CHAPTERCHAPTER 4

　　"Guest house."

　　"Do you mind if I take you to my place for the night? Then in the morning we'll figure out what to do next." He tries to offer her help.

　　She goes silent for a while then shakes her head in the negative.

　　"You don't have to worry about me sir…you've done more than enough for me…please I don't want to be more indebted to you than I already am." She politely rejects his offer.

　　"I insist. Please…" He presses her again, leaving her with no choice but to smile back at him which means a "yes" and with that, he smiles back at her and starts his car engine then drives away.

　　"Well…I hope you won't mind but I'm lodged in a guest house. I don't stay in this town so hope you won't mind sleeping over?" He informs her not really asking for her opinion. He doesn't want to take her by surprise so that she will not think he wants to take advantage of her being helpless by lodging in with her.

　　"I don't mind at all…I just need a warm place to rest my head." She chuckles with a bright smile while he can't help it but snickers. He finds her amazing. They remain quiet as he plays soft and slow music which takes effect on her as she dozes off. He looks at her and smiles as he drives slowly to avoid the bumps on the road.

　　He arrives at a bungalow building and parks outside. Everywhere is dark except for the lights coming out from inside of the house. He turns off his car engine and gets out of the car, opens the back seat and takes out his coat and laptop. He then turns to the other side of the car, opens the door and taps the girl who is deep in sleep.

　　"Hi sleepy head, we're here. Sorry for keeping you for so long, let's go now." He says to her as she yawns repeatedly, feeling embarrassed. He shifts from the door as she steps out of the car, staggering with one hand on her head and the other holding the car door to support herself.

　　He takes her coat and holds her right hand as he leads her in.

　　"Ouch." She squealed in pain as she tried to take her hand from him.

　　"I'm sorry." He apologizes, not knowing why she made that sound. They get in as he puts on the lights in the room. She slumps on the bed like someone who is drunk.

　　He tries to remove her shoes from her leg and lay her down well when he notices bruises on her body. He now knows why she made that squealing sound.

　　He gets up and heads for the kitchen then comes back again with a bowl of warm water and a towel. He cleans her wounds as she quakes in her sleep. He tries to be gentle so as not to add to the pain nor wake her up. He then cleans her jeans from the mud stains and her top then covers her in the white soft blanket.

　　He wonders where to sleep as he puts his hand on his waist, surveying the room. It has only one small bed in it with his box of clothes by the side. He thinks of sleeping on the floor but it is cold and there is no carpet flooring on it except for the terrazzo tiles. He looks at the space beside her on the bed and lays next to her as he curls himself and covers his body with his jacket.

　　He is having a terrible night as the girl turns from side to side, hitting and kicking him. He groans in pain as he tries to avoid her kicks but to no avail unless he falls to the ground. He sits up on the bed as he watches her sleep. She is sleeping so comfortably as though she has not had such a good sleep in a long while. He is having lots of thoughts running through his mind and eventually, he falls asleep.

　　The next morning, they are both ready to leave for the city. It is a long drive as Adan informs her while they are having breakfast.

　　"So what's your name and where are you from?" He asks her as she eats hungrily. He observes how she is eating as though she hasn't seen food for some days. Well, even if she didn't eat last night, she shouldn't be eating this way unless she has been starving for some days.

　　"I'm Yami Weston…I come from Metro city." She says to him in between mouthfuls of food.

　　"Slow down Yamileth. Don't rush your food or you'll choke." He says to her as she slowly reduces how she eats, feeling embarrassed that he is watching her.

　　"How did you end up here?" He asks her but then notices that she has some food in her mouth.

　　"Don't worry…finish your food. We'll discuss it in the car." He says to her as he takes a sip from his cup of coffee.

　　When they are done with breakfast, they pack up and leave after Adan pays for the nights he spent in the guest house.

　　"What's your name?" Yamileth asks him as they get into the car.

　　"Adan Cheriton." He answers her question as he starts the car engine.

　　"Your name sounds familiar…" Yamileth says as she tries to remember where she heard the name from.

　　"Sure…must have read or heard about me. So where are your parents…husband?" Adan bragged.

　　"I'm a divorceé. Separated from my husband a few weeks ago…two…yeah." Yamileth says to him with a sad voice or rather, a happy voice as she sighs severally.

　　"Oh…I'm sorry about that." Adan apologizes with sincerity.

　　"Don't be…it's for the best." Yamileth replies with a dry smile.

　　"So where is he?" Adan asks again.

　　"Dead. To me…he's dead." She replies back.

　　"A sad marriage I suppose…and your family? Where are they?" Adan asks her as he drives off the parking lot.

　　"They are in Las Vegas." She replies as she scratches the back of her hand.

　　"You live here with your husband…I mean before the divorce?" Adan inquires further.

　　"No, he stays in Las Vegas."

　　"Then why are you here?" Adan asks her again.

　　"Let's say business issues…"

　　"Oh…that's nice. Where do you work?" Adan asks her.

　　"Not work…I'm here because I got shipped here…I mean…kidnap…you get…" She tries to explain but doesn't want to go into details.