When I come back
to the room, Adam has everything cleaned up and there is some toast on the
nightstand. He is wearing just his sweatpants. I panic a little. He sees me
standing in the doorway looking at him, “Baby, are you ok?”
“
Ahhh
… yeah I’m fine. Adam, I said I wasn’t hungry. You
didn’t have to make me toast.” I put away my towel and sit down to brush my
hair. My breathing gets faster and I try to calm myself down. I’ve seen him
without a shirt on before. I don’t know why this is so hard.
He takes the
brush from my hand and starts to softly brush my hair. “You need to try and eat
something.”
Of course he
would do something sweet like this. “Fine, I’ll try.” After a few minutes, we
get back in bed and turn on the television. He puts his arm around me and I
snuggle up to his chest.
“This is nice.”
Adam takes the remote and flips through the channels. It takes a few moments
but we settle on watching, “
The Notebook”
. It is at the part when she
comes back to him and sees the house for the first time. I look up at him and
see him smiling. I love feeling this close to him.
The next day I
am feeling a little bit better, but the smell of food is definitely not working
too well with my stomach. I make a cup of tea before making my way to the
meeting with Dr. Henry and Steven.
Today is a nice
day; the sun is out and there is no snow on the ground. It is still chilly but
it feels good to be outside in the fresh air; instead of quarantined in the
apartment. I get to the building and see all the students trying to get to
class. I am thankful I am finished with classes and I have time to focus on the
presentation. Today is the day we find out the product we are going to help
launch for
Optimax
. The preliminary work was tedious,
looking over past sales and clients. I open the door to the classroom and see
Dr. Henry reading what looks like to be emails, “Morning Dr. Henry. How are
you?
He looks up with
his glasses on the tip of his nose, “Why good morning Miss Burns. I’m doing
well and how are you feeling today? I heard you were sick. So glad you’re
feeling better.”
I wonder how he
knew I was sick. I didn’t email him and I don’t talk to Steven. “I’m ok thank
you for asking. It feels good to be out of my room.” I look around the empty
classroom. “Where’s Steven?”
“Steven has
decided
Optimax
is not the right fit for him and has
resigned. Now this leaves just you with this project Miss Burns. I will be
guiding you throughout the entire process so no need to feel stressed or
anything. We want you to succeed and we believe you will be a great asset to
the company.”
He keeps saying
“we” and I’m not sure why. How can I do this on my own? I feel the walls coming
closer together and my breathing becomes rapid. I hate this feeling. I hate
feeling as though I don’t have control. I feel small. I don’t’ think I can do
this. He believes in me but I don’t think I can do this. I want to back out now
before I make a fool out of myself and waste the company’s money.
“Umm…Ugh...Dr. Henry I can’t do this!”
He gets up from
his desk and comes toward me. His hands are on my shoulder and looking at me.
“Miss Burns. Breathe. You will be ok. Here take a seat.” He leads me to the
chair and we both sit down. “Now, if my colleagues and I didn’t believe you
could do this, you would not be here. Look at everything you have accomplished
so far Miss Burns. Don’t throw it away because you are scared. You have an
immense support group and I will help you throughout the entire process.”
I don’t know why
he thinks I can do this. It is too much to handle but I don’t want to let
anyone down. I count to ten and close my eyes. When I open them, he is looking
at me with a worried expression. I feel guilty. I can’t leave this opportunity.
“Ok.”
“Good Miss
Burns.” Dr. Henry takes out his
iPad
and turns it on.
“Now let’s talk about what your task will be.”
We sit down at
the round table in the back. I take out my pen and notebook and wait patiently
for my instructions. Dr. Henry takes off his glasses and takes out papers from
a folder, “Now
Optimax
wants to expand by creating
safety devices that will help those people over the age of 50 and people with
existing health problems.”
As he is
talking, I can’t help but remember the project Adam was working on. I wonder if
he has anything to do with the company. It is all so weird and I want to know
what is going on. “Miss Burns?”
I quickly look
over at him and feel embarrassed. “Oh Dr. Henry, I am so sorry!”
He starts to
laugh, “It is alright. Now do you have any questions for me?”
“Actually, I do
have a few. So, am I supposed to come up with a prototype?”
“No, no you my
dear will focus on the marketing piece of this campaign. We want you to focus
on the sales aspect of this product and how we can make it appealing. I need
you to go through the sales of last year’s products and review their ads. We
may have to review some video of the conferences that took place, but I will
put that together. The prototype is under someone else and actually they’ve
come up with a few. It is very interesting.”
Information
overload! I need to do this. I can’t back out now. I feel my hands getting
clammy. Ugh, why is this so hard to process and accept? “It does sound like it.
Now do you want me to create a power point presentation?”
“Yes that does sound like a great idea. Now focus mostly on the research the
team found on the age group and how it will help people.”
I skim the pages
and recognize the information. Oh my God, Adam is working for
Optimax
too, but why didn’t he tell me?
“Well, this
wraps up our meeting, Miss Burns.” He looks at his watch, “Now if you have any
questions, please call me; day or night.”
I pick up my
things and put them in my messenger bag, “Sounds good. Thanks again.” We shake
hands and I walk out of the classroom. I take out my phone ready to call Adam and
ask him what is going on, when it starts ringing. An unfamiliar number pops up,
“Hello?”
“Hi is this
Sophia Burns?” A woman’s voice comes through on the other end.
I wonder who
this could be. “Yes this is she. Who is this?”
“Miss Burns, I’m
one of the nurses at Appleton Memorial. Your boyfriend Kyle Harrington is
here.”
I nearly drop
the phone. I haven’t talked to Kyle in a few weeks so why would she call me? I
want to hang up but he does not have anyone here in town and I am sure his
parents are out of the country somewhere. Against my better judgment I ask,
“What happened?” I start running to get out of the building and to my car. I am
frantic and unsure what is going on.
“Miss Burns he
was found unconscious in his dorm room.”
“Ok
ok
, I’m on my way.” I hang up the phone and get in the car
to start driving to the hospital. I don’t know what is going on and I feel
guilty. I know this is my fault. I do not think breaking up with him would make
him do this. I get to the hospital and run in. I get to the front desk, “Kyle
Harrington’s room please.” I’m out of breath and scared.
The nurse is
typing on her computer and doesn’t look up at me. “Name please?”
I’m impatient
and don’t have time for this. “Sophia Burns.”
The woman looks
up, “You’re Dr. Burns’ daughter?”
I nod my head.
“Hold on
please.” She pages my dad and in a few moments I see him coming to me.
“Daddy?”
I see the worry in his eyes and feel my
heart breaking. I run up to him and give him a hug. I am not sure what is going
on.
“Sweetheart,
what are you doing here?” I see my dad frowning and I know he is not happy to
have me here.
“The hospital
called me saying Kyle’s here. I guess he listed me as his emergency contact.”
“Sophia.” My dad
looks down at me. “
Erin
told me everything. Sweetheart why are
you here?”
I’m speechless.
I don’t want him to know what is going on. Why would
Erin
tell him? I know she is trying to
protect me but it is not her place to talk about me to my family. I’m so mad!
This is why I don’t trust people! I feel bad and ashamed. He has enough to deal
with and I don’t want to drag him into my drama. It happened and I’m over it.
People need to stop dwelling on the past and let me move on! “Daddy, I’m sorry
I didn’t tell you. It is my fault he is here. I can’t just leave him like this.
His parents are in
California
and all he has are his friends and me.”
“Had you,
Sophia, you cannot see him, I forbid it!” My dad is getting mad and his voice
starts to scare me. “Sophia,” he comes toward me and hugs me, “I cannot have you
around him. I cannot believe he hit you and has been treating you this way.
Please honey, stop and think about this. You have Adam-
go
be with him.”
I sigh. “Daddy,
I just want to make sure he is ok.”
I see the anger
in my dad’s face but he understands. We walk down the hall and the hospital
seems busy during this time. I start to feel nervous because I am unsure what
to expect. He puts his arm around my shoulders and takes me to Kyle’s room.
“What happened?”
“Kyle was found
in his dorm passed out drunk. Apparently he was on a binge and there was vomit
all over. Now we were able to revive him but then he became violent so we had
to restrain him. He is on meds right now, but sweetheart I don’t think this is
a good idea. Does Adam know you’re here?”
I look down.
“No.”
We get to Kyle’s
room and the white walls have medical posters all over. There are machines all
around him with an IV in his arm. The restraints are around both of his wrists
and I can see him looking out to the side; he looks empty as if the Kyle I
first met wasn’t there anymore. “Daddy, can I get a minute with him?” There is
hesitation in his expression. “Daddy, I’ll keep my distance. I just need a
minute or two.”
“Ok honey, but
just be careful.” He kisses me on my forehead and heads out of the room.
I pull up a
chair to Kyle’s bed and take his hand, “Kyle?” He still doesn’t look at me.
“Talk to me, what is going on? I’m here.”
“Why are you here?” His raspy voice is hollow and there is no emotion. “You
broke up with me. No one wants me.”
“Kyle, I am
sorry but I couldn’t live like that anymore. Do you know what you were doing?
Don’t you feel bad?
“Of course I do.
I love you Sophia. I just lost my temper. Are you coming back to me?” He turns
his head over in my direction. I can see the hope in his eyes.
“Kyle, I’m with
Adam now.” I let go of his hand. “But I want you to be happy and move on.”
“If you hadn’t
left me, this wouldn’t have happened. What, did you fuck Adam?”
His voice is
full of anger and hate. “Kyle, stop now! I didn’t even have to come see you but
I felt bad and wanted to make sure you’re ok!” I push the chair away from his
bed and get up. I pace the room and put my hands to my face. I knew this was a
mistake.
Great!
“Sophia, look at
me please.” I turn around, still keeping my distance. I see the agony in his
eyes but I don’t know how sincere he is being. Kyle always had a way of getting
what he wants. “Just come back to me babe. I can be better. Who is going to be
there for me? Who am I going to share my dreams with? You were the only one I
was able to run to and trust with my heart. Just give me another chance?”
Before I can
respond, the door swings open and I see Adam and my dad standing in the
doorway. Adam comes running to me and takes me in his arms. “Kyle, just leave
her alone. This is the last time you’ll see her.” He leads me out of the room
and all we can hear is Kyle screaming my name.
“Sophia, what
were you thinking?” The hurt in his eyes broke me. I don’t know how to answer
the question. I don’t love Kyle. I love Adam but I felt like I needed to be
there for Kyle and make sure he was ok. I need to make Adam understand that I
can’t just let Kyle be on his own. I can’t be cruel.