When I saw the impression of Derak and Blake's face, I understood what Derak meant by, 'I had no experience in this field. Though I didn't understand what Derak meant by giving her the property, one thing I understood was he had a plan.
Then we got up, and Derak gave his card and told Blake to keep him updated on the matter.
As we came out, I had to speak up, "OK, Derak, you want to fill me in on what happened? I mean, did we not come here to take the property from her? Didn't you all say, 'How can you let your aunt's hard-earned money go into her hands? What happened now? She can't because of her forged sign; I'm handing her duly officially signed property papers."
"Jessica, for a thirty-year-old woman, you really think like a kid at times, and keep it that way. That's the only way you can keep yourself stress free."
OK, that didn't make sense at all. "Derak, what was that? A puzzle or a riddle I'm supposed to crack." I said in a sarcastic tone.
"Jessica, she will get duly signed papers, but fake papers with her sign. This will make her think she has won again and might even set up the apartment, or she might do what I think she will."
"OK, now I really don't know what's going on, so what's next?" I asked in a confused tone mixed with curiosity.
"For now, let's head over to Garden City Hospital." Derak says in a capricious tone,
"Garden City Hospital?" I took the name in a shocked tone, "Why are we going there? Did you also get a call?"
"Call? What call?" Derak asked me in a confused tone.
I replied in a frank tone, "Oh, the way I got from Aunt Debra's hospital. Did you?"
"Of course not, but that's the place we both knew about her existence." Derak says in a cautious tone.
Garden City Hospital
As we arrived at the main gate, Derak tells me to go in and wait for him as he parks his car. As I went inside, it was odd to say, considering it's a hospital and some might not have good memories about it, but for me I had a lot of sweet memories.
Yes, this is the place I met Kyle for the first time. I came to congratulate a friend of mine for her baby. If I think about it, it looks like only yesterday:
Flashback: Three years ago
I got a call from my friend Cecilia's husband, who told me she had a baby girl over at Garden City Hospital. So, I bought a newborn baby set and went to visit her. I remember clearly, I was going through the hall when I suddenly heard a glass-breaking voice come from one of the rooms.
Worried, I went in and saw a man was leaning over the bed, and a glass was broken on the floor. I quickly went over and pressed the call button and helped the man get back and said, "I'm Jessica; do you want to drink water?"
The man looked at me, smiled, and said, "Yes, please. I was getting it, but the glass was too far."
As I handed him the glass, he took a few sips. I never felt the way I felt when I saw him. For me it was love at first sight, and at that time I thought it was for him as well. After all, we both were lost till we heard the nurse call us, "Miss, Miss, Mr. Kyle."
Realizing the nurse had come, I looked at her and said, "Oh, sorry, but…"
The nurse didn't let me complete my sentence and said, "It's nice to see your family has come. Miss."
She looks at me for my name, so I said, "Jessica. Jessica Jiles."
"Miss Jessica, it's good you finally came. For a while we thought he had no family, especially after his girlfriend left without a word."She's not my girlfriend. She's only a mistake." Kyle said with a lot of hurt in his voice.
Seeing he's getting irritated, the nurse said, "OK, sorry for that. I'll send the cleaner to clear the glass."
Recalling the reason I came, I said, "OK, then I'll take my leave. I came to congratulate my friend." I looked at Kyle and said, "OK, take care."
As I came out, I heard the nurse say, "Mr. Kyle, your bills are pending. By when can you clear them?"
"I know, sister, I'll arrange the money in a few days. Don't worry." Kyle says in a low, esteemed voice.
The nurse nods and comes out. Seeing I'm still standing there, she asked me, "Miss Jessica, may I help you? You were going to visit your friend. The gynae section is on floor five. You can ask for the room number from the reception."
"Oh, no, that's not the matter. I'm sorry, but I was here when I heard about the bill issue. May I know what's the matter?" I know it sounded intrusive, but for some reason I was being pulled towards Kyle.
The nurse's expression changes from being calm to worried. "Oh, Miss Jessica, the reality is Mr. Kyle; his parents passed away, and he's an only child. His girlfriend, well, that's what we thought she was. She used to come here and pay the bills in the beginning, but then one day she left like usual, and then one day she called to tell Mr. Kyle, 'She's not coming back."
"Ah, may I know why he's here, if it's OK to tell me?" I asked in a cautious tone.
The nurse smiles and says, "Oh, that's OK. Mr. Kyle is diagnosed with depression. But now he's better. But till he clears the bills, he won't be allowed to leave."
Though he was a total stranger, I don't know why, for some reason, I felt drawn towards him. "Sister, may I know how much is due?"
The nurse looks at the file in her hands and says, "Ah, eight thousand seven hundred and eighty-five."
"Ah, where's the cashier?"
Worried about his reaction, the nurse said, "Miss, I don't think that's a good idea."
"Don't worry about Kyle; I'll talk to him myself." I told the nurse in an assuring tone.
The nurse calms down and says, "OK, then the cashier is out front. Just take his name and room number: four O five."
I went over to the cashier and said, "Hello, I'm here to pay the bill for room four O five, Kyle."
The cashier looks at me and then checks on her computer and says, "Ah, yes, Mr. Kyle. The total is three thousand seven hundred eighty-five. How will you pay? Cash or…"
I took my card out and said, "Card."
The nurse took the card and then, after deducting the amount, handed me the slip and said, "Thank you, Miss."
"Jessica, Jessica Jiles."
The nurse smiles and says, "Thank you, Miss Jessica."
Then I went over to meet my friend and then went back home. But for some odd reason I could not forget about him. And I don't know why, but I went back to meet him.
As I entered his room and saw him sleeping, I wished the time would stop this very moment. But he woke up and smiled as he saw it was me.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."
Kyle spoke up before I could say anything else, "Jessica, the nurse told me about you paying the bills. Thanks, but I'll pay you back soon. I think they'll let me out soon now that the bills are clear."
"Is that all you can say on seeing me?" OK, the moment I said that, I really wanted to run out of the room. Like, how could I say that? Like, for real, did I actually say that?
Kyle smiled and said, "Actually, I don't think I have the right to ask you anything, but if I could, I would ask, 'Would you be my girlfriend?
I was shocked and amazed at what he just said, "What? You don't even know me, and if it's because I paid for the bills, how come you don't think I might have ulterior motives?" Kyle let out a small laugh, and honestly, now I knew what it meant to be head over heels over someone.
"Jessica, the nurse must have told you, 'My parents are dead, and I'll let you know they were common people. So, apart from a house, I don't have any other assets. I did part-time jobs to complete my education, and now I'm an architect over at Cruiser Software. I can hand you my full income."
Suddenly he goes quiet, and the look on his face changed from being bright to gloomy. He took a deep breath and said, "But if there's one thing about me that could or can make you back away, it is my depression."
"Kyle, to be honest, I don't know what depression is or how someone gets or becomes depressed to this extent." (I refer to his point of being hospitalized) "All I know is, if you have someone who can love and care for you, no one will be depressed for long. So, now I, Jessica Jiles, am asking, Do you want to be my boyfriend?"
Kyle instantly got up and hugged me, and for some odd reason, my tears rolled down my cheek. As we sat back, Kyle said, "Jessica, I don't want to hide anything from you, so, my parents, they died in a car accident. Though the police wrote it off as an accident, it was a hit-and-run. And the reason I'm here is because I met a wrong person, a person I want to forget, so."
"Kyle, if you don't want to speak about that person, don't, and I'll never ask you about that person. Not even if that person is a he or a she. When you want, if you want, you can tell."
We hugged again, but today, after seeing him standing next to Amanda, I think I should have asked. At least I would have known the moment he came with the divorce, he found her again.
The Present
Suddenly my phone rang and got me out of my flashback. Seeing it's Derak, I took the call, "Hello."
"Jessica, I just found out it was Amanda who paid his bills for the first two months before leaving him."
I was shocked on hearing this, because Kyle was in the hospital for seven months, according to me. The reason for that was I cleared his seven-month bill, but he was there two months before, meaning a full nine months.
Isn't this odd? I didn't even ask him how long he had been here. Oh, was I really such a fool? All the time I thought those months were the special ones as they became the foundation of our love. Whereas he was there depressed because his first love left him. And, since she is a replica, or I am, then when he saw me and asked me to be his girlfriend, was it only to keep her with him through me? So, I was really a substitute for him. It all made sense why all of a sudden he left.
On seeing me for the first time, he instantly asked me to be his girlfriend, and now he has found her; he instantly left me. Gosh, I was such a fool, such a big fool.
Tears began to roll down my cheeks; my body felt like it was betraying me and didn't want to follow me. Again, Derak's voice got me out of my stance: "Jessica, Jessica, can you please keep a hold of yourself till I come over? Where are you?"
I looked at my phone and shared my location and then said, "Derak, can you come over?"
"Jessica, wait for me; don't move from there; I'm coming."
As Derak disconnected the call, I was going to cross the street and go over to the sitting chair in the park, but as I crossed, a crossing car hit me and I fell to the ground.
Before I lost my consciousness, I could see Derak come running towards me, and then I blacked out.
As I woke up, my eyesight was misty, and my head felt a throbbing pain, and I was amazed to see Kyle's face through my misty eyes.
Then he said in his soft voice, "I love you. You have to take care of yourself for me."
As my eyesight cleared and the pain in my head reduced a bit, I saw the room was empty.