At the restaurant

 08

Ricky drove madly into the compound. With the speed of lightening, he got down from the car, dashed into the house that stood gigantically between other two mansions. 

The compound was large. While the other two houses belonged to his parents, the third one was rented out to another family which had become their tenant. 

The sound of breaking glasses filled Ricky's ears as he ran into the house, rushed up the stairs to his mother's room. 

Angie was on the floor, bawling. She grabbed something from the nightstand, flung it towards him. Ricky dodged, and rushed towards her. 

"Rafael, you're here!" Margarita cried, coming out from where she hid in the closet. "She has been like this all morning."

"Mom!" Rafael scolded as he got to his mother and knelt in front of her. "That's enough!"

Angie's hands froze in front of her as she stared up at her son with bloodshot eyes. Her young face was ruined as her mascara stains ran down her checks with her tears. 

Her long blonde hair was a mess, and some strands scattered all over her face, mixing up with the tears. 

"My baby is here." Angie whispered with eyes that suddenly looked so heavy. "My baby is here." 

Ricky gritted his teeth, and tightened his fist as his mother crawled into his arms. He turned to give Margarita a sideway glance. 

"Where is Blair?" 

"I'm here. I went to get stronger sedatives." A woman's voice filled the room from behind. She walked towards Ricky, crouched down beside him. Her white coat was stained with blood, and it was obvious she'd gotten hurt. 

Ricky turned fully to look at her with a questioning look in his eyes. "Did she hurt you?"

Blair smiled, showing off her white gap-teeth. "It's just a small scratch. Is she calm now?" She asked, staring down at Angie who has suddenly gone so quiet. 

Ricky touched his mother's hair, removing the strands from her face. "Yeah. As always, let this not get out from this four walls. No one else knows about this apart from us three, and that...that scumbag." 

Blair rolled her eyes. "When will you stop referring to your father as a scumbag, though?" 

"It's none of your business. Stop meddling, doc." Ricky snapped at her. With his strong arms, he scoffed his mother up from the floor, carried her gently to her bed. 

"Should...I get her something to eat?" Margarita asked, careful not to incure Ricky's wrath. 

"Yes, do." He replied as he covered his mother with the duvet. He heard the sound of the door opening, indicating that Margarita had left the room. 

"Do you still consider me as a mere doctor?" Blair asked, taking off her coat. Her outfit came into view, and Ricky turned to look. 

She was no doubt a very beautiful woman, tall and graceful with a very black hair with curls at the tip. Her eyes were bright with green eyeballs, and her lips were round–full of life. 

Ricky looked away, staring back at his mother. "You are nothing but my mother's home doctor. Get that into your head." 

"Do you have a girlfriend?" Blair asked, walking towards him. "Because, I've never seen you with any woman recently." 

"That's none of your business, Blair. Steer clear of my business, and focus on the reason why you're here." 

Blair folded her arms, keeping that cool look on her face. "Don't worry too much about your mother. I'm definitely sure she's gonna come out of this." 

Ricky stared into the woman's face, his eyes moistening. If there was one weakness he had in his life, it was his mother. His very own mother who almost died because of him. 

She had birthed him when she was just fifteen, and had gone through hell at the period. His grandfather had told him before he kicked the bucket. 

"How did this happen to her? When did she get so addicted?" Ricky asked with his voice laced with pain. His mother had been a sweet woman, calm and simple despite being the wife of Andrew Anderson, a well known man in the country. 

It started all of a sudden; her love for Morphine. Blair had detected it in her blood months ago while treating the illness she had, and since then, efforts to stop her from the use of the narcotics had been extremely difficult. 

"He never pays attention to her. It's always work. Work. Work." Ricky hissed out the words as he referred to his father with so much anger in his eyes. 

"Angie will get better, I assure you." Blair mumbled. She moved closer to Ricky, placed a comforting hand over his shoulder. "You should get back to work, I will take care of her from here." 

The door opened, and Margarita stepped into the room, carrying a tray of food. 

Ricky kissed his mother on the forehead, and stood up from the bed. Sternly, he turned to look at Margarita. "Call me immediately there's a problem. Immediately." He said sternly, spared Blair a glance and walked out of the room. 

Margarita looked at Blair, a mystery in the depths of her eyes. She stood still with the tray as Blair walked towards her. 

"Give that to me," She spoke softly with a smile. "I will give the lady this. Go on with the house chores; that's exactly what you're paid to do, right?" Blair asked with a smile. She took the tray from Margarita, and headed back to the bed where Angie lay still. 

Margarita stood still, watching with her fingers linked nervously in front of her. 

Blair stopped, turned to look at her when she noticed she was still in the room. "And what are you doing standing there, Margarita? Go on. I told you I'm gonna take care of Mrs. Anderson." 

"Okay..." Margarita nodded. She glanced at Angie once again, before turning and heading out of the room. 

Blair smiled as she sat close to Angie on the bed, and placed the tray at her other side. "Angie, your breakfast is here. And you're gonna eat it so you can take your medicine." 

Angie dragged her eyes open, and streak of tears fell out. "I'm so weak. So tired. Give it to me, please." She sobbed. 

Blair shook her head. "You need to fight this, Angie. Fight to the very last. You will get through this." She squeezed her hand, and uncovered the dishes. 

*******************

Xavier waited in the car outside the Anderson group office. It was lunch time, and he'd offered to take Audrey out for her lunch break. Few minutes later, he saw her coming out from the transparent doors, and smiled involuntarily. 

He took in her dress, her walking steps, her shape and how graceful she walked on heels, and shook his head in admiration. 

No. This woman should be his woman, and not his sister. The baby she was expecting should be his as well. 

Audrey got to the car, pulled open the door and hopped in. She turned after settling into the chair, and flashed Xavier a smile. 

"Thanks for coming out to take me to lunch. I'm so famished, and was confused on what to eat." 

Xavier smiled. He dropped his gaze on her lips, and quickly looked away. *What is wrong with you, Xavier? She is still my sister. At least, for now.* He chided himself. 

Audrey peered into his face. "Are you alright, Xavier? You look.... tensed." 

"Yes. I'm alright. Shall we go now?" Xavier asked, ignited the car, and pulled into the road. 

  **************

Ricky stopped by his favorite restaurant on his way from the house to get his lunch. He got down from the car, walked past the securities and got into the cozy room. He took a seat by the window, and snapped his finger above his head. 

Immediately, a cute and we'll dressed waitress appeared, a menu book in her hand. She bowed, looked back into Ricky's face with a smile. 

"Sir, you are here. The usual?" She asked sweetly. 

Without sparing her a glance, Ricky nodded. "Add more sauce to the spring rolls," he stopped to think, and added, "I want rice and beef stew in a takeaway. And a pack of juice." 

"Okay, sir! What do you want for appetizer?" the waitress asked with a smile. 

Ricky finally glanced at her, saw her blush immediately. "A glass of pineapple juice will do." He replied, and turned back to his cellphone. 

The waitress turned, and headed back to the counter. She was back with the appetizer seconds later, headed back to get the food. 

Few minutes later as he awaited his orders, sipping his drink slowly, the transparent door opened, and few people walked in. Ricky glanced up, and almost choked on his drink at the sight that greeted his eyes. 

In front of him, walking into the restaurant was Audrey, and with a guy who held her wrist in his hand.