SPARKS

Chapter 5

       Veronica and Helen shopped for hours. Veronica found out Helen had a serious obsession for designers, Helen walked around the boutique so fast it was hard to keep up with her and that was saying a lot considering the fact that Veronica had long legs.
       Helen touched and felt the texture of the dresses before picking them, she even sniffed some to veronica's horror.
         Helen stopped in front of a dress and felt it's texture. "This will look awesome on you, let's take it"
             Veronica shook her head and looked apologetically at the sale rep standing behind her. "Please pardon us", Veronica apologized.
        "It's fine", the sales rep replied sounding out of breath.
        Veronica turned to Helen who was moving through ranks of dresses, checking their tags. "I need just one dress for tonight, why do we have six already?",she grumbled.
        "Becau zeeeee, then we will have a lot to pick from. It makes the preparation more exciting and thrilling, i really can't wait to have you dressed up"
    Veronica stared at Helen's smiling face not knowing what to say.
       Three hours later, they left the shop with six bags.
      Helen half walked,half jumped all the way to their car.
    Veronica shook her head behind her and adjusted the bags in her hand.
     Helen's phone rang suddenly and she quickly opened the backdoor of the car and threw the bags in her hand in the backseat,then picked her call.
      "Hi",she said cheerily.
    Veronica watched as her eyes darkened and her lips trembled. Veronica stared at her her face, she moved towards her to ask what was wrong but thought better of it. Something told her helen would not appreciate her asking, so she stood back and waited.
         Helen cut the call and put the phone in the back of her pocket, she stared into space.
         Veronica placed her hand gently on Helen's shoulder,she felt Helen tense beneath her palm. "Hey,you okay?",she asked softly.
          "I'm great", Helen answered automatically.
           "I will drive", Veronica said taking the car keys out of Helen's tightened fist.
           They drove home quietly.
Helen was still in some sort of a daze when they got home, Veronica took out all the bags and carried them all upstairs by herself. A dazed looking Helen followed behind her, veronica's worry grew more by the second.
       Helen excused herself the moment they got inside and went straight to veronica's bed to sleep, Veronica stared after her in awe.
        This was a side to Helen she had never seen, Helen had always been vibrant and full of so much life and smiles that it hurt too much to see her the way she was at that moment.
        Veronica went into the bathroom to take off her dress and changed into her normal joggers and a singlet, she looked over at Helen sleeping on the bed then walked to her work table. Her laptop sat on the table, she opened it and typed in her password.
She took in a deep breath and began to type, fifteen minutes later she realized that she had written close to a hundred words without feeling nauseous.
           *               *                 *
       Helen woke up three hours later but she looked so pale and terrible that Veronica had to offer to take helen to a hospital.
      Helen declined saying she was totally fine and just tired, Veronica did not believe her but left her alone and watched her every move.
    Veronica prepared a meal for the both of them, Helen ate slowly but Veronica was relieved to see that Helen's face looked better.
       After their meal, Veronica washed their plates and sat back in front of her laptop but instead of typing she saved the words she had written and sat back watching Helen.
         Helen looked up and saw her watching, Veronica noticed her eyes widened and the shy look on her face before she forced out a laugh. "What?",she asked almost shyly.
"What?", Veronica asked.
   "You are staring at me", Helen said looking uncomfortable.
  Veronica raised her brow in amusement  "How else am i supposed  to see you",she asked.
   Helen gave a shy laugh and sighed. " I am fine V, you can stop worrying now"
   " Who called you?", Veronica asked suddenly.
     Helen looked away.
     " Okay, i shouldn't have asked. I am sorry",she said and got up from her chair and began to walk towards the kitchen. Slim hands were suddenly wrapped around her waist and held her tightly.
      " I am sorry, it was just an unexpected call and I'd rather not talk about it. It's nothing for you to worry about, i am fine", Helen said softly.
     Veronica was too stunned to speak,the contact was so unexpected and felt so good that she fought with herself not to turn around and hold helen right back.
         "Okay", Veronica replied breathlessly, praying that Helen would let go of her waist.
          "Really, you're not mad?", Helen asked excitedly.
   "No Helen, it's fine. It's your privacy after all, i understand", Veronica said holding her breath.
       "No no, it's not like it's anything private or that i do not want to tell you. It's just not important enough, okay?", Helen said desperately.
       Veronica let out the breath she had been holding to keep herself from collapsing
        Helen hugged her tighter, laughing. "You are the bestest friend ever, thank you", Helen said softly.
      Veronica blinked rapidly and inhaled but said nothing.