Eyes Of Muniz

Chapter 16

Marisa felt alone and desperate. She was not herself these days. It had been close to five weeks since she had left Michael's mansion. She had not told any about what had happened there. Who would she tell? She had no one else to tell. Ned. He was there.She just didn't know why it was difficult for her to let him in. She had been feeling sick lately, she thought it was probably depression. Marisa slid into bed though it was 4 pm, she wanted to sleep and drown in her thoughts. She heard the door bell ring. Marisa ignored it until it rang the third time. She dragged herself out of bed and fixed her hair. She knew it was Ned.
He smiled when she opened the door.
"I brought some wine, may you invite me for dinner?" Marisa smiled, she wouldn't turn down company on a day like this.
"Come in, you cook. I feel tired today" Marisa said. He came in and placed the bottle on the counter.
" What makes you think Im a good cook?" Ned asked.
" I don't, I just feel tired. I have everything you need to put a decent meal together here" Marisa told him walking to her bedroom. She came back with a small blanket and curled up on the couch.
"Marisa you're not okay, are you?" Ned figured out.
" I just feel a bit under the weather" she said. She was being overpowered by the deep urge to sleep.
"Okay, I will wake you up when I'm done" Ned fixed the blanket and watched her drift to sleep. He walked to the kitchen and took off his jacket. Ned took a deep breath and got down to business.
Marisa was awakened by Ned's gentle squeeze on her shoulder. She sat up straight on the couch.
"Are you starving?"
"I just got up" Marisa replied with a smile.
" Let's go and eat, I'm done" Ned told her. They went to the kitchen. Marisa fought a heavy wave of dizziness as she sat on the chair.
" Steak..nice" Marisa passed a comment. She looked down in her plate, the urge to eat suddenly vanished.
" That's one of the few things I can cook" Ned said pouring wine for both of them. They started eating in silence. Marisa felt nauseous, she stood up and dashed to the bathroom. She threw up. Ned rushed to her aid.
"Are you okay?" Ned asked her.
"Yes, I..."
"Oh I'm sorry. I must've went overboard with the spices" Ned apologized.
" Yes it's okay. I'll brush my teeth and I'll join you back in the kitchen" Marisa said. Ned nodded and went to the kitchen. Marisa brushed her teeth and washed her face. She wiped it dry and went back to the kitchen.
" I am sorry, I.."
"Don't worry about it. There's always next time" Marisa assured him.
" Yes sure" Ned was thrilled when she hinted a possible next time.

"But you still have not eaten anything, you need something. How do you feel?" Ned said concerned.

"I will find something a bit later, I have a mild tummy pain" Marisa lied. She had a severe stomach pain but she tried to hide it because she knew Ned would insist on staying over for the night to keep an eye on her or suggest they see a doctor.

" I'm sorry I ruined dinner. Can I make it up to you?" Ned said. She stared at him for a while.
"How would you fix it?"
"Let me take you out for dinner on Saturday. We will have a good meal" Ned suggested. Marisa gave a weak smile. There was no harm in trying was there?
  "I'm on for Saturday. Just don't ruin it" Marisa said with a smile.
"I won't trust me" He said. He hid his excitement. She looked pretty today.
   "You don't have plans right?"
"Not at all. I usually hang out with Michael but he is hosting the Alfinos" Ned spilled. He had asked Marisa out on Saturday because he wanted to eliminate Michael's chances of finding her and asking her to fill in on her role as his "wife" when the Alfinos came.
   "So you asked me out because Michael is fully booked?" Marisa felt her heart thumbed as soon as she mentioned Michael's name. She immediately flashed red.
"No no, I didn't mean it like that" Ned said.
  "He is hosting the Alfinos alone?" Marisa asked ignoring what Ned had said.
"Yes, he is. He fired you and he can't won't have anyone to fill in for you. He'll find it difficult to keep them entertained on his own. He deserves it" Ned said.
  "So Saturday, right?" Marisa didn't like the way Ned backstabbed Michael all the time he was not with him. He was his best friend but he said bad things about him. She had no reason for defending Michael because he hadn't been fair with her but she always found herself defending him against Ned.
"Yes, sure"
   "Goodnight, Ned"
"Are you dismissing me?" Ned asked her with a smile.
  " Not at all, it's just getting late" she said kindly. Ned smiled in agreement and stood up. He grabbed his jacket and went to her, she stood up and hugged her.
"Saturday" she whispered.
  "I'll come and pick you up 6pm" Ned told her. He went to the door and added,"Eat something before bed". He left.
Marisa thought of Michael, she knew his pride would not let him look for her to ask for help. It was not her problem though. She went to her bedroom and slid into bed. Ned had surely done a great job in trying to show her the Michael she should have seen before she got herself in trouble. She believed Ned. Michael was selfish and he had to suffer. She decided not to care. She opened her drawer for a rosary. She couldn't find it. She turned the drawer upside down in search of her rosary and the found it. Marisa reached for ot and realized it was entangled with a small chain with a key. It was the spare key to Michael's mansion. She had forgotten to turn it over the day he fired her. Marisa panicked and slid back into bed. Ideas started rushing into her head, it wasn't a bad thing but one of the ideas was more powerful and kept haunting her until she drifted to sleep...
One idea..

Sorry for late update...
Stay tuned for 16..soon