My Words Are Law

What are we? (3)

Amaryllis raced to the building lobby where Chryses was staying at but stopped when she spotted a crowd of reporters at the entrance. They must be surrounding Chryses, Amaryllis thought as she stood at a distance. Her guess was quickly confirmed when she caught a glimpse of the unmistakable platinum blonde hair.

"I am no longer affiliated with the CEO of Taylor Conglomerate. This is all I can confirm for now."

Amaryllis stared silently at Chryses, who stood calmly in the middle of the cameras and mics, flinching as he locked gazes with her. He seemed to have recovered from his fever.

Later, he started walking towards her, but she was too frozen in panic to flee from the scene. Is he thinking of involving her in the publicity..?

She stepped back and closed her eyes, expecting the crowd to come closer, but it didn't happen. Instead, the last thing she saw that day was Chryses leaving in a cab. She was sure he would make a sensation out of her presence, coupled with the news of his disownment... But maybe that's not the case.

Proceeding the news of T Corps. Heir being disowned, Mr. Cadell topped the next headline as he took control of the board of SG Enterprises after his mother was asked to step down as chairman due to a recently publicized scandal of a past affair.

And it seemed like Mrs. Cadell really was the one behind her aunt's misfortune, as immediately after she was deposed, Rosa's schedule visibly improved. She no longer spends all her nights in the company like before, and the dark circles under her eyes are starting to fade. Her aunt was finally back to her former healthy persona.

Surprisingly, Chryses never contacted her amid everything that was happening, leaving her puzzled. He's never even appeared in the news after the incident, prompting the media to create all kinds of theories about his disappearance and even going as far as to suggest that he might have committed suicide from depression after being disowned. 

He wouldn't do that. Someone with a nasty personality like him would never think of suicide. Amaryllis stared at her mobile phone. She's not worried. It just felt odd that after keeping his end of the bargain, he disappears without a trace. 

It has been two weeks since everything returned to normal, and Amaryllis still couldn't believe her problem was solved in less than a month... The feeling was surreal. However, she couldn't help but feel anxious about the person who perfectly orchestrated the events. In the end, Amaryllis found herself dialing the number of the person she wasn't worried about, and finally, on the third call, the line was connected.

"Hello?"

"H-hello..?" She responded timidly, wondering why the voice sounded different.

"Oh my. Thank you for calling. Your boyfriend is asleep, and we don't know how to get him home. Some bastard robbed his wallet while he was passed out. We weren't able to chase the guy. Miss, can you come by precinct 10 in A1 area and pick him up?"

It was so noisy in the background that she almost couldn't hear him if he didn't shout into the mic. She didn't even get a chance to refuse because the officer started yelling at some guy for not behaving in the precinct. Amidst all the chaos, the call ended, and she was left speechless in her seat. It was just one call, and she got tangled into a situation with him again.

She would have called Chryses' grandmother, but she had lost her contact info when Chryses repaired her phone. Amaryllis shut her eyes as she ran through what she could do. She's home alone. Her aunt and brother are currently on a family field trip organized by the school and won't be back for at least three days. She exhaled a breath.

A few minutes later, she blinked in front of the precinct doors.

God...

Now that she's here, she wanted to beat herself, thinking how ridiculous this was. She was torn between going home and entering the building until an officer spotted her, ultimately dashing one of her options.

"What are you here for, miss?"

She immediately recognized the voice and smiled tentatively as she greeted him. "Good evening, sir... I'm the one who called my friend's phone a while ago..."

He clapped his hand and nodded. "Yeah. So you're Amaryllis, right? Can I have an ID?" He spat out his cigarette and stubbed it under the soles of his shoes.

Nodding, she reluctantly gave him her citizen ID card.

"Okay... You're twenty-one this year? Good."

After the remark and a quick comparison between the picture and her face, he ushered her inside, passing through some teenagers who got themselves in trouble, and finally, to the lobby seats where she saw Chryses sleeping soundly. He was wearing sweats and a little roughed up... and alive.

"We usually try to contact the parents or the guardian, but... well..." He turned around to face Amaryllis with an awkward face. "You can handle this, right?" he asked. "I'm sorry for putting this on you, but the precinct is having a busy night. Do your parents know that you're together?"

"Ah. We're friends," Amaryllis denied, and he nodded.

"Sir-! Sir, the chief is calling." A subordinate came rushing to the officer, looking very much anxious.

"Ah, shit." He rubbed his neck and looked at the big-eyed college girl. "I'm sorry, but I'll have to leave. My subordinate will help you carry him, at least." He grabbed the younger man beside him and pushed him to a sputtering Amaryllis before going in a rush, leaving the task all in their hands.

And that was how she ended up taking care of a drunk Chryses.

Amaryllis exhaled a long breath as she rubbed her temple while looking at her fellow passenger, who was out like a light. After helping her load the sleeping Chryses in a cab, the officer wished them well and ran back to the station. How is she going to carry him through the lobby? She tried waking him up during the ride, but he wasn't responding. Just how much did he drink..?

"...Aha..." Halfway through the ride, Chryses opened his eyes. "Amaryllis is here..." His words came out in a slur as he grinned.

"Taylor... Taylor, are you awake? We're near the apartment, so... Can you walk..?" She felt stupid for asking after looking at his state. She doubts if he can take three steps without tripping on his feet.

"Of course, I can walk. You can make me do everything you want me to do. Did you forget? Silly Amaryllis." He chuckled as he ruffled her head fondly before pulling her in a hug. "So warm... I missed you so much."

"Hey... Hey! Taylor-!" Because he couldn't properly support himself, he ended up pushing much of his weight on Amaryllis, thrusting her flat towards the car door. "Ouch!"

"We're here." The cab driver uttered as the car halted to a stop.

Amaryllis wanted to cry. This is a mess!

***