Chapter 29 - 05/30/2022

Noel wasn't exaggerating. It's the third day. Three days of vertigo feel like it's never going to get better. Dramamine helped but the head still feels numbed. The only time that it doesn't is when it goes to sleep but it can't sleep when the room is getting too cold. Is there something wrong with the ac? "Hhhope" The door is closed. She probably can't hear. "Hhhhope!" This isn't a big apartment. It shouldn't take her this long to get here unless she's not here. She's coming. Footsteps can be heard. "What, what're you doing here?" A mind loaded with foreign substance can't think straight. That is a stupid question. I told him to come. That's why. How long has it been? Too long. He hasn't changed much except for the full beard. That would prevent others from recognizing him. His voice is still the same, deep and sweet. He's as sensitive as ever. He didn't forget either. Strawberries are my favorite. But did he forget what he said before?

"I've been thinking…"

Oh no. Not again. Moving was necessary the last few times. This time sounds like a good reason too. There are more covid cases here but Alaska? "It's boring there. I don't want to go." Hate to sound childish again but he should know why. Fugitives move from one location to another. I'm not a fugitive so "How long do I have to live like this?" It seems that he already knew what I would say because unlike the last time, this time he knew there's no reason for me to say no. "What?" Asking to repeat is necessary since he said more than once that this can't happen and will never happen so what changed? Tears are coming out on its own. Heartbeat is beating out of control. It's crazy to be feeling this way but that's because it's unexpected. No reason is given but that no longer matters because the fact is he's here.

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes, yes, yes"

There's no need to continue. He got it. The firm hug feels different from the first time. The first time was a friend hug. This time, there's love. The touch of those warm lips for the first time feels even better than expected. It's not the strawberries. It's the taste of love. Waiting for the right moment to do more than just kissing seems senseless at this point. Carpe Momentum. It seems that he too feels the same way. It seems that he's been taking very good care of his body. He has tattoos? Ask about it later. Talk about the future can wait too.

"Ohh Christian"

It took him a long time to come around but it's worth the wait. What changed his mind is no longer important. The past is the past. The past can't be changed. Letting go of the past is the only way to move forward, the only way to live. He's here because he's finally able to let go. He's here because he no longer cares what others think of this inappropriate relationship.

"love you"

Two simple words, yet means so much. "Say again." It's not a childish request. For someone as sensitive as he is, he should know why.

"I love you, Brie."

That's it. That sounds so much better and this, this feels...incredible. With the warmth of his body, there's no need to turn down the ac. There's no need for the blanket. It's actually getting hot. This is what love feels like. This is finally happening. This...this is becoming...oddly familiar. As good as it feels, it's now necessary to pull him up because thinking about someone else at this moment is wrong but it's hard not to since that feeling just brought up the past. It's hard to let go of the past, even more difficult to forget the past but that was not love. This is. I love him. So why doesn't this feel any different? Why does this feel so wrong? Why does he look like… "Hope?...no, no, this isn't happening. What are you doing!"

That would've been a good question if she were here. It must be the side effects of Dramamine because that is one hell of a dream. Great. Now the back hurts from sleeping too much. Not only the head, the whole body feels heavy too. The bathroom isn't far but each step to the bathroom needs to be taken slowly in case the dizziness comes back. (Sigh) The bathroom is a mess, not dirty messy but dust is accumulating. Oh no. This is a really bad time. "Hhhhope" The bathroom door is slightly opened so she should be able to hear. Where is she? She didn't go out again, did she? She did the other day after getting a call. Where she went, nobody knows not even Riley who was acting very strange. Twice is enough. No need to tell me to stay home 5 times. (sigh) She did go out. Obviously, she doesn't think cleaning is part of her job. Oh great. No more? "ughh" Crackers will satisfy the stomach for awhile. Pain medication cannot wait. The closest place that will have it is only a few feet away. Hope she does. Hope she's in. It's 6. Where could she be? For someone who doesn't like to go out should be at home watching tv or preparing for dinner. That's odd. There are noises inside. Maybe the doorbell isn't working? "Noel" She should be able to hear the knocking too. "oh" She has a visitor. "Hi, is" Oh good. Noel is here but what happened to her? She looks…different without the glasses.

"you okay?"

It looks obvious, doesn't it? A man wouldn't notice but a woman would. Hope she has Motrin. Oh good. She does not but any brand of ibuprofen will work. "You're a life saver." Four tablets should be enough to last for 2 days. "Are you going out?" They're not casually dressed and she has makeup on so they must be.

"Have you eaten yet? We can bring you back something if you want?"

As tempting as the offer is, it would be impolite to accept since this fella is looking like he doesn't like the idea. Most likely, he has plans. Rejecting the offer is the right thing to do otherwise she's going to find me nosy and annoying. "oh no, no no no. This is not happening." It is. It's definitely not a dream. The door somehow got shut. Noel would be able to help. Better hurry before she leaves. "Hi again" This fella is obviously annoyed so there's no need to ask him. "Noelll, I locked myself out! Can I borrow your phone!" She should be able to hear. He did yet he's not offering his phone. Weird. It's weird for Noel to do the same since she's always eager to help so why is she hesitating? A phone has personal information but I'm not going to look. Why is she looking at him? He knows how to open a lock? Even better. Waiting for Hope would take too long. Besides, Hope might not know how to open the door without breaking it. "How did you" If the body isn't feeling like crap and the mind isn't numbed by Dramamine, it would've have been able to recognize who this fella is sooner. This isn't funny!

Whose idea is this? It can't be Noel's since there's no reason for her to do so. Hope does though. Surprisingly, it's not to test me. It's to test Noel's ability. She's a makeup artist? Who would have guessed? She doesn't look like one even without the glasses but she sure did an amazing job. Hope's disguise looks more realistic than the one she had on that night. The suit with the tie, the different hairstyle and the beard with some light gray strands made the difference. There's nothing wrong with trying to look as real as possible. It would help in her job but why is she acting like a different person? Noel's story of how she once tricked her own parents into believing that she's her sister's boyfriend with a male disguise is pretty funny but why is she smiling? She never smiles, never.

"I forgot the wine. You want some?...I'll get it."

With Noel gone, this is a good time to ask "what?"

"What did I say about asking her for things? Did you already take them?"

Whaaat? She was pretending? That was good acting but it's her fault. "If you hadn't used it all, I wouldn't have asked her. And I don't think she wants to poison me, okay?" Hope just walked away but there's no need to stop talking. "When did you make a copy of my key? You should've asked me first!" Brie said as loudly she could. "I know cleaning is not your job, but can you help me" Brie trailed off after getting the bottle of Motrin on the dining table. "Where was it?"

"Where do you think it should be?"

Saying I looked already would do nothing but sound dumb. "I'm not feeling well, okay? The drug is affecting me." That dream might be the result of it. In one moment, Christian's face was changed to hers in her male disguise with the beard. Then it changed back, again and again. "I have my period too." Hormonal imbalance must have caused that too.

"good for you"

Good for me? What's that supposed to mean? Probably still thinks I'm a prostitute. She might not be a man but she sure is acting like one. It's not only the way she walks to the door to open it for Noel, it's the way she expertly unscrewed the cork and popped it out of the bottle of wine…intentionally hitting the bottle of water that she placed on top of the refrigerator. She's showing off like a guy would. Why is she drinking it? Isn't she afraid it's poisoned? Dinner might be from a restaurant but the wine is not. It might be new but those wine glasses belong to her. She's the one who said anything is possible.

"mm, I forgot to tell you." Noel said after taking a sip of the red wine.

Forgot what? Whatever it is, she seems excited. Why can't she just say it? Whatever it is must be very good news since she is still smiling. What is it? Hope isn't smiling but her eyes are wide opened, looking at Noel's phone.

"You're right. We're going to win."

Win? Win what? Football? She doesn't look like a gambler but then again, she doesn't look like a makeup artist either. "Who's playing?" Noel has always been nice but that's not a nice look. Hope doesn't look like she's pretending at this moment. That's the same look she always has when she thinks my question is dumb. Oh. No clarification is needed to know what team Noel is on after being shown what's on her phone. That is good news but it would take a few days to get the final result. Can't blame her for worrying. The last 4 years under the dictator wannabe did get worse but she should know it's not going to get back to the way it was before. Change takes time. It could take years to undo the damage so... "Even if he doesn't, you shouldn't stress over it. You should still live the way you want, do what makes you happy, carpe diem, you know." There's no point in stressing over something she can't control. Why do they both have the same expression again? Noel should know what those two words mean. She's knowledgeable. Hope might not. Hope just made a ridiculous suggestion. Put a male disguise on like her? She's joking, right? A male disguise would help but can't do that every single day. Not everyone has a job as a bodyguard. Not everyone can flip a knife like she can. Why is she showing off again? "Hey!" Even Noel is jaw-dropping shocked. Anyone would be but not at her ability but rather at her behavior since she's just threw the knife into the wall.

"Needs picture. Looks better. There too."

"STOP" Brie said in case Hope is thinking of throwing another. She didn't but made another suggestion that is not out of her character. Showing Noel how to defend herself against attackers is a better suggestion than putting on a male disguise but she never suggested to me. Oh wow. Maybe she did used to be a cop. She just showed Noel how to get out of a front choke by ducking her head around her arms. That seems easy and very effective. A bear hug attack from behind would be hard to get out of but looks like Hope has an easy solution. Just bent the knees, spread the legs, then grab the guy's balls. That is funny but it's not that funny. Is Noel drunk? No one can get drunk with a few sips of red wine unless there's something in it and no woman can get out of that position if the attacker is a man. As easy as Hope made it look, it can't be that simple especially if the attacker is twice her size and most men are. "Is your wound all better?" It shouldn't be. No miracle drug can heal it that fast. Using her legs to grab onto Noel's waist while lying down might open the wound up. Did she forget? It seems that Noel has since she immediately got off her.

"let me see" Noel said.

There's a need to check. Why is she still shy about it? It's not like Noel hasn't seen it before. What is wrong with her? Did she forget what she said about Noel? She must have since she just went to the bathroom.

"She's weird."

That's probably unnecessary since Noel should know by now but what is she doing? She might not be doing anything besides walking but why is she looking at me? Why is she walking towards me when she can sit on the couch? She's not holding a knife but she is holding something in her hand, something not visible, something that can fit inside her fist. A razor blade can fit inside her fist but that's just ridiculous. Why would she when all she has to do is put poison in the food when no one is looking? "What's this?" The size of the 2 pills is different from ibuprofen.

"Are you low in iron? It helps with menstruation. It won't hurt as much."

"really?" She might not be a doctor but she sure knows a lot.

"ibuprofen can cause dizziness too so this would be better. Did you already take it?"

The same question sounds so much better coming from her. Not just that, the massage on the neck and the gentle touch of her finger tips on the scalp and temples feels wonderful, so wonderful it could put the mind to sleep if she didn't suddenly stop.

"Hope, you okay?"

There is a need to check. Taking pictures of her own butt shouldn't take more than 5 minutes. What happened? Hope looks fine but why is she apologizing? Were they really planning to go out? Noel looks disappointed.

"Lock the doors. This one too. Don't open it for anyone, got it?"

Hint taken. That means Noel too since she's taking Noel with her but "You're not coming back?" That's what it sounds like. It's not dark yet but it is late. Who would need a bodyguard at this time?

Brand new looking sheets are no longer white. Stained carpet would be hard to clean. Walking back and forth isn't going to make the situation better but it's hard to stay still at this moment. If anyone heard the noises earlier, he's going to be in so much trouble.

Dud dud…dud…dud dud dud dud

"She's here." That's the signal but that's not her. Maybe room service? Maybe he heard? "Who is it?" Riley asked after looking thru the peephole. No verbal response is given but getting two words on the phone is good enough. "Who's she?" That glare along with getting ignored like usual proves it's definitely her even though he doesn't look like her.

"What happened?" Hope asked since he didn't explain on the phone and can now see where the wound is.

Don't look at me. "It's not my fault." Riley said, then took a few steps back away from Hope who looks even more intimidating with the realistic male disguise. Thanks to this masked woman, whoever she is, for distracting Hope from doing whatever she's thinking of by telling her to get a bowl of a warm water and towels. "You're a doctor?"

"You want doctor, you get one."

"I'm just asking" Riley responded, immediately regretting it after Rocko made a butt joke. His butt ain't cute but it is probably getting cold from the loss of blood. No one is laughing but it did what he wanted to do. He got Hope's attention.

"She can do it better than I can."

"Okay. Just don't laugh when I cry like a baby."

That's funny. At least he's in the mood to make a joke so that's a good sign. Whoever this woman is seems to have done this before. She came prepared. Mr. Clean's look-a-like didn't scream or cry like a baby with the help of anesthesia so that's great. What would be even better is for him to wait until tomorrow to tell Hope what happened. "It's not my fault. I checked. His records didn't show. How am I supposed to know?" It might be a good reason but not for her. She should know some with mental illness are hard to tell. Rocko wasn't able to.

"It's not her fault. He's not like that crazy rapper, he's like…like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. One moment we were talking and laughing, then he suddenly stabbed me while I wasn't lookin."

Thanks to Rocco for agreeing but Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? That's a bad example unless he doesn't know how Dr. Jekyll turned into Mr. Hyde or... "Were you doing drugs?" That would explain it but they shouldn't be since they should be working. They should be watching the target. No? He didn't look like he was so that doesn't make sense then. He must have done something to trigger the new guy. Something he said maybe? If they were talking and laughing, then "What were you talking about?"

"nothing, just guy talk"

A more detailed explanation is expected but even without one, it's not hard to figure out what that meant. Guy talk means they're talking about women in a very inappropriate way. Just joking around? There has to be something else he did to piss off the new guy. Were they drinking? There are 2 bottles on the table but that doesn't mean that's all they drank. "How many" Finding out will have to wait since the masked woman just came out of the bathroom. Whoever she is, she seems to know what she's expected to do since she didn't ask any unnecessary questions. There's no need to know how he got injured, who he is and why he can't go to the hospital. There's a need to know how to take care of the wound but this list is ridiculous. He's going to have a hard time avoiding these foods. "Wait, where're you going? You're coming back, right?" She can't expect me to stay here with him. Having him leave right now would cause suspicion. Besides, he can't. He needs rest. "What?" Riley asked, wondering why Hope has her hand out. "Oh" She didn't say but her thumb and fingers are rubbing against each other. Obviously she still thinks this is my fault for hiring the guy. "This is all I have." One hundred isn't enough to cover the cost of the suture procedure but does she expect me to carry a lot of cash around? In NYC? "tomorrow, okay?" There's the glare again. Shoot. She is leaving. "I'll get you another room."

A 5 star hotel room that costs over $1000 is a nice offer but not under this environment. Besides, it doesn't have everything she needs. Keeping the glued beard on for the whole night wouldn't be good for the skin. Using anything else besides the right tools might leave scratches but with all those scars and tattoos, she probably won't care. She seems to be concerned with something else. A glass of wine can help put the mind to sleep but that can wait. This can't. "It's late." Noel said, waiting for Hope to get up from the couch which didn't take long but taking off the tie along with unbuttoning her shirt did. It's not hard to undo each button but with those eyes watching, the familiarity of this moment again instantly brought back memories. "I used to do this…for him." Explanation might not be needed since she probably figured it out by now and is not the first time but unbuckling the belt is. Unzipping is. The dark blue boxer shorts might not be the same but it somehow triggered deja vu again. "Looks okay. I'll wrap it up later." It would be difficult not to get the cut wet without taping it up. That will have to wait. Let's get the beard off first.

"Sorry"

This is the first time. She's not that type to be apologizing for someone's loss. Besides, she already knew and she never did so what is she apologizing for? "For what?" Noel said.

"his butt's ugly, sorry"

Stopping for a moment is necessary because that's unexpected, coming from someone who doesn't talk much and because it's hilarious. "Don't remind me, okay?" It wasn't her fault because it wasn't her idea. She's in no condition to be stitching up someone else's cut even though she thinks she is. She probably wouldn't have agreed if she didn't have another option. Even she was surprised to find out where the cut is.

"Mine's nice"

She succeeded again. Laughing at this moment can't be controlled. It's the way she spoke like a kid. Her blank expression made it even more funny. "Yes it is. Now stop moving...and stop talking." If she continues, this is going to take awhile. If anyone else heard, they probably won't find her as intimidating as she looks. They might even think she's only acting to be tough just like her friend whose big size alone would discourage others from approaching him but his humor would change their perception of him. No one in his condition would be making fun of himself, even if it is to stop an argument. He's funny but he made the same mistake that many others have. "Your friend, he should really be careful of what he says." Noel said as she continued to remove the beard using the stiff brush. "He can't just assume others won't get offended. Words have consequences even if it is just a joke. Next time he might not be so lucky." He probably learned his lesson but she needs to know too since she clearly does not have a good relationship with that woman and the way she talks to Brie is not nice either. "You understand what I'm saying?" It's not difficult to understand so why does she still look confused? Why is she tightening her lips? Why is she still joking around? "You can talk."

"What?"

"Didn't he tell you?" What were they talking about in private then? Don't ask questions. That was the agreement before being allowed to go. No unnecessary questions were asked but he did for a reason unknown at that moment. There's no reason not to give him an honest answer and the answer is yes, I would be upset too but I wouldn't stab him. Millions would want to though especially the obsessed ones. He clearly didn't understand the power of social media and what people can do and would do for those they idolize. "You know who Hans is, don't you?" Having nothing to say is not out of her character but those eyes are looking like she's still confused so maybe she doesn't? This can wait but it won't take long to show her. "Here" The video on the phone is small but she'll be able to see. "Don't move." There's no need to wait until she's finished to remove the rest of the beard. She can still look at the video at the same time. Looks like she really doesn't know. That's odd. Looks like she's hypnotized. Many have the same reaction. "you have a call" It's not ringing but it is vibrating on the coffee table. She must know who it is since she's not picking it up. "Aren't you going to take that?"

"She's annoying."

There she goes again, acting like a 6 year old. "It's not Brie, is it?" No? Then it must be the woman at the hotel. "Maybe it's urgent." There's no reason for her to be calling if it's not. It's late.

"No"

No? So she already knows why she's calling? How? She didn't even look at the phone yet. She's still looking at the video. "I really think you should pick it up." It's buzzing again so it must be important. It's wrong to pick up her phone but one of these days her childish behavior is going to get her in trouble.

"Hope?" Riley asked even though it sounds like her. Confirmation is necessary since no one can know, not even Rocko.

"What?"

It's her. The pissed off tone can't be mistaken. She's going to be more pissed when she hears this. "Do not go after him. There are surveillance cameras everywhere here. They'll find out. It could lead to Rocko. Please don't do anything to him. Okay?" She might not but there's a chance that she might since she killed the last guy who attacked her. That guy deserved it. This new guy has a celebrity obsessive-addictive disorder so who knows what she would do to him when she finds out he's interested in the same woman as her. "Hello? You hear me?" It's faint but it sounds like an okay. Okay is good. "One more thing, when is the last time you heard from Neeva? She didn't pick up. She didn't call back. It's been over 24 hours. So I want to know if your heard from her." There's no reason for her not to call unless there's something wrong. "Hello?...Hope?...harlllow?...What is wrong with the reception here?"