Chapter fourteen

“ Yeah, he would chase us around the block with a mop stick, we were so naughty back then.” I giggled.

While we were catching up and laughing at our old memories, holding each other’s hand innocently. a flame of fire is lighted when Andre walks in on us.

“ Oh hey Babe! This is….”

“ Let’s go!” He took my hand and was about to drag me out but I forced my hand off his to clear up the misunderstanding he might be having.

“ Dre, can you hold on for a second. What are you doing? Alberto is just a friend of mine. “

“ Yeah man chill, Hailey and I are…” Before Alberto could finish his sentence, Andre drags him by the collar.

“ If I hear you utter a word I will make sure you don’t speak for the rest of your life.” His voice shrude and vile as he glared at Alberto. He then pushed him away.

“ Andre, what are you doing? You are getting this all wrong!”

He puts his hand on my neck as his grip tightened firmly around my neck choking me.

“ How dare you?”

“ Dre, let go.” I was choking as I struggle to take his hands off my neck.

“ Hey! Let go of her neck, you are choking her!” Alberto intervened and pushed him off and he let’s go of his grip on my neck.

I began coughing trying to catch my breath, but Andre’s next move takes everyone in the restaurant including myself unaware as he pulls out a gun and points it at Alberto’s temple.

“ You mother f**ker. How dare you interfere in my personal matter.”

“ Dre please stop. “ My voice croaked as I pleaded with him.

After a moment of pleas he pulls down the gun and drags me by the arm out of the restaurant to his car while everyone watched. It was as the most embarrassing moment of my life, I never expected Andre to have humiliated me in my hometown, in front of everyone without thinking twice.” No this is the limit, not anymore. I can’t take it no more.” The voice in my head kept on repeating over and over again.

I forced my hand away from his firm grip. “ No, I have had it with you Andre Rodriguez! I will not get into that car with you and you are welcome to leave, leave my life.” I heard myself say out loud to him. Immediately he raised his hands and slaps me again. I held my face as tears ran down my cheeks. At the nick of time I found a taxi and flagged at it to stop as I hopped into it and gave the driver an address of where to take me, he stood there and watched as I took off in a taxi.

On getting home, I rushed into my room and quickly packs my belongings into my bag. I couldn’t hold back my tears and anger anymore, my heart was racing and fuming with so much hatred and anger for Andre. Done with my parking, I had already booked a flight for Arizona on my way back home in the taxi and luckily there is one leaving in twenty five minutes. I continued out because I knew that any moment I spend there I might end up running into Andre. I left for the airport with the same taxi I came with and the driver was kind enough to have helped me by getting me to the airport right on time.

I left New Mexico in such a bad shape ashamed to the core as anyone I walked past turns to look at me twice. If this is how Painful love can be then I don’t want to be in love anymore. I said to myself while on my way back but it’s easier said than done ,when it comes to the matters of heart. Even though I was mad at him and it may seem as though I hate him, I know deep down I still love him.

Returning to Arizona, I decided not to go home so I took my bag and went to the clinic on a Taxi. Reaching there I touched my hair a little bit to cover the bruise on my face before I proceeded into the clinic.

“ Hailey! What are you doing here, isn’t today supposed to be your off day?” doctor Stimson approaches me.

I turned my face to avoid him seeing the bruise on my face.” Um. Yes sir but I just feel like being here today in Case you need me for anything.”

“ Alright then. I think I’m going to need your help finding an important file on one of our patients, come with me.” He continued to has office and I followed him.

“ Check for Nicole Goodman’s files, there are some information I’d like to recover from there. Thank you.” He instructed while his eyes are glued on the file in his hand.

I found the file he had asked for and gives it to him while he sits in his office chair.

“ oh, thank you. He raised his head to take the file from my hand. Hailey, what happened to your neck?”

“ Sorry sir?” I didn’t understand what he was talking about at first until he pointed at my neck.

“ Is that a scar on your neck?”

I touched it and it burns harshly. “ ouch!”

“ How did you sustained such injury on the neck, pardon me if I may ask?” doctor Stimson’s focus stuck on my face as he examined my expression.

“ Oh, I don’t really remember may be it’s an insect bite or something.” I lied to cover up the truth.

“ It doesn’t seem like that to me Hailey. Sit down, let’s talk.” He gestured with his hand.

I sat down still avoiding making eye contact with him.

“ Hailey, do you know why I offered you this job?”

“ No sir.” My voice sounded faintly.

“ Well it’s because there’s something I see in you, something about you makes you stand out in the crowd Hailey. You are a strong woman and maybe I might not be aware of what's going on in your life but I believe that you can do anything and you won’t let anyone or any situation put you down.”

Initially, I never understood why my employer would tell me something like this but I realized after a while, sometimes the universe speaks to us through people especially during the down stage of our lives and on that very day she spoke to me through doctor Stimson .