The drive back to the city found Paige sleeping soundly like a baby. It was her first time in forever in such a peaceful state. She had always been paranoid partly because of her condition and that incident in High School.
A glance at her made Clinton's heart go to her. It told him she had gone through a lot even without her saying it. Not wanting to disturb her sleep, he rings Kayden up.
----
Kayden strolls through the mob of people, rounding the corner of the lined-up stores to the street leading to the Care Home- her mood better than earlier.
The hospital was just a 20-minute walking distance from the grocery shop where the car nearly ran into her. Just a few blocks to the Care Home, a ring from her phone nestled her ears.
Intuitively, she transfers the poly bag in her right hand into her left- balancing the two into one firm grip as she reaches into her pocket. Pulling it out, she holds it into her view and quickly answers it.
"Send over Miss Campbell's address. " The voice ordered from the other side of the phone.
"Sorry?" She said, surprised at such a request. The fact that it came out of the blues. "You mean Miss Paige?"
"Yes, Kayden" his voice calmer than she would have anticipated.
Her brows creased, not sure what this was about. "Did something happen to her?" she asked.
"No," he snapped, "...it's nothing you should worry about."
Kayden was sceptical about his reply but all the same, he was her boss and he had the right to know. "I'm sending it over," she announced and the line went dead.
She immediately scanned through her phone- fetching out the folder holding the details of the employees under her division. Picking out Paige's address, she sends it over.
.
.
.
Just a few minutes after ending the call, a message notification popped up on the phone. He held his view between the road ahead and the screen of his phone. He clicked on the message and it displayed the address of Paige.
Cassanova Street NY 16, block 10.
Her picture fixtured tightly on the corner of the soft copy of the filled-out form. On cue, he veered off in more speed than initially. After a few minutes, he pulled into Cassanova Street.
A well-laid out landscape with the houses perfectly lined on both sides of the street and fully gated. Immediately he got to the gate. The security system requested an ID swap which he did.
In a moment, the gate slid open and he drove through. Paige's house was easy to find with the address registered boldly at the entrance.
-----
The day had been hectic for Nolan with the in-flow of emergencies. He slams into the chair with a sigh- glancing at the mini clock seated on the desk.
The realization of the reality of their breakup begins to sink in. But he wasn't ready to let go. He fetches his phone from his hospital coat. Scanning through, he dials Paige's number.
Clinton, on the other hand, effortlessly walks Paige in his arms to her bedroom. Unlike his place, he could tell the place was sparely used. The luggages sitting in the living room clearly told him she had just fully moved in. It wasn't as luxurious as his, obviously.
Getting to the bedroom room, he gently laid her on the bed- pulling the duvet over her to keep her warm. As he returned to the living room, he rolled up his sleeves. He had taken his coat off a while back, leaving him only in his vest and white long sleeves.
One after the other, he picks the bags up– arranging them in the wardrobe. And other basic needs to their rightful places. He was about to pick up the last set of things when the persistent ring from Paige's phone caught his attention.
He draws closer, picking it up not even checking who the caller was. A masculine voice instantly rasped his ear the moment he allowed the phone to rest on it. Even without an introduction, he could tell who the call was.
"Are you really not going to regret this?" The voice came once again. This time, his tone was more provoking than earlier.
"I don't think that should be something of your worry, right?" Clinton answered with some degree of finality.
Surely, Nolan wasn't expecting that. A masculine voice? And at such an odd hour? Did she replace him already? This unleased a barrage of questions.
His brows creased, and briefly, he pulled the phone away from his ear– making sure he hadn't misdialed. "Why a male voice?" He muttered rhetorically to himself before returning the phone to his ear.
"Who the hell are you and why are you with Paige's phone?" He demanded with some sense of authority.
Clinton scoffs, knowing better than anybody, Nolan's unfaithfulness. Not with any other person but with Itzel, Paige's very own sister.
"And what authority do you have to question my personality ?" he asked, his tone more daring than initially but Nolan wasn't having it either.
"I'm her fiancee," he retorted, sounding as confident and proud as ever. Clinton could not help but laugh it off. Before Nolan could make any more utterances, the line went dead.
He could feel the adrenaline surge through him as anger rolled in his chest. At that moment, it clicked. Before their separation, he had installed a tracker on Paige's car without her knowledge.
Quickly, he jolted to his full length as he took off his hospital coat. Disposing it somewhere on his desk while he made his way to the door– almost colliding heads on with one of his colleagues who was coming to him. A file of documents on a clip board clenched in her arms.
"Can you look this up for me?" The words fell out in succession as she made way for him.
Nolan was by now in the hallway. " Leave them on my desk. I'll look it up when I return."
Pamela could only question herself where he was left to in such a rush. It was hardly of him to leave work at such an hour. She sceptically glanced at his already faded back before heading in to drop the file on his desk.