Strip For Him

Relief

"I don't want to go!" Thomas screamed as he wrapped his little arms around my waist. Damian was in the car, waiting for me to drop Thomas back to the hospital. Jace was waiting for us inside because my little brother didn't want to let go.

"You have to, Tommy" I said as I dropped to my knees so that i could be eye level to him. "It will be for your own good" I said. He wrapped his arms around my neck and hugged me tightly.

"Don't leave me here, Athena" he begged, making my heart break a little. I heard the door open and soon, Damian walked to us. He squatted next to us and stared at my little brother as the latter pulled away. Tears were now rolling on Thomas's cheeks. "Damian, please tell her not to leave me here" he sobbed.

"Listen" Damian started. "You're a man, right?" he asked, sounding firm. "Your sister is going to visit you and I'll be coming with her. I promise that I'll take you away from here, okay?" I turned to look at Damian. What did he mean? Thomas nodded and took a deep breath.

"Okay,I'll go" he said. Damian picked him up and we started walking to the main door. I liked the fact that Damian was caring towards Thomas. As we entered the hospital, we noticed Jace with some papers in his hands.

"Hey buddy" he exclaimed once his eyes fell on Thomas. His eyes widened when he noticed my brother's puffy red eyes. One of the nurse walked to him and a big smile crept on her face.

"Thomas! I miss our superhero talks!" she exclaimed as she pinched his cheeks. Thomas giggled as he wiped away his cheeks. Damian smiled at his cute gesture and put him back on the floor.

"I'm taking him back to his room" Jace said as he took Tommy's hand in his and they started walking to the elevator.

"I love you Athena! Bye Damian" Thomas said as he waved while walking away with Jace and the nurse. I took a deep breath as I watched the elevator door closed.

"Are you okay?" I heard Damian ask me. I turned to look at him, then I remembered his words.

"Damian, you shouldn't have lied to him" I breathed in annoyance and walked out of the hospital with him walking behind me. He grabbed my elbow and pulled me to him, making me crash in his chest.

"Lie about what?" he asked, his voice sounding cold. I turned around, crossed my arms over my chest and glared the f**k out of him.

"About getting him out of here!" I exclaimed in frustration.

"I didn't lie" he simply replied calmly. I blinked several times, letting his words sink in.

"Damian, he can't leave here. He's sick" I gulped. It always made me this way whenever I would about Thomas cancer. The infuriating hot man simple rolled his eyes and by passed me to his car. I stood there, waiting for him to talk as he reached his car.

"You're coming or not?" he questioned as he put on his sunglasses. I wonder how good looking his future children would be. I shook my head at the thought and walked to the car. I should start controlling my freaking hormones. I probably sound like a hormonal teenager.

"What did you mean?" I questioned as we got into the car and he started driving. My eyes were focusing on my hands which were laying on my lap. My black nail varnish contrasted magnificently with my pale white skin. I turned slightly to look at him. Damian was staring at the road, with one hand on the steering wheel and the other one ran through his hair. As if sensing that i was staring at him, he moved his head in my direction and smirked when he realized that I was checking him out.

"You should stop staring at me like that" Damian said as he turned his attention back to the road. I unconsciously licked my lips as I stared away so that I wouldn't look like a creep. I think that it's too late for that but I didn't really give a s**t.

"Does it annoy you when I stare at you?" I asked with a little hope that he would say yes. I wanted to annoy him somehow. I wanted to push him to his limits.

"No" he answered. "It makes me want to f**k you in the back seat but unfortunately, I have work to attend" he responded professionally. He sounded so formal that it would remind me that all this was simply a deal. "And my mother wants to offer proper treatment to Thomas on the condition that he will live in their house" he said suddenly. I blinked several times, trying to assess what he just said. Celina and Jeff wanted to finance Tommy's treatment.

"W-what?" I stuttered, lacking of words. He motioned to the card that was on the desk board of the car.

"That's their number, give them a call once you reach home" Damian told me. I took the card and on the white paper was written a number with Jeff's number on it. It would be such a relief if someone finally helped me financially. But somehow, I didn't want to depend on anyone.

"Having someone helping me financially, makes me feel weak" I admitted as I stared at the card. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"You shouldn't. My parents support multiple associations concerning sick children and Thomas is simply going to be one of them" Damian explained, again sounding really professional. I nodded to his explanation and stared out at the road. I could notice that we were reaching my apartment. Rose drove my car back home. When Damian parked in front of my apartment, I took my bags from the back seat and opened the door to get out.

"Thank you for the ride" I mumbled as I closed the door of the car. I could hear the window rolling down but I turned around and walked to the door.

"Athena" Damian called, making me sigh as I turned around to look at him. "You're working tonight?" he asked, with his sunglass still over his eyes, preventing me from detecting any emotions which I'd usually decipher by staring at his gray eyes.

"Yes" I answered sounding monotonous. I should stop giving him so much importance. He gave me a single nod before driving away, leaving me behind, staring at his car disappearing down the street. I clenched my jaws as an unknown and unexplained sense of anger ran through me. One minute he'd be cute, sweet and caring and the other minutes, he'd be cold, formal and Stern. He was hot and cold at the same time.

I walked in the apartment, feeling drained from this mentally draining journey. Leaving Thomas back in this hospital was heart breaking. I pulled the card out of my pocket and stared at the number. I heard the door open and Rose walked in with a bright smile on her face. I didn't pay much attention to her because I was already typing the number on the phone.

"Spears Residence, Who am I talking to?" I heard Jeff's voice. Rose let her body fall on the couch while her eyes were fixed on me.

"Jeff? It's me. Athena Williams" I started hesitantly.

"Athena! Hey sweetheart! You're already back home?" he exclaimed and his radiant mood made me smile slightly. All the nervousness was already gone.

"Yeah, I'm home. We just dropped Thomas to the hospital and Damian told me to call you" I explained.

"Yes. My wife and myself needed to talk to you about this little boy. Unfortunately my wife is over at your parents" he started. "But basically, we'd like to help you financially with Thomas's treatment. Dean told us about how you're struggling to keep up with the treatment" Jeff explained. "My wife fell in love with Thomas and we have to agree that this little boy is exceptional" he chuckled. Unlike my parents, Jeff and Celina did see how exceptional Thomas was. I chuckled as well but I could feel the emotions building up in me. "Listen Athena, Alena told me that you value your pride a lot. But right now, I think it's a good idea if you accept and concentrate on your studies. Stop bothering yourself about work" he said. "My wife wants to help you and if you're willing to corporate, I'd like to bring Thomas over to my house and give him proper treatment" Jeff said softly. This is when I cried. I sobbed over the phone. I fell on my knees. I was exploding. All these moments that i bottled up my emotions were finally giving up. I could feel arms wrapped themselves around me. I took a deep breath and wiped my tears away as I held the phone tighter to my ear.

"You don't know how much I would be relieved if my brother could be given a better treatment" I breathed. "I want what's best for him. And I know that Celina and yourself will do your best" I said as my tears rolled down my cheek. It was a mixture of happiness and tiredness.

"Stop crying, sweetheart" Jeff said through the phone. "Tomorrow I'll be sending someone to pick up Thomas from the hospital and I'm getting a room prepared" he said. "And Athena, one more thing, you can visit him whenever you want. You tell Damian to bring you at home if you don't know where my wife and I stay" he said.

"Thank you so much Jeff" I breathed in the phone.

"Celina and myself, we were surprised to see a twenty years old woman fighting for her little brother and you're a strong woman, Athena. Keep this spirit and if you need anything, do give us a call, okay sweetheart?" he asked.

"Yeah i will, Jeff" I answered. "Have a nice day" I said softly.

"You too" I ended the call and turned to wrap Rose in a hug.

"Damian's parents will be financing Thomas's treatment" I said and started crying when I realized how much this meant. "I can stop working at the strip club and find a proper job" I breathed. Rose faked hurt.

"Are you saying that my job is not a good one?" she asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"We both know it is not" I chuckled. "Did you tell Jace about your job?" I asked as we both sat on the couch.

"Yeah i did" She sighs. I knew that something was wrong.

"And?" I asked as I turned to look at her.

"He is quite possessive and he told me to look for another job" Rose explained. I thought about it and realized that if I was in Jace's position, I would say the same thing.

"Why don't you look for another job?" I asked. "I was working there because we get a lot of money and I needed that for Tommy's treatment" I said.

"Exactly. There's no job where you'll get that much money" Rose pointed out.

"So you'll choose this job over Jace?" I questioned in disbelief.

"Of course not!" She exclaimed. "I haven't decided yet" she said, making me take one of the little pillows and throw it on her face. She chuckled and stood up. "But sweetheart, for now, you haven't found a job yet, so get ready for work and prepare your speech for Jerry because he'll break down when he'll know that you'll stop working" she said as she walked to her room. Oh yeah, I was kind of the main attraction of the strip club. But I think it's time for Vixen to take her retirement. My heart felt like and relieved. With a smile on my face, I made my way to room to get ready for work.