Arielle Immortal Seduction (4 page)

“He just looks a little bit pale, and he seems really tired.”

“He is on a new medication the doctor gave him for not sleeping very well. I’m afraid it makes him sleepy all the time,” she sighed.

“Well, I’ll keep an eye on him while I’m here, but I want you to promise me to keep an eye on him when I go back to the flat,” she said.

“All right, Arielle,” she said with a smile. “Don’t worry about your dad. I’ll watch out for him.”

Two weeks had gone by since the attack and Arielle had started to feel a little more comfortable with herself, her surroundings, and her friends. She was ready now to move back to the flat, and her friends spent a lot of time there with her.

She got text messages from Sebastian almost every day now, and she replied from wherever she was. Some of his text messages were pretty sexy and they made her smile with excitement. She knew that he couldn’t wait to see her and she felt the same way.

Paul persuaded her to go to the cinema with him several times, and helped her regain her old self. She had tried very hard to put bad thoughts behind her and move on with her life, the life that she loved and the life she was determined to embrace.

One evening about a month and a half following the attack, Arielle and her friends were all at the flat watching the telly. Suddenly, Matt’s name was all over the screen. Stony silence fell in the room and she felt a chill move down her backbone as the anchorwoman’s words filled the room,

“A young man’s lifeless body was found behind an apartment building at the Brighton University, following the rape of a college student. His name was Matt Winston and he had a court case coming up next month for the attempted rape of another college student. The cause of death was strangulation, but the police couldn’t find any clues or fingerprints at the location.”

The silence was deafening. Arielle’s friends were not surprised when she finally said, “Yes! That’s justice. He’s never going to hurt anyone ever again,” and was overcome by a nervous, wrenching sob. She looked around at her friends through the hands that were covering her face, and could see satisfaction in their faces as well, but it seemed to her that there was something beyond satisfaction showing in Troy’s face.

With this news, Arielle felt her worries wash away. She didn’t have to worry about the trial anymore. She smiled with contentment as multiple feelings swirled in her head. She felt deep sympathy for Matt’s last victim, who hadn’t been able to escape his vicious attack, and renewed gratitude and relief that her friends had been able to prevent her own rape.

She knew that Troy and Sebastian talked often on the phone, so she had asked Troy to promise her that he wouldn’t say a word to Sebastian about Matt. She wanted to tell him when she was ready to talk about it and not before. Troy promised her that he wouldn’t say a word.

I really do love Troy
, she thought. He’s such a great guy, and he has been there for me in two very difficult situations.
He’s like my knight in shiny armor
, she thought, chuckling to herself.

One night, about a week after the news about Matt had broken, the three flatmates decided to spend some time together just talking. They opened a couple of bottles of wine and sat in the living room to discuss their love lives. They hadn’t had the chance to be alone and just talk since the beginning of the last term. Eva went first.

“Ian has changed my life. My whole world revolves around him,” she gushed. “I never want to be apart from him, ever.” Then she chuckled happily. “He’s the perfect boyfriend! He loves me, he takes care of me, and he makes me happy. What else is there to ask for?” she concluded, exuberance in her voice.

“So, what’s next?” Arielle asked.

“I don’t know, but I sure would like a ring,” Eva laughed, and they all laughed with her.

Next, it was Gabrielle’s turn.

“Troy is absolutely perfect,” she said, her face filled with excitement. Then with a serious voice she added, “All I want to do is tear his clothes off every time I’m near him.” She looked at her friends and burst out laughing. It was a very funny statement coming from Gabby, who normally never talked about her sexual cravings.

“I know what you mean,” Eva added with an arch smile, and giggling too.

Arielle looked at both of them. “I’m sure Ian and Troy feel pretty much the same way about you,” she smiled.

“What about you, Arielle?” Gabrielle asked.

“Well, I’ve already told both of you how I feel about Sebastian,” Arielle said. “He’s an amazing boyfriend. He’s thoughtful, warm, generous, and pretty incredible in every way. I know that I’ve been waiting for him all my life, and from what he tells me, he seems to feel pretty much the same way about me. I don’t think I could be any happier than I am right now.”

Arielle knew that both of her friends had been intimate with their boyfriends and she had told them that she was still a virgin, but she didn’t want to discuss her feelings about this particular issue at that time.

As she listened to them talking, she wondered why she had been so afraid to give herself to someone she loved with all her heart, someone she knew she would be spending the rest of her life with.

After a while, silence fell in the room, each of the girls lost in their own thoughts. They had gone through two bottles of wine and were now lying back on the sofa, spilling out various details about their boyfriends. Arielle didn’t remember how or when she fell asleep, but when she woke up, she and Gabrielle were on the floor. So sore she could hardly move, she looked around and was astonished to hear Gabrielle moaning in pain as she too tried to get off the floor.

“You guys look pitiful,” Eva laughed.

Arielle and Gabrielle looked at each other and saw that Eva was right; there was nothing else to do but laugh. For the first time since the ugly encounter with Matt, Arielle felt truly happy, and so fortunate to have such wonderful friends in her life.

Chapter 4

I
t was a typical gloomy, rainy morning in Brighton. Arielle got up to get a cup of tea, picked up a book, and jumped back into bed. It was during that first cup of tea that she had had a strong intuition that she needed to go home. She felt strangely, without knowing why, that the most important thing she needed to accomplish for the day was to spend time with her parents. Her father hadn’t seemed to be doing that well, and she was worried about how her mother had told her that he had stopped taking his morning walks in the garden for a couple of weeks now.

Arielle could see that her mother was hiding the stress she was feeling, and that she was putting too much energy into pretending that Arielle’s father was doing fine. Something was telling her that she needed to be there that day, a vague intuition of some sort. She finished her tea and before long was on her way home.

Everything seemed normal when she arrived, except that her mother was preparing breakfast alone. Usually her father was part of this activity on the weekends.

“Where’s Daddy?” she asked as she came in the door and gave her mum a kiss.

“He wanted to read the paper in the living room today,” her mum replied.

Arielle proceeded to the living room. She saw that her father was sitting in his chair, looking like he was reading the paper. The first thing she noticed was his face. He looked pale, and there was moisture dripping off the side of his temples. There were dark circles under his eyes and his body was sluggish. She felt a cold shiver run down her spine. Arielle ran to her father’s side.

“Daddy, what’s wrong?”

“I’m not sure,” he whispered. His voice was barely audible.

“Are you in pain?”

“My chest feels heavy, and I can’t move my arm. I feel weak and a little disoriented,” he replied. His speech was uneven, unsure.

“Don’t try to move. I’ll be right back,” Arielle said, and she ran to the kitchen.

“Mummy, please call an ambulance. There is something terribly wrong with Daddy.”

Arielle’s mum dropped the plate she was holding. It shattered on the kitchen floor. Instead of picking up the phone, she ran to her husband’s side. Arielle picked up the phone instead and asked the operator for an ambulance. She quickly provided all the information they needed to get there. A sick feeling took over Arielle as she hung up the phone. This was her father, one of the most important people in her life. “Please God,” she prayed. “Please don’t take Daddy.”

The ambulance was there in a matter of minutes. They put an oxygen mask on her father to help him breathe and administered an IV while they monitored his situation. Arielle held his hand, tears rolling down her face. Her heart was breaking and she was praying as hard as she could.

“What’s wrong with him?” she asked one of the paramedics just before they climbed into the ambulance.

“It looks like he’s had a stroke,” the paramedic said, “We’ll be at the hospital shortly and they’ll be able to evaluate the damage.” And Arielle’s father was on the way to the hospital before she could even comprehend what was going on.

The damage? What damage?
She couldn’t even imagine anything bad happening to her father. Her mother had accompanied her father in the ambulance. Arielle drove to the hospital alone, her heart overflowing with concern. She arrived just as they were taking her dad into the emergency room.

Arielle held her mother in her arms, trying to calm her down as her own heart was breaking. They both sat in the waiting room, tears in their eyes. After a while, the doctor came out and told them that he had had a mild stroke.

“We’re going to keep him here overnight to make sure he does all right,” he said. “If everything’s okay, we can send him home tomorrow.”

“Is there any damage?” Arielle asked with a shaky voice.

“We won’t know for sure until tomorrow,” the doctor replied. “We need twenty-four hours before we can tell if there has been any brain damage. Let’s hope that everything will be all right.” He smiled and told them not to worry, that they were doing everything they could to make sure he came out of this experience unscathed. Then, he walked away.

Arielle’s heart sank as she looked at her mother’s face, which had lost its color. She was pale, trembling, and her eyes were full of tears. When they brought her father to his room, he looked as if he had aged several years in a matter of hours. Arielle’s mother sat next to him while he slept, holding his hand. Arielle bent down and kissed him on the forehead, tears saturating her face.

“I love you, Daddy,” she whispered, hoping he could hear her, but doubting that he could. “I’m going to go for a walk, Mum,” she said. “I need to think.” She knew she had to face it sooner or later, so she might as well deal with it head on.

Outside she pulled out her mobile phone and pressed Sebastian’s number. She had no idea what time it was, where he was, or what he was doing, all she knew was that she needed to talk to him. She needed to hear his voice reassuring her that everything was going to be all right. He picked up on the first ring.

“Hello,” he said. “How’s the love of my life?”

“Hi,” she said, her voice barely audible and clearly distressed.

“Arielle, what’s wrong, baby? Where are you?”

“I’m at the hospital.”

“The hospital! Are you hurt?”

“No, it’s my dad, he’s had a stroke.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, baby, how is he doing?”

“We won’t know until tomorrow. They need twenty-four hours until they can tell if he has any brain damage.” There was silence on the other end for a moment, and then he spoke, his voice calm and supportive.

“I’m sure he will be fine,” he said. “How’s your mum holding up?”

“She is devastated, and I feel so bad. I don’t think I have the strength to be optimistic for both of us. How I wish you were here!” she said, and she started to sob.

“Arielle, please stop crying. I’m sure he will be okay. I wish I was there too, but it’s hard for me to do that right now.”

“I understand. I just wanted to hear your voice.”

“I’ll be back as soon as I can. I’m in a meeting right now, but I’ll try to call you later today.”

“Oh, I’m sorry for interrupting your meeting.”

“It’s okay. You can call me whenever you need to. Don’t worry about the time or what I am doing. If I can pick up the phone, I will. If not, leave me a message and I’ll call you right back. I love you, and don’t worry, your dad will be fine.”

“I miss you,” Arielle said softly.

“That’s all I want you to do when I’m not there. I love you so much, and miss you more than you’ll ever know.
Miss me
,” he said softly, and the phone went dead.

Feeling better, Arielle went back to the room and sat with her father until it was late. He was still sleeping, but his breathing was much better than it had been earlier in the afternoon. She held his hand and bent down to kiss him as she thought how fragile this wonderful man looked right this moment. A mixture of emotions flooded her. Her heart was breaking, not being able to accept the situation he was in. Finally, the nurse asked Arielle and her mother to go get some rest and come back in the morning. “I’m sure he’s going to be fine,” she assured them.

They left the room reluctantly and went home without saying a word to each other. That night, Arielle lay down in her mum’s bed with her and held her until she went to sleep. She stayed awake for a long time afterward. She didn’t think she would be able to sleep at all, but the next thing she knew, sunlight was slipping through the window shades and her mum was up and ready to go. Before long they were on their way back to the hospital.

By the time they arrived, Arielle’s dad had already been through all the tests required for the day. He was awake and alert.

“Good morning, Daddy,” she said, ecstatic to see him looking so much better. Her mum moved close to him and hugged him, exuding sheer bliss.

“How are you feeling this morning, dear?” she asked, her voice both warm and shaky. Arielle kissed him on the forehead, filled with joy to see her number one man alert and with a smile on his sweet face.

“I feel good,” he said. His voice was steady and strong.

“Did you talk to the doctor?” her mum asked.

“Yes, I did. He said he would be coming around again in a few minutes.”

Arielle and her mother sat next to the bed and talked quietly, trying not to exhaust Arielle’s father. He didn’t seem to have any problem with his speech, and his face looked perfectly fine. Arielle felt happy and relaxed as the doctor walked in smiling. Well, she thought, that’s a good sign.

“Good morning,” the doctor said cheerfully.

“The good news is he is going to be fine. There is no danger, he has not lost the use of any limbs, and he’s in good shape for now. We will put him on medication and with a good diet, and a little rest, he’ll be just fine. It was a mild stroke. He can go home today.” Arielle and her mother let out a simultaneous sighs of relief. They each laughed.

“Thank you so much!” her mother exclaimed, wiping her eyes, which were filled with tears of joy.

For the next couple of days, Arielle stayed at home, reading to her father and taking care of him as her mum made his meals and sat quietly with him, holding his hand.

By the third day he was feeling pretty good. She was happy to see him get up and walk slowly with her mother in the garden. By the end of the following week, everything was back to normal. He was on a new medication, and he was back at work. Arielle was so happy to see him well, with no lasting effects from the stroke. She knew it could have been much worse.