What about you? - 8

Chapter 8

The week rolled around with Kate feeling that she hadn’t had a real break. Work was more hectic than usual, she was in the process of closing a big account so she had a lot of presentations and meetings. She was working late every night, then there was Peter, she headed straight to spend the evening with him afterwards, and then on Tuesday she headed back into the office after that. Coupled with the emotional trauma the last few weeks had evoked, by the time she left work on Wednesday she was dead on her feet.

The thought of the tube ride home caused her pain she was so tired, but she had no real choice. She swore she’d just collapse into bed; she was too exhausted to even think of food. As she paused waiting for a break in traffic to allow her to cross the road, a sleek black coupe pulled level with her, and the window slid down. Glancing in to the car she spotted Mason leaning across to see her.

                “Can I give you a lift? Apologise? You look shattered.” His voice was humble and he genuinely looked concerned.

Kate had a split second to decide what to do. Fight her way home on the tube, or slide in to this warm comfy car and be driven. In her head there was no choice, she trusted Mason, he’d get her home, it was always herself that she worried about.

With a groan at her own weakness, and a snappy and very sarcastic “haven’t you got the greatest timing...yet again!”, she reached for the door and sank into the passenger seat. Unable to look at Mason for a moment, she twiddled her thumbs watching the road as he pulled out into the moving traffic.

He ignored her iciness, “You ok? You look awful.”

She laughed, turning to look at him, “you sure know how to make a gal feel good!”

His smile was dazzling and tinged with more than a little relief. He’d intended to park the car and walk into the building, catch her off guard, but she’d appeared earlier than he’d anticipated. As soon as he’d seen her step onto the pavement from the security of her office he’d been worried. She did look gaunt, and he’d felt an urge of protectiveness wash over him. The devil on his shoulder also could tell that tonight she was too tired to fight him, or any of his advances. Part of him wanted to take advantage of that, but whilst he hadn’t always been, he was now a gentleman, and she deserved better than that.

Mason hated London rush hour traffic, they barely moved, creeping along the main route away from her business. They were silent for a few minutes, and when he turned to her to ask where she lived – though he had a rough idea, he saw she was fast asleep.  In that moment he made the decision to head to the apartment he was renting in central London, she’d probably be mad, but she looked like she needed a meal cooked, a hot drink. Her brother said she lived with a couple of men who weren’t the most domestic. So he swung in the opposite direction and made for his place.

In the underground car park below the apartment block, he pulled into a space, then taking a deep breath headed for the passenger door. Kneeling Mason slid an arm under her knees, the other behind her and pulled her out of the car and into his arms. She was so deeply asleep that she allowed him to lift her, even nuzzling against him for a moment.

Calling the elevator was awkward and it woke her, glaring up at him confusion lifted from her frown with each prolonged second.

                “What are you doing? Where are we?”

Mason took another deep breath, “you were asleep, so I brought you back to mine, thought you’d be glad of a meal, someone to look after you. Plus I didn’t know where you lived.”

She sighed, both loving and hating the proximity to his hard and warm body, “can you put me down?”

He shook his head, “can’t you accept I’m a friend?”

She gulped, “a friend?”

Nodding he moved out of the lift in long strides, “yep, a friend who thinks you need a break! Now please!”

Mason managed to open the apartment door and carry her through to the hallway. Lowering her to the floor, he smiled, “I’ve got a very juicy chicken in the fridge, amongst other things. I reckon I’ll have a meal ready in an hour.” He pointed to a door, “the shower’s through there if you want one, or at least some joggers or a t-shirt for you to relax in. OK?”

She still wasn’t sure, but the thought of heading home to an empty house, a microwave meal for one and Mike and Steve fighting on the Xbox was a poor comparison to this warm, modern and comfortable apartment. “This goes against my better judgement!” she offered, but her reward was a warm smile.

                “Tell me about it!”

With that he made for the kitchen.

The room he’d directed her into was a bedroom, but through it she could see an en suite bathroom. As promised the wardrobe was filled with clothes, and amongst the shirts, jeans and jumpers she found a pair of soft well worn grey lounge pants and a t-shirt. Lifting them to her cheek she appreciated their softness, then taking a sniff she groaned, he should bottle that scent, it’d get her through many a dark night.

A shower was just what the doctor ordered, it was invigorating, but as she dragged on his borrowed clothes, the exhaustion returned.

Mason looked up as the door opened, the chicken was cooking, he’d prepared the veggies, all he needed was to open some wine. Seeing her he froze. Dwarfed by his too large clothes, damp hair scraped back from her face she looked young, vulnerable and very pale. His heart tugged in a protective way, he’d never felt like this about a woman before, never had more than a lustful urge, but in that instant of spotting her all he felt was a compulsion to see her vibrant, bright and happy again.

                “Hey! You ok?”

She smiled, “I’m just a bit cold.”

He came across the room to her, “you should’ve dried your hair.”

                “I’m too tired.” She slumped onto the sofa, “I’ve had a taxing few weeks, it’s obvious taken it out of me!”

He reached for a blanket and tucked it around her, “dinner will be an hour, just have a sleep. I’ll wake you when it’s cooked and then take you home. OK?”

Her eyes were already drifting shut as she nodded.

An hour later he was more than a little concerned. She’d changed from sleeping peacefully to tossing and turning, her face was flushed and her skin hot. He’d tried to wake her, but she’d only groaned.

                “Mum?” It was all he could think of in a crisis. Fortunately she answered on the fourth ring.

He could hear both the surprise and the pleasure in her voice, “Hi Mason!” Once again he felt a twinge of guilt at the way he’d abandoned her over the years. The rift between him and his step father was nothing to do with her, yet he’d blamed her by disappearing for so long. “What’s gone wrong?”

He laughed, “Nothing! Oh ye of little faith! No I’ve got a friend here who’s not very well. Hot, shivering and I can’t really wake her. What should I do?”

                “Sounds like flu. They need plenty of fluid and paracetamol if you can manage it, that’ll help the temperature come down. And rest of course. Do you need a doctor?”

He wasn’t really sure, “I don’t think so, I’m hoping she’ll be a little better soon.”

                “Call me later let me know how this friend is, ok?”

He hated her knowing chuckle as he hung up. He had some paracetamol, part of his usual hangover cure, and filled a large glass with cold water.

                “Hey Kate,” he shook her gently but she barely roused, so he placed the glass to her lips. As soon as the cold water touched them she instinctively drank. After a few mouthfuls she opened her eyes slowly.

To Kate it felt like her head was caving in. Her whole body ached and she was freezing cold, her last thought was having the shower, she was supposed to be just stopping for dinner. Looking up into Mason’s concerned eyes she felt panicked. “What’s happening?” The words were like sandpaper against her throat.

                “I think you’ve got flu,” he stroked the hair from her sweaty brow. “You need to take these pills and finish this water. Then I’m putting you to bed. I’ll sleep on the sofa.”

                “But...” She started to protest, but he silenced her by raising a hand.

                “You’re not really fit enough to get home, and then there’s no one to look after you. So you’re staying here. Not a subject for debate.”

She had Steve and Mike at home but also knew they may well be out, even if they were in they weren’t renowned for their caring attributes. Neither was likely to make her a drink let alone anything else. SO for the second time that evening she succumbed, taking the tablets, the water, and then allowing Mason to carry her to his bed.

Kate didn’t remember much about the night, but she woke tangled in the damp bed sheets feeling a million times better. She looked across the room to the clock and gasped when she saw it was ten on the morning. She had a full diary for today. Lifting her head she tried to sit, but the effort was far too much for her weary body and she slumped back against the pillows panicking all over again.

                “Mason?” her voice was a hoarse rasp but she really couldn’t muster anything else. She could hear movement elsewhere in the apartment, so he hadn’t deserted her. She looked around the room, a modern very neutral room but could see nothing that she could throw, drop or bang to alert his attention.

As she was trying rather feebly to reach for the bedside table, the door opened and Mason’s concerned face peered in. Seeing her struggling he rushed over to the bed.

                “You ok?”

                “I should be in work!” there was panic in her voice, but he smiled.

                “I spoke to your boss at half seven explained you were really not very well. He thought you’d been pushing yourself a bit hard the last few weeks. He wants you to take a few days off, he’ll present to the Light Harmony people...is that right?”

She nodded then slumped back with a groan, “thanks, I may not seem the most grateful person in the World. I just wanted to apologise for being ill like this. I’m so sorry.”

Kate was trying desperately to sit up, but Mason could see she was exhausted; he rushed over and restrained her with a hand to the shoulder, “don’t get up. Look I brought you here, and to be honest I’m glad I did, you were almost delirious in the night, I was worried about you...if you’d been on your own, well I dread to think!”

She shuddered for several reasons, that he’d seen her in such a mess, that she was there at all, and of course the fear of what she may have said in her sleep, after all she seemed to carry several demons around with her. Mason had spotted that look of panic and smiled, “you’re fine. But I do suggest I take you into the other room, fresh bedding on the sofa, then I’ll strip this bed.”

                “You don’t have to ‘take’ me anywhere, and I really do need to go home!”

She swung her legs out of the bed, but the exertion made her breathless, as she tried to stand the room went fuzzy and she almost collapsed back on the bed. But Mason caught her, “you’re only going to wherever I take you, so relax and stop fussing. Ok?”

She felt like crying, but what could she do, she’d never felt so ill, and Mason did speak some truth, if she’d been at home alone she’d have been terrified. So she allowed him to lift her and carry her into the lounge. Laying her onto the blanket that he’d laid over the leather sofa, he pulled a thin quilt over her. Kate groaned so embarrassed at her position, but completely unable to do anything about it.

Mason made short work of remaking the bed with clean linen, and was following the intricate recipe his mother had read out to him over the phone for her special chicken soup when a voice cut through the silence.

                “That smells good.” Her voice was still rough, her throat sore, but she didn’t feel like the whole of her body was in a tight vice.

He grinned across the open plan from room, “it’s my mother’s recipe, she recommended it, and I have no idea how it tastes...yet. You look better.”

She nodded, “Not quite so bad. And I can sit up on my own!” As if to demonstrate, she swung ehrslef into sitting, took a few deep breaths to steady her swirling head, then smiled, “see?”

Shrugging, he poured her a glass of water and came towards her with it and a couple more pills, “sorry but I’m quite enjoying it, and you’d better get used to me carrying you around, you’re going to be stuck here for another day or two at least.”

He watched her flushed face turn paler by the second as she floundered, tried to climb to her feet. Reaching for her shoulders he pushed her back down to the sofa, “You’re not going anywhere Kate. So just relax.”

Kate had never flet this enclosed, restricted and claustrophobic, as she tried to think of how to get out of this, in the end she glared up at him, “I CAN’T stay here, you don’t understand! I have responsibilities!”

He nodded, “yeah, Peter. I know! His mother’s going to visit until you’re feeling better!”

As she took in the words it felt as though her heart had stopped beating and the room got darker and darker, but as she fainted, collapsed, or whatever you wanted to call it, her last thought wasn’t ‘how the hell does he know’, it was relief, that she didn’t have to hide it anymore.