She had blood on her hands, and she found herself alone in a large room, dimly lit despite the fact that each of the four walls had huge open windows. Underneath each window were boxes with their flaps open, blood was sipping out from underneath, soaking the carton boxes and slowly making its way, in a line, toward the centre of the room where she stood.
She could hear the frantic cry of her daughter and her heart beat began to accelerate, fear sipped into her heart as she looked at her bloodies hands again. All around her feet on the floor, were pictures of her daughter, stained in blood.
“Alix!” she cried out, feeling herself unable to move away from where she stood.
“Alix!”
She sucked in air as her eyes shut open and her upper body lifted from the bed. She found herself on a soft mattress, covered in the softest and whitest of duvets, but all that was on her mind after the night mare she had just had was where her daughter was.
“Mummy, you’re awake.”
Alix’s head poked up from the side of the bed, she wore an innocent smile on her face as she struggled to get onto the high bed. Donna was quick to reach out and pull her up, capturing her into a tight embrace.
Images of the bloodied pictures flooded into her memories and she shut her eyes tightly to get them off her mind but the images only remained vivid in her mind. Her eyes fluttered open and she released Alix who looked up at her with her eyes wide and shining. Donna chose to draw strength from her daughter’s innocence.
“Everything will be alright.” she told herself, affirming it with a wide smile which her daughter shared with her.
“Oh good, you’re awake.”
Keith walked into the room, fully dressed in his three piece suit
“Keith?” she was surprised to see him, and then quickly her brain put the pieces together like a puzzle, she was in his place, and that could only mean that… “You were the one who came for me at the station?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “I was the one they called for you.”
She felt embarrassed now. “I am so sorry for the trouble you had to go through, it should have been my mother…” she was saying as she was throwing the sheets off her body to get out of the bed, and it was only then she realized she was not in her clothes, she was wearing…
As quickly as she could, she threw the sheets back on to cover her body, she had nothing on save for one of his shirts and it was not the kind of shirt that was exactly long enough to at least cover her thighs. She felt even more embarrassed and dared not to look up at him.
Keith’s lips curved up into a smile, he walked further into the room and came closer to the bed, he knew what was going on in her head, the thoughts that was going through her mind.
“I had a maid change your dress,” he said and she looked up at him. His smile faded and he coughed a little then took a step back away from the bed, he had come into the room to take something anyway.
“I don’t live with any female company.” he continued. “So my shirt was the only other thing you could be changed into.”
Donna nodded her head slowly, she had one hand placed over her daughter’s to keep her from going off the bed and also to stop her from bouncing on it. “If I may ask, where are my clothes now?”
“Your clothes are in the laundry, the maid has been instructed to bring it up to you when it is ready.”
“Thank you.”
She watched as he walked to a section in the room which was arranged to look like a mini replica of his office, he picked up an open briefcase, placed some files in them and shut the case.
Her eye brows furrowed and her eyes came back to the sheets she was covered in, this was his room, and his bed, she had slept here throughout the night, so then where did he sleep?
Her head shot to the other side of the bed as her eyes widened, had he slept in the same bad with her?! she wanted to ask him but she didn’t want to sound awkward.
“I hope Alix didn’t disturb your sleep.” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
“No not exactly.” he replied, still busy on the desk. “I think she slept off just as quietly as you did.”
Her heart beat accelerated, they had slept on the same bed, she had slept on the same bed with her boss, what could be more embarrassing? Everything now would be awkward between them, at least from her own end. She bit her lower lip, how had this happened?
“Plus even if she did,” he continued. “…she would have disturbed you and not me.”
Okay that confused her now. “How do you mean?”
Keith straightened up, grabbed the briefcase and walked closer to the bed. “You both were here and I was in the other room, it is quite a distance, plus the rooms were built to be sound proof.”
Her eye brow raised in understanding now, he had not slept in the same room with her. Oh, her mind relaxed now and she smiled a little, bringing her attention to her daughter who was smiling up at Keith. Okay.
“Well, I’m off,” he said and turned around, heading for the door. “I’ll see you when I get back then.”
She brought her attention to him. “Off to?”
Keith raised an eyebrow as he turned to look back at her. “Work?”
“Work…” her eyes widened. “Oh my- I can’t -”
“Relax Donna.” he said, spreading his palm open in her direction, his face carrying a serious expression. “You have the rest of the week off and then its back to work.”
“Oh…” that was good. “…but then-”
“I saw the pictures you were delivered Donna.” he frowned. “Your phone is by the bed side, call your mother and let her know where you are, she must have left you series of missed calls, but stay put in this house until I return.” and with that he turned and walked out of the room.