Traffic

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

At 9 pm, Thomas entered the hospital room. Alejandro looked at him silently; he was carrying a food tray.

"I know you can't eat solid food, but I can" he smiled cruelly, "I talked to Jack. We have some days until they start to expect us to go back."

Alejandro nodded.

"Let me tell you something; I don't know why I find so ironic that you got hurt" he took a bite from the expensive Italian dish, "You are much more careful than me; you're always one step ahead in the operations. What happened this time?"

He frowned. He wondered what answer he was expecting.

"I think you should go back to painting" he snorted amusingly.

Alejandro tensed up at this. He was really affected. Thomas continued eating calmly; he opened a bottle of wine and took a slug.

"We haven't had any other problem" he said looking at his watch, "Tomorrow morning Lovera will come to see you. He will operate you."

Alejandro took a deep breath; this was good. He would recover more quickly with an operation.

"He's a plastic surgeon, so you will have the tiniest scar" he assured, "We'll go back in three days, so get well. Do it for your own good."

He's always so encouraging, he told himself with his lips tightly shut.

It was only three days; he could do it. He needed to. But more than nothing, he needed to talk to Karen.

"Did you call work?" he managed to say with a gummy voice.

"Yes, I called a few hours ago. I told your secretary that you'll be back in a couple of days" he informed casually.

Alejandro held his breath. Did he tell Karen that he would go back later than expected? He concealed his relief; Karen would understand that he wouldn't be able to communicate during that time. He relaxed and closed his eyes; Thomas paused his eating and got on his feet.

"Well, I told you what you need to know" he lifted the bottle, "Excuse me, I'll go celebrate that I wasn't shot" he gave him an evil smile; "I have two men guarding the entrance" he turned around and closed the door after he left.

In the dark of the room Alejandro thanked for being alive. Lovera had an excellent hospital; he could pay later. He owed him one. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep; the beep of the pacer was soothing. Soon, everything was dark.

Thomas walked down the corridors of the hospital; he was staggering slightly. He had almost finished the bottle; now he just needed a woman to relieve his drunkenness. He gestured to one of his bodyguards and ordered him to take him to the best strippers club in the city. The bodyguard obeyed and drove him to the most expensive and VIP gentlemen's club he could find. 

Thomas got out of the car, dropping the empty bottle carelessly, and entered the place as if he owned it. He asked for the most beautiful woman in the place. The staff led him to a private room where a brunette woman started dancing for him. Her tiny clothes seemed to be near to exploding. Thomas licked his lips and unzipped his trousers.

"Come here" he ordered and gestured with his hand.

The woman's eyes grew wide when she saw his limb ready for action; she approached him slowly and took off the teeny thong. Thomas took her by the waist and pierced her in one movement; she moaned thunderously. He put a hand on her mouth; he hated when whores screamed. Why did they have to do that? They were aware of why they were here; there was no point in playing innocent.

She closed her eyes; his big-sized limb was painful. He continued thrusting carelessly; he peeled off the tiny brassier and sucked her breasts. He was violent; he bit hard the woman's n*****s. She was screaming, but his hand on her mouth only let out a faint moan.

Thomas left marks that would last for days; he loved that. It was his personal label; he liked them to know that they were his, that only he could make them so savagely, that he was the best.

The woman started to struggle to escape his grip; Thomas took her by the wrists and continued moving inside her. He frowned; he didn't like it when they were reluctant. She was a w***e; playing hard to get only made him hornier. With one hand he took her neck and moved it closer to his mouth; he sniffed for some seconds and bit the soft skin. She started to cry; she had never been treated this way. She didn't know what to do to protect herself.

Her tears dropped on his hands; he stared at her. He was shocked for a moment; he remembered a crying girl, and this image rocketed his fury. He squeezed her delicate neck with both hands; she started to wriggle desperately, fighting for some air.

"Shut up" he hissed, "Shut up, shut up, shut up" he repeated and squeezed harder.

His thrusts became stronger, but his hands didn't release her neck. He finished inside her and moaned at his satiated desire. The woman was not moving.

He breathed to calm himself down. His eyes focused slowly again; he stared at the inert prostitute and pushed her away. He zipped his trousers and got on his feet.

There were marks of his fingers on the woman's neck. He summoned his men; they entered the room, took the female lifeless body away and threw a bundle of bills. They didn't ask or say anything.

"Let's go" he commanded, clearly annoyed.

They escorted him out; no one at the club was suspicious. Once in the car he sat back on the seat. There was no guilty feeling in his mind; far from it, he knew another woman had enjoyed him and paid the price for it.

***

Lisa brought a tray of brownies for dessert. The previous tension had vanished; they were enjoying each other's company.

"They're my specialty" she informed with a smile.

"She's not exaggerating" he warned, "After one bite, you won't stop eating them."

"Really?" her eyes twinkled.

He took one and bit it slowly; Jack waited silently for her reactions. Elena opened he mouth and stuffed the entire brownie in. Lisa let out a guffaw; she reacted the same way Jack had reacted when he ate them for the first time, except that he was 8 by the time.

"I'm glad that you like them" she said smiling, "It's Jack's favorite dessert."

"They're delicious" she said with her mouth still half full.

"Close your mouth, dear, or you'll start dribbling."

She covered her mouth ashamed; her cheeks flushed. She had forgotten dinner etiquette.

"I'm sorry" she said after she swallowed, "I loved them! Can I have one more?"

"You can have as many as you want" she placed the tray near her.

"Save one for me" Jack asked and laughed.

Elena looked at him and stuck out her tongue.

"These are mine" she informed.

"Don't be a child" he scolded her.

"Let her eat. I bake brownies for you anytime you want to, so don't be envious."

"I'm not" he pouted.

Elena burst in laughter; Jack looked like a child. Brat, she said to herself and took another brownie. Lisa was happy; the relationship between Jack and Elena grew stronger each minute. If they continue like this, they would be married soon. The fact that they had met the day before didn't seem to matter.

"Tell me Elena, how was your life in America?" she bent forward to her.

"Well, it was very nice. I grew up in a place where I had everything. My parents were loving and were always around..." her voice dissolved in the air; the image of lonely children came back to her head, "They were great" she closed her eyes, bearing the painful itchiness on her temples.

"Are you ok?" Jack got closer to her, worried.

"Yes, I'm ok" she tried to smile, "I had a faint headache."

"Would you like an aspirin?" Lisa stood up.

"Thank you, I don't need one" she indicated no with her head.

"All right, but let me know if it happens again."

"I will" she promise.

Jack was still uneasy; his need to protect this helpless girl grew every minute; she wanted to protect her from any harm.

"I'll let you know" he said frowning, "I know she won't tell you, no matter how strong the ache is."

Elena looked at him; her jaw dropped. How did he know that? It had never happened before in this house, how could he know?

"Claudia was like that too" she smiled, "She never looked ill. She always put other people's problems before her own."

"I'm sorry. I would tell you if the ache were back" she felt scolded. She gave an annoyed glance at Jack; he disregarded it.

"Very good" she got on her feet, "I'll do the dishes. You can do whatever you want" she winked at Jack.

He understood the implicit message and got on her feet with a big smile on his lips. He looked at Elena; she was angry.

"I'll go rest" she informed her. She was staring at him with her lips tightened.

"Don't you want to see the rest of the house?" he asked hoping that she'd agree to spend some more time with him.

"I'm not in the mood" she confessed, "Good night."

Jack winced; she was clearly mad at him.

"I'm sorry to be a jerk" he said at her while she headed for the stairs, "I don't even know why I do it, but I apologize."

Elena stopped; she sighed and looked at his eyes.

"I understand, but after such a long day I want to rest" she confessed.

"Don't worry, I feel the same. I just wanted some distraction" he walked beside her and they went up to the second floor.

They were in the corridor now; Jack didn't know what to say. He didn't want to say goodbye do early. Elena opened her door and looked at Jack.

"Thank you for the tour" she tightened her lips, "And for everything else."

"My pleasure" he tensed up, would he ask her not to enter his room? "I'm sorry that you went through this incident in your first day here."

"It's not your fault" she smiled slightly, "We can finish the tour tomorrow."

"Sure, after breakfast" he stepped closer, "Good night, Elena."

"I'll see you tomorrow Jack" she entered her room and closed the door.

She leaned against it and sighed. Why did she feel so nervous? Why did she still want to be around him? She had been there for only a day, how could she be so attracted to him? She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She didn't understand anything, but she decided not to be worried at least by now.

Jack mumbled a curse. Why was he such a coward? He wouldn't lose anything by asking her, or making an excuse. He could've said that he wanted to talk to her, or invited her to watch another movie, or just go down to the kitchen for a cup of hot chocolate, but he didn't.

He turned around and entered his room. He closed the door and he lay down on the sofa. He couldn't stop thinking about her. It didn't make sense, since he met her the day before; he didn't know much about her, but he didn't care. The attraction he felt at seeing her was enough.

***

Eric went back home that disastrous night. His mood turned him into a crazy man; he banged the door, he hurled his briefcase to the ground, he cursed a dozen times. His brow was so furrowed he seemed disfigured. He threw a vase against the TV.

He walked in the dark; he felt his demons wriggling inside him. He wasn't tolerant to failure at all. He have always been like that; the only person that told him no was Elena, but it was different with her. Despite being the only one who knew him well—or that he thought did—he still was selfish; he wanted to own her. It had always been like that; he had made and effort for her.

At the orphan, the rest of the kids feared him. He was dangerous and violent; girls didn't hang with her much because he was always with her. He remembered those school years; Elena was gorgeous, and her classmates were crazy for her. He made it clear that she belonged to someone. Elena was always with him, and he made sure that nobody interrupted them.

High school was harder; he joined the football team, so he had to spend less time with Elena. He remembered one afternoon when he finished training. He spotted her across the drinking fountains; a boy was offering her a flower.

His blood started boiling furiously with anger and jealousy. He wanted to kill the guy. How dare he go near Elena? She was his! His jaw went stone; he waited until the boy got away from her. Elena said goodbye smiling and walked to the dressing rooms; the boy was carried away. He was smiling happily. Then Eric approached him.

"She's not interested" he hissed.

The guy turned around to see him. He was blond.

"That's not your problem" he frowned.

"It is" he said louder. He was about to lose the little patience he owned.

"I know that Elena grew up with you, but that doesn't give you the right to keep her from the rest of the world."

"You don't know a thing" he stood closer to him.

His hands were shaking; he was so annoyed he couldn't think clearly.

"Elena is not an object; if she wants to be with someone else, she's free to do it" he turned around ignoring Eric's irritation.

He shouldn't have. Eric felt something break inside him; maybe it was his patience, or the hatred and anger that made him lose his mind for some minutes. There was just one thought in his head, and he was sure going to make it clear to that bastard.

Minutes later his eyes focused; he felt something dripping on his hands. He surveyed them; it was a red, viscous, and warm liquid. It was also on his t-shirt.

The blond boy was on the ground; his mouth was bleeding, his eyes were shut. His chest and face were smashed by multiple blows; there were hand marks around his neck.

Eric didn't know what to do. He got on his feet and washed his hands. He removed his stained t-shirt and dipped it in the cold water. There was no one around. The sun was setting, and the darkness was protecting him from indiscrete stares.

He dragged the boy's body towards a tool shed some feet away; not much people walked by there. He went back and changed his clothes quickly. His t-shirt was soaked but clean; his mind was black as well. He didn't remember what happened.

He saw Elena waiting for him as he had ordered; he shook his head and went to her. Things were back to normal.

***

Next day, Elena woke up feeling much better. She still had decisions to take about being near Jack, but she definitely wanted to get to know him. She wasn't sure that they were friends by now, but she wish they were.

She took a quick shower, blew her hair dry, and combed it. She put on indigo jeans, black flat boots, and a mustard colored blouse with long sleeves and V neck.

She applied lipstick on her lips and smiled at her reflection. She wasn't dressing up for Jack, but she still felt eager. She went out of her room and almost bumped into Lisa, who was walking towards her with a tray on her hands.

"Good morning darling" she greeted, "I came to bring you breakfast."

"Oh, thank you! But I don't enjoy much having breakfast alone in my room" she took the tray and smiled at her, "I'd rather have breakfast with company."

"Well, then you can wait for me downstairs. I'll ask Jack to join us" she smiled happily.

Elena nodded nervously; she went down the stairs and put the plates on the dining room. There was a smile on her face; she had wanted to have breakfast with him since the beginning. She actually meant to call him for it. When she was done, she went in the kitchen for paper napkins. She found Lisa when she came back.

"Jack is not at his room" she said with a worried tone, "I think that he might be in the office, since his uncles have not returned."

"Oh..." she let out a disappointed whisper.

"Though he might be riding" she thought, "Jack doesn't leave without letting me know. I'll go check in the barn. Could you check the pool?"

"Sure" she smiled at her.

She walked to the pool calmly. Did Jack leave? He wasn't obliged to have breakfast with her, but she felt sad. She wanted to see him. She opened the double door of the indoor pool, and she heard something splashing into the water.

He looked for Jack with her gaze; she found him swimming vigorously, pumping simultaneous strokes. She looked at him delighted; the water was probably cold. She went to the edge of the pool and sat on a wooden sun bed to wait for Jack.

He woke up very early; he actually didn't have much sleep. Since he didn't dare knocking on her door, he decided to relieve his frustration by swimming. He didn't even have breakfast. He felt a mix of annoyance, happiness, and excitement; it was impossible to sleep with something like that inside him. He swam a last lapse and approached the edge. He put a hand on it and removed the goggles.

"Good morning Jack" he heard Elena say.

He was startled and slipped back to the water. He gulped some of it. He went back out and saw Elena bending on the edge; she looked worried.

"Are you ok?" she asked scared.

"Yes" he coughed, "You took me by surprise."

He coughed a couple of times and swam to the steps. When he got out of the water, Elena's jaw dropped. He was wearing a tight swimwear, his face was bare, and water was trickling down on his muscles. She had to look way before she started to drool. She saw a towel on the sun bed and offered it to him.

"Was the water too cold?" she asked nervously.

Jack approached her with a delighted smile on his lips. Elena looked so tense it was adorable. When he reached her, his body was calm. He was freezing, but seeing her standing in front of him was worth it. He took the towel.

"Thank you" he smiled, "It was cold, but I'm fine."

"Yesterday you told me you were afraid I might get sick" she frowned, "But you are allowed to swim."

"It's my daily routine" he confessed, "But if you want to swim I can adjust the temperature."

"Maybe later" she accepted, still not facing him.

"So what are you doing here?" he asked curiously.

"Lisa is looking for you. We want you to have breakfast with us" she was trying not to stare, but he was irresistible. She had never seen such a handsome man.

"Oh" he whispered, "She must be surprised not to find me in my room. It's very early."

"Do you always work out at this hour?"

"Not really" he smiled, "But I couldn't sleep well, so I decided to kill time."

She started back to the house. Why was he so calm? She was burning; she was so nervous she might get caught.

"I'll tell Lisa that you're here" she escaped, "Will you join us?"

"Sure" he answered amused, "I'll just take a shower. I'll see you in ten minutes."

Elena nodded and basically ran back to the house. Her rapid pulse didn't let her answer something. What happened? She had never felt that way. It was hard to breath. Jack was a very handsome man. The most beautiful man she ever met in her life.

There was an image engraved on her mind forever: Jack wet, water running down his bare chest, his beautiful blonde hair wet and messy, his gleaming green eyes, his nascent beard. He was completely gorgeous. It was incredible.

She reached the dining room and took several breaths to regain control. Lisa was sitting, waiting for her.

"Did you find him?" she asked.

"Yes, he was swimming" she said quietly, "He'll join us once he's ready."

"Oh, I'm glad" she smiled, "I'll make some coffee."

She smiled and took a seat. Her blood was still running wildly. She sipped her orange juice and closed her eyes. Was she turned on? It never happened to her before. Was it always this intense? She felt ashamed. Did Jack notice? She could conceal her expression; it must've been obvious. She smiled at Lisa as she returned with a tray. She must keep her cool; otherwise she wouldn't make it through breakfast.

Jack joined them as promised. He was in a very good mood. He kissed Lisa on the cheek and smiled at Elena, who was shrunk in her chair. He sat at his place and started eating wholeheartedly.

"What were you doing in the pool at 7 in the morning?" Lisa asked.

"I couldn't sleep well and I wanted to work out" he confessed smiling.

"That's weird" she stared at him, "You never wake up so early, not even when you have to go to the office."

"Are you questioning me because I decided to swim after not doing it for weeks?" he asked surprised, "I didn't sleep well. It was the first thing that came to my mind.

It was actually the last. The first thing that came to his mind was knocking on Elena's door and finding an excuse to see her; the second thing was pretending he felt ill. It was stupid, but he wasn't thinking clearly at that time.

The third option was calling her cell phone, but he was afraid she wouldn't answer. He wished to say those were the words, but it wasn't true.

"Good. You must have good reasons" she said disregarding this topic. She looked at Elena and smiled, "Dear, are you all right? You're very quiet."

"I'm fine" she smiled slightly, "I'm just enjoying my meal."

Jack didn't say a thing. He was enjoying the moment and didn't want to ruin it. Lisa gave him a worried glance, but she didn't ask anything. When breakfast was over, she took the dishes, told them to carry on their plans, and entered the kitchen.

Jack smiled at her. She was still avoiding looking at him.

"Would you like to see the trophy room?" he asked trying not to laugh at her.

Elena looked at him surprised; she nodded.

"I'd love to."

"Then" he pointed with his hand, "this way."

His affected manners made her smile. When they were some feet away from the dining room, Jack stood close to her and touched her shoulder.

"Breath, dear, I won't hurt you" he whispered in her ear.

Elena stared at him; she was so startled that she didn't say a thing. She was scared, though she didn't believe he would notice.

Once at the door, Jack turned the knob slowly, gave Elena a quick glance, and they went in. The room looked like a museum of personal achievements, a tribute to sport competitions. Lots of trophies and golden medals, blue ribbons and awards crowded the huge room.

"These belong to my grandfather, my father, Alejandro, and Thomas" he smiled and pointed with his finger, "And also mine."

She nodded; she had forgotten the previous incident. There were so many trophies that she didn't know where to start.

"I'll give you a tour" he pointed at the right side, "We'll start with mine."

"That's humble" she said when she regained speech.

"I am humble" he shielded, "But I want to show you my achievements first."

Elena nodded.

"All right, show me."

"These in the glass case on the wall are for fishing, from the time I spent in a camp" the photos and trophies showed a season of limitless happiness and fun.

"It looks like fun" she was surveying the case, "I never went to a camp."

"Really? Well, you missed a lot" he said smiling, "I made lots of friends that day. I still talk to them. Though I remember I didn't want to go.

"Why?"

"I was 10, my parents had just died, and I had the fool idea that they would come back" the bitter memory made him wince.

"It's normal. You were very young to understand."

Children's mourning is different and strange. They tend to blame themselves for their parents' death; they become taciturn and distant...

"I know. Anyway, I ended up in the camp. Alejandro had to drag me there."

Elena recovered from the information in her mind.

"It was not your fault" she said quietly.

He looked at her; his forehead furrowed slowly. Why did she say that? She didn't know the story.

"You don't have to tell me that. You don't know what I went through" he got away from her feeling confused.

She felt his distance like a slap in the face; he was really upset.

"Forgive me. I know what it feels like to grow up like and orphan" she said without understanding why she was saying it. It wasn't true.

Jack looked at her even angrier.

"You don't. Your parents died a month ago, darling" he hissed, "Mine died when I was only 10, so don't give me that I-know-what-it-feels-like because you don't Elena, and you never will" he stepped back.

She felt air abandoning her lungs. She knew she couldn't compare to Jack's tragedy, but something inside her told her that she couldn't understand. The image of the lonely kids in an orphanage was thundering in her mind. Pain flashed back and made her put her hands on her forehead.

"I'm sorry" she said bearing the pain. She didn't understand why this was happening.

Jack looked at her lost in his own pain. Elena seemed to be suffering more than him; he took a deep breath and tried to calm down. He had said hurtful things; Elena was not to blame for anything. Why did he react like that?

He actually blamed himself for their death for years, and everyday he asked to have them back, but how did she know that?

"Elena" he went near her, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. It's not your fault."

She nodded. The pain had abated; the image went back to the dark of her subconscious. She closed her eyes some seconds. It's over.

"It's common that children blame themselves" she said ashamed, "Even I did; they died on a plane. They were going to a business meeting to which I didn't want to go. We had tickets for ballet, and they promised to go with me" she remembered while her eyes started to burn, "But they couldn't go with me. I was angry with them. I went to the ballet by myself. In the early morning they let me know."

"I didn't know that" he was surprised.

"Now you know" she smiled and rubbed her eyes.

"My parents..." he started. He went to Elena and took her hand, "were on a car. They were coming back from dinner. They crashed against a tree. My mom hadn't fastened her seatbelt" his voice broke, "My uncles told me next day, after they were incinerated."

"My parents were buried in the family gravesite. Your uncles attended the funeral; that's when I met them again."

Jack nodded. If they compared the details of their tragedies, they would match.

"Well, that's enough mourning for a day" he sighed.

Elena smiled. Jack patted her cheek to remove a tear that escaped down it. Elena flushed at his touch.

"As you can see, one of my multiple talents is sports: football, basketball, swimming, archery, horse riding."

"Multiple talents?" she repeated smiling, "Is there any other talent that I should know about?"

"I'm a great shooter" he pointed at the arms on the left side.

"Shooter?" her voice croaked, "Arms?"

"Yes. My grandfather taught me when I was little, though we only shot at disks that we threw in the air. I've never shot a living creature" he assured and winced. He remembered the incident at the barn.

Elena was paralyzed at the sight of the display of firearms that seem to be bigger; he hands were shaking, and a cold sweat ran down her back. The horrible sensation made her close her eyes.

"I want to leave" she asked, "Now..."

He looked at her without understanding her.

"What is it?" he looked at her, "Are you all right?"

"Jack, get me out of here" she could barely move, "Please."

He obeyed without further questions. She was pale, what was going on? He took her by the shoulders and led her out of the room. When they were outside, Elena was hyperventilating. She hugged herself and closed her eyes.

"Elena?" he was close to her, "What is wrong?"

"I don't know" she really didn't know.

She didn't understand the terror she felt at seeing the arms.

"You don't know?" he asked confused, "You're shaking with fear!"

She held her breath. Was she afraid of guns? Since when?

"I'm not hoplophobic. My father used to hunt. I used to go with him every time" she shuddered.

"Dear, you're trembling like a leave. You begged me fearfully to take you out of the room" he touched her cheek, "It's ok if you fear guns. We won't go back inside" he promised.

He hugged her. Elena nodded; her eyes were itching with upcoming tears. She shut them and left those unknown fears drift. The image in her mind was back and seemed to be decided to not leave.