The Shrimp Behind the Rock
1552 Kata
"Y-yes, I'm fine..." Quinn was caught off guard by the handsome man's eyes.
"No!" She screamed again when she realized the man's white shirt had been covered in mud when they crashed into each other earlier.
"Oh my God, your shirt, sir. I'm sorry..." Quinn tried to touch the dirty part.
"It's okay."
"Look at it!'
"Oh no, these must be expensive clothes!" Quinn grimaced in fear.
"Hey, didn't I tell you it's okay?"
"Take off your shirt, sir. I'll wash it. I mean, I'll take your shirt to a good dry cleaner. I'm sure they can handle it."
Instead of taking off his shirt, the man handed her something he had just taken from his backpack.
"You're soaking wet, miss. Put this on...." The man handed her a hoodie. Quinn was stunned, staring at the man with ocean-blue eyes without blinking.
"No, there's no need, sir. I mean, I should be the one responsible for getting your clothes dirty. But why are you helping me instead," Quinn suddenly whined and cried like a baby.
"Miss," the man widened his eyes.
"Why are you crying? Did I say something that hurt you?"
Quinn rubbed the corner of her eye, "No, sir. You're not wrong, and you moved me. In all my time in this town, you're the first person to care and be kind to me."
"Is that true?"
Quinn nodded.
"How long have you lived in this city?"
Quinn paused for a moment, then counted on her fingers.
"About five days," Quinn rounded her eyes wide.
"Oh, new guy. Where do you live?"
"Sorry, sir, I'm not allowed to reveal my residence to strangers. Yes, though I admit you don't look like a bad guy..." Quinn smiled as she admired the man's dimples.
"So that we don't become strangers, how about we get to know? I'm Ethan," the man extended a hand.
"Quinn,"
"Here, put this on, don't get cold."
The man handed over his white hoodie with the name of the city's favorite baseball team.
"But sir-"
"Don't call me sir. Just call me Ethan."
"You can return it later,"
"But-" Quinn stammered.
"Meet me at this place again tomorrow or the day after. Whatever," he said, smiling back and revealing dimples.
"Tell you what, how about I ask for your number?"
"Fine if you insist,"
"Thank you for lending me your hoodie," Quinn waved and left the handsome man. He stood there and watched the girl go until she disappeared.
***
"Here, have some." Barbara offered the burrito she had just bought after work. The middle-aged woman looked questioningly at the young girl with whom she had only spent a few days.
"Thank you, Auntie. I'm sorry to trouble you."
"Quinn, where did you go this afternoon?"
"To the hospital," Quinn blurted out without thinking.
"You were with Mr. and Mrs. Osbert, right? What were you doing with them? In the hospital?"
Quinn coughed after realizing her incoherent answer. She shouldn't have said that to Barbara.
"Uhm, oh, about that, Mr. and Mrs. Osbert took me to the hospital for a medical checkup." She said as she grabbed a glass of water and gulped it down.
"Strange..."
"Our company has its clinic, so why did they bother taking you to another hospital?"
"Where is the hospital?" Barbara began to feel suspicious.
"Uhm..." Quinn was nervous. She didn't know what to answer.
Fortunately, a few seconds later, the apartment doorbell rang.
"Let me open it-" Quinn got up from her chair.
"No, I'll do it; eat your dinner."
"Who the hell is visiting at this time of night!" Barbara sounded annoyed. Quinn understood why the woman was angry, probably because her drunken and violent ex-husband had been coming to blackmail her for the past few days.
Quinn followed Barbara, just in case something happened again, like the other day when the drunk uncle suddenly kicked and assaulted Barbara.
Barbara peeked through the door before opening it.
"Mrs. Osbert..." Barbara muttered while frowning.
She quickly unlocked and then pulled open the shabby door, and finally, it was clear who was standing behind the door.
"Mrs. Osbert!" Quinn gasped at seeing her boss's wife at the door, smiling sweetly at her. Behind Mrs. Osbert was a short-haired woman with thick glasses. Becka, her assistant, seemed to be struggling with a lot of stuff in her hands.
"Barbara, can I come in?" asked Ivy.
"Of course, ma'am," Barbara covered her surprise with a stiff smile. She didn't understand why her boss's wife was in front of her house all of a sudden.
"Sorry, ma'am. My house is so dirty. I'm sorry the sofa is so discomfiting...." Barbara's hand grabbed some clothes that were scattered on the sofa.
"And this isn't exactly cleaned up..."
"It's all right; your home is fine."
"Anyway, I wanted to drop these things here. Where's Quinn? I heard she lives with you?" Ivy asked while examining the room.
"S-she, indeed, lives with me. Please take a seat. I'll call her." Barbara made a small dash for the kitchen and asked Quinn to see Mrs. Osbert as soon as possible.
***
Quinn rushed to the living room and found Ivy and Becka sitting on the sofa. Both women wore expressions of concern and sympathy.
"Hi, Quinn," Ms. Osbert smiled.
"Sit. I want to talk to you about something." Ivy's voice sounded serious.
"Yes, ma'am, what is it?"
"So this is Becka, my assistant," Ivy glanced at the girl with glasses beside her.
"She's going to take a few days off. Would you like to cover for her during her leave? Uhm, just a few days," she asked hopefully.
Quinn was stunned, "but, ma'am, what about my work in Mr. Osbert's office?" Ivy smiled.
"Don't worry. I'll talk to my husband about it."
"Barbara, would you mind if I asked Quinn to stay with me for a few days?" Mrs. Osbert looked at Barbara, who was still standing behind Quinn.
"I don't... No. Not at all." Barbara answered nervously.
"Please, Quinn." Ivy urged.
"Stay with us, just a few days. Just in case I need help, okay?" Quinn couldn't deny how much Ivy looked like she needed her help.
"Pack your things. I'll be waiting. Oh yes, Barbara, I brought some groceries for you. I hope it's useful." Mrs. Osbert asked Becka to put the items on the table.
"Thank you, ma'am, that's very kind of you. Sorry to trouble you." Barbara said sincerely.
***
After saying goodbye to Barbara, they left the rundown and old apartment and headed straight to Osbert's mansion.
"Quinn, dear, I want to talk to you about our situation," Ivy began when they reached the top floor of the mansion where the private elevator was.
"What situation, ma'am?" Quinn asked, puzzled.
"First, I want to apologize for what happened today. My behavior wasn't very gentlemanly. We should not have left you alone in the hospital."
"You have nothing to apologize about, ma'am. It wasn't anything to worry about. "
Both women stopped talking momentarily and stared at each other, feeling uncomfortable. Quinn lowered her head.
"Becka, you can leave us. Thank you," Ivy said and gestured the girl towards the elevator.
"Come, Quinn, I'll take you to your room."
They walked silently. Ivy was lost in her thoughts. In contrast, Quinn was busy admiring the luxury of the Osbert family's mansion. She didn't know if she was happy or worried about her situation. It wasn’t that she thought she couldn't handle this. She could feel the anxiety coiling in her chest, twisting like a snake. Her heart beat out of rhythm as she tried to figure out what to do.
The two walked hand in hand, and Quinn quietly followed Ivy. But their steps stopped when a man still wearing a full suit stared at them with an angry facade.
"Sean..," Ivy whispered.
"Why are you bringing her into our house? What else are you up to, Ivy?" Sean furrowed his brow.
"Sean, please listen. This is not what-"
"You're not even listening to what I'm telling you! Why would you bring a stranger into our house, Ivy?"
"Please calm down, Sean,"
"Calm down!? Calm down!?"
"We've talked about this before, Sean. You should trust me more-"
"Trust you?" Sean spat.
"Sean, please listen to me. I brought her here because I need her to be my assistant."
"Don't you already have Becka?"
"She's on leave," Ivy replied, her voice shaking, and Quinn could sense that the woman in front of her was nervous.
"But why her?" Sean pointed at Quinn with a displeased face.
'Why not someone else?"
"Because she's the only one available right now, okay?" Ivy snapped.
"Look, just trust me, okay?"
"I've heard enough!" Sean interrupted in a loud voice, and Ivy cringed.
"Sean, why are you so mad? Why do you keep yelling at me? Is it all because of your mom?"
"This has nothing to do with my mom, Ivy!"
"Quinn will stay here because I asked her to be my assistant for a while. Is that a problem for you?"
The man shook his head, but he still looked like he didn't believe her.
"You don't even know her, Ivy," he said softly.
"That doesn't matter. We both can benefit from her help, and you should stop fighting it!"
- Penulis
