Take it Deep (Take 2) (20 page)

“Je
ssie, I’m shitting bricks here.  I really think there’s something wrong.”

“Try ringing the hotel, maybe he’s taking time out there,” she suggested.

I was so glad she was with me right now, my head wasn’t thinking straight.  I dialled the number and sure enough he was s
till staying at the hotel.  I asked the lady at reception to dial his room for me, but again there was no answer.

“I have no other choice
, Jessie; I’m going to have to go down there after him.  I can’t leave him like this.  It’s all my fault this has happened anyway.”  She looked at me grimacing, I could tell she still felt guilty about what she had done, but there really was no need for her to be.  I was the one that fucked up here, so I had to be the one to sort this out.  My mind and body cried to be with him again anyway.  There was just no other solution.

“Ok
ay, call me please once you’ve found him.  I still feel terrible.”

“Jessie, please don’t do this to yourself, it wasn’t your fault, believe me.” 

I didn’t want to stick around too long so I grabbed all my things and headed out. 

I was on a mission
.

I got to the hotel in no time at all and raced to the reception, hardly giving myself any time to breathe before I spoke.  “Jake Bennett’s room, I need to get in there, now please.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t just let you in a guest
’s room, it’s against hotel policy.”

“Listen lady, I don’t much care for your policy.  I was in his room the night before last and need to get in there again.  Please give me the key.”

“Is there a problem here?”

I looked across and saw Luca standing there with all his
belongings.  I felt terrible asking him for help again after he supplied me with champagne the night before last, but I was desperate.

“The man I
was telling you about on Saturday, he’s here.  I stayed with him that night but then I left.  I’m worried about him.  He’s not turned into work or answering his phone.  He could be injured in there or worse.  You can see this is an emergency.”  I looked at the lady through my last sentence imploring her to see sense.

“Of course, what number is he in?”  Luca asked.

“8124,” I spat out quickly.

“Veronica, please give
the lady the key card to 8124.  I think it may be a good idea if you send someone up with her just in case he needs help.”

She nods dutifully picking up the pho
ne.  I can’t help being terribly grateful to this tall, dark, handsome stranger.

“I seem to be making a habit of saying thank you to you lately, but I truly mean it.”

“Don’t mention it; would you like me to accompany you to the room?”

“No, please, you have done enough.  I can take it from here.” 

I thank him again as a porter comes along to aid me to Jake’s door.  I clutch at the key card, willing myself not to lose it.  I needed to be strong.

I place the card in the door and it opens
straight away.  The porter stands to attention outside, as I make my way in.  The room is dark as the curtains are pulled shut.  I can see bottles of liquor on the floor.  Whiskey, oh God no.  The stench hits me and my legs threaten to cave under.  Jake didn’t know anything about my whiskey phobia, not that it meant anything at this particular moment.  I had to swallow my fear and deal with Jake.  He is important now.

I see the silhouette of him sprawled out face down on the bed.  He has an empty bottle in his hands and the fear soon turns to panic about whether he is ok
ay.  I rush to him, trying to shout his name.  “Jake, Jake,” I cry, desperately trying to pat his face.  He stirs moaning and I nearly sink to the floor in relief.

“Ana, please don’t leave me,” he murmurs.

The words were barely comprehensible, but I knew exactly what he said.  I had to help him—boy has he done it for me in the past.  It was about time I returned the favor.

“Jake
, babes, I’m not leaving you.  I’m going to take you home, okay?”  I see the resemblance of a smile as he tries to speak.

“Home, home where you belong,
” he mumbles.

I waste no more time getting the porter to help me lift him up and take him to the car.

“Don’t you think he needs a hospital?” the porter asked.

“No, I’ll take care of him.  If I think he needs one, I’ll take him, but for now I just want to get him home.” 

I didn’t want to get any hospital involved unless I really had to.  He was off getting plastered when he should have been at work.  I wanted to at least try and save him from any possible trouble he could get himself into.

We mana
ge to get him to the car, but with a certain amount of difficulty considering Jake is a big man.  It was all worth possibly breaking my back over.  It was only what I deserved.  I also felt I deserved the stench from him.  The nausea was unreal at times and the urge to run was immense—but I held firm.

Once I had him in the car, I took his car keys and headed back with the porter.  I tipped him generously and paid the hotel bill for Jake.  I gave them the keys asking them to please ca
ll a pick-up firm to collect his car and bring it back to Jake’s address.  I gave them my number and all the details they needed before running back to Jake.

I picked up a few bottles of water on the w
ay out and set about making the journey to Jake’s house as fast as I could.

Jake stirred quite a bit and mumbled a lot.  I was glad of
it; at least it meant he was still alive.  I was worried about him.  I didn’t know how much he had drunk and it scared me to death.

I got to Jake’s as quickly as I got to the hotel, and ran to the backseat with some water.  “Jake, Jake,” I said trying to rouse him.  “Jake, please sit up.  You have to drink some water.”  He manages to rise and opens his eyes to me.

“Ana, are you real?”

“Yes, baby, please, drink some water for me?”  I place the bottle to his lips and he takes it down in steady gulps.  I try looking in his pocket for the house keys and I spot him smiling.

“Ana, we can’t do this here
.”

“Jake, I need to get you in the house so I can put you to bed.”

“Yes, come to bed with me.  You left me.”

I felt like I had been whipped.  The guilt
that washed over me was vast and unrelenting.  I tried to put all thoughts aside so that I could tend to Jake’s needs.  I pulled at him to get out of the car and wrapped his arm around me. 

I tried so hard to hold my nose so I couldn’t breathe in the smell, but it was no use when I was pulling a dead weight up the stairs to his house.

I finally managed to get him in and up the stairs to his bed.  I laid him down, glancing around his room.  The ache took over remembering all the good memories we used to have here.  I open a window to try and get the smell away and hold a bedside vigil in his comfortable chair.

I sit for what must have felt like hours before Matthew comes in.

“Ana!” he shouts. 

Of course, he must have seen my car.  I rush out of the room and down the stairs to see him.

“Ana, is everything okay?  Where’s Dad?”

I see the worry in his eyes and the guilt quickly resumes.  “He’s upstairs sleeping.  He was staying at the hotel in Fredericksbur
g.  He’s just sleeping off some drink at the moment.”

“What happened?”
he asked, startled.

He placed his bag on the floor and we made our way to the kitchen.  I started making some
coffee, knowing this was going to be a long explanation.  I owed it to him after all. 

“He came to m
e on Saturday night,” I began.  “I led him to believe that there was something between us again, but then I left.  The first I knew he hadn’t returned home was when I got into work, received your text and rang the hotel.”

He scratched his head before deciding to speak.  “I know what dad did was wrong, but can’t you find it in your heart to forgive him?  He is my dad after all and I don’t like seeing him suffer, or you to tell you the truth.  I can see it in your eyes that you’re both miserable.”

I think for a moment, pain still weighing heavily on my heart.  “I just need time, Matthew.  That’s all.  I have always found it so hard to trust anyone and I trusted your dad.  He’s not a bad person, I know that, but what he did just eats away at me at times.  I know I will get over it and I know that he still loves me.  I just need to get my head straight.  I’m sorry it’s not the best explanation in the world, but it’s the only one I have.”

He takes
my hand smiling before pulling me in for a hug.

“If time
is what you need then I’m sure Dad will give you that.  I think he will do just about anything if it meant having you back in his life again.”

I hug him back tightly, the tears threatening for the millionth time. 

“Thank you, Matthew.  You’re so grown up, I sometimes wonder who the eldest here is,” I chuckle, pulling away. 

“Well, someone has to be grown up in this house,” he laughs.

I missed having Matthew around.  He is a great person to have in anyone’s presence.  Always polite and hardly ever complains about anything.  He’s a happy-go-lucky, cheeky chappy and I loved him for it.

I stayed for a little while longer just chatting to Matthew, but quickly realized that Jessie was stuck at work without a car, so had to get going.  I checked on Jake one last time and asked Matthew to contact me the minute he was awake.  He assured me that he would look after him and that he’d call me the moment he slept it off.  I didn’t like leaving him on his own to deal with his drunken father.  Never something a 17-year-old boy should have to endure, but I knew Matthew was competent enough to handle just about anything.

I race
d to work as quickly as I could trying to send Jessie a text in-between red lights.  No matter how cold I felt in the car, I had to have the windows open as the stench was all too much.  The smell was buried in my nostrils and was burning my throat. 

I was a mess by the time I reached work and it showed.  Michael spotted me getting out of the car and rushed over.

“Ana, are you okay?  What happened?”

I couldn’t think of what to do s
o I just rushed into his arms. 

“Why does falling in
love have to be so damn hard, Michael?”

“Oh
, Ana, I’m sorry.  Was it bad?”

Everything was bad.  M
y whole world was falling apart and I didn’t know what to do in order to fix it.  The smell hit me hard again, so I had to run to some bushes to be sick.  God, this day couldn’t get much worse.

“Jesus
, Ana, what’s the matter?”

He pulls my hair from my face as I’m hurling out anything my stomach has to offer. 

I hear Michael on the phone.  “Jessie, you need to meet me outside in the parking lot now.”

I didn’t hear much more after that, just Michael’s voice trying to soothe me.  He hands me some tissue and I’m in the middle of wiping myself up when Jessie comes sprinting across the parking lot.

“Ana, what the hell?  Are you okay?”

I start shaking
my head, “It’s the whiskey smell.  I can’t stand it.”  They both look at me confused awaiting my explanation.

“Jake was in the hotel room stinking of whiskey.  Alan used to drink it before his visits
at night-time.  It’s my phobia.  I can’t stand the smell of it.  Jake’s okay, I’ve taken him home.  I had to get out of there as you needed a lift home, so I ran... again!”

I rush to Jessie’s shoulder and she holds me tenderly like the great friend that she is.

“Michael, please don’t tell anyone about this, okay?  I know I can trust you, but I’m asking as a friend not say anything.  I know Jake will be mortified about the whole thing, so please don’t mention it, even to Jake.”

“Of course not.
  It’s not the first time a man has got hammered over someone they love.  I just hope he’s feeling better soon.”

He
smiles sweetly at me making the tears come again.

“Come on
, Missy, let’s get you home.  I’ll drive.  You’re obviously in no fit state to do it yourself,” Jessie demanded.

I gave Michael a hug and thanked him for tak
ing care of me.  Jessie opened the passenger door motioning for me to get in, and we were on our way.

“I’m really sorry,
Jessie.  I know it’s not the weather for it, but can I put down my window?  It’s the smell.”

She grabs my hand smiling
, and opens all the windows for me.  It was an instant relief. Thank goodness it was a very short drive to Jessie’s apartment, as we would both be suffering hyperthermia at this rate.

I took a shower when we got home grateful that I could slip into something more comfortable.  I later got a text from Matthew telling me his dad was fine and that he was grateful to me for bringing him home.  He told me that they had a father an
d son chat as Jake felt terribly guilty about what he did.  Matthew also spoke to him about me.  I really don’t know where to go from here now.