Jason grumbled to himself as he stepped out of an overcrowded bus. He hated it all. No space. No air conditioning. The smell of sweat. Noisy teenagers. He wanted to let out a cry of frustration. He was having a hard time adapting to that kind of life after the luxury he experienced when he was with Kassandra.
He walked the path till Serena' s apartment building and glanced up towards the top floor, checking her window. That wrench. At least, she could have given him back his car, right? No. She took it off with her. Goddammit, and she was refusing to answer his calls.
He scratched his head, groaning. He had to crash in at a friend' s place but that was so humiliating. Why was the women he loved behaving like that with him? He knew he couldn' t do anything about Kassandra. She always had the upper hand. He shuddered, recalling the way she had kicked him out of the house without hesitation.
Hell. He always felt inferior when it came to her. But Serena? She was his. He did everything for her. So why was she ghosting him like that? He hadn' t seen her since she stole his car. What was he gonna do? His money was running low and payday was two weeks away and this morning, he got a notice from the bank, saying that he had to pay up the $250,000 loan he had taken from Kassandra.
He was going crazy. He could use the money Serena made on her paintings at the art gallery but for that, he needed to meet her first! Did she…somehow leave? He knew she would never go back to her parents since she didn' t get along with them for God knew what reasons. So where was she? He was becoming desperate now.
He took out his phone, wondering who he could called for help as he scrolled down his contact list. He chewed on his lower lips, seeing Lieutenant Megan Brooks' number. That officer could help him search for Serena for sure!
There was one slight inconvenience though. She was one of Kassandra' s good friend. He took a deep breath, calming himself. Maybe she didn' t know yet. His wife wasn't the type to go bitching about him with her friends. If he played his games right, he would be able to get the information he needed.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sitting cross-legged on the floor, beside the bar counter, Serena splatted a lump of brown paint on the surface, feeling constantly angry at Kassandra. After all these days, this was the only thing that was left to be done. While she was in her corner, her friends were casually packing up their things while actively chatting about their love lives.
One of them suddenly knelt beside her, flinging her arms around her neck, "Babe, look at you moping! You still thinking about that asshole?"
"Kinda." She lied, not wanting to tell her about what happened at the gynecologist' s office. It' s been three days now and she still couldn' t get her out of her head. Her friend grabbed her face with her hands and said, "He doesn' t deserve you. Repeat after me."
Serena laughed, pushing her off, "Chill. I' m fine, Pat." Another one walked by her side, ruffling her hair, "You' ll figure it out, hun. Wanna go out for some drinks? Break-up means celebration!" Serena grimaced, "Just go away already. I need to finish that counter." She knelt by her side, embracing her, "Hey, you know you can always call, mmh?" "Yeah, thanks!" She kissed her on her cheek, "Cheer up, babe."
They heard a motorbike roar outside and her friend squealed, "Ooh he' s here. I' d recognize that sound anytime." She pecked her cheek again and said, "Love you. Meet up soon, huh? This was really fun." She smiled at her, waving as her friend went to meet Billy, taking a quick selfie with him before grabbing her bags and hassling outside.
Within the next few hours, all of her friends were gone and she was left with her thoughts again while she was adding some finishing touches. The doctor instantly occupied them, tormenting her. She groaned, remembering her sinful touch. There had been nothing professional about the way she had stroked her, the way she had made her feel. So good.
Her body felt hot just by thinking about her and she wished she could linger in that moment a bit longer. Damn her. How dare she leave her on edge? She let herself lie on the wooden floor, putting an arm behind her head to act as a cushion. She observed the artistic patterns they had painted on the ceiling.
It didn' t make sense that she was attracted to that woman when she was not yet over Jason. Maybe she would never be. He had been the man who gave her everything after all and…took everything from her. It hurt a lot but it hurt even more, knowing the doctor would never forgive her for something she unknowingly did.
For a woman who had three kids, she still looked terribly good. Did Billy and Maria had a picture of their grandchildren? She kinda wanted to see what they looked like…but maybe she would feel even more guilty if she did.
Billy poked his head in the empty bar, "Serena?" She raised her hand from where she rested, "Right here." He was puzzled as he saw the small hand popping up from behind the counter. He made his way around and chuckled, seeing her splayed on the floor, covered with paint, "Won' t you join us for dinner?"
"I think I' ll head home now, Billy." She sat up, grinning, "I abused of your hospitality enough like this." He waved her off with a hand, "Bullshit. That won' t do. You have to at least stay for the opening tomorrow." "I' m sure it' ll be great. Gimme a hand?" She extended her hand and Billy pulled her up in one go. "Woah, so strong! Thanks!"
She instinctively raised her arms above her head, stretching herself, feeling exhausted. Standing in the middle of the room, Billy took a good look around. He never knew a change like that would be so welcoming and warm. He had always been unwilling to make changes to his old bar and it had been crumbling, crushed under the competition from new, more modern bars but now, this place looked as if it belonged. More homely and yet contemporary.
He took out his phone and laughed, "Your gals even made an account for me. Isn' t it amazing?" Serena peered in his phone and chuckled, seeing that it already had eighteen followers. They have uploaded a few pics and she went through them. Yeps. Definitely expert photographers. He proudly said, "The bar is always opened for em and for you, girl."
She saw a violin in one of the posted pictures and she raised her head from the phone, looking around and there it was. A rustic yet elegant violin leaning on a wooden support. "Wow. I never noticed that before." "Haha, Maria brought it from the attic. It' s a nice addition she thinks. I built it from scratch for my little girl. She used to play before all that medical shit took all the years in her life."
She recalled seeing a photo of little Kassandra posing with the instrument in the album she found. It was so adorable and yet, right now, she couldn' t picture the doctor with that. "Oh. How good was she?" "Eh. Fairly good. Anything she played was good to my ears. Maria would disagree though."
She laughed, realizing maybe the doctor wasn' t that good. He began humming a melody and she was amused as he rubbed his beard, trying to recall it.
"Um…What pushed her to become a doctor?" She saw a faint sadness in his eyes and he shook his head, "That. You' d have to ask her but I' m very proud of her. She' s the joy of my life. Even if she barely has time to spare for me and my wife." Billy sighed heavily then and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Come now. Dinner' s getting cold."
Serena again gazed at the violin. It looked so lonely. She closed her eyes, imagining for a second what the doctor could look like, playing with that and she couldn' t conjure an image. She huffed. Maybe her artist brain was fried after all.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Kassandra was furiously filling some forms when Jillian knocked at her door and hesitantly opened, "Er doctor? Knock knock?" She barely acknowledged her, "What?" "Sheesh, that woman really did a toll on you." She raised her head, crossly looking at her.
Jillian shrugged, "Ooh scary. I mean…some patients do moan during the exam but this one—" "Get to the fucking point." "Fine. It' s been four days since that incident and you' re still…pissed." "Get out." "You can' t just take that fucking anger on us. I can deal with it but you made Emma cry, Cass."
Kassandra creased the paper under her hand, somehow confused. She had been so caught up in her own little world of hatred that she hardly saw the harm she has been doing around her, "What…what did I do?" "How the fuck would I know? You constantly shouted at her during the last exam with that patient. You even said that she was good for nothing when she accidentally dropped the scissors!"
She swallowed hard, not believing that she said something like that, especially when she greatly valued her two nurses, "I' m…I' m sorry. It' s just…I' m going through a lot." She rolled her eyes in response, "That doesn' t excuse what you did. Put your personal matters aside. You' re a doctor. You can' t let things get to you." "I know! I know… I' m sorry."
Jillian' s eyes softened and she walked up to her, "Let it out, Kassandra. What' s wrong? How many times should I tell you not to bottle up?!" "It' s...unnecessary. I don' t want to trouble you. I' m your boss." She tsked, "Stupid woman. Come on. Say something."
She took a deep breath and exhaled tensely, "Fine. I gave Jason a divorce. He cheated on me with that woman, Serena Chase. The one who came to my office the other day. And thing is…she' s not bad." Jillian stared at her for a long minute, taking in all she just said before she bluffed out, "You can' t be serious?! Oh my God. Are you alright?"
She felt the tears on the brink of her eyes, "Let me talk. He was in a relationship with her for three years. Three years! I married him only last year and she had no idea he was married to me." "That fucking asshole. I' m gonna kill him."
The intercom buzzed and Charles spoke, "Doctor, Mrs. and Mr. Wilson are here for a screening—." Jillian shouted, slamming her hand next to the intercom, cutting in, "Not now, Charles." Kassandra interjected, pushing her assistant off the intercom, "I' ll be there in a minute. Send them in Room A2."
She stood, rapidly wearing her white coat, "Let' s talk later. Come assist me." Jillian slowly followed her, wondering how she could just pretend everything was alright when it clearly wasn' t. She realized what a horrible friend she had been as she tried to hold up her own tears. She would never let the doctor deal with something like that by her own.