The Loved Trap.

Hello.

Thursday: 5 pm

Nathan coughed for the umpteenth time as he listened to the person on the other side of the phone. He half sat in his bed, left hand rubbing his temples as he ignored the timely ringing in his head. "You have to start being cautious of your own self, Drale. When the time comes for the inspection, you'll have yourself to blame. You made your mistake, you fix it" he finally hissed in a low voice before throwing the phone exasperatingly onto the bed.

He stared at the big headed monitor which displayed all information on how well he was supposedly doing.It had been three hellish days since he had been put on house arrest by his sister. The only lady who could have even a single word over him.

"He's fine. He's a tough kid and he seriously needs to get back to work. It'll do him a lot of good." his sister's voice alongside loud footsteps neared his room. She entered with the nurse a moment after, a sly grin on her face. "Milena" he cooed at her and she returned a smile. The nurse pulled off the string on his arm, taking caution to not disturb the ointment. Nathan smirked at her woeful expression. "I'm alright, Catherine. You've done good".

She, in turn blushed and cleared her throat. "Okay, Sir. Please take your drugs and come for a check up....." "Shut up already. We'll take the drugs. All of them. Okay, Nurse Cathy." Milena cut her off, a sickly sweet smile on her lips in contrast to her tone.

The nurse fidgeted and fumbled around nervously, picking up the hospital materials before finally letting Nathaniel sign the discharge letters. The moment she stepped out of the room, Milena sighed, rolled her eyes and threw herself onto the bed with a bounce. "That nurse was seriously a show spoiler. Good riddance." she huffed dramatically. "She was just doing her job." Nathan mused, typing away on his phone.

"Now YOU listen to ME. You'll take your drugs, drink a ton of water, eat those fruits I got you, AND take a two hour break between work." Milena instructed. "Who's the show spoiler now?" Nathaniel teased "Don't worry. I've got it.". "Alright, since you seem a lot more cooperative, I'll get going." she said, pushing off the bed "You take care, okay, kiddo?". She kissed his hair with a light tousle. "I only let you do this because you're leaving." he warned, playfully. "You're a softie, brother, behind all that metal stuff in there" she retorted, pointing to his chest.

"Buh-bye, Nathan" she finally said as she strolled out with her gracefulness.

18 hours later

"Take note, Bruce. The journey starts as early as 3 am. The earlier we go, the better." Nathan instructed, pressing his documents into their folder as Bruce, a muscled blue-haired stud, stood in front of him, singling out a key from the bunch he held. "Drale left the mail behind in the county house." Bruce gave. "He's the most mentally challenged intellectual I've ever known. But he'll fix it. He knows he has to." came Nathan's response.

"I have more to deal with than a childish associate. Take care of the cars after they get here. I have to deal with some employees for a while. Also, Ashley's going to be here in a day or two and I need you to keep her away from the cars as much as possible." he instructed." Get her a space in the west floors to work. Drop some old files there for her to work on."

Bruce frowned. "And is there a reason why you suddenly want to keep her nose to the grindstone?" he asked his employer. "Well, one, she's getting a bit too high and mighty with the other keepers. And two, it shouldn't be your business" Nathan answered with a cheeky tight smile. Bruce's hands went up in surrender. "Alright, then I'll get going. If there's anything else for me to do in addition to the horse load already on my shoulders,you know where to find me." he drawled as he turned and left.

Nathan sighed, stamping a few more letters like a maniac. He worked absentmindedly like a machine, trying to keep a particular nagging thought at the back of his mind. He knew what it was and even as he tried to brush it away, it stayed like a shadow. So, just as he'd always done, he breathed out a prayer to himself. Speaking with assurance and hope, he delivered his problems to his

God whom he believed so much in.

A knock on the door brought him back to the present as he finished up the first batch of files. "Come in." he breathed out. He was not expecting what or who sauntered through the door. "You don't look too excited. Am I overdressed?".

"Ashley? Weren't you booked for like... You're here early." Nathan stated a tired feeling drowning him. " Hello to you too. And a surprise doesn't hurt, does it? Unless you're hiding something or someone." Ashley replied, her eyes roaming the room in suspicion. "There's no one here." Nathan huffed out in a bored tone, getting back to his work. "Mm. You look good." Ashley stated, seating herself in a chair across him. Nathan ignored her, already hearing a clock-like ticking in his head. "This is when you say, "Ash, you look extremely great too"." Ashley said, an anticipating grin in her face.

"As you can see, I have a lot of things to do and there's very little time for games. There's a room for you on the west floor. Please, make yourself useful, will you?" Nathan retorted, trying to not lose his calm demeanor. Ashley simply rolled her eyes. "I thought we'd be sharing the same space." she complained. "Well, I'm sorry to break it to you, but as big as this room is, it's sadly not enough to contain us both." he replied. Ashley shot off the seat, muttering a 'whatever' as she left, leaving an irritated Nathan to himself.

* * * * * *Next Chapter: The lady in blue.* * * * * *