Chapter 5 #4
“This may hurt,” the doctor warns me. I nod and focus on his face while he goes to work stitching me up.
The doctor is maybe thirty years old at most, not that old at all for a doctor.
He has dark hair and brown eyes the same color as mud.
He tries to be gentle, but it doesn't stop the hurt and sting, my hands begin to sweat, he stops a few times when I wriggle too much.
One look from Theo though makes me freeze.
When he finishes, he places waterproof gauze over the top and stands.
Rummaging through his bag, he hands me a bottle of pills.
“Take these three times a day, they will help clear up the infection.
You'll probably want some pain pills as well; you let it get pretty bad.
Take what you need to fight the fever and drink plenty of water.
" I grab the small bottle and read it. Cephalexin, an antibiotic. I nod, and glance up to say thanks, but he’s already gone.
Theo, however, watches me. “Why didn’t you get that looked at earlier? You could have avoided all this.” He motions with his hand. He sounds angry and I drop my eyes to the floor. Wait, this is what he’s angry at me about? The wound?
“Because I hate hospitals,” I answer in a soft voice, almost a whisper. Theo steps closer, his hand guiding my chin forcing me to look at him. His eyes search mine for any deception. I don’t know what he sees but he lets go and strides out, leaving me standing in his office.
Left alone, I make my way back to my desk and sit. I answer emails and phones. Theo strolls back about three hours later and places a glass of water on the desk. “Your antibiotics, take them then eat this. Come and see me when you are done, I need to speak to you. Tobias will be back soon.”
I nod.
He shoves the glass in my hand and waits for me to swallow the tablets down, before shoving a sandwich in my hand, it’s a BMT.
He slides a container of steam toward me as well.
I open it to inspect and he walks away. The sandwich is great, but I’m not expecting chicken noodle soup.
The fragrant broth and the giant chunks of chicken make me drool.
Regardless, I eat quickly, not wanting to make him wait.
I just want to get the scolding over with and hopefully still have a job after.
Nerves kick in as I walk to his office. I go to knock when he opens the door and motions for me to sit across from him at his desk.
Taking my seat, I go to apologize and beg for him not to fire me.
“Just wait, Tobias will be here in a second.”
No sooner has a second passed and in walks Tobias.
He heads over to us and places his hands on either side of the chair I’m sitting in, towering over me.
I look up and swallow. Losing my train of thought, I’m completely stunned by his mesmerizing eyes.
He has on a black suit but for the first time, no tie.
His shirt buttons are undone, revealing his chest. I can tell he has a tattoo but can’t tell what it is.
“We need to talk,” he says, his voice like velvet.
I have to remember to breathe. When I look straight ahead to Theo, he has moved.
He sits on the edge of the desk between my legs.
I gulp, my fear consuming me. Usually, Theo is more laid back, but even he right now is towering over me, making me feel even smaller.
Tobias's heat seeps into my skin through my back. His breath paints my neck. He’s that close.
Tobias's hands slip from the seat to grip my shoulders.
His hands travel down, gliding down my arms. Everywhere he touches goosebumps rise on my exposed skin.
He stops just above my elbows. I shiver involuntarily, Theo notices my reaction and smirks.
His eyes darken a little, and I find my eyes locked on his.
I struggle to look away, only managing to break my gaze when Tobias's hands travel back up to my shoulders. His warm fingers brush my hair off my shoulder. Gazing up, his face is barely an inch from mine. He looks like he’s in a trance, his eyes glazed over as his fingers brush the sides of my neck, gliding lightly over the skin there.
Something swells within me, coming alive.
Sparks move along my skin and my lips part.
A moan escapes, shocking not only me but Tobias.
I quickly cover my mouth with my hands, stunned by my reaction to his warm hands sliding across my skin.
It makes me wonder if the rest of him feels that way as well.
I’m back to having inappropriate thoughts about them again, both of them, and their touch makes the wheels of fantasy turn faster.
I go to escape, and Tobias pulls himself together and walks over to Theo who stays perched on the end of his desk. He watches the entire exchange and doesn’t try to stop it.
Tobias takes a seat beside him. They both stare at me for a second before Theo speaks.
“We know you have been staying in the garage, don’t try to deny it.
We have spoken to Tom who verified.” I want to apologize and beg for my job.
Yeah, pathetic I know, but my job is the only thing I have left,; I can’t afford to lose it too.
“Where are you staying now?” Theo demands.
I try to come up with a believable lie. I suck at lying. I’d never be a good poker player. How the hell am I going to lie to them and not give myself away?
Tobias beats me to it by answering first. “She’s staying at the storage lockers a block from here.” He turned me in! Tobias’s eyes dare me to lie. I know better than to try.
How does he know, though? I've been so careful. No one knows, not even the manager, as it was a weekend, and I hadn’t even had a chance to tell him about my car needing to be stored there.
My hands turn clammy, and a bead of sweat runs down the back of my neck.
Has someone turned on a heater? My heart rate rises, and I hear the pounding inside my head.
I’m about to be fired. I’ll lose the last piece of normalcy left in my life.
Then what? I don’t know what I will do. File bankruptcy, maybe?
Try and get a job at Costco? Every answer isn't enough.
I can never pay my debt back at another job.
“I’m sorry, please don’t fire me. I need this job.” My words sound pathetic and desperate. But I don’t have a choice; they are.
If I lose my job, I’ll have nothing. Maybe they should fire me. I know what is coming, so just get it over with already. Rip that bandaid off quickly.
“We aren’t firing you, Imogen. We are just disappointed you didn’t say anything earlier. We could have helped sooner,” Theo scolds me.
I drop my head in my hands, relief floods through me, making me giddy. I’m not going to lose my job! But how can they help? I got myself in this situation, I can get myself out of it. I don't want help. They need to let me be. I can handle this.
“I promise I won’t trespass again.” I do my best to take back my professional persona. They both stare at me like they think what I’m saying is absurd. I suppose it kind of is; who lives where they work?
“No, you won’t. I spoke to Tom who said you would refuse any help, so I took it upon myself to not give you a choice,” Tobias informs me. He, too, has returned to his business self. I stare blankly at him.
"I don't understand," I blurt. Okay, I lost the whole professional thing, but this is really weird! I’m getting seriously strange vibes from both men and I don't know how to handle it.
“You won’t be staying at the storage locker, either. Actually, there is no longer a storage locker. I have told him to not let you back, and I took the liberty to remove all your belongings to your apartment,” Tobias continues.
“I don’t have an apartment?” I tell him, confused. Where has he taken my stuff?
“I have moved you into our apartment building. You will be staying on the floor below us. This is nonnegotiable and if you don’t accept our help, I will fire you,” he replies. He folds his hands over his knee like the matter is solved.
Why would Tom say that to them? They are dangling my job above my head like a carrot on a string.
I cross my arms across my chest, defiant. This is absurd. I have barely had any contact with them outside the workplace, and now they are telling me I have to accept their offer of help to keep my job. Why the sudden interest in my life?
I don't have a choice at the moment. “Fine,” I say through gritted teeth. This is so degrading and embarrassing. I have never accepted a handout, and it’s killing me inside that I’m being forced to.
Tobias nods, accepting my answer. “Theo will take you home and help you unpack. I will see you in the morning.” He chuckles for some unknown reason.
I raise an eyebrow at him. Theo motions for me to follow and I do.
striding into the foyer, Theo grabs my handbag I keep under my desk and helps himself into it, fishing out my keys.
“We will go get your car from the storage locker, then head to your new apartment.” I roll my eyes at him but follow, anyway.
What else can I do? The elevator trip down to the ground floor is silent.
I don't want to speak to him. When the doors open, Theo grabs my hand and pulls me toward the exit.
I must admit I like his big hand holding mine.
Weird, it is a little chilly. I would have imagined it to be hot.
He keeps rubbing circles into the back of my hand while he tugs me along.
He trudges through the park, cutting through the woods and taking my short cut toward the storage facility.
Has he been this way before? I can’t really picture Theo in his suit marching through here, and what possible reason would he have to walk through the woods to a storage facility in the first place?
It is literally the only thing there on the other side of the small forest.