Mrs Oliver Jarvis Anderson [Wattys 2015]

How did you end up here?

The day after the meeting with the Andersons, I woke up feeling sick. My body was weak and I felt like lying in the bed forever. Fortunately,it was a Saturday. Therefore I had no work.

I forced myself out of my bed and went for a quick shower. Even after a warm show,I was feeling weird.

I went into my kitchen to make myself some breakfast. I pulled out a baked bean can and emptied it before heating it in the microwave for a minute. Suddenly my stomache started hurting a lot. Worser than the cramps I have during my periods. I held my stomache tight as I cried out in pain.

I have never had such a pain before and I was usually good with bearing pains but this was unbearable. I went to my hall with tiny steps and gasps for air. I reached out for my phone and randomly pressed the letter "D" in my contact list and called whatever name first came.

As the rings went, the pain was getting more intolerable. Finally, I saw the screen of my phone turning green , signalling that the person is on the other line. I tried to tell whats wrong but the pain was too much. So I could only shout "HELP!!" to the person before wailing .

I wished that the person would rush here sensing that I was in trouble. That moment I wished my mum had been there with me.

The energy in body drained out leaving me almost unconscious. I managed to rest against the side of my shelf as I pressed my stomach in pain. Its been about 20 minutes since I had the pain, slowly I felt the pain leaving me.

As I felt some relief, I heard the door of my house being opened forcefully by someone. I wanted to get up but the state my body was in stopped me from doing so. If it was a robber,I was totally defenceless and he could just kill me.

Then I heard a very familiar husky voice. I opened my tightly shut eyes to see Oliver standing there with anxiousness and worry etched all over his beautifully sculpted face.

"Are you okay?" He questioned crouching down to me.

I was shocked, I wanted to ask him how did he get here but I still remember how scathingly he he spoke to me that day and kept my lips pursed together.

A few tears escaped my eyes as the pain came back ,with lesser intensity this time. I weakly took my hand and wiped them away.

"Natalie, if you refuse to speak to me ,I understand but you will have to atleast tell me whats wrong. I think I deserve to know,for I cancelled my million dollars worth project's meeting after hearing you cry out on the phone." He said sternly but his blue eys were drenched with concern and the eagerness to know whats happened.

I couldnt stop myself from smiling a bit after hearing what he said. He actually got worried and hurried here.

With all my almost gone strength, I leaned forward and hugged Oliver who was still crouching. With almost no hesitation, Oliver hugged me back.

This hug was comforting,it not only comforted my weak body but also my lonely soul. I felt like as if I had someone for myself. Oliver had his strong arms wrapped around me and my face was on his shoulder. I knew I was spoiling his shirt with my tears but I didnt want to lose the warmth it gave me.

"Tell me what happened" Oliver said as he released me from his embrace.

I slowly narrated the whole story to him. His face displayed many emotions as I told him the events.

Soon after that narration, Oliver helped up to a chair and called his family doctor.

"I have called Doctor Peters. He will be here soon." He said taking out his laptop.

Doctor Peters arrived soon and did a check up on me. He told me that I had food poisoning after eating something that had been either cooked wrongly or expired. He prescribed some medicines to be bought from the pharmacy.

After Doctor Peters left,Oliver came into my bedroom where I was resting. I sat up and showed him the side of my bed to sit on.

"Thank you for coming and sorry for disrupting your work. I didnt know it was you whom I called." I said gratefully. And that was when I realised that I saved Oliver's name as "Devil J. Anderson" in my phone. That explains how I called Oliver.

"Its okay. Im glad I reached here before anything serious happened."He said texting someone.

"Anyway Nat, I have a very good friend of mine who wants to see you. We were supposed to meet him yesterday but he couldnt make it. So Im call-"

"Its okay Oliver,I dont mind it. He can come over." I cut in to give him consent.

"What? I wasnt asking you permission, I was telling that he was coming." Oliver said staring into my face.

I find this unfair. Its my house and he decides to call someone over without my permission. Just as I thought Oliver was a normal person with manners,he proved me otherwise.

"Oliver! This is my house. You need my permission!!" I raised my voice at him. I was burning with fury.

"See this" he said as he lifted my left hand showing the ring he put on me yesterday.

"This means you are mine. And whatever belongs to you , belongs to me." He said looking intensely at me.

I was taken aback by Oliver's sense of ownership on me. It meant he considered me as his own and his wife. Im not sure about the latter one though. My lips curved to form a smile without me knowing . Oliver looked at me and his serious face looked abit relieved for some reason.

"He will be here in the evening. Meanwhile, you should get some rest. I will get some food and the medicine." Oliver said standing up ,ready to leave my room.

"Its okay, I can cook for three people. Im alright now. You can stay here while I get the medicine." I said broadening my smile.

He blinked about 3 times before replying.

" Well, you can cook. But get some rest now and I will buy the medicines soon. Understand?" He asked taking out his car keys.

I nodded my head and lied down on my bed like a little kid. I snuggled into my blanket and pulled my teddy bear which I had since young,closer to me.

If Oliver thought what I did was silly, he didnt show it.