Chapter 86: Chapter 86
The flight to the hospital in Sacramento was a short one, considering that it was not that far from Napa. Throughout the flight and even on the drive to the hospital in which Jessica was admitted, Sebastian's mind was preoccupied, as it had recently been, with thoughts of Jessica, his uncle, and even Carol. Never in his life had he been so unsure of how he felt, what the future held, or where it was leading.
He did not know why, but he found it difficult to stay away from Jessica, especially as she was so vulnerable at the moment. He lived in daily fear of what would happen to her, and each time his phone rang, his mind always started beating, thinking that he was about to get the horrible news that she had died. This irrational fear that somehow, the people who had kidnapped her would get to her refused to leave him, no matter how many times he assured himself that she was well guarded. He had given the police, both here and over there where she was shot the last name she had said before she went into a coma. Charlotte... The name did not ring any bell to him. He called them every day to see if they had any news yet, but the story was the same each day. There was nothing yet. They had ID'd the man whom Frank had shot dead, and found that he was once a bodybuilder, turned criminal who was mostly involved in armed robbery and petty crimes. Some years ago, he had been released from prison for manslaughter and had dropped off the grid since then...until now.
He had hired two men to keep watch over her in addition to Frank so that he could be sure that she was safe, even as she was unconscious. The men took turns so that someone was with her at all times, and she was never alone. Sebastian sighed. He was not yet ready to sort through his feelings yet. In fact, he steadfastly avoided having to think about what he was doing and who he was going to end up with. His marriage to Carol was a mistake that should never have happened, and even worse, he had succumbed to his desire to have sex with her. If he hadn't married her, he would not be in this mess or be having the dilemma of having to choose between two beautiful women, whom he seemed to love equally. He had not thought that such a thing was possible, but here he was. His train of thought was cut short as he walked down the hospital corridor when he found Frank, who was supposed to be watching Jessica at this time, sitting in the corridor and sipping from a cup of coffee, as though he did not have a single care in the world. Sebastian paused for a second, wondering what part of the fact that someone had to be with Jessica at all times Frank had not understood.
"Frank?" he said in a tight voice, ready to make his utter displeasure at the fact that Frank had flouted his instructions known.
Frank raised his head and looked toward his boss, who was more of a friend than a boss.
"Good afternoon, boss. I wasn't expecting you until later. You're early today."
"Is that why you're flagrantly disobeying my orders? Because you thought that I would not be coming until later?" Sebastian asked angrily.
"I beg your pardon, boss?" Frank said, not knowing what was pissing off Sebastian so much.
"What part of the fact that I said that someone must always be with Jessica did you not understand? I hired two more people so that you can be relieved of some of the stress of watching her 24/7, but you still can't be bothered to perform your duties. What if someone goes in while you're unaware?"
"Oh, I'm very sorry, boss. I would not let that happen. I've been right here the whole while, and I can see if anybody wants to go in. She's perfectly safe, but I understand. The only reason why I'm out here was that my other boss wanted some privacy with her."
Sebastian felt alarm bells begin to go off in his head at this news. "What the fuck did you just say?" He asked, beginning to walk as fast as he could toward the door of Jessica's hospital room. Frank always referred to Mr. James as his other boss when he was with Sebastian and referred to Sebastian as his other boss when he was with Mr. James. Sebastian's uncle, who had ordered Jessica's kidnap and torture, was even right now, with her all alone in a room, after demanding that he wanted privacy? Frank was so dead! Frank sprang up immediately and began to run after his boss, whose anger seemed to have multiplied tenfold.
"Boss, it's your uncle who is with her, not anyone else."
"I told you no one. Especially him. What part of that did you not understand?" Sebastian said, as he got to the door and flung it wide open with such aggressiveness that it hit the wall and bounce right back. He entered the spacious and tastefully furnished room to see his uncle sitting close to Jessica's bed and holding her frail hands in his.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing? I thought I asked you to stay the hell away from her." Sebastian spat, his eyes running over Jessica to see that nothing had changed. She still seemed to be in the same state that she had been in when he left her yesterday. Heaving a sigh of relief, he signaled to Frank, who stood by the side, watching them with surprise etched on his face, to go outside. Frank obeyed, going out and closing the door quietly behind him.
"Is there something you want to say to me, Sebastian?" His uncle asked, still holding Jessica's hand in his, with his back still turned towards Sebastian. He had not turned even once since the door opened and Sebastian came in. Instead, he remained seated and facing Jessica, his body held rigidly as he waited for what he knew would be a confrontation with his nephew.
"I know what you did," Sebastian said, coming closer to the bed, and ignoring the pang in his chest when he saw how weak and frail his uncle was looking. He had reduced drastically in size since the last time that Sebastian had seen him when he left the Maldives.
"You've said that before. It's strange because you seem to know what I did, yet I who supposedly did this thing, do not know what I did."
"If only you would have the balls to admit it instead of pretending, then things would be so much easier, but you keep denying it and that makes me so angry with you."
"It might help if you told me what you were talking about, but you seem to prefer talking in parables. What has come over you, my dear boy? You do not even bother to ask how I'm doing or anything like that. All you do is yell at a sick and dying old man. Is that fair, I ask you?"
Tears pricked at Sebastian's eyes as he gazed at the man who had raised him and who was practically his father. This weathered, old, and pain ravaged face that he had loved ever since he could remember, even during his rebellious years. The man who had stood by him and had done everything possible, both good and bad, to make him happy and make sure that he had a good life. In a sort of twisted way, the man even thought that he had done this to Jessica for him.
"How are you doing?" Sebastian asked, at last, wiping at his eyes.
"I'm doing well, thank you, my dear. What is plaguing you? You can talk to me. You know that."
"I know that you ordered Jessica's kidnap and torture and that you probably came here to kill her off so that she will not expose you," Sebastian said in a rush, unable to look at his uncle's face as he said it.