Chapter 2
Sebastian screamed himself awake, he looked around his surrounding, trying desperately to adjust his eyes to the darkness. Searching frantically on his bed, his hand finally got a hold of his phone. He quickly switched on the torch and scanned the room with it. There was nothing in the room apart from the sleeping body of his friend, Ethan.
"Can you please turn off that light?" Ethan said as he stirred in his sleep.
"I'm sorry," Sebastian quickly turned the light off and tried to go back to sleep. His demons had never stopped hunting him. He was terrified of their ghosts, terrified of the sounds. It scared him the more because he did not know how to get rid of them.
He struggled with sleep and as soon as he saw the sun, he was up. Trying to dress up, he made a whole lot of noise and Ethan wasn't too happy about any of it.
"Stop with the noise already!"
"I am trying to dress up for work."
"And can't you do that without being annoying? And what job are you talking about? Last time I checked, you were unemployed."
"Well, I am still job hunting and that is another job on its own."
"Whatever, just hurry up and go already. I need to catch up on some sleep."
Ethan had slept before Sebastian but he had always loved sleeping. Meeting Ethan was a big relief to Sebastian. He still remembered the events like they had happened yesterday.
"…So, this is the apartment I was talking about. It's a one-room apartment, but it is well furnished and secured." Settling into a new town was not an easy task. It usually took most people years to find a nice place and Sebastian was more than happy to be so fortunate but unfortunately for him, he could not afford the place.
"Yes, it is very stunning but..."
"Sebastian? Sebastian David." He heard someone call him and he turned his face to find his childhood friend.
Ethan. He hadn't changed one bit.
"Ethan. How are you?!"
"I'm good. What are you doing here?"
"Oh, you know, just trying to get a new place to settle down."
"That's good. How about you stay with me."
"I would love that."
"Okay. It's this way."
On some days, Sebastian does regret agreeing to stay with him. He was already struggling with a lot, and a constant reminder that he is not succeeding was not what he needed. Ethan did not understand why he needed a job so badly… but how could he? Ethan was the trust fund baby who wasted all his money on women. He hasn't worked so hard for anything in his life, he could not understand Sebastian's pain. Being the only one in the family to be abandoned while also being the one person that everyone in the family looked up to, it was difficult for Sebastian to just breeze through life like it was nothing.
He picked up his certificate and walked out the door. He didn't bother saying goodbye to Ethan, he knew he would just get yelled at. Ethan wasn't your typical spoilt brat but he was close to it and Sebastian wanted nothing more than to get out of his apartment and his hair.
***
The California sun was hotter than it usually was. After stopping at a local cafe to grab a breakfast of bacon and eggs, Sebastian proceeds to begin his job hunt.
Moving from company to company, he could finally understand why Ethan never bothered with looking for a job.
"I'm sorry, we are full."
"I'm sorry, you will have to come back later."
"We will get back to you as soon as possible."
He was tired of hearing it all. He didn't need a soothsayer to tell him that none of those people were going to get back to him.
Walking under the hot sun, frustrated and disappointed, he considered other means of getting what he really wanted. He was too busy thinking that he didn't notice the car. His hazy thoughts were interrupted by the honking sound coming from the car. He looked to the side speedily, but it was already too late. Sebastian found his body on the ground but he was surprised to not feel any pain.
"Oh. My. God. Are you okay? I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there. You just flew in from nowhere." It was the voice of a woman, but Sebastian could have easily mistaken it for that of an angel. He wasn't thinking straight. His eyes were still trying to adjust to the bright light when he saw the woman bend down and placed her hands on his forehead. Her hands felt cold and he suddenly wanted them all over him. He took his hand and placed it on top of hers, looking deeply into her eyes till he was sure he would get lost in it.
"Maybe I should get you to a hospital."
"No. I'm fine," Sebastian finally spoke and got up from the ground to prove to the kind lady that he was in fact okay.
"Are you sure?" The lady looked at him skeptically. She was not ready to be disturbed during her day or night by the police accusing her of killing a man.
"Yes, it's just a flesh wound. It'll die. What's your name?"
"Huh?" She wasn't okay with that question. Maybe he was an undercover cop who wanted to place her behind bars. Maybe he was a private investigator hired by her crazy husband. But whosoever he was, he was not to be trusted. The young lady turned and walked into her car, Sebastian looked at her as she drove speedily away from him.
He did not understand why the woman would do such a thing, but he started to wish that he had told her that he wasn't okay because as soon as she left, the dizziness overwhelmed him. It was like the presence of the woman brought him peace and now that she was gone, the peace left with her.
Sebastian turned his eyes, searching for anything that may be of help to him. He finally settled on a building. All he wanted was a glass of cold water, something to quench his thirst and make him feel his body.
Walking into the building that held the name 'Dynasty' written on it, he moved towards a kind-looking lady.
"Excuse me ma'am," He tried to get her attention. But it was either the woman couldn't hear him or she just didn't want to answer, but one of these reasons made her not to look up from her laptop.
Frustrated, Sebastian slammed his hand on the table. He finally got her attention because she lifted her head up and Sebastian could see fear in her eyes.
"Hi! I need your help." The fear in her eyes suddenly disappeared with Sebastian's next words.
"How may I help you, sir?" She didn't have the cherry receptionist voice that he had been hearing all day. Her voice sounded like she was about to be removed from her job.
"I need a bottle of cold water." The receptionist stared at Sebastian for a few seconds, she could not understand if he was playing a prank on her, but she was not in the mood.
"Does this building look like a restaurant to you or a bar? Can't you see that this is a company? Why would you come in here demanding water? Was there a signpost that said that we are selling that?"
"You don't have to be so rude about it. I know that this isn't a restaurant, but I just got run over by a car and it's a miracle that I'm still alive. But that doesn't mean that my entire body isn't hurting."
"Well, if that is the case, then take yourself to a hospital. We don't have any water here." The woman appeared to be done with the conversation because she was back to looking at her system and typing away. But Sebastian wasn't done with the conversation.
"Listen here young woman, the hospital is miles away and so is any restaurant or bar, before I will reach any of those, I would have died of dehydration. Now I will leave and not look back but if I fall on the road and do not stand up, you will be responsible for my death."
"Do not come in here and try to insult me. I am not the one who..."
The woman immediately stopped talking and Sebastian turned around to see why. He saw a woman who he assumed was her boss.
"Flora, what's going on here?"
"Nothing serious ma. This man just won't go away."
"Why? What does he want?"
"He wants a bottle of cold water."
Emily turned her face to look at her receptionist. "A bottle of cold water?"
"Yes, ma." Emily walked closer to Sebastian and he was enchanted by her fragrance.
"He does look very much dehydrated. Call Sandra and tell her to bring two bottles of water for him and then send him on his merry way."
"Yes, ma."
"Thank you very much ma'am." Maybe Sebastian should have told the woman that he was also looking for a job, but he was so enchanted by her beauty that he lost all sense of what was important.