Bonded by pain
1059 Words
Sandra sat in silence in the guest room at the other end of the house. There were several thoughts running through her mind. She felt sad, angry, hurt, and hungry. At the thought of hunger, she let out a chuckle.
It had been a while since she had soliloquized.
She spoke to the open air, almost as if she were a mentally deranged individual.
"He loves her," she muttered, referring to her dad. She shook her head in disbelief. That was the worst and last thing she had expected. She had waited for years for his love, and now he was so willing to give it to a stranger.
“ He never loved me “
“He never did” she thought aloud.
What she didn’t understand was why he was trying to speak to her now. He never did in the past ten years. The whole feeling was painful and overwhelming. She cried again. She hadn’t cried this hard in years—since the death of her mom. She didn’t know what came over her, but in her tears, she called out to her mom.
"Mom," she whispered, as her cries grew louder and more intense.
The air around her felt so cold. She placed her face in her thighs, sitting on the bed with her knees pulled close to her chest. Then, a plague of emptiness engulfed her.
Jobe was at the other end of the house, just lying by the pool. He was tired and had enough sunburn for the day as he headed back to his room—the guest room. The walk to the guest room was excruciating ; he just wanted to get some sleep.
He was a few steps away from his room when he heard a sobbing voice.
"Mom..." he heard, and he knew immediately that Sandra had crashed in the room.
"Lord," he muttered to himself. He felt a pang of guilt. He had broken her door; now she was crying in his room. He probably deserved it.
She kept crying, and he stood outside for twenty minutes, forgetting about his cravings for sleep.
Silence followed the aching sobs. Jobe approached the room. With a gentle push, he flung the door open.
Her lean figure was curled up on the bed. He moved closer, ensuring she was asleep. She slept peacefully as he watched her. He couldn’t stop his hands from reaching for her face. The face so smooth, so beautiful.
He liked her. He related to her. He pitied her.
After the incident in the guest room, Jobe felt a certain way. He packed his belongings, said goodbye to his aunt, and left the Grande Mansion.
The days went by, but Mr. Grande and his daughter's relationship didn’t improve. Jobe returned to the city. Lily’s presence made the mansion feel more like home, but her presence became a major issue for Sandra.
She hated that she couldn’t justify her hatred for Lily, and it infuriated her even more.
~~~~~~~~~
Jobe arrived at his office exactly at 10 a.m. It had been a week since he left the Grande’s mansion, and he felt a weight on his chest since he left that place. He knew his worries weren’t about his aunt—she was very much in love and safe with Mr. Grande. His stay there had confirmed that. However, his thoughts often lingered on Sandra. He didn’t know why. Or maybe he did, but he didn’t want to accept the fact that he was infatuated with her. He couldn’t stop thinking about her pretty eyes, her face, her figure, her assertiveness.
Wait—what was he doing? he thought. He was probably just worried about her because she had been in a lot of emotional turmoil the last time he saw her. That’s why, he tried to convince himself.
Shaking off these thoughts, Jobe sat in his chair, at his desk, surrounded by piles of paperwork.
Jobe owned the company he worked at. He had created it in his college days with a group of friends, who later went on to pursue their own companies. Jobe was a brilliant student who majored in Software Engineering. As an honorary student, he had founded a software company in his early twenties, supported by his aunt and his savings from college.
Five years after its creation, LiJ Software became a multi-million-dollar enterprise. Jobe was officially well off and owned houses, condos, luxury cars, and a penthouse.
Jobe had a long day ahead of him. He sorted out most of his paperwork and attended about three meetings before lunch.
During lunch, he received a call from his aunt.
"Hello?" she said.
"Hi, Lily," he replied.
"How's New York?" Lily inquired.
"It's fun as always," Jobe replied with a chuckle, amused that his aunt asked about the city and not him.
He missed his aunt. He then asked her about her situation with the Grandes.
"It's just sad," Lily said with a sigh. "I feel guilty for their sour relationship."
Lily’s tone was heavy with guilt.
"It’s not your fault, and you know it," Jobe reassured her.
The conversation became sad, but Jobe did his best to make Lily feel better. By the end of the call, twenty minutes later, she sounded happier. As always, she teased him about his single life, rubbing her relationship with Mr. Grande in his face, encouraging him to find a relationship of his own. Jobe always found it funny, but he reassured her that he intended to find a suitable partner, just to put her mind at ease.
Just as Lily was about to say goodbye, Jobe interrupted.
"How’s Sandra?" he asked.
She was surprised but replied anyway.
"She's good. She doesn't speak to anyone still, but she's better—she doesn't cry as much and comes out of her room."
"I feel a bit better now," Lily chimed in.
Jobe replied with a simple "Okay."
It was all he needed to hear to put his mind at ease. After that day, he heard Sandra crying in the guest room.
"How's her room door?" he asked.
"Fred repaired it," Lily replied.
(Mr. Grande’s first name was Fred.)
"Alright," Jobe said.
They said their goodbyes, and Jobe sat in silence for a moment. He left the restaurant, returning to work as he had a long day ahead of him.
- Writer
