RED

13. Heliotrope

Love is given, hatred is acquired.

by Doug Horton.

A ding sound emitted before the door was pushed open and Kiana walked into the dark penthouse late that evening. She sniffed continuously as she held a handkerchief close to her nose, while she gently shut the door with the other hand. She took off her shoes beside the door just like Enrico had ordered her to do last night. She sneezed just as she turned away from the door. Her head turned three-hundred and sixty degrees for a second, causing her to feel light headed and tremendously weak. She could barely breathe properly. At one point, her nostrils seem blocked and then at another moment, they're running nonstop, making her quite uncomfortable. Her breathing was quite abnormal; each breathe seemingly hot at its very intake. She coughed, her throat feeling a bit sore.

Standing still for a minute, she realised Enrico wasn't back yet. She had left him back at the office to attend to her other menial jobs. He hadn't said a word or given her a hard time, just so she goes nowhere. Enrico just gave a single nod without looking up to her. Kiana wouldn't deny the fact that she found that strange, especially for Enrico. She also hadn't failed to notice that throughout the day, he wasn't his normal self. He seemed a little reserved. a single nod without looking up to her.

Earlier, her boss at the pizza place she worked had told her to go home, as it seemed she was coming down with a cold or something of the sort. It just wasn't hygienic for her to handle people's food anymore; plus her now weak system was preventing her from working efficiently. She had tried her best to assure him that she was okay and capable of working, but he wouldn't listen. Then, she was back home and it seems Enrico was still back at the office. Kiana had no idea where the light switch might be in this enormous penthouse. She would have to roam in the dark, if she's to search for it.

She coughed once more and decided she needed to drink some water. She then searched for her mobile phone within her handbag and when she found it, she turned on the flashlight to enable her to find her way through the darkness. She left her handbag on the counter of the kitchen, before getting herself with some water to drink. Afterwards, she made her way to the room she slept in last night.

As soon as she got into the room, she slumped on the bed and laid flat on her back. She shut her eyes for a minute. She was so tired. Every part of her body ached and to top it all up, she had to fall sick at this point in her life. All Kiana wanted to do was sleep for quite a while, but that dream crushed as soon as she recollected she still had another job to do. She had forgotten for a while that she worked as a maid for Enrico, so she couldn't afford the luxury of falling asleep. She needed to make dinner, so she dragged herself to sit up. She rubbed the back of her ankle as that spot hurt a lot. Her entire feet felt sore and ached, so she tried her best to massage them for a minute before finding the strength to get up on her two feet. She figured out it would be best to freshen up first and that was exactly what she did.

By the time Kiana was walking out of her room all freshened up, she suddenly came to a halt as she felt woozy for a second and she sneezed covering her mouth in the process. Afterwards, she sighed hating the fact that she had caught a cold so unexpectedly. Kiana understood the fact that she couldn't work her way in the kitchen without the lights being turned on, so with the help of her flashlight, she felt her hand pass the wall especially corners and finally, she found it. She sighed in satisfaction as she turned it on before making her way to the kitchen.

Although she barely felt strong enough, Kiana managed herself to make dinner. She took a look at the door, a part of her expecting Enrico to walk past them anytime soon, but none of that happened. She wouldn't deny it made her a little worried, especially after she took a look at the time and saw that it was past eleven. Yet, there was no sign of him. Normally, she would go ahead and eat, but she felt it wouldn't be right for her to eat without her employer having a taste of it first. Perhaps, she would have to wait a little bit more.