Complicated

Episode 17

Episode 17

She is trapped

Not edited; expect mistakes

Jayden was so surprised he was speechless. For one horrible long moment, he just stood there blinking at the picture in the picture frame, and although it was a bit faded out, he could still recognize her. The girl he’d met at the hospital twelve years ago.

She looked the same in her red polka-dot dress and her smile was so pure and beautiful. That same neck chain was hung around her neck and she was staring back at him with huge dark brown eyes..... ‘Wait a minute! Those eyes? ......’ Small, prickly goosebumps broke out across his arms and stomach, sending a small, cold shiver through him.... ‘But how is it possible?’ and slowly he walked over to that side of the wall and absentmindedly ran his fingers over the surface of the frame, and then on her picture.

“What are you doing with that?” The sudden sound of her mother's voice brought him out of his trance and he moved his head in her direction, she was standing close to the smaller sofa, a glass of cold water in one hand and a puzzled frown on her face.

“Who is she?” Jayden ignored her question and asked instead. In his mind, he was praying and hoping that his suspicion wasn’t true, that the little girl in the picture wasn't her. It would break him if that should be the case.

Atarah's mum looked at the picture and then back at him

‘She is my daughter,’ She wanted to respond, but then she saw the raw look in his eyes

“Why did you ask?” She was careful not to make a mistake and stared at him defiantly.

“Just answer me, woman.” Jayden was tense and furious, he was in no mood to play around with her, “is the little girl Atarah?” Narrowing his eyes, he yelled and she nodded her head vigorously in response, intimidated by the anger in his voice.

The truth was too much to handle and Jayden felt as if he’d just been slapped in the face. All these years, he’d thought that she was dead, not knowing she was the girl beside him. ‘Argh!” He screamed in anguish, startling her mum. She gave a fright jump and held her hand over her chest. “I hate you dad, I really hate you.” He huffed and stormed out of the house and to his car, boiling with rage.

Wrenching the door open, he climbed into the driver seat slamming the door behind him. And when he stepped on the accelerator, he turned the steering wheel and sped off to the hospital with the intention of questioning his dad’s best friend--Dr sam about all the lies. He couldn't bring himself to trust his dad any longer.

~~~~

He got to the hospital in no time and pulled up into the driveway. Briskly, he alighted from the car and walked through the reception and straight into the doctor’s office.

Dr Sam was attending to a patient when he noticed Jayden standing by the door waiting, and seeing his angry look, he immediately dismissed his patient.

“What’s wrong, Jay?” He asked as soon as the patient was out of sight

“Everything Sam, Everything.” Jayden was restless. He paced up and down the office for a while and then asked, “What happened to the sick girl from twelve years ago?”

Dr Sam raised his eyebrow at him, puzzled. “What sick girl?” He didn't seem to understand him and this made Jayden even more furious.

“Don't you dare play innocent with me, Sam,” His hands dropped to his side and his eyes flashed with burning anger. “I’m talking about the sick little girl, the one whom I gave my blood.”He yelled, with a trace of irritation in his voice and Dr Sam’s face turned pale on hearing that.

He shifted about uneasily in his chair, beads of perspiration already dotting his face. ‘Joanna Jones! he has never for once forgotten that name, how could he when the news of her successful surgery made the headlines nationwide? Everyone wanted to see the girl who battled death and miraculously survived, Every reporter wanted to interview the doctor who despite just losing his pregnant wife fought tooth and nail to save her. But what they didn't know, what no one know was that his son who was her real saviour fell into a life-threatening coma after donating a pint of his blood..........’

“I’m asking what happened to her?” Jayden banged his fist on the table, interrupting his thoughts and he let out a deep sigh before looking at him

“She is dead.”He lied without hesitation and Jayden gave a short, bitter laugh

“Dead you say?” He snorted indignantly, completely pissed with all of the lies. “When will you old folks stop lying to me?” He vented his frustrations by kicking the door hard and Dr Sam could only stare at him speechless with shock.

‘Is he aware of the truth? Or has his father finally told him about it? He sat in silence for a long moment, thinking hard and then forced himself to breathe deeply.

“We did that to save you from the abyss of emotional trauma.” His voice was so calm that Jayden wasn’t sure he had heard him right, he paused to look at him.

“Oh yeah! And you saved me by making a fool out of me.” He sarcastically commented and Dr Sam smiled a tiny, secret smile, meant only for himself. He was ready to tell him the truth without leaving out a single detail.

“Have you ever wondered why your dad shut down his first hospital? Why he delayed in building a new one?”He started and Jayden just stared at him with curiosity flaring in his blue eyes. He hadn’t really thought much about that.

“Twelve years ago, after just a little fame, your dad's name was dragged through the mud, and his image was unfairly damaged.

“But why?”Jayden was confused, completely stupefied, this was the first time he was hearing this.

“The reporters had thought that he’d lied,” Dr Sam gave him a response, “they all wanted to see the girl he’d saved, the little girl he’d given free medical treatment to.........”

“And what happened?” He cut in, impatiently

“She disappeared into thin air, we couldn't find her anywhere. Someone sneaked her unconscious body out of the hospital and he/she was smart enough to avoid the surveillance cameras.

“What?” Jayden collapsed on the chair beside him dazed and confused, his head was spinning and he could barely think. He was completely disoriented by what he’d just heard.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Greg was returning from his lunch break when he heard loud noises coming from Doctor Sam’s office, it sounded like people arguing and that was enough to pique his curiosity. He paused to listen closely, but all he heard were hushed angry whisperings, too d**n low for him to understand.

He wanted to interfere, but then he thought about it

‘What if it is something personal?’ So he brushed off the idea and walked into his office slamming the door shut.

His mind was still in disarray and just remembering that kiss sent a wave of guilt creeping into him.

‘D**n you, Greg. D**n you.’ He silently cursed his stupidity, ‘How could you even think of doing that to your own younger brother?’ With a deep sigh, he collapsed on the swivel chair and began to arrange his desk, sorting out the completed files and keeping them in order when the door suddenly creaked open.

He looked up, startled and saw that his mother was standing close to the entrance.

He frowned, “What are you doing here, mum?”He asked rudely and Mary scoffed, her blonde hair waving gently down her back as she walked toward him.

“Jayden already knows the truth about his mother.” She looked a bit pissed as she sat down opposite him, throwing her handbag on his desk.

Greg just nodded his head, his face strolling over her face absentmindedly.

‘Jayden now knows the truth! He knows that we don't share the same mother, D**n! Was that the reason why he acted all cold towards me this morning?’ He didn't know what to think about it.

“I eavesdropped on the conversation he had with your father and he sounded really angry, almost like a raging bull.

“And why wouldn't he be?”Greg retorted, rather too sharply, “that kid has been lied to his entire life. He is hurt mum, he is extremely hurt.”He half yelled, banging his fist down on the desk and Mary could feel the anger flaring within his mind, an unfocused anger, more of a smouldering grief than of pain.

“Are you alright, child?” She looked at him concernedly and Greg was trapped in the warmth in her eyes. He had no choice other than to tell her.

“I betrayed him, mum.”He spoke of his fears, “I kissed the girl I knew he liked and I did it somewhat consciously.”He confessed and looked at his mother, conflicted.

He had expected her to scold him and shout at him for being so selfish, but she didn’t. Instead she grinned and did a slow clap, the sound echoing around the silent office.

“That’s it son, that’s the way it should be. If you like the girl, then go for her. It’s not like they are in a relationship anyway.”Her response surprised him and he wanted to believe that it was a joke.

“What then about Nancy?” He blurted out foolishly and Mary gave a little giggle. It was her first time having a ‘normal conversation’ with her son and she was so excited about it.

“I didn’t say you should marry the girl, I just want you to catch some fun with her. Who is she, by the way?”She asked winking at him.

“Just a girl I know.” Was Greg’s response to her question. He didn't want to tell her that she is Joanna, the daughter of his former maid, he was scared of her reaction.

“Alright then,” She picked up her handbag from the desk and slung it over her shoulder before rising to her feet, “Have fun with the girl you know.” She teased and turned away from him and began walking to the door, hesitated for a moment, then stopped and faced him.

“Will Jayden still be the same sweet little brother now that he knows you are just his step brother? Just think about it.”With that, she left his office holding her head high.

Dumbfounded, Greg stared after her for a long moment before slumping back in his seat.

‘What the heck does that mean ?’ He was totally confused.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Still with a heavy heart, Atarah stepped off the bus and slowly walked down the lonely road leading to her house.

Her eyes were puffy from crying, her head throbbing with dull pain and she couldn’t understand the sinking feeling of panic in her chest.

It was like a very deep sadness, and it made her so miserable and depressed.

~~

When she got home, she found her mother sitting idly on the sofa. Her chin was resting on her palm and she was just staring blankly into space.

“Hi, mum,” She greeted lazily and only then did her mum notice her.

She forced out a smile, “Welcome, chi......”Her thin voice trailed off into silence when she noticed the swell around her daughter’s eyes and she sprang to her feet in a huff. “What happened to you, Tarah?” She demanded breathlessly.

“Nothing, mother.”Atarah lied, she turned her face away from her so she wouldn’t see the fresh tears forming in her eyes, but her mum being so stubborn and adamant walked over to stand in front of her.

“Did someone hurt you?” She stared right at her, her eyes full of concern and that was it, Atarah couldn’t hold it in any more, she burst into helpless tears.

“I’m confused, mom, so confused. I had thought he was the one I liked…but……but…but…but……”Her tears choked in her throat and she began to cough, “but …but…I…I…”She struggled to get the words out of her mouth

“That’s enough, honey.” Her mother gently patted her on the back in an attempt to calm her down.

“But I felt nothing when I kissed him.” Atarah finally let out the words and her mother froze in shock.

“Are you talking about Jayden Hobsons?” She spoke of her fears, “Tell me, is he the one you’re talking about?”

Atarah pondered her question for a moment before replying, “No.”

“Thank heavens!”Her mum sank into the sofa, letting out a breathe she didn’t realise she was holding and Atarah couldn’t help feeling disappointed. ‘Is that it?’

“Go freshen up honey, you look a mess.”

She nodded wordlessly and

started toward her room, dragging her feet as she went.

“Have you by any chance met Jayden when you were younger?”Her mother’s question brought her to a standstill and she spun around, surprised.

“No, not at all.” She shook her head vigorously, “Why did you ask?” She tilted her head and looked questioningly at her.

Her mother didn't want her to know about his weird behaviour so she gave a short answer, “He came to check on you this afternoon.”

“Like seriously!” Atarah was more than pleased to hear that. She turned and ran into her room, slamming the door. And then she took her phone out of her bag and began to dial his number when a message from an unsaved number popped up on the screen.

“Hey Joanna, this is your Gwapo.” in an instant her mood changed and she fell on the bed with a loud thud knowing she was trapped.