CHAPTER SIX: ... foolishly busted..
JASON came out from the kitchen in his house carrying a glass of water in one hand and his phone in the other. He walked towards the living room with his eyes plastered on the multicoloured abstract painting that hung on the white wall.
He moved slowly towards the black couch, which was positioned on the opposite side of the smart television in the room. As he was about to make himself comfortable on the seat, he looked and saw Cyrene's phone lying on the glass table a few steps away. He paused for a moment and stared at it with confusion written all over his face.
The previous day after their unintended dinner date at the Italian restaurant on the other side of the city and Cyrene's unexpected drunkenness, he had to bring her to his home. He had no idea of where she lived nor had he planned to leave her in a random hotel and that left him with one option, which was to take her home.
The only thing that surprised him in the process of trying to look after her was the fact that she was recording them. Not just recording them for that period, it was the entire time since the first day she walked into his office.
Jason tried to think of a reason for such action but couldn't understand any of it. As she kept scrolling through the recordings, he wondered if she was suspecting him of being a criminal.
He thought that his relationship with Cyrene was getting a lot better but he couldn't stop questioning that after he found the recording.
What was the purpose of taking such incriminating action? If he sued her for invasion of privacy she was going to lose but such action would be too drastic. He didn't want to ruin her life. She was more than just a student to him
He already went through the files in her storage before and found other recordings only that he didn't listen to them, but as he continued to look at the phone in his hand he was tempted to do so.
"If she recorded me without my permission, it's only normal that I find out what other things she's hiding," Jason whispered to himself dropping the cup he was carrying on the table and taking a seat on the couch.
"Who's hiding things from who?"
Jason almost jumped out of his skin when he heard someone talking behind him.
"Tim," he groaned relaxing on the seat again.
"What?" Tim glared at him dropping the bunch of keys he was holding noisily inside a ceramic tray on the white kitchen counter. "I heard you mumbling something about hiding things."
"That's not the issue here. Why would you enter my house without making any sound?" Jason glared at him too. "My heart almost left my rib cage." He placed his hand dramatically on the left side of his chest.
"I made noise while inputting the passcode of the door, you were just engrossed in whatever you were thinking about."
Tim opened the refrigerator in the kitchen and after peeking inside he turned to face the direction where Jason sat, "what on earth have you been eating for the past two months?" He asked with bafflement.
"Coffee and water. Oh, and I do order food sometimes," Jason replied with nonchalance.
"I didn't let you come to Beckharn to be my mother Tim," he said again and continued staring at the phone he was holding. Cyrene's phone.
Tim arrived at Beckharn the previous night while Jason was on an adventure with Cyrene. He had known Jason since they were children. They grew up together as best friends but as time went on they started recognizing each other as brothers.
They understood each other more than anything and were always there for each other. Tim was currently working as Jason's secretary but he had never been more satisfied with his life.
He was supposed to travel with Jason the first time he arrived at Beckharn but due to some unforeseen circumstances, his arrival was a little bit delayed.
"God knows that being your mother is the last thing I can ever wish for. I'm making bacon and scrambled eggs for breakfast, lunch is on you Jay," Tim concluded bringing out some utensils from the cabinets. "Unfortunately, I will need to do some grocery shopping first," he complained.
"Jay, should we hire a cook? You already have a cleaner."
"I hate you," Jason said, giving him the middle finger.
"You are the love of my life," Tim responded
"Gross!" Jason screamed.
"Who are the two of you and... What am I doing here?"
Jason and Tim paused their banter and turned toward the direction of the voice.
Cyrene stood bare feet on the stairs with Jason's shirt barely covering her lower thighs as she looked from Tim to Jason and to Tim again.
"Who are the two of you?" Cyrene repeated with a steadier voice, glaring at her phone on Jason's hand.
Jason looked at Tim with confusion written all over his face as he stood up from the couch and started walking toward Cyrene.
"That is Tim and you haven't met him before," he pointed at Tim who smiled broadly at Cyrene, although he received a hard look in return.
"That's my phone," She raised a brow at him. "Why do you have it and who are you please?"
"You are joking right? Or perhaps you are still a little bit drunk." Jason moved closer to Cyrene who instinctively took a step back.
That slight involuntary action made Jason realize something for a brief moment. Frowning, he thought to himself, she really doesn't remember who I am.
He took a step back. For some reason, the idea of Cyrene moving away from him again steered something unpleasant in his heart and he didn't want to experience that the second time.
I'm supposed to know him. I should know him but... I don't. Cy think. You must think before it's too late. My phone... I need my phone...
A brief confusion appeared in Cyrene's eyes for a moment but it disappeared as quickly as it came when her eyes landed on her phone in Jason's hand again. Snatching it away from him as swiftly as she could, she ran up the stairs without looking back.
Jason stood there with his mouth wide. None of them could comprehend what on earth just happened. They both kept gaping at the stairs, although Cyrene was long gone from their sight.
"What just happened?" Jason asked Tim who appeared no less perplexed than he was.
"Something weird happened," Tim continued what he was doing in the kitchen while Jason stood and continued gazing at nothing.
******
Cyrene was pacing up and down in the room she was hiding in with her index finger going in and out of her mouth.
The room had a little more colour than the living room and the kitchen area. The ceiling was white and the surrounding walls were painted ash. The double bed was covered and neatly draped with an ash bed cover which was finished with a white duvet pulled back in two folds.
It had a little painted fireplace below the television hanging on the wall. Beside it was a polished greyish cabinet with two lavender flower vases resting on top of it.
The round chandelier hanging from the ceiling gave the room a golden glow with a hint of refinement.
Cyrene hoped that the room would lend her some of the powerful aurae it gave off but that was a futile thing to pray for. It didn't even make sense!
She played her recordings the minute she got into the room and that helped her to figure out the situation. She had foolishly allowed herself to get drunk despite knowing her condition. She has not always been a fan of alcohol but for reasons that were unknown to her, she found the bottle of champagne too compelling to resist.
Maybe not compelling but what do you call it when you know that you should not be doing a certain thing but goes ahead and does it anyway?
You're just foolish Cyrene
She internally scolded herself and gave herself a slap on the face. After taking a few deep breaths, she decided to leave the room at last.
She slowly stepped down the stairs wishing badly that those two strange but not strange men were not there. That was yet another futile prayer which she realized after locking eyes with Tim.
"Breakfast is ready Miss Bernard. I couldn't go for grocery shopping earlier like I planned. I managed to stuff in the fridge," Tim invited her to the dining table with a smile as he placed the third serving on it.
"Thank you..." She trailed off thinking of what to call him. Calling him Tim sounded too informal and yet that was the only thing she knew about him.
"Tim is okay by me. I'm a friend to everyone I find stunning," he relieved her of the struggle while taking a seat across from her beside Jason
"Okay," Cyrene tucked in some strands of her hair behind her ears, wishing that her flaming cheeks were not pink.
Jason was just eating his meal without looking at either of them. He quickly emptied his plate and took a sip from the freshly squeezed juice in front of him and stood up to leave the table.
"I'm sorry about earlier," Cyrene tried to apologize, stopping Jason in his tracks. "I think I was still dreaming when I came downstairs. Thank you for bringing me home last night. Drinking like that was out of my skin, to be honest, and I have no explanation for that. Maybe your presence was too comforting and I momentarily forgot to be more careful. I..."
"Miss Bernard," Jason interrupted her ramble and turned to look at her again. Facing her he said, "I have nothing against you," He smiled at her.
"And I know who you are of course," she laughed nervously.
"Allow me to finish," Jason said looking at Tim who vaguely shook his head in disagreement.
"We all know that what happened earlier wasn't a dream. I saw it, we saw it. There's something and until you are ready to tell the truth, I think you saying anything about it now won't be of any help to either of us." He carried his plate to the kitchen leaving Only Tim and Cyrene.
You're foolishly busted Cyrene, she thought.
"He can be unnecessarily hard sometimes but he's not a bad person. Take your time and think carefully okay?" Tim slightly touched her shoulders before leaving.
Tell or don't tell? What should I do? I need my therapist.
She rubbed her forehead and leaned back on the seat.
Yes, it's long overdue anyways.