The CEO'S syndrome

CHAPTER SEVEN: Still inlove?

  

Jake did not come for a booty call, like she had suspected earlier. He had so much to drink at some bar and came to her house, smelling and looking like a complete mess. He's drunk.

"Don't stand there like some moron. Help me in", he slurred.

How did she miss that? She should have spotted his drunken state over the phone. It would at least prevent her the headache of having to spend the night with a drunk man, under the same roof.

As she watched him struggle to balance himself but failed at every attempt, she wondered if she could hurriedly close the door on his face and lock the door. Would she succeed?

Or she could throw some hate speech at him and watch him leave in denial. 

And she had every right to make him feel hurt. This guy meant the whole world to her, before he broke her heart a million times. She loved him with all her might but he saw her as a tool and got rid of her, when he found the tool unneeded.

"Very well. You can stay mute as long as I will be here", overenunciating the consonants and vowels he voiced out, he pushed her away from the entrance and slumped on her sofa.

Angela inhaled and exhaled. Deep down, she knew that she would not leave him outside, especially when he was totally drunk. She still loved him. She would be glad if he had come to make up. She was more than willing to forgive him.

She rushed to his side and helped him take off his shoes and socks. She tried to help him stand but he gently shoved her away.

"Go away, I did not come to be in your arms. I just needed somewhere to crash for the night".

Angela murmured a good night and went to bed, disappointed.

  

                  …

The delicious aroma of fried sausages and eggs alerted Jake senses. He stood up from the living room floor, he fell asleep last night and ended up at the kitchen entrance.

He stood quietly as he watched her work. Angela turned around to pick a bowl from the kitchen island in the middle, when she sighted him.

She turned to face him and spoke softly with a small smile on her face. "Good morning"

Jake cleared his throat like a man caught in the act and breathed, "Good morning"

"I made-. Sorry, I am making breakfast, perhaps you could join me?"Angela was flustered. It felt weird speaking to him like normal couples do, after the break up. And they were not a couple. Not anymore.

No. That was the exact word at the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.

Instead he said, "I would appreciate that. But I need to take a shower first, I feel like shit".

"Right. Let me prepare bathing water-"

"No, there's no need for that. I can manage on my own".

 He turned around and took two steps away, only to turn back to her as his mind threw a crazy image of Angela ruining his things, he still had left in her house at him.

"By chance, huh, did you touch any of my things, like to damage them for some kind of revenge".

"Your things are intact", Angela assured.

"Okay, Thank you". He smiled as he left, relieved.

Jake came out fifteen minutes later, freshened up and dressed in his spare clothes for work. When her orbs landed on him, the beautiful memories they made flashed through her brain. 

She remembered the days they would share a bath together. Those beautiful days, when Jake worshiped her body. How she would sit and watch him dress up finely. She missed her Jake. She really did.

He sat across Angela, who patiently waited for him before she broke her fast. She hurried a little prayer before filling his plate and doing the same for herself.

After the food, Jake thanked her immensely. When he was about to walk past the front door, she stopped his movements with her words.

"Jake? Uhm. My door is always open, you know, if you need someplace to spend the night".

Jake nodded with a smile on his face and walked out.

Last night, when he was clouded with the influence of Alcohol, he behaved like a dork. The least he could do now was to thank her for taking him in and not throwing him out, like he truly deserved.

                      …

"Babe, is something wrong? You have been spacing out all day", Sophia snapped her fingers as she broke yet another reverie Angela seemed to be trapped in.

Angela mumbled an apology and forced a forkful of salad into her mouth. Her appetite for food had left with Jake. She seemed lost in a trance as she chewed slowly.

"Earth to Angie! Babe what is going on?", Sophia asked, she was beginning to get worried.

"Sorry, it just- a lot has happened since the last time we saw each other", Angela massaged her temple.

Sophia looked at friend like she just told her that chickens now have fins and snapped, "Bitch, we had dinner together last night".

Angela let out a humorless laugh, "I know right. Before that, we went shopping together".

"Spit. It. Out", Sophia huffed as she waited for her friend to speak.

Angela swallowed the lump in her throat and looked towards the window as she stated, "Jake came around".

"The nerve of him! Now he comes begging? I trust you, you sent him away. Right?"

Angela swallowed again. At that moment, she envied her friend. The fearlessness her friend poses, the courage to shout at him and send him far away. Instead, she was more than willing to have him around.

"Right? Say something!", Sophia asked wearied.

Angela turned to face her, Sophia saw the answer she was desperate for, clearly written on her face.

"Oh my God! You let him in. You slept with him", Sophia jumped into conclusions.

"I'm not that stupid, you know. He came drunk last night. He slept on the sofa. We only had breakfast together", Angela replied in one breath.

Sophia released the breath she did not notice she was holding in.

"Next time,do not allow a dick like him into your house"

"I already invited him to come anytime he wants".

"Angela, this guy used you. He's only going to hurt you", Sophia protested, "Let him stay far away from you, that's where he belongs okay?"

Angela wiped a tear drop that rolled down her face. Sophia stood up and hugged her friend,

"It's okay dear, it's fine if you want to be at peace with him. But, I want you to always remember that he left. There's no future for the two of you".

Pecking her friend on the head, she asked, "Now, how about a girls time at my place?Tonight "

Angela nodded her head again. Sophia is a real sweetheart. She was always there for her. What would she do if Sophia was not in her life?