After dinner, Lisa was washing the dishes. Suddenly she heard Carl Black's voice from her back "I'll help you."
She was frightened by the sudden appearance of Carl Black and she dropped the dish that she was holding to wash. Small pieces of the broken dishes were scattered on the ground. Both of them squatted and started picking up the pieces.
Carl Black said with a low voice "I am sorry. Did I scare you?"
A small broken piece pierced her index finger.
"Hiss..." Lisa hissed in pain.
He held her hand immediately and pulled out the broken piece from her finger. Blood was oozing out of the wound. He pressed her finger tightly to stop the bleeding and said in a hoarse voice "Does it hurt?"
She was feeling very nervous at that moment and couldn't react. She blinked a few times before she fixed her gaze at him. Her heart was beating so fast as if it was ready to jump out from her mouth. She lost all the words so she kept quiet while staring at him.
He washed her wound and asked her "Where is the first aid box?"
"In my room."
"Let's go then."
They both entered her room. Lisa took out the first aid box but Carl Black snatched it away from her and said "Sit down. Let me help you."
He sat down beside her. First, he cleaned the wound with the disinfectant and then put a band-aid on it. He lifted his gaze to look at her and said with a low voice "I am sorry, Lisa. It was my fault."
"No, don't say sorry."
He pulled her into his embrace and said slowly "Promise me, you will be more careful and you will not hurt yourself like this."
Lisa's face turned red immediately. The warmth of his body caused an adrenaline rush and her hairs stood up on her back. Her heart was beating uncontrollably. She was still in his embrace and she heard him saying again "Promise me, Lisa."
She stammered "I- I promise."
He slowly released her from his embrace, held her hands, and looked at her tenderly. He cupped her face, placed a soft kiss on her forehead, and whispered "I don't want to leave you tonight, but you didn't give me any choice. Are you sure to stay alone?"
"Yes."
Carl Black reluctantly released her hands and stood up.
"Then I'll leave first. Take care."
He turned around to leave. Just then he heard her saying "Thank you. Let me see you off."
He glanced at her through his shoulder and nodded. They came out of the room. He looked at her and said "I'll come tomorrow morning. Till then stay safe. Good night."
"Good night."
Lisa was tossing and turning on her bed unable to sleep. She touched her forehead where Carl Black kissed her and she felt the place was still warm. She could even smell his cologne from her body. Her heartbeat was still fast and she thought 'What just happened? Why am I feeling so restless around him?' Without her knowledge, she started feeling good around him and she didn't feel uncomfortable when he touched her. Every action of Carl Black was curving deeply in her heart.
.........
On the other side, in the middle of the night, the phone started ringing loudly. Daniel Brooke who was sleeping deeply felt annoyed by the sound of the loud ringtone.
He answered the phone lazily without even opening his eyes "Who the hell are you? Do you want to die?"
"Boss it's me. Just now I got a call from the mysterious man."
Daniel Brooke heard his assistant's voice from the other end. He immediately opened his eyes, jumped off the bed, and asked "What?"
"He told me that he wants to meet you as soon as possible. He also said that once you reach 'Y' city, he will call again."
"OK."
"I am trying to track the location of him."
"Did you book the flight ticket?"
"Yes. It's for tomorrow evening."
"Good. Keep tracking."
"Yes, boss."
After hanging up the call Daniel Brooke thought something and went to his study room.
The next morning he called Lisa several times to inform her that he was going to 'Y' city for a few days, but she didn't answer his call. So he came directly to her apartment to meet her. He was waiting outside the apartment sitting inside his car. He thought when she came out to go to her school he would drop her and talk to her.
After half an hour of waiting, he saw Lisa and Carl Black, coming out of the apartment. When he saw them together, his blood boiled and got very angry. He tightened his grip around the steering wheel and daggered his sharp glare at them. He saw her sitting down in the car and within a snap of a finger, the car ran away very fast.
Without thinking, Daniel Brooke followed Carl Black's car. To his surprise, the car was not going in the direction of her school. He became even more furious and cursed "Where the hell are you taking my girl? I'll kill you if you try to do anything to her."
After half an hour of drive, he saw Carl Black's car halted in front of the Bill Roth hospital. He was stupefied and mumbled, "What is he doing here?"
Carl Black came out first to open the door for Lisa. When she came out, he said "I am getting late so I will not go now to the ward but I'll come in the evening. Hmm?"
"OK, you go first, and thank you for coming so early to pick me up."
"Don't thank me."
Before leaving, Carl Black pulled her into his embrace, kissed her forehead, and said tenderly "Take care."
Lisa blushed and lowered her head unable to make eye contact with him. She nodded and said shortly "Hmm."
He waved her with a faint smile and left the hospital.
All these were seen by Daniel Brooke and a volcano of anger was about to erupt. As soon as Carl Black left, he rushed towards her, grabbed her arm, and pulled her outside the hospital. He asked her angrily "What is going on Lisa?"
Lisa brushed off his hand angrily and asked "What are you doing here?"
Daniel Brooke closed his eyes for a few seconds to calm down only to open and looked down at her. He asked "Why are you here? Is everything OK?"
She glared at him and snapped "Why do you care? I don't need you here. Just go away." She pushed him back.
"Lisa, what is going on? If you don't tell me how do I know?"
She cocked her head and asked looking straight at his eyes "Do you really want to know? Do you really care?"
He sighed and said helplessly "I do. Now tell me, why are you here?"
Lisa paused for a moment and said "Dad had a heart attack the night you came to meet me."
He was shocked after hearing this and stammered "What? I- I am sorry. H-how is he now?"
"He is stable now. You know why I am here, so please go back."
He placed his hands on her shoulders and said tenderly "Lisa, I am sorry. Can I meet him?"
"No, you can't meet him, so please go back now."
Daniel Brooke swung his hands in frustration and asked "Why are you chasing me away? You should inform me earlier, but no, you just avoided me. I called you several times but you didn't answer. I came to your house but you didn't tell me that time also."
He crooked his head and continued while fixing his gaze at her "By the way, why did Carl Black come out of your house? Did he stay with you at night? You tell him everything, don't you? But you didn't tell me? Is he now more important to you than me?"
Lisa was so annoyed that she wanted to roll her eyes badly. She glared at him and said angrily "You are the reason that Dad had a heart attack. That night you were drunk and created a scene. You insulted my Dad in front of me and you think that I should inform you. Daniel, do you have any guilty conscience for what you have done?"
He lowered his tone and said "I am sorry. I was drunk that night and I lost my control. I promise I'll never do it again please forgive me please."
Lisa sighed deeply and said indifferently "OK, leave it. What happened has happened now. We can't change it. Now you go first. I have to go to see Dad."
He paused for a few moments and changed the topic of discussion "Listen, I am going to 'Y' city today. Please do answer my calls, OK?"
Lisa was surprised to hear this. For a few moments, she forgot her conflict with him and her mind engulfed by an unknown fear. She asked curiously "Y city? Why are you going there?"
"I have to meet someone who is claiming that he has proof for the case I am working on now. But, I don't know who he is."
She was stupefied and couldn't say anything for a moment. Hearing what he said she couldn't help but worry about him. She thought for some time and said "You don't know him. Isn't it risky to meet him? What if it is a trap?"
Daniel Brooke chuckled and asked with a smile "Do you care for me?"
Lisa pouted angrily, glared at him, and said "No, I don't care."
He laughed loudly, pulled her cheek, and said "Sweetheart, don't worry, I'll be fine. But I am saying it again please answer my calls. I need you by my side, OK?" He then pulled her into his embrace and whispered "I love you. I will call you at night."
He lowered his head and kissed her lips softly. But she pulled away and said "Daniel, please I am not in the mood. You go now and take care."
"I will, my love. OK then, I'll leave first."