Quenched Flames

“I can't believe you added sugar to my coffee! You all must be stupid. Do you think I get my money from trees? Whoever added sugar to my coffee better pack their stuff and consider themselves sacked. Get out of my face. You disgust me. As the head cook, you should have supervised this. Looks like you have another job waiting for you. I cannot condone all this. I give every one of you nine months to find another job and get out of my house.”

"Sir, you requested sugar to be added to your coffee. Isabelle made sure she asked. She needs this job. Her mother is seriously ill, and the pay she gets from working here is her little way of helping her mother."

"Are you saying I'm a liar, or I have lost my mind, or maybe the fire burnt a part of my head that has affected my brain? Who gave you the right to reply to me in such a manner? You have no respect for me anymore. You have quickly forgotten that I feed you. Ever heard of the proverb, "never bite the hand that feeds you"? Well, you just bit it. Pack your stuff, and get out of my house alongside with the so-called Isabella," he said.

"You are despicable. All I ever did was love you. For God’s sake, I am old enough to be your mother. Your mother raised you better than this, and your wife will turn in her grave with this disgusting attitude of yours. We all quit. We have been meaning to tell you this for a long time. Enjoy your miserable life in loneliness. We all tried our best."

He picked up a tall ceramic vase and threw it at the wall, causing it to shatter into pieces.

"You will not mention my wife," he said as visible bulging forehead veins started to show on his head. "You all can leave for all I care!"

"What happened in here? Was there a hurricane close by? The house is so much in disarray. Hello? Where is everyone?" Rachel questioned.

A loud glass shattering sound from upstairs indicated just one thing which has become a familiar occurrence lately. Rachel ran upstairs, flying over two steps at a time, in a bid to stop Mr. James from whatever havoc he was rendering to himself or the house which has become a usual pattern. Just as she was about to enter his room, a piece of sharp glass connected with her upper arm, penetrating her skin. She screamed at the top of her voice due to the impact of pain caused by the glass.

"I told you all to get out. What are you still looking for her... " he stopped mid-sentence as soon as he realized what he has done and rushed towards Rachel who took a few steps back trying to avoid him.

"My God. What have I done? I am so sorry; it wasn't my intention to hurt you. I will never hurt you. I mean, I thought you went out. Can I please just see it? I promise I won't harm you. I just want to take a look at it if it is something I can handle. I promise to be a gentleman." Rachel, out of fear for what he could do next, dashed out his room and out of his house and ran as fast as her thin legs could carry her without even looking back.

It's a few minutes past six, and Rachel is nowhere to be found. He placed a call through to every hospital he could think of in the area and none of them seemed to have taken in any Rachel Smith. Her mother would be disappointed at what he had become. She was there for him during the fresh months of the fire incident. She was his shoulder to cry on despite the times that he went too far by lashing hurtful words at her; she still stood by him and stayed up till she was sure he was fast asleep, and all he could do was repay her by hurting her daughter. He just knew that the one person he was supposed to watch over would never return to him. That left only him in this gigantic house because all the household agencies had bitterly turned down their services.

It's a shame that as common as her number was, he didn't have it. He had been so blinded by rage. Once upon a time, he used to look after her and scare off bad boys because her mother was usually busy. She had no time for her, and the remaining years she was supposed to look after her daughter, she spent them looking out for him before cancer crept into her blood and death finally took her away. They had both been through a lot, and she still had this ever-smiling face. He wished she could share her strength with him. She was just twenty-one and in her semi-final year in college, and she could handle her emotions way better than he could. A twenty-eight-year-old man. He should bow his head in shame.

Their quarters were just right behind his house, so there was no way she would have entered that he wouldn't have noticed. He could virtually see everything going on just from where he stood. He had once seen her naked from his balcony. She had grown into a woman. All it took was one stir deep down that made him completely distance himself from her. She worked for him during the evenings, so they saw less of each other.

He had no idea why she still stuck around even after her mothers' death, but he was sure she needed the pay. He would never forget that one time his wife questioned his love for her. "Do you love me at all, or did you just marry me because I was pregnant with your child? Because I see the way you look at Rachel," she had said. He would have sworn that his heart stopped for a second when she had asked him. He had always tried to bury such thoughts of any emotions towards Rachel.

She didn't wait for him to answer the question because she ran off and later came back saying she didn't want to know the answer, but he was sure to clear the air. He loved his wife so dearly. It hurt that his beloved wife and son died from inhaling excess carbon dioxide. They went on a vacation to one of his houses by the beach. That very night, Sabrina had dismissed all the workers, saying she wanted alone time with her family. She had prepared dinner and forgot to tighten the gas, investigators had found. What she last said was that she wanted to heat the baby's food, and that's when he noticed the strong smell of something burning. He tried to save them. He called the fire department and rushed into the kitchen, but he couldn't see properly. The kitchen was covered in flames and smoke. The last thing he remembered was Jason's screams in between sobs before a large stick of wood knocked him out. To this very moment, he is constantly haunted by those screams in his sleep.

The house was spick and span like nothing happened earlier. He had requested the service of a house cleaning company. Glasses were replaced and so were the other house appliances that were damaged. Just as he was about to put a call through to the police department, a Jeep appeared and parked right in front of his gate. Thanks to good lighting and CCTV cameras, he was able to watch all that went on in his surroundings right from his room.

A boy around her age range had brought her home. He had opened her side of the door and had gently helped her down from the vehicle. He touched her forehead to probably check her temperature and then hesitated before locking his lips with hers. It was a shocking event to Aiden because he had never seen any of her male friends come over before. Not that any of that was his business. He didn't even know why he noticed that. Was he unconsciously monitoring her? It was a question he didn't want an answer to. After what seemed like forever, she finally crept in quietly, watching her surroundings like someone who was about to steal something. He quickly went down to apologize for what happened earlier and to be sure it wasn't something very serious. She was about to take another step when he showed up. Her expression was like that of someone who had just seen a ghost. To think that she quickly had to cover the exposed part of her chest immediately when she saw him gave him a lot of concern. For God’s sake, he could never take advantage of her or anybody. He might be many things, but he wasn't that.

"We live in the same place. You can't hide from me forever. I sincerely want to apologize for what happened earlier. I was angry and wasn't reasoning properly, nor was I in a proper state of mind at the moment. I called all the hospitals around, but all of them confirmed you didn't show up at any. Please, do you mind if I look at it? I see it has been treated. Please, Rachel, can you stop shaking like you are standing in front of a beast. There is so much fear written all over you, and it doesn't sit well with me. It's me, Aiden. Have you forgotten? I don't bite," he said.

"Good evening, Mr. James. I have been attended to. My mother's sister is a nurse, so she treated the wound. I'm really fine. You don't have to worry about me. I know you wouldn't intentionally hurt me, and truth be told, I'm really scared of you. That's one of the reasons why I never come to your house until it's my working hours, which is usually in the evenings. The Aiden I once knew has faded into the background. Every day, your level of anger skyrockets, and when you are angry, you just feel the need to destroy everything that you lay your hands on. I mean, look at the cuts all over your hands. They seem to increase by the day. All your workers have all gone. I tried placing a call to our usual agency that supplies us household staff, but all my calls are going to voicemail. I know you are hurting, Mr. James, but I'm too. We've both lost people we cherish. At least you always had them by your side. I can't say the same for my mother. She was usually very busy tending to your family's needs. It's been three years. Three good years since it occurred. You have refused to take care of yourself. You hardly touch your meals, and you are growing thinner by the day. You hardly step out of this house. The gym has become your hiding place. Once upon a time, I used to run to you, so you could protect me from those bullies and bad boys, but now it's funny how it's you I'm running away from. I'm sorry I tend to blab when I'm tired and stressed. I may have crossed a line with some of the things I said. I'm sorry, sir. If you don't mind, I'd like to retire to my quarters," she said.

All her words hit him straight in the heart and in the head. She was the only one who had the guts to talk to him like this and get away with it. He knew he looked unkempt, but that was nobody's business. He wasn't going anywhere, and all the work he did from home; besides, if he decided he wasn't going to work for the rest of his life, he wasn't going to feel the impact. The money was still coming in from all his chains of business. All he had to do was give out commands and that was it. He had enough money to last forever. The wealth of James had been stored there right from the time of his ancestors. He knew that she was afraid of him but for her to openly confirm it was a bullet to his chest. And to think that while her mother should have been attending to her needs, she was busy overseeing his while she was alive. He would forever be indebted to her. He knew most of the things Rachel had said will continuously be ringing in his head for a long time.

"Crossed the line with some of your word choices? Yes. And what's with the "Mr. James"? You can call me Aiden. Your aunt must hate me at the moment. As I said, I'm sorry. It wasn't my intention. I hope you can forgive me. Feel free to come to me if you need anything, and you don't have to stay if you don't want to. I know you hate me right now for stealing time that you could have spent with your mother. I wish I could make up for it, trust me. I will forever be indebted to her. Just in case you need anything, please feel free to ask me. It's the least I can do. You can come live with me if you find it very quiet and lonely there. This house is big enough, so you don't have to worry about having to cross each other's path."

"Thanks. I think I'll stick to Mr. James, and I think it will be more convenient staying in my quarters. You indicated when you cut me off that you and I weren't in the same social class, and I understand there's a line between the rich and poor, and I am not ready to cross it. You don't have to be worried about my aunt. I told her it was an accident, and I won't be going anywhere anytime soon because, well, I need the pay for my college fees. Like I said earlier, I'm sorry for crossing the line with the things I said. I'll be sure to control my mouth next time. Good night, sir."

So, she noticed he cut her off. It wasn't because of social class; he was trying to save his marriage. He almost corrected her. They had once been so close his mother had thought she was the one he was going to marry. Everyone thought so too. He did too, at one point, but then he was worried about the age difference, which was quite much, but then again, age was just a number. “You of all people know that things had started to go downhill for them from the moment you found out one reckless night between the sheets with Sabrina had led to the formation of a baby,” his inner voice whispered.

He wasn't about to tell her he had paid for all her college fees and that the money she had been paying to her school had been transferred to an account for her.

He was more than happy that her mother had kept to his wishes of not letting her know he had been paying her fees since high school and that he bought her current car, as well as all the cars she had ever used. He had even bought her shoes and clothes and lied that his mother had sent them to her, knowing she wouldn't have accepted them if she knew they were coming from him. He sure sounded like a desperate person when he said she could move in. Truth be told, he needed the presence of someone else in his apartment. He was due for a shave and a new haircut. “What if it was time to heal,” he questioned.