Chapter 22
It was around seven a.m. when I woke up suddenly. I cursed myself for falling asleep. I must have slept for forty minutes. I got up, admiring the sun shining through the window. I was about to go to it to let some fresh air in when I noticed Alejandro moving a lot. I rushed to his side in a second. He looked troubled.
My breathing quickly accelerated, but I wasn’t going to let my emotions get in the way. I quickly got a small towel, dampened it with the coldest water, and wiped Alejandro’s head. He was mumbling something. When I got closer, I heard him saying my name. I grabbed the phone and called Doctor Rodriguez.
“Doctor, he’s burning up, I gave him the medicine, but he’s still hot! I am applying cold compresses, but it’s not helping.”
“You have to go get him the medicine I prescribed, Amelia. He probably has an infection. We have to get the fever under control.”
“I am going to the pharmacy at Casa del Carmen, it’s the closest one, from what Alejandro told me. Can you make sure I can get the prescription for him there?”
“Yes, and if you need me when you get there, call me.”
I changed his bandage, disinfected the wound as indicated by Doctor Rodriguez, and put on a new bandage. I forced him to swallow some water, but he was still delirious. I could not understand what he was saying. There was no time to waste.
I grabbed one of his jackets, money from his wallet, the car keys, and the phone. I wrote a note in case he woke up looking for me. I ran to the car and started driving. Thankfully, the phone GPS was working, so I managed to find directions to Casa del Carmen. I ran into the store with the prescription information. I had to compose myself. The last thing I needed was to seem panicked or scared and have someone call the cops.
The supermarket was gigantic, but after asking a few people, I finally got to the pharmacy window. The pharmacist ended up being a little suspicious based on the medication I was buying, so I called Doctor Rodriguez, who then called the pharmacy directly. The man—short with a thick figure—seemed distrustful of strangers. He was staring at me with a frown on his face. I tried to give him my best smile, but he was not biting.
“Ahora regreso,” he said after he hung up.
He went to the back for an eternity. I felt relieved when I saw him return with the medication.
I grabbed additional alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, gauze, and everything I needed to heal the wound. Thankfully, it all totaled an amount that Alejandro had in cash, as I was afraid to use the credit cards.
Once done, I ran back to the car and drove as quickly and safely as I could—although my shaking hands made it quite difficult—and got back to the house in record time. I parked the car and ran up the stairs two by two. When I opened Alejandro’s bedroom door, I saw a woman standing next to him, kissing him. She got startled when I entered the room, eyes shooting fire.
“Quien eres tu? Que le paso?” screamed the stranger, clearly concerned.
“Who are you?” I answered while I put the bags down on the floor.
I did not have time for a conversation. I proceeded to open the medication and went to Alejandro, almost pushing the woman out of the way.
“Quien eres?” screamed the woman, violently grabbing my arm.
“Fuck off!” I shouted, pushing her away. “He is burning up. I have to give him his medication!”
I grabbed a glass of water. I lifted Alejandro’s head off the pillow and forced him to swallow the pills.
His eyes were slightly open, and he was trying to talk, but he did not have the energy to do so.
“Don’t talk. It’s okay. I’m here. It’s going to be okay,” I whispered as I gently laid his head back down on his pillow.
I grabbed the towel, ran to the bathroom to refresh the water, and came back in to dab it on his forehead, trying to bring the temperature down. Doctor Rodriguez had also prescribed a shot. That was probably why the guy was refusing to give me the prescription at first.
With slightly trembling hands, I filled the syringe with the liquid and put it in Alejandro’s arm, as the doctor had explained.
Luckily, I had taken a first-aid training course in high school and learned the basics of administering a shot from Martha. She had a severe nut allergy, and I had wanted to be prepared should she ever need my help. Once again, I was so thankful for Martha and all she contributed to my life.
Alejandro was very slowly calming down. I was still wiping his face, caressing his hair, his hand, trying to reassure him with my voice. I had completely forgotten about the stranger in the room until I heard her clear her throat in frustration.
I got up to face her.
“Okay, I came here with Alejandro last night, you are the one I found here trespassing as I went to get him some medication, so I am the one asking questions here. Who are you?”
“I am Elena,” she responded with an attitude and an accent. “Soy su mujer! Asi que quien eres tu?”
The woman took a few steps in my direction, her gaze inspecting me from my feet to my head. She claimed to be Alejandro’s woman and wanted to know who I was. Elena was a bit taller than me; she was petite with curves in the right places. Her pitch-black hair went down the length of her back, and her brown eyes were shooting sparks at me.
Then what was Karina? It wasn’t my place to correct her. Nor was it my place to feel the green poison of jealousy coursing through me as she stared.
“I don’t owe you an explanation,” was all I had the strength to say.
“Amelia, Amelia.”
Alejandro was calling for me. I quickly turned around and went to him. I took his hand, refreshed his compress, and caressed his face. I almost bent to kiss him when I remembered Elena was there, looking like she would jump at me at any moment if I kept touching Alejandro.
“My name is Amelia,” I responded, turning toward Elena. “Alejandro and I got into a situation, and he got hurt. He saw a doctor last night, and I am trying to bring his fever down.”
I didn’t like her, but I put myself in her position. I understood that she was worried.
“How did you get in here?”
“I live next door, in the house Alejandro bought for me,” she said, every word emphasized by her beautiful, thick accent. “And I have a key. I check up on this house for him when he is not here.”
She was more proficient in English than I thought at first. I was not going to speak Spanish with her. No reason to make her life easier.
“I see,” I said coldly.
There wasn’t much I could say when Elena jiggled her key set in my face to emphasize her point. She walked by me and went to Alejandro. She started caressing his head, and tears came out of her eyes.
I had to clench my hands into fists, burying my nails in my palm, to resist the urge to grab this intruder by the hair and push her out of the house. She seemed honestly concerned about Alejandro, and I could sympathize with that, but she was touching what was mine. I shook my head, trying to get rid of that idea, but I couldn’t shake it. I knew he wasn’t mine, but my heart had a mind of its own.
“You have to let him rest,” I finally interrupted, lips tight, trying to end the torture I was feeling at seeing another woman close to him.
Elena got up reluctantly and walked to the window.
“He will be okay, right?” she asked, tears falling down her cheeks.
“I will do everything I can,” I admitted. “And I welcome your help,” I conceded in an effort to make peace—whatever it took for Alejandro to get better. “But no one, and I mean no one, can know we are here. His life is in danger.”
Elena looked at me with scared and questioning eyes. I thought it was best to tell her this. I wasn’t sure I could trust her, but her sorrow and concern for Alejandro seemed candid, and I didn’t want the other people in the neighborhood to know we were there.
“Está bien,” accepted Elena.
I was torn. I didn’t want to owe this woman anything, but we needed groceries. I wanted to have some food for Alejandro to eat. I could ask her to stay with him, but the idea of leaving her alone with him made the hair on the back of my neck rise.
“Would you be able to go to the mercado? He has to eat,” I explained, hoping she would be willing to run the errand.
“You go. I will stay here with my boyfriend,” she said, her hands on her hips. “I don’t know how to drive,” she added with a satisfied smirk on her face.
I wanted to scratch that stupid smile off her lips. But I didn’t think I had a choice. I had to accept Elena’s idea. That would allow me to call the doctor. I gave Alejandro more water and took his temperature again. It seemed to be going down, and he was sweating a little less. I caressed his face. “I will be right back,” I whispered before I headed back out to Casa del Carmen.
The grocery store was very nice and had everything. I bought some meat, fish, taco shells, bread, fruits, leafy greens, spinach, coffee, and everything needed to make some soup and solid meals for the week. I still had a good amount of money left from his wallet.
One of the employees was nice enough to help me put all the provisions in the car. I drove back like the devil was behind me. My hands were sweating, my heart racing as I imagined Elena touching him or kissing him. Alejandro was an asshole, like all other men, with countless girls adoring him, none of them enough to satisfy him. And he apparently expected me to be one more in his little harem.
I realized that this was probably the first time in my life that I felt real, raw, almost blinding jealousy. None of the men I had dated previously had ever elicited such a visceral reaction from me, likely because I was never really emotionally involved. Most of those men had been handpicked by Richard himself, which was likely a big part of the problem in the first place. In my anger, I almost forgot to call the doctor. He was pleased with the small progress and made himself available if I needed anything else.
When I got back to the house, I called out Elena’s name so she could come help me, but she refused to join me. It had only taken about an hour, but I was concerned that Alejandro would wake up and decide to go look for me, so I moved as fast as I could, filling the kitchen with the provisions. I had bought a good amount of already cooked food, anticipating not having time to prepare anything from scratch for a day or two. I quickly heated up some fresh caldo de pollo and added some fresh spinach and cooked beans. I grabbed one of the Gatorades and the vitamins I had bought and hurried upstairs.
Elena was there, of course, sitting next to Alejandro, caressing his face, holding his hand. As I got closer, I noticed that his eyes were slightly open. He looked at me and smiled. I ignored Elena and went straight to him. Elena reluctantly got up.
I put a big pillow behind his back. He was still dozing off, but I brought the bowl with me and sat next to him, urging him to drink some of the soup. He didn’t want to eat, but he didn’t have the strength to fight me, so he let me feed him. My heart melted with relief when I saw his usual mocking smile slowly draw on his face. He was staring at me now, clearly enjoying being taken care of.
I almost jumped when I heard Elena scoff, having forgotten that she was still in the room. She suddenly walked to Alejandro, standing between me and him.
“Mi amor, que te paso?” she asked, almost crying, grabbing his face between her hands.
“I’m okay, Elena,” answered Alejandro awkwardly. “I will call you, I promise, pero ya dejame descansar.”
Elena lingered a little bit more but got the message that he wanted her to go and let him rest.
“I think you should leave your keys here,” I said before I could stop myself. “It is safer that way—for her and for us,” I doubled down, looking back at Alejandro, trying to hide my real motive.
The last thing I wanted was for her to just appear out of nowhere. Alejandro raised his eyebrows and looked like he was hiding a smile. I was divided between pettiness and embarrassment for my behavior.
“Tiene razon,” he agreed, never losing sight of me. Elena wasn’t budging.
“It’s safer for you, Elena. I have people trying to harm me, as you can see,” he added, looking at her for a few seconds before turning his gaze back toward me.
Elena’s eyes grew wide. She threw her keys at the bed and finally left, slamming the door behind her without a word.
I continued to feed Alejandro silently, avoiding his mocking gaze the best I could. I felt flustered and could feel my cheeks burning with satisfaction and shame at the same time. When I could no longer take it, I got up.
“I think you can feed yourself the rest of the soup.”
“I much prefer when you feed it to me,” he teased with his usual smooth, deep voice.
The smirk was fully drawn on his face now. He was surely feeling better already. I ignored him, looking out the window. I hadn’t realized how close the house was to the ocean. I could see the waves gleaming under the sun.
“You like the view?”
“It”s perfect,” I whispered almost to myself. “I find the ocean mesmerizing. A fascinating and terrifying reminder of how lucky we are to live but how insignificant we are in the world.”
“Yes, this house is very different from the house I grew up in, but the view, the smell…it’s all those little things that take me back,” he said. We remained peacefully in silence, not wanting to ruin the moment.
When Alejandro finished the soup, I moved the tray to the table. “I have to change your bandage again. We need to avoid another infection.”
Alejandro acquiesced and let me unwrap him and start disinfecting the wound before wrapping it back up with new bandages. He was scrutinizing my every move. I was trying to not get distracted by his inviting golden-tan chest or those arms that made me feel so protected when they held me close. His eyes caught mine when I looked up.
“What?” I asked, feeling a bit defensive.
“I love watching how you take care of me,” he admitted.
His honesty tore me apart. He wasn’t mocking me this time; he was letting me in.
Against my better judgment, I leaned toward him and kissed him. I felt his breathing immediately accelerate as he held my face to pull me closer to him. Heat rose up my body, trying to consume me, as I enjoyed the warm taste of his tongue in my mouth. My hands went up to his face, wanting to hold him there forever, but I gently leaned backward. I didn’t want to make him tired. I got up from the bed, clearing my throat, avoiding eye contact.
“You should rest,” I said. “We don’t want your fever to rise again.”
I brought him the last pill that he needed to take on a full stomach, as well as the multi-vitamins. I moved the pillows and helped him lean back.
I could tell Alejandro was fighting it, but the last medication was supposed to help him relax and rest. After a few minutes, Alejandro was snoring. Satisfied with myself, I checked the time. It was nearly noon, too early to sleep even if I was tired, so I decided to take a better look around.
I ventured into his closet to get him a change of clothes and glared at some of the women”s clothing I found there as well. I needed a change of clothes too, but I had too much pride to try those on. By the size, they would probably not fit me. They probably belonged to Elena, I thought as the vise of jealousy coursed through my veins.
I gave myself a house tour. There were three good-sized bedrooms and three comfortable bathrooms on the second floor as well as a laundry room. There was a smaller bedroom and bathroom by the kitchen on the first floor with a separate living room, as well as a half bathroom in the shared area. There was a three-hundred-sixty-degree balcony going around the second floor and gorgeous patios outside of every room on the first floor.
The side of the house that faced the ocean had many glass sliding doors, giving one the illusion that they were right there on the beach. There were two gorgeous living rooms, a reading room, a dining room, and an exercise room.
The house was simple yet gorgeous, and had a peaceful atmosphere throughout. All the light-blue, light-green, and white colors were carefully selected to create a vacation ambiance with some paintings bringing a rush of peaceful colors in certain rooms. This house was a beach lover”s dream come true.
I spent some time in the kitchen, cooking chicken soup. I would eventually make him some hearty meals, but for now, he needed to regain his strength and stay hydrated.
I went back upstairs and picked the room closest to his as mine. It was time to shower, so after taking his temperature again, I borrowed a pair of boxers from his closet, as well as the smallest short-sleeve white shirt I could find. I put my jeans in the washer and placed my underwear and white shirt in the bathroom sink with some water, soap, and Clorox to soak for a bit.
As my clothes were getting cleaned, I took the time for a proper shower. The bathroom was, of course, equipped like a hotel, fully ready for unexpected guests. I put my jeans back on when they were ready and dry. I managed as best as I could with Alejandro’s shirt, tying the bottom in a knot right above my hips in the back. The shirt kept falling over one of my elbows, but it would have to do for now. My shirt was clean but was still stained with blood, and it would take a bit more time to fix that. I found a bottle of hair mousse to help control my unruly curls. I looked at my figure in the mirror.
I could see the dark circles under my eyes, and my smile lines showed. My face reflected the whirlwind of a mess my life had been since my dreaded birthday party, which seemed so silly now. So much had changed in the past few months of captivity, and I didn’t really recognize myself. I remembered my life before, but it felt like I was watching a movie of myself, unable to distinguish reality from fiction.
After I composed myself, my feet took me back to Alejandro’s room to check on him. His temperature was completely back to normal, and relief that the worst seemed to be behind him washed over me. There was no blood on the bandages for once.
I lay down on the bed next to him. I loved seeing him at peace like this, no frowning, just pure invigorating sleep. Every single feature on this man was perfect, created by the devil himself to drive my senses wild. I lay there, enjoying his masculinity without scrutiny or interruptions.