Chapter 31: Chapter 31

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Jessi giggled.

When the look on her face turned serious again, Jenson stood before her and frowned.

She looked like she gradually realized she got drunk.  But she wasn't soused.  They didn't have any alcoholic drinks tonight.  No.  She looked more like...a half-asleep zombie.

For ten seconds or so, he just watched her as she stood in silence before him, her posture slouching a bit, her lips partly open.  "Hey."  Jenson peered into her face.  He backed off when she didn't respond or move an inch.

"I don't know. He's not...  No. No."  She moaned for a few seconds. Then another time.

Was she in pain?  He stepped closer to her.  Using the brightness of his phone screen, he inspected her from head to toe.  Nothing unusual about how she looked.  No bleeding nose, labored intakes of breath, strange rashes, or anything.

"Just...  It's a... No. It's a secret," she murmured without blinking, still.  She was staring at him, but not really seeing him.  Her muted voice sounded breathy, her gaze vacuous.  Her partial consciousness seemed to ignore his voice and his presence altogether.

He stood close to her while watching her every move, waiting for more confirmation that she was sleepwalking or something.

Were hallucinations a side effect of the crushed pill he poured in the juice?  Shit.

He should have asked Magnus.   "Jess? You okay?" Jenson stepped aside and leaned against the wooden jamb.  He used a hushed voice, patiently waiting for her to take another few steps to get past the doorway.

She didn't respond.  No words.  No shake of the head or faint nods.  Dead eyes.  Just lifeless.  They stared past the dark space in front of her.  She barely even moved.  She just stood by the door, blankly staring at the corner walls of his dark office.

"Jessiah..." he whispered after what felt like a minute of just waiting and staring at her.  Clearly she wasn't fully awake.  He wanted to snap her out of it, but he hesitated to touch her.

His mom used to sleepwalk like this.  Well, more of sleeptalk.  Just sleeptalking nonsense in the middle of the night.  But Jessi was apparently doing both.  And it wasn't a good idea to startle someone awake in the middle of a sleepwalking episode—that he knew for sure.

His mom's episodes often got triggered by stress, exhaustion, days of anxiety buildup, or all of the above.  Maybe it was the same for Jessi?

Surprising discovery, of course, but he couldn't blame her brain for reacting this way.  It had been a pretty intense, eventful, and stressful weekend for her so far.  Same for him.

"No. No. But it's not fair..."  Jessi took a step backward and let out a sigh, then distractedly itched her thigh with slow strokes, her words slurred and almost incoherent.

What was she dreaming about?  Who was she talking to in her dream?

"Is it like..." Her hand on her thigh stopped moving and her eyes looked closed now.  But her voice stayed loud enough for him to understand her mumbled words.  "It's not my fault. I didn't... No."

Heck.  Still dreaming heavily.  He looked around, then studied her stiff figure by the door again.  This might go on till dawn if he didn't guide her back to bed.  After sighing to himself, he leaned in to inhale all of her scent.

Her hair and skin smelled of shampoo and vanilla-scented lotion, but he also caught the scent of anxiety-induced sweat.  Her warm breaths reached his face but she didn't snore or anything.  Jessi just stood quietly with her tousled hair partly hiding her face, ignoring him completely.

"Jess, let's go back to bed. Yeah?" He gently touched her shoulders, then slowly turned her around.  He'd been in similar situations before.

No need to panic.  She was just sleepwalking.  She wasn't gonna do anything bad or drastic.

Using his arm, he carefully led her back to the divan where her blanket lay sprawled out on the cushion cover.  "Back to bed now."

"Mm-hmm," was her response seconds later.  "But you can't see..." She took three steps closer to her temporary bed while his arm touched her upper back.  "No. You can't leave. Not...uh...not allowed."

He held back a grin, imagining what she could be dreaming about right now.  Must be about them being stuck in quarantine.

She must be so tired or stressed to be sleepwalking like this, but he didn't want to wake her up.  It might scare her to find herself alone with him in a small, dark room while he wore nothing but boxers, with her  barefoot and only wearing her bedtime clothes.

With slow, careful steps, he guided her back to the divan until she was inches away from her wrinkled blanket.  He froze beside her when she turned around and leaned over.  To stop her from falling face-first on the carpet, he stepped back to stand in front of her again and block the way.

"Bye."  Jessi slowly bent her knees and leaned forward till her nose touched his bare chest.  Her soft lips brushed against the skin below his collarbone.

He held in a laugh and covered his mouth with his palm.  He shouldn't be laughing, but it just made him crack up.  "Jessiah, go back to bed now," he whispered after he pulled away.

Her eyes stayed half-shut while her cold fingers touched his forearm, as if she was groping for his hand.

A sigh of relief escaped him when she finally sat down on the divan, then rested on her back.  Jenson smiled.  He listened to her unconscious mumbling as he gingerly pulled the yellow blanket from under her legs to cover her up.

Watching her sleep on her side with her back facing him, he listened closely to make sure her breathing was steady.  He had to be sure she wouldn't get out of bed again.

A minute or so later, he backtracked to the door and locked the metal knob as noiselessly as he could.  It should keep her from sleepwalking out of his office while he slept on the couch like a log.  She could end up somewhere unsafe—and even injured—if he didn't do anything.

While suppressing a smile, he walked towards his small bed in the corner and checked his phone for new messages.

None.

Well, time to call a friend.  That rogue kid could be committing another heinous crime now if they waited for other people to finish the job.  Darren shouldn't be too busy.

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Day 2 of Quarantine

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A bad, pulsating headache.  Sweating from head to toe.  An aching back.  Limp arms and legs.

Oh no...  Were these new symptoms?  Or the rare ones?  Was she getting sicker?  She took in deep breaths and exhaled loudly several times, testing her lungs as panic crept into her groggy thoughts.

Her muscles felt weak but her chest felt fine.  No breathing issues or brain fog.  But would it get worse?  Would she end up getting wheeled into an ambulance today?  Barely able to breathe and clinging to dear life like her co-worker?

Jessi hauled herself off of the divan, wincing and cussing under her breath when the throbbing in her skull intensified.  She grabbed her phone to check the time.

Nine hours.  Almost nine hours of sleep.  Why did her entire body feel like she didn't get enough rest?

"Ouch. What is happening..." She moaned after the back of her palm touched her forehead.  It hurt as if she repeatedly bumped her head onto something while asleep.   The wall?  She leaned over to fix her bed for the weekend (technically Jenson's office bed), then rushed into the bathroom to get ready.

Her boss wasn't always a morning person but maybe Jenson was already up.  She should check up on him and cook him breakfast.  While she tried to enjoy the cold shower, her brain harked back to what he admitted yesterday—that his fiancée thought he was cheating.

Jessi frowned in distaste.  Why would Charmaine suspect Jenson was having an affair with her? Just because he hired her as his personal assistant?

If people around them thought she was sleeping with her boss, she would have to keep her distance from him from now on.  Jessi sighed.  Her negative thoughts remained while she finished her shower, but she tried to shake them off with a quick prayer.

Like Kel said, praying was a good, easy way to beat anxiety attacks.  Plus the breathing exercises.  Happy thoughts only.  No time to dwell on triggering sentiments or baseless assumptions.

She had to keep focused, muster up courage, and practice fortitude.  Unfortunately, she got infected like the others, but she wasn't going to get worse.  Nope.  She wouldn't.

But how's her boss doing?  Was he okay?

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× 10:13AM ×

"Morning."

"Hey. Morning." Jessi glanced behind to greet her boss with a quick smile.  She stood by the stove while cooking eggs and bacon for him.

"Smells fresh," he muttered with a yawn before sitting at their small table.  He wore a tight gray shirt, dark boxers and nothing else, his dark brown hair looking just a tad disheveled.  His bangs weren't combed back, covering most of his forehead and thick brows.  His droopy eyelids and dark eye bags told her he didn't get much sleep last night.

Still handsome, though.  He was just one of those people who were genetically blessed;  his Spanish-Italian features didn't really need any makeup to look good in front of the camera.

"You want toast?" she asked when he caught her staring a moment too long.

"Please." He grinned. "Thanks."

"Sleep well?"

"I think. How you feelin'?" Jenson eyed her while she served his food on the table. The smell of eggs and spicy bacon filled the small office kitchen slash dining area, but he seemed to like the aroma.

"Kinda tired, but maybe I just miss my bed. Slept for almost nine hours, though."

"Good. Let's eat."  He grabbed the plate she handed him and ate some bread when she sat across from him.  "I'm starving."

"Let's." She put on a smile and watched him eat buttered toast and a bacon strip.

His mood today seemed a big improvement from his surly behavior yesterday.  Still healthy-looking.  No obvious flu-like symptoms, either, like her.  "Your forehead looks like it's gonna bruise."

"What?" Jessi touched the sensitive skin above her right brow.  It still ached every time she applied some pressure.  "Yeah. I must've...bumped my head on the wall last night."

"But you're okay?" He eyed her with a curious squint.  "Not feeling feverish or anything?"

Physically, she felt worn-out.  But 24 hours after testing positive, she still wasn't feeling any other symptoms of the dreaded viral infection.  "Not really. You?"

"All good."

"Why d'you look like you didn't get much sleep?"

He glanced down and resumed eating his breakfast.  "Someone kept me up last night," he mumbled with a little smirk.

Did he mean his fiancée?  Was he on the phone with Charm all night?  If so, then they might've patched things up already.

The possibility provided some relief, but she still needed his confirmation.  She sat still and let him enjoy his breakfast while she ate some wheat bread with cheese.

"Thanks." Jenson got up from the chair opposite hers after he drank some juice.  "I'm just gonna skim the new scripts, then check on the post-production team before I die of acute boredom."

"Wait. Can we..." She stared at him, her chest feeling tight due to some anxiety.  "You got a minute?"

His dark brows scrunched as he regarded her with a frown.  "What's up?" He sat back down, his tone muted by apparent confusion.

"Does Charm really think you're cheating on her? With me?"  Jessi made a face.  Simply saying the words felt wrong and left a really bad taste in her mouth.

Sure, she was crushing on him a little bit...sometimes.  Just because Jenson helped her not end up depressingly broke again.  He gave her a good, stable job that's been keeping her afloat, and he was a good friend whenever she needed one.

But that's it.  They were nothing more than work friends.  She wasn't seducing him or anything.  Did Charmaine think she was that kind of person?

Shit.  She really hoped it was just a fleeting petty jealousy on Charmaine's part, just because Jenson had been working real hard lately.  Too busy with the show.   Just making sure Road to Valhalla met the expectations of the big bosses, the fans, and the critics alike.

"Forget about it."  He scoffed and poured himself a glass of water.  "She just gets a bit paranoid, and kinda possessive at times.  Likes to play mind games, all that," he muttered amid a sigh. "But I'll talk to her about it."

Should that make her feel better?  It didn't quite do the job.  Jessi swallowed some bread and stared at her plate, struggling to look him in the eyes now.  "I should apologize to her or something. Maybe I...did or said something that made her think we're...um..."

"No." Jenson shook his head and forced a laugh.  "Don't indulge her pettiness."

"Tell me if I'm acting too comfortable with you, or, if I overstepped some boundaries."

"What makes you think that?" he asked in a monotonous voice.  His green eyes squinted at her now.

"I dunno. Just, tell me. Okay?" Jessi touched her upper chest.  Her heart thumped loudly now.  The thought of his fiancée thinking ill of her just disturbed her peace of mind.  "I just don't wanna cause any trouble."

"You didn't."  He frowned at her.  "Stop overthinking." He itched his brow and put on a quick smile.  "Forget what I said."

"Easier said than done," she wanted to say.  Jessi sat back instead and tried to finish her breakfast in silence.

The insulting feeling of being wrongly accused of cheating and being someone's mistress wasn't that easy to shake off.   For one, she hated drama, which was why she didn't like having many friends.  She never liked going out to meet new people to date or socialize.  Especially now with everything that's been going on all over the world.

"How's that douchebag ex-boss of yours? Still botherin' you?" Jenson regarded her with an inquisitive stare while he held a half-empty glass.  "He stalkin' you online or somethin'?"

"No. Surprisingly."

"Good." He exhaled a short sigh.  It sounded like her answer gave him some relief.

"He really believed you're my new boyfriend, I guess."

Or Armand met a new batch of younger, naïve girls to hit on and harass during and after work hours.  Enough to keep the guy too busy to obsess over her again.

"Good," Jenson muttered with a straight face.  "If he bothers you again, tell me."

Alright.  Big brother mode once again.  Jessi almost smiled at his response.  "Hey. Does your family know? About the test results?"

His family should know about his situation right now.  Not just Charmaine.  "What family?" He grinned shortly when his brows wrinkled at her question.

"I mean, close relatives or..."  Did he have any cousins living nearby?  She wasn't sure if he had any relatives here in America.

He'd said he grew up in a small town in Italy.  Jenson didn't say much else.  But maybe now he was in the mood to share more details about his mysterious family background.  "Closest one I got left is Magnus."  He glanced at her and drank the rest of his water.  "He's my uncle."

Uncle?  So his uncle was also one of his bosses?  She wanted to frown.  "But Darren mentioned one time that, your mother's still alive."

"Yeah." Jenson dropped his gaze again and compressed his lips into a thin line.  "She's in a facility."

"Facility?"

"Psychiatric facility."

"Oh." She took a deep breath.  Her throat felt parched all of a sudden. "Darren didn't mention that."  She shut her mouth when he got up from his seat, hesitating to further the conversation.

Would he answer any more private questions?   Probably not.  He was polite and friendly to strangers and fans—and whenever the situation called for it—but he was also the type of guy who kept to himself.

"Listen..." Jenson cleared his throat.  He stared at her with creased brows as he stood by the door.  "I like havin' you around, and I appreciate your commitment to your job. You exceeded my expectations, and I don't regret hiring you.  Best decision I've made for myself this year."  He looked away and restrained a laugh.  Then the look on his tan face turned serious again.  "You're good at your job, easy to get along with, honest, and reliable. All I could ask for, really."

"Um...thanks."  What was he getting at?

"Don't feel guilty for Charm's behavior.  Alright?" His baggy eyes squinted at her again.  Then he turned around to walk out of the room.  "You did nothing wrong."

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