CHAPTER 30: CONFESSION.
As they returned to the office, Raphael glanced at Evelyn who was looking at the other side, she seemed to be lost in thought. Her face wasn’t dull nor was it bright…it just felt in between.
He turned to the other side that led to the company. Since he knew he would be going out with her, he told the driver not to mind.
“Are you alright, Evelyn?” He asked.
Evelyn blinked and looked at him before nodding. Guess she needed to start getting used to him calling her informally.
“You seem lost.” He added.
“I am alright, thank you.” She looked at the time, it was past 4 in the evening. Tom must be preparing to come home. It would be great and would also make him happy if she went there to surprise him since Kira was the one who would always go there to pick him up most of the time.
“If you say so but if you need someone to talk with, I will always be here.” He offered.
“I never knew my boss could be soft-hearted.” Evelyn spat out.
“I am not a monster, Evelyn. I might look tough and strict when it comes to working but I am just like any other human that needs warmth and also provides one. I am less strict when it’s not business and I care about others.” He went ahead to list his qualities as if trying to woo her with them. Evelyn nodded, he was right, one shouldn’t just be judged by one behavior.
The short journey to the company was silent afterward. When they arrived, she followed him into his office to drop off the items and also to sign out.
She watched him take off his jacket and sat down. He looked at her, wondering why she was still standing there.
“Do you need something? Because as far as I am concerned, you ought to close by 5.”
“I don’t need anything but I need to talk with you about…this…this morning.” She replied and gulped nervously.
“I see,” Raphael said and stood up to be in front of her. Evelyn stepped back a bit. This was what she was exactly thinking about when they were coming back, what she did earlier in the morning was so wrong of her and she shouldn’t have done that. She acted on impulse, therefore, exposing herself so she wanted to clear things with him so he wouldn’t think she was so cheap.
“I am listening, Evelyn.” Raphael’s gaze on her was warm.
“I want to apologize for kissing you impromptu. I swear that I did not do that intentionally, I don’t know what came over me. I don’t want you to think low of me, Mr. Raphael and I just want to clear things up so you won’t misunderstand me. I just arrived more than a month ago so I am trying to adjust…”
“How long does it take for you to adjust?” He interrupted.
“I…I am sorry, Mr. Raphael. I didn’t mean to kiss you…”
Evelyn got pulled into his arms suddenly and he kissed her. Evelyn’s head started spinning and she felt dizzy all of a sudden, even though Raphael did not go further in kissing her, her body still melted and she was in a state of shock when his lips landed on hers.
Raphael shifted his head a bit backward and looked into her eyes. It was full of confusion, doubts, and shock.
“You started it.” He said in a husky voice.
“B… but I apologized…” Evelyn found her voice shaky.
“Apologies don’t solve problems most times.” He replied.
“Then…why did you kiss me?”
“Because I like you.” He confessed and Evelyn’s eyes widened. She shook her head.
“I have always liked you since I first laid my eyes on you, Evelyn. Call it craziness…call it fast forwardness…call it infatuation…whatever you decide to call it, all I know is that I like you and I am slowly developing deeper feelings for you.” He spoke his mind softly while watching her reaction carefully. Evelyn’s breath stopped for two seconds before it regained its action regularly.
“You don’t have to give me a response. I wasn’t planning to let you in on my feelings this quickly. I wanted you to feel more comfortable with me before doing it but then the kiss happened this morning so I couldn’t keep it in.
You don’t have to tell me anything now. I just want you to know that there is someone here who cares about you more than you can imagine. Someone who wants to see you smile and laugh, someone who wants to keep you and your son safe and make you happy, someone who wants to make you worry-free, that someone is me. I just need you to know that.” He expressed his feelings.
Evelyn was still in a state of disbelief. She was definitely dreaming or her ears were playing tricks on her. Raphael released her and went back to his seat, he picked up his pen and twirled it across his fingers perfectly while Evelyn stood there in a dazed manner.
“If you wish to leave now, then you are free to. You are done for the day anyway. My regards to Tom.” He closed the conversation and opened the flip of his laptop.
With a heavy mind, Evelyn walked out of the office. Raphael sighed and rubbed his face with his palms.
“Raphael!” He called his name regrettably.
Still, with a downcast look, Evelyn went to her seat. Savage noticed her and turned her chair around.
“What is wrong with you? Were you given a sack letter?” She asked.
Rob, who was busy filling his mouth with chips, walked to meet Evelyn. He placed his hand on her forehead.
“Are you still unwell? Do you need to go to the hospital?” He asked in a state of concern for her.
“Look at him talking as if he won’t pass that responsibility to the driver.” Savage cuts in.
“Can you at least pretend to be dumb for a day?” He whined.
Evelyn forced a smile and hung her bag across her shoulder.
“Thank you, Rob. I am alright. I need to go home now, my regards to your girlfriend when she comes back.”
“Oh-oh.” The workers teased when they heard that. Rob blushed and covered his face with a file.
“She isn’t my girlfriend.” He denied.
“Who do you think she is talking about?” Savage raised her eyebrow.
“Sa-vage!” Rob glared at her and she threw her hands in the air as a sign of resigning from the talk to face her work.
“See you guys tomorrow.” Evelyn waved and left the company’s building.
She took a cab and went to pick Tom up from school.
_____________
In the night, around 8 pm, Evelyn was on the phone with Kira before the conversation ended. She was relaxing on the couch while watching a reality program but her mind was not on the show.
Her mind kept dashing back to Raphael’s confession and she felt the little piece of sanity left in her brain slowly disperse the more she thought about it.
His words ‘Because I like you’ kept ringing in her brain and mind. She wasn’t expecting that from him at all.
Tom looked at his mother but didn’t say anything, instead, he focused on his drawing.
Evelyn picked up her phone, she needed someone to talk to and she knew who that was. She opened her chat with Ralph’s ghost.
_______
Kira was walking as fast as she could after her phone call with Evelyn. For some reason, she felt that Evelyn sounded somehow dull but she didn’t press further on the issue.
She normally wouldn’t come out of her house this late at night but this time around, it was abnormal. She forgot to get a few pieces of painting and drawing equipment so she went to the nearest supermarket to get them.
There weren’t any criminal activities recorded in the place though yet she still wanted to be security conscious
She decided to take the fast route to get home. After walking a few feet forward in the dark while whistling a tune, someone fell upon her shoulders from behind, she screamed and threw the things she was holding away but the person managed to cover her mouth.
“Save me…please, help me.”
Kira’s heart beat faster when she heard this and her body trembled due to fear and the weight of the person on her. She gently turned around and held the person very tightly even though the stranger was staggering and finding it hard to stand.
She sat the person down on the ground and quickly packed her things up from the different dimensions they had rolled to.
After that, she brought out her phone and turned on the flashlight. She was careful not to point it at the person’s face but at the body. The clothes the person was wearing were soaked with blood and the stranger was gasping for breath, it seemed the victim of whatever circumstances had been running before getting here.
Kira looked around for any unusual movement but the whole place was dark and silent, this worried her. What if this person was dangerous? No gender should be seen as less dangerous, especially at night.
“Please, let’s leave…save me.” The stranger repeated the previous words and Kira walked closer quickly.
TBC…