okay mum. At the end it will be”
“Thank you, now go back and play” She said.
Scott had not even touched his water. Seeing Martha cry was reminding him of his own mother. Yes she deserved it. Melissa deserved it for plotting to kill his father but what was it doing to her mother? It was painful. They talked a lot that day. Martha assured Scott he was free to visit her at any time and Melissa too. She also marveled at what a nice person he was noting that if it were someone else they would have walked away never to come back. She ended their conversation with an apology for judging his upbringing. Then it came to the most painful part of the visit. Telling Melissa bye.
“Mum why are they taking me away?” She asked with those puppy eyes.
Both Martha and Scott were getting crushed.
“Because you are sick baby, they need to check on you” Martha said.
“Why can’t Scott check on me? He said we were married” She claimed being dragged away.
“Once you are properly healed I will take you with me, I promise” He said.
“I don’t want to go” She screamed.
“For now please go” Martha begged restraining tears.
Scott held her as they dragged her back to her cell. She was crying and screaming all over. When it all settled down Scott took Martha to her car where Alfred was waiting. He bade her goodbye and watched her leave before he got in his car. He needed to get back before anyone realized he was gone, the frequent visits to the FCWCC were a secret.
*********
“He is not untouchable, Lincoln was not smart enough to put him down for good but I will finish the job” Boaz bragged.
He was hosting a dinner party at his home. In attendance were influential business men, CEOs, COOs of major companies and politicians of fort canon. The men who controlled the remaining portion of the city now that Ben the immortal had a lion’s share of it. After what happened to Lincoln, still in a comma, Boaz wanted to teach Ben a lesson. His beef with Lincoln made business not that good to the fellow billionaires. Even those who evaded tax were now forced to pay.
“We can’t continue suffering because of one delusional man” Simon brigs the CEO of Simon and company advocates said.
“So what’s your plan?” Thomas, the mayor of fort Canon asked.
The others were waiting to hear the plan before they could prove their allegiance.
“Good question, we start by creating competition for his strongholds” Boaz said.
“That will work” Sadiq the chairman of the association of public transporters of fort canon said.
“You all think it will?” The speaker of the senate, Mr. Brandon Stewart said.
“Among other things am planning, yes” Boaz said confidently.
Perhaps he should have consulted Alicia for pitching ideas. Boaz was good at telling what he was planning instead of saying what he was going to do, dissecting the plan into small understandable bits so that those he expected support from could know their roles and embrace his vision. That’s a skill he lacked. And even before the boat left the port it was already leaking.
“Seriously man, are you not the same man that couldn’t handle Bens bitch? She scares the shit out of you doesn’t she?” Kazuki Yamoto, the Japanese man who had said nothing the rest of the evening said.
They all started murmuring. Boaz had do something and show. He stood up and coughed. What an idiot. They did not hear his chicken like cough. But he decide to go big. He bashed on the table, there was silence.
“That was the past and No Yamoto, she doesn’t scare me. Not anymore. You fellas go think about it, I want your answers in the course of the week as you sit here the guy is hosting a vow renewal ceremony enjoying money while we face extinction! Think about that and how it sounds”
They all went dead quiet. Now that was a leader.
“Honestly I regret not going to the wedding instead” Rayon raykov the CEO of Top dog security said leaving the table.
Boaz was devastated. But as a replacement he had someone in mind. Someone who hated Ben as much as he did.
- Writer
