Songs Unsung - Book One

Chapter Eighteen

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Doctor Morgan had done a wonderful job of taking care of Candice. She sat in the living room looking much livelier then she had half an hour earlier. She sipped on a mug of tea that Lacey had prepared her, in the midst of clearing traces of glass and evidence of the tornado that had rampaged the apartment. I watched as Lacey rushed about the room, cleaning and tidying and all the while, keeping Candice calm. She was a wonder-woman with a motherly presence and maintained that no task was 'too difficult'. Three men with large arms bulging from their black tops also stood in the living room. One stood by the bedroom door, one by the entrance to the apartment and one by Chase, talking in hushed tones.

I made my way to sit by Candice on the couch and looked at her face with sympathetic eyes. Her bottom lip had a slight cut which had been skillfully tendered to by Doctor Morgan using a surgical type of glue. Red marks on her cheek and forehead were slowly turning purple as the bruising became more apparent. "Are you feeling okay?" I asked Candice with sadness covering my face.

"Better than expected" she smiled "Doctor Morgan is wonderful".

"He really is" I agreed, my face now partially smiling as a feeling of relief fell over me.

"Who are all these people?" Candice asked as she looked around the room.

"It's a long story, but, behind us, talking to the man in black is Chase.." Candice moved her head to better see Chase as I continued "next to him is a man in his employ, a bodyguard of sorts. The lady is Lace...." Candice let out a shriek, cutting me off from my explanation.

"Chase Thomas??" she whispered in a high pitch tone, her face now pale, looking as though she had seen a ghost. I let out a small laugh as I confirmed that it was in fact the Chase Thomas. "What the hell Annabelle?" Candice shrieked, expecting an explanation.

"As I said" I continued "It's a long story" now laughing a little harder, I explained to Candice that Chase was a normal person, and knew what Antonio was capable of. I continued to add that if it weren't for him, I didn't know what would have happened to me that night at the bar.

"What happened at the bar??" Candice asked, her face full of concern. I explained to Candice what had happened after she left the bathroom that night and everything Chase had done for me. Her face was full of sadness as tears fell from her eyes.

"I...." she sobbed "I'm so sorry Annabelle! I wish I had just left with you that night and none of this would have happened!" she dropped her face into her hands as she let out a large cry in pain. I moved my arm around Candice and rubbed her back.

"Everything happens for a reason Candice. Whilst this is horrible and I have no idea why it happened, you can't regret the choices you have made. Who knows, maybe we wouldn't have found this closeness if this hadn't happened? And, I wouldn't have had Chase in my life like this if I hadn't have been hurt in the bar. I want you to try and think of some positives that have come from this horrible experience. Just please don't beat yourself up over it" I smiled at her with soft eyes.

"Thank you Annabelle, you're right. I'm really lucky to have you" she smiled. "What am I going to do now?" she asked as angst filled her face again.

"Well, you could come and stay with me at Chase's home this weekend; it might be a good way to let the dust settle?" I said as I watched the angst disappear from her face. "A weekend at Chase Thomas' house?!" she asked as she let out a squeal of excitement, and jumped up and down on the couch. Grabbing my hands, she pulled them up and down as she squealed "We are going to have so much fun!". I let out a laugh at Candice's excitement, and agreed, some fun is exactly what we needed.