Rachel's POVThe entire while I walked back to join Emilia and Amy by the bar, I was thoroughly aware of the heat that climbed to my cheeks. If someone had taken a look at me right then, I was sure they’d think I had been in a steam room.Trying my best to avoid glancing behind my shoulder, preventing myself from taking one last look at him, I made sure I kept my head straight the entire while I walked toward the bar counter. Amy was playing with her glass, which was brimmed with liquid, while Emilia was nowhere in sight.“Where’s Emilia?” I questioned as soon as I reached her.“Oh, she’s having a chat with Mark in the hall.” She said. “What took you so long?”If she hadn’t taken the hint already, I was sure my blush right now would surely make her aware of the reason why I was late, “Yeah, well, I met Alan on the way so ended up having a little chat with him.”“Oh,” She nodded and sipped on her drink. I almost widened my eyes at her obliviousness but realized that it was indeed for t
Rachel's POVWhen we approached everyone at the table to wave them goodbye, the tables have turned against poor Alan.His attempts at dragging me back home from indulging myself in more alcohol have proven to be futile when I strongly insisted on having some more fun. He knew better than that, and he also knew that if he’d let my drink more - she’d get completely out of control.Knowing that he’d drive a hard bargain, I teasing said,“I miss having drinks with my friends, are you going to take that away from me too?”“Smart one, aren’t you? You know exactly how to get things done your way.” He said as he watched me hop onto a stool by the bar.“Yes.” I grinned, “You think you don’t have a weakness? Hell no! I’ve learnt that guilt is your one huge weakness. And I’m going to make use of every opportunity I get to exploit it.”“Mind your actions, you’ll render me immune to it if you over-use that tactic,”“Oh, I know you won’t.”“You know me that well?”“Yes.”“Well, if that’s the case,
Rachel's POV“Does it really have to be now?” Alan groaned from beside me as I eyed the sight before me with a huge grin on my face.“Yes.” I said. “They say now or never.”“I don’t think that quote applies to ice-cream cravings in the midnight.” He protested. “You’re drunk as fuck, how are you craving for an ice-cream now?”“Is there a rule that says you can’t?”Shaking his head, he held his hands up in surrender and reclined back, “Please.” He said and waved his hand toward the ice cream parlor as a welcome for me. “After you.”“No, after you.” I frowned at him. By this point, I was well aware of his intentions to hover behind me.Rolling his eyes at me, he obliged. I sighed in relief and followed him as he led the way.Right after we left the party, Alan made sure I stepped right into the cab before wandering about. I was certain by now he knew what I was capable of once I’m wasted and I was almost glad for that. It was only when we reached our house that my eyes fell on the ice cr
Alan's POVA month had passed since Douglas was enlightened about Rachel.There was no news from him since then, no update about April’s health. This never happened. In the few years I’ve known Douglas, never did he block me out of his life like this. It surely took me sometime to become a significant part of his life but it was sooner than most others managed. I was his go-to person for everything - he never spared me any news that was of grave significance to him. Which was why I wasn’t at rest knowing how he was not updating me about anything right now.“Do you know if April’s coming to the hospital for follow-ups?” I asked Rachel.She was standing before the dresser in my room, fixing her hair, and her eyes flickered to look at me behind her shoulder as soon as she heard my voice.“They came in for a few in the beginning.” She said, “Their next appointment is not until another three weeks. She was in good health the last time she came, which was about three weeks ago. Or maybe two
Alan's POVIt was almost evening when I received a call from her. In the meanwhile, I ran errands, met up with Bruce for lunch and did our laundry. Rachel never complained but I knew she wasn’t really fond of doing domestic chores. She was often too tired to clean up after herself as her working hours were outrageous.She gets called for work in the middle of the night, even if she was not on call. When I asked her about it, she said she was more than happy to work at such odd hours if the situation demanded her presence.Unlike her, doing daily chores seldom bothered me. I had always been punctual, and I definitely didn’t mind cleaning up after her. And now, seeing how I was mostly home, I didn’t see it as a task anymore. It was merely an excuse to keep myself busy.“Yes?” I asked once I took the call.“I’m not going to be home for another six hours.” She said, panting.“Why are you panting?”“I, uh, I thought there was an emergency but it was a false alarm.” She explained. “Long sto
Alan's POVThe next morning, upon my insistence, Rachel agreed to invite her friends home. But before they came over, I deemed it fit to finally discuss with her what we’ve both forgotten to do last night.We were seated on our bed when I decided to start,“So, about last night..” Upon hearing my voice, Rachel looked up at me for a brief second before eyeing her laptop screen again. “I meant to discuss the Marla issue.”A blank expression took to her face right then and she averted her gaze further away from me. “Right, what about it?”I sighed and demanded her attention, “I’m sorry I haven't talked about this before, I didn’t think.. there’s no excuse for it. But I’m ready to answer any concerns you have.”She shook her head, “You don’t have to apologise. I’d like to hear whatever it is for me to know.”I nodded and continued, “Right. Suppose I start from here then,” I spoke to myself before paying her my full attention, “It was shortly after I became one of Douglas’ men that Marla m
Rachel's POV"You're leaving now?"Ever since he arrived, his revelations had done a lousy job at clarifying my confusion. Right from the moment he declared to me that his sister was in a surgery as we spoke till now, everything he did was in a haste. He barely paused to spare me glance, let alone explain to me about everything in detail.When Alan returned home, although he tried his best to maintain his composure, I knew instantly that he was feeling off. After he had told us that Sasha met with an accident, I was glad that my friends volunteered to leave us alone.I was completely taken aback by the news. Although I didn't know his family that well, Sasha was the only person that genuinely tried and succeeding in making me feel comfortable and welcomed into the family. Knowing that she was hurt only reminded me how I actually liked her more than I had originally believed."Not right now." He said, shooting a sideways glance at my figure. He was packing his clothes as we spoke. "But
Alan's POVSasha was out of surgery by the time I reached the hospital."She's right now in a medically induced coma which is going to give her brain a little time to recover from the imbalance. But she should be awake in a day at the latest." Dr.Johnson, the neurosurgeon who had taken up my sister's case told us. He was also my mom's old friend from college.By the time I had reached the hospital, and as I had expected, my mother was found in a miserable state. Since my father was not around and we had still not been able to contact him, she was visibly terrified.Shortly after I had consoled her, the neurosurgeon walked out of the OR to update us on my sister's condition."Are you saying she survived? That she's going to be okay?" My mother asked in disbelief. Since it was a brain injury, I couldn't blame her for calculating the worst outcomes. I was well aware of the risks of brain surgery, although death is not always an outcome, there is a high risk of memory loss, loss of speech