CHAPTER FIFTEENBEING THE ADULT
1716 Words
Arielle went back home in the early hours of the morning the next day, a few hours after Damien had left due to pending work at the office. He had offered to take her home, but she had declined, saying she didn't want to bother him and stress him more than she already had.
“Well, then, take care of yourself, and I'll have Nina check up on you,” he had said before leaving.
She was grateful for his help, but she wanted to be alone.
Getting home, Arielle sighed wearily as she entered the house and saw the mess that happened the night before. Water on the floor, dirty dishes in the kitchen, some picture frames tumbled and cracked, a flower vase broken, and blood…her brother's blood on the floor.
She got to cleaning. She washed the dishes first, cleaned the kitchen, then proceeded to pick the cracked frames of the floor. Some shards of glass and the flower vase ceramics pricked her finger but she didn't care. It was until when she had to wipe her brother's blood off the floor she sank to her knees, and tears came, flowing like a river.
She sobbed and sobbed until she couldn't anymore. Her eyes were swollen, her clothes were stained, her feet aching, but she was just numb.
She sat in the living room, still moping when her phone rang. She didn't move to pick it
It rang a few more times and when she realized the caller wouldn't stop calling, she reached for her bag on the table in front of her and took out the phone.
The phone stopped ringing, and she was able to check the caller id.
Nina.
Six missed calls from Nina.
She sighed and was about to put down the phone when it started ringing again.
Again, it was Nina calling. She picked up.
“Hello?” She called out. Her voice hoarse from crying.
“Hey, Arielle, I've been calling you since you didn't pick up.” Came the concerned voice of her friend. “I thought something had happened to you. Are you okay? Are you still in the hospital with Jace?”
“No, I left a few hours ago. I'm home now.” Arielle answered, sighing, as she tucked one strand of her hair behind her ear and sniffed. “Came home to shower and do some cleaning.”
Nina didn't answer immediately at first, and when she did, she asked tenderly.
“Ari, did you cry?”
And then came the tears again.
“Oh, Ari…” Nina sighed, her voiced laced with worry and concern.
“She ruined the whole house over some stupid tantrum,” Arielle half yelled, angry. “She broke the vase, she broke almost every glass in the house. And blood…” her voice broke this time. “Jace's blood…” she couldn't finish her statement.
“It's okay, Arielle. Jace is fine now. Don't worry, he'll get better,” Nina consoled her. “Stop crying, okay? You have to be strong, for yourself, for your siblings. You need to rest, sleep. You've been awake for too long. Damien said you couldn't sleep.”
Arielle sighed, bringing her knees close to her chest.
“Yeah, he was helpful,” she said, sighing. “He was really good to me and Jace. He stayed till the early hours of the morning. I need to thank him.”
“You will, but right now, you need rest.” Nina said with a tone of finality. “Sleep for a few hours. I've got Liv and Airyana handled. They can stay here for a few days so you can adjust into yourself again. Just don't worry yourself, okay?”
“Okay. Thanks, Nina.”
“No problem. I'll check up on you after a few hours. And I'll let Damien know you're okay. Rest up, babe.”
“Bye,” Arielle said, and Nina hung up. She sniffed a little more, dapping her eyes with her cloth, then lied down on the floor right in the sitting room, and before long, she was asleep.
___
Arielle hadn’t answered her mother’s calls in days.
The first few rang out unanswered. The next ones came with guilt-laced voice notes. Then angry texts. Then silence.
She didn’t care.
After what happened with Jace, she couldn’t afford to care. Her priority had shifted. She moved like a quiet storm through her mornings—preparing breakfast for herself and Jace before she headed to the hospital where she stayed till the next day, arranging the house and putting it back to the way it was, helping Nina with her siblings homework, balancing bills, and making sure her siblings were okay and happy staying at her friend's place.
The house was quieter without her mother’s erratic presence. The tension that once lived in the walls slowly thinned out. Arielle found herself breathing easier, sleeping lighter, and waking up with a new kind of resolve.
If she had to be the adult, so be it.
---
The hospital smelled like bleach and unanswered prayers. Arielle stood by Jace’s bedside, her hand lightly brushing his, her mind numb with fatigue.
Damien had showed up again at the hospital two days after. No hovering, no overbearing questions. Just a quiet conversation with the nurse that led to Arielle being informed the hospital bills had been settled in full.
When she tried to protest, she was handed a memo instead: Mandatory leave approved by CEO Locke. Three days. No exceptions.
That man.
He offered help like it was a command. As if caring for someone wasn’t about feeling—it was just another task he executed efficiently.
Still, she’d been too drained to argue.
So she went home. Visited her siblings at Nina's and checked if they were doing alright. Held Jace’s hand through recovery. Screamed into her pillow when her mother called and she didn’t answer.
And now, three days later, she was back at Ashe & Locke, dressed in her usual neutral tones, hair pinned, spine straight, emotions locked deep under her skin.
---
She stepped into the open-plan floor, where murmurs turned into awkward silence, then casual greetings that lasted just a second too long.
"Hey, Arielle, welcome back," someone said with a smile that didn’t quite reach their eyes.
"Good to see you," said another, trying not to glance around first.
Arielle nodded politely, moving past the subtle shift in atmosphere. Some of them knew. Most of them had heard. About the hospital. The CEO. Julienne’s suspension.
No one said anything directly. But Arielle could feel it hanging in the air like perfume—heavy, cloying, impossible to ignore.
Her desk had been cleaned. A fresh notepad sat neatly beside her keyboard.
On it, a sticky note in blocky, precise handwriting read:
Welcome back. We held the fire for you. — Nina.
And when she looked up, she found Nina and a few friends she had made at work smiling and waving at her, cheering for her. She smiled, happy that at least, not everyone hated her at work.
---
Nina slid into the chair across from her during their mid-morning break, sipping from her silver tumbler.
"So, how’s Jace?"
“Recovering,” Arielle replied. “He’s milking it, of course. Watching cartoons like it’s his full-time job. And the doctor says he will be discharged soon.”
“That’s good news. And leave him with his games please. He's been through so much. He deserves to be spoiled.” Nina paused, then leaned in slightly. “So… he really stayed at the hospital and paid the bills too?”
Arielle blinked. “Who told you he paid the bills?”
“I have sources.” Nina raised a brow, grinning. “And a knack for showing up at emotionally loaded scenes.”
Arielle sighed. “He didn’t say much. Just… stayed. Watched. Made sure we were okay.”
Nina softened. “For a man who doesn’t talk, he says a hell of a lot by doing.”
Arielle looked away, eyes focused on her coffee foam. “That’s what scares me.”
---
Julienne returned to work the following week.
She walked in like nothing had happened, lips painted a sharp red, her black stilettos echoing through the floor like a declaration of war.
She didn’t look at Arielle. Not once. But Arielle could feel the heat of her jealousy like a spotlight.
Still, she smiled.
Let her stew.
---
Later that day, Arielle dove headfirst into the new campaign Damien had assigned her. It was complex, strategic, and exactly what she needed to shut the world out.
She spent the entire afternoon building wireframes, adjusting team roles, and tweaking the proposal. Her mind was a machine again—grateful for the order, the focus.
The office gradually emptied.
By 9:45 p.m., she was alone in her corner—until footsteps approached.
---
She looked up to see Damien Locke, coat draped over his arm, the soft lighting casting a shadow along his jawline.
“Still working?” he asked.
“Yes, sir,” she replied, trying not to sound too defensive. “Just tying up loose ends.”
He didn’t speak for a moment, only scanned her desk, then her eyes.
“You didn’t have to come back so soon.”
“I did,” she said. “This place… it helps me breathe.”
That made something shift in his expression.
“I heard about Julienne,” she added. “You didn’t have to intervene.”
“She crossed a line.”
“I don’t want people thinking I get special treatment.”
“Then don’t accept it.” He stepped closer. “Just keep earning what you already deserve.”
She looked at him then, really looked. Not the CEO. Not the cold executive. Just the man who stayed behind in the hospital parking lot to make sure she made it through the night.
“It’s good to be back,” she said, her voice quieter.
He nodded. “It’s good to have you back.”
And just like that, he turned and walked away.
Arielle sat back in her chair, heart thrumming.
She wasn’t sure what just happened.
But it was… something.
- Writer
