Unfortunate events
CAMILLA
~•~
I took the first cab I could find and made my way back home. Well, not exactly home since I lived with Freddie, but you know what I mean. All through my journey, I found myself looking back more times than I ought to. As though mister Ivan's house would appear from the blues and I would be called in once more. Yes, he was a complete and absolute jerk, but something was deeply wrong with him.
His case was not that of induced depression or a lost soul that needed saving. He needed all the help he could get, all the help that he had refused in the past. He must have paid a fortune to get all those doctors to give him their time of day, and again, he was very famous. But, if they were not able to help, who did I think I was?
The cab halted in front of Freddie's apartment and I slipped out of the car and walked sloppily in my block heels until I got to the front of the door. I leaned against the wooden door as my hands skimmed through my bag, in search of the house keys. I waited to hear the jingling sound of the keys in my bag, but the sound never came.
Alarmed, I leaned out of the door, lowered my head and opened the bag. I could have stuck my head into the leather, just to find my keys. It was obvious, I had forgotten it.
I groaned in frustration and kicked my left leg against the wooden door…hard. Maybe I thought the door would feel my frustration and pain, but that did not happen. I was the one who ended up with a seemingly broken toe that hurt badly, and another new thing to be frustrated about.
I picked my phone from my bag and proceeded to call Freddie. Perhaps, he had a spare key lying around somewhere. Maybe under the mat, or somewhere else…please God! Anywhere else!
I dialed his number and waited for his voice at the other end.
"Yo! Babes. I'm at work."
I rolled my eyes. I was not supposed to, I know, but I just could not help it! I mean, I knew he was supposed to be at work.
"Yes, dumb dumb, I know."
"The fuck you calling me for then?" His voice rang in my ears, as well at the telephone noises that surrounded him, the loud cries and sounds of tea pouring into a cup.
I heaved a sigh and looked around me.
"Do you happen to have any spare keys lying around outside your apartment? You know, just incase you left yours somewhere."
There was a short ten seconds silence between the both of us, a very long ten seconds it was.
"Yes, I do have spare keys…"
Thank you Universe!
"...and I happened to give them to you this morning. Camilla, what have you done with my house keys?"
You know what? Scratch that. Fuck you universe!
"Freddie, look. I'm back home now and I think I left my keys in the house. But, that's not the issue, how do I see you to collect yours?" There was no time for us to banter words, I really needed to soak myself in a warm bath. I could already see myself naked in the bathroom at this point.
I heard him sigh at the other end of the phone before he spoke.
"Fine, you'll have to come to my workplace."
I blinked twice. He did not really mean that, did he? Or did he?
"Freddie, I can't…"
"Or you'll stand outside till when I return by 8pm. You've always done crazy things Camilla, that should not be a problem for you, right?"
Now, I loved my best friend, believe me. But, when he got like this…you know, the part where he uses the fact that he knows me too well to make fun of me, I just want to grab hold of his neck and bang his head against a brick wall repeatedly until he bled to death.
"Fine." I ended the call and slipped my phone into my bag. I stepped out of his front lawn and flagged down another taxi, heading straight towards The LA tribune, where he worked.
The cab halted in front of the only God knows how many floored building, and I walked straight into the reception. I requested to see Fredrick Turner, a call was placed to his office and in ten minutes, I found him walking towards me. Elegantly dressed in a royal blue suit jacket, matching pair of trousers and a black inner shirt. Let's face it, I know that I have said it before, but my best friend was a living, breathing epitome of sexiness. And I'm talking all the crispy, bubbling melanin goodness.
He flashed someone a smile before he looked down at me.
"You're home early." He whispered, his tall frame leaning into me and I frowned. I did not want to think about it. But, I knew Freddie would not state it if he did not want an explanation.
"Let's just say the first day did not go as planned."
"Client wasn't worth your time?"
We were now headed towards the exit door. It was prohibited to engage visitors on office grounds.
I rolled my eyes.
"I wish."
He paused abruptly and turned to me.
"Hold up! Now what does that mean?"
I turned my back to stare at him.
"You're really going to make me get into all that?"
"Do you need these keys or not?" He pulled a bunch of keys out of his pocket and wiggled them in front of my face. I stared hungrily at it, and glared back at him.
"Fine. You won't believe who I saw today."
His eyes sparkled with curiosity. The journalist in him was itching to hear what I had to say, he had always had an ear for gossip.
"Ivan Holloway." I blurted out.
His eyes masked with disbelief, before he stared back at me.
"I didn't know billionaire Holloway had a very identical namesake." He spat out, and I fought back the urge to laugh.
It was hard for me to accept that I knew him too.
"No! It was THE Ivan Holloway. Chief executive officer of Holloway Empire. I met him, and we tried to have a conversation, but he just…" My excitement drained from my face.
"...he doesn't want help."
Just like me, Freddie's bubbly eyes were now laddened with pity.
"I mean, it is only normal considering what happened to him."
What happened to him? I arched my brow at him and stepped one foot closer to him. I had not known something had happened to him.
"What do you mean?"
Freddie corked an amused left brow at me.
"You don't know? His wife and child disappeared three years ago. He tried to mask it as a mutual separation, but news got to the press that it wasn't, after a private investigator anonymously leaked a video of him. It was strange, but he withdrew from the world and has been running his empire from the shadows since then. He has not made a public appearance in six months and we doubt he would do so anytime soon. So yeah, I guess he really does need help."
I listened to him with keen ears. It made sense all of a sudden. It was not that he did not want to heal, the problem was he was scared of healing. To heal, he had to face all the unpleasant memories, confront all the demons that lurked in his mind, come face to face with all his nightmares. And I knew it was always easy to wallow in pity than take the first step out of that situation.
Instantly, I snatched the keys from Freddie's hands and cast him my most charming smile, to which he rolled his eyes and shook his head. I turned my back to him and stepped out of the building.
"Thank you Freddie!"
And I meant it, not just because of the keys. I thanked him because now, I knew what I was up against, and I felt more equipped to face it.
~•~
IVAN
~•~
Antonio corked the lid of my plastic bottle of pills and kept it on the drawer beside me. It had been an hour since the…rather beautiful shrink left.
Antonio handed me my anxiety pills and rolled me back up to my room. The man was doing his best for me, and I really appreciated it.
He dropped a bottle of water beside the container filled with my medicine.
"I would go prepare lunch for you now sir." He said, as he turned around. Antonio never spoke when he did not need to. He was halfway across my room when I called out.
"I do not wish to see her again."
I saw the abruptness in his pause. He corked his head backwards and faced me.
"Sir?"
My jaw hardened as I spoke.
"I do not wish to see her again. She should never come back here." I spat out.
"But sir, I…"
"I cannot threaten you with your job, but just do as I say, because that is your job."
I did not want that woman anywhere near me, not again.
Alas, he sighed and nodded to me.
"As you wish, sir. I would send her a mail to that regard immediately."
I scoffed, nodded and turned away from him. I did not look back until I heard my door close behind him. I shook my head and stared down at the medicine by my side.
Bloody pills.