Chapter 37

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Kara’s POV

*

It was warm, and the temperature was mild even though my curtains were down and my window was shut.

Late Septembers were always like this, this year was no exception. We were in the autumn period. My door creaked open and after some seconds of shuffling, Stephano slowly crawled into bed beside me. He usually did this whenever he came back late from work, then he would make little conversation with me and we would cuddle before calling it a night. He never spoke much and neither did I.

I understood him, or I really felt like I did. We’d gotten closer and I also knew so much about him. I could depict his mood and his emotions. He would give me a small talk about how his day went, where he went and sometimes, he’d tell me what the meeting was about. It was never about our discussions, but it was about the intimacy between us.

This night though, Stephano didn’t do any of those. It wasn’t like he was obligated to do them but instead, it had become something like a ritual, something I now anticipated. Our own special ritual.

But I waited, and waited. No forehead peck or low curse word like he sometimes muttered whenever he hugged me tight to his chest and we had our little talks.

He didn’t hug me or ask how my day went and if I’d had dinner yet. He didn’t even check if I was awake or not. I turned around with a little smile and turned on both the bedside lamp on my side and his, for proper illumination. A horrified gasp escaped my lips as I took in his disheveled form.

He was pale, like real pale and his lips were trembling like feathers in the winter wind. His shirt was wrinkled and his hair was a mess atop his head. Was he drunk? He didn’t smell drunk though.

I sat up in a swift moment and knelt on the bed, taking his hands in mine. “Stephano, what’s wrong?”

He didn’t respond; he merely stared far ahead, beside my head with puckered lips. I placed a hand on his upper arm and tapped him twice on the shoulder but he still didn’t look my way. It was as if he didn’t know I was in the room with him and that got me alarmed.

Confusion and fear battled for dominance as I stared hard at him. My heartbeat was suddenly erratic. I had never seen someone behave the way he was doing and it made my heart thump wildly in my chest. It hadn’t been more than few minutes when he came in, so I couldn’t say much about his sudden need to zone out like someone in a really deep thought.

I tapped him. Once. Twice. Thrice.

Stephano. Was. Still. Unresponsive!

“Stephano, sit up!” I snapped in slight agitation and tremor was evident in my voice.

Like a broom had just pricked him, he looked my way then looked away again. He placed his hands on his thigh.

“Sit up Stephano.” I repeated with more firmness in my tone.

He did and looked around a little bit as if he was unaware of where he was. There was a strange express in on his face, as if he was watching out for something. His gaze was wary.

“Kara?” He called softly.

I wondered what was up with him. “Yes?”

“Kara....” He drawled.

He smiled a little — freely like a little boy, his eyes twinkled. It broke my heart for some reason. This wasn’t Stephano. Not the Stephano I knew at least. My Stephano would never joke around like this, I would have called him out for it. He was beginning to scare me.

“Hug me.” He commanded.

He laughed a bit. Then I gasped again. He was drooling.

I jumped on him and clung tight to his neck, cleaning the drool with a piece of cloth. “What happened Stephano, you’re acting weird.  Where are you coming from?”

“Work.”

“What happened at work?” I turned on the switch to the center chandelier and checked the time on the wall clock. It read ten twenty two. It must have been up to ten minutes since he came into my room and he was still in his suit.

I checked my chair and sure enough, his briefcase was sitting there. That could only mean he probably came here straight from downstairs without dropping anything or checking anything.

“I...I didn’t....”

I pulled away. “You didn’t do what Stephano?”

I slowly cleaned the fresh drool on the side of his mouth again, feeling highly embarrassed as I did. He didn’t seem to care I was embarrassed. He stared at me for more than five seconds then his expression turned pained. “I didn’t do it Kara. Believe me?”

I kissed his lips, suddenly feeling protective over this strange and new version of Stephano still cling on tightly to my waist. I didn’t understand him but if he needed my assurance, then he would have it.

I had never really fully understood him but this night was an exception; something was surely wrong with Stephano.

“Didn’t do what, Stephano, what didn’t you do?” I slowly maneuvered and sat on his laps, wrapping my hands around his neck in an attempt to get him to look directly at me and me alone. He was observing my room like he had never seen anything like it or been in it before.

“I didn’t pour the coffee.”

I groaned a little, feeling a small headache brewing. Stephano was acting really strange. He wasn’t drunk…

“Okay. I believe you.”

His eyes widened. “You do?”

I nodded and slowly bit my lower lip in confusion. Maybe I needed to call my mom and tell her Stephano was acting a bit weird. I didn’t smell alcohol on him so he hadn’t been drinking and he had never really been one to go heavy on the drinks.

His eyes lit up all of a sudden. “Get off me.”

I got up with a confused stare. Stephano also got off the bed and took his suitcase. He brought out a manila folder which had two papers— which looked like contract or form —and then he stared hard at the envelope, pushing the paper into it properly.

“Keep them baby and make sure no one finds out about them. Don’t give anyone, not even your or my mother.” He told me sternly. My head bobbed up and down repeatedly as I took the papers from his hands.

“I won’t give anyone.”

I kept the papers in-between my most confidential forms and hugged him tight, pulling him down on the bed once more. I knew he could do all these himself but I felt I needed to take care of him because of the strange way he was acting. Maybe he was drunk…I shook my head.

I mentally groaned when Stephano complied, lying down because I realized he was still in his suit, with only his shoe and socks taken off. “Get up and take off your clothes, Stephano.”

“Do it yourself.” He replied all too soon.

Biting my lower lip again, I slowly did, starting from his suit to his shirt and suit pants. When he was in only boxers and singlet, I went out and got his robe from his room; the thickest and longest of his many robes.

When I returned, he was trembling slightly and his nose was red but he didn’t make any attempt to cover himself with my duvet or turn on the heater. I quickly assisted him to wear the thick robe, guessing he’d feel better if he slept.

“Thank you.” He mumbled. I pushed him back down slowly and covered us both with the duvet.

“Let’s sleep baby.” I told him while he hummed.

“God watch over us.” He murmured and pecked me on the forehead before wrapping his arms around my waist and burying his nose in my hair. His breath finally evened out.

I frequently washed my hair and treated it, especially since I noticed Stephano loved sniffing it and making sweet comments on it.

~°~

I was shaking terribly. The coldness around me made it worse and there was this weird numbness I was feeling on my left upper arm, it added to the ache on a part of my body. I struggled to free myself but in vain. Then all of a sudden, I was released but I was still shaking. Or rather, something beside me was shaking and I shook a little due to the impact.

My eyelids flew open to a trashing Stephano beside me. Tremor filled me as my whole world shook.

“No...” He was groaning. I sat up and tapped his shoulders, the dread from last night quickly slamming back into me.

“Stephano...Stephano wake up.” I pleaded.

My hands grabbed his broad shoulders but all attempts to shake him proved futile. If only I had been more serious and active with my gym classes in high school, it would have been somehow useful in this situation.

He hugged his chest tight and groaned in an animalistic way, curling into a ball. Was he having a nightmare?!

“I won’t...”

“Stepha-”

“No, you won’t make me!” He snarled with clenched teeth, and then he released a guttural groan. His eyelids were still shut tight.

I alighted the bed from my side and just stared with my heart beating frantically. Stephano never had nightmares; I had never heard anything like what he was displaying. I had grown up with him and his family and there had never been a case when he reacted this way for any reason.

“Stephano, it’s a dream. Please wake up, oh God, please.” I groaned, at loss for words. I grabbed my hair bonnet and fixed my hair into it, irritated that it was constantly moving close to my face. His eyes were shut tight and I gripped my nightie tightly, afraid all of a sudden.

“Stephano you’ll be fine. Please, wake up.” I sobbed slowly, confused and greatly alarmed.

I went to the other side where he was still hugging himself and shaking. I placed a hand over his forehead and my lips wobbled as my eyes clouded with unshed tears. His head was burning.

Slowly, I hugged him. His groans reduced a little but they didn’t stop.

I climbed him slowly and hugged him tightly to myself, sniffing. “Stephano, it’s only a dream baby. You’ll be fine. Wake up.” He didn’t.

“It’s a dream. It’s just a dream Stephano. Just a dream.” I cooed like a loving mother.

“Hmm.” He groaned.

I ruffled his hair and pecked him on the lips, giggling a little. Something made me believe he could hear me giggling and if he could, then I hoped he would find some kind of pleasure in listening to the sound. I desperately hoped that would pull him out of whatever he was struggling with.

He was a grown man, so I couldn’t sing him lullaby because he wasn’t a baby and that would probably be just weird. I heaved a deep, shaky sigh, my breathing slowly easing out as his tensed muscles relaxed in my hold. I slowly released him and hugged myself, not knowing what else I could do as my own hands were still trembling badly.

“What’s happening?” I whispered in confusion and checked the time. It read four thirty am. I was still lost in my own thoughts, with my head resting gently on my headboard when mother sleep pulled me into her loving embrace.

*

I took another turn. Something is definitely wrong with Stephano. Any guesses? Lol. I'm unpredictable but know there'll be a lot happening from now. Implications, hospitals, crime, scandals. That's the twist.