Cursed

3. The Girl With Azure Eyes

Buzz...buzz

Louis's alarm buzzed and she woke up with a jolt. She happened to be a very punctual person. And even though she was on a vacation, her habits hadn't changed. Normally, she'd brush her teeth, take a shower and eat some light stuff all in just 15 minutes. If she took 17, she'd curse herself to be late.

But today, things were different. She no longer had to go to the court and go through a mind destructing procedure. Yes, she enjoyed her job. But you lose interest in your work if the same stuff keeps on happening again and again. According to her, monotonicity is something even painful than living in hell.

Wondering what to do next, she slipped out of her blanket and went to the bathroom. She was supposed to meet Jason that day at evening. Until then, she'd no plans. She wanted a vacation, a break, but she hadn't planned out anything. All she wanted was to get away from her tight busy life.

She sighed and decided to take a very long warm bath just to pass time. Now, killing time wasn't exactly in her nature. Actually, she was too keen on making best of her time, of her seconds, rather, milliseconds. But having absolutely nothing to do, she forced herself to the bath tub. Some idea might strike her brain once it was relaxed.

She then pulled out her earphones, and while lying in the bath tub, she plugged them in her ears. That was one thing about Louis. The only thing that she was passionate about, except her job, was music. Whenever possible, she'd simply plug in her ear phones and get lost in the blissful world of music. It'd help reduce the stress and sometimes even relaxed her mind so much that she'd see a loophole in the case. And boom! She'd solve another case people would have assumed was impossible to win.

Suddenly, after a while, her phone started buzzing, interrupting the playlist. It was Arthur.

She quickly rose from the hot water which had now fallen lukewarm. Before answering the call, she checked the time. It was 8. She was sleeping in the bath tub for almost 45 minutes! It won't sound much serious to us. But to her, it was as if the world was about to end.

How can I be sleeping in this damn tub!

She cursed and quickly slipped into her bath robes. She then answered the call while coming out from the bathroom.

"Hey, Ms. Adams. This is Arthur Reynolds.
I was wondering if you were doing okay. Do you need me here?" Arthur spoke in his most fluent business tone.

"Arthur, how many times should I tell you? Don't speak like this. How many years have it been now?" Louis yelled.

Whenever Arthur spoke to her, he'd always address her like this. When he was just an assistant few years ago, this was understandable. But even after trying to convince him for a million times, he'd stick to his habit.

"I'm sorry...miss, I mean, Lo-Louis." Arthur stuttered.

Louis smiled. She wondered what was so wrong with him. He was a very important person in her life. And whenever he called her Miss, or Madam, it was as if they were still worlds apart - boss and assisstant. It made her feel distant. Like Arthur was yet another stranger in her swift life.

"Louis?" Arthur said when she didn't answer. This time, however, the difficulty in his voice wasn't very audible.

"Well, actually, I've got no plans until evening. So, if you're free, why don't you come over here. We'll investigate further." Louis said and coughed. She wasn't feeling very well.

Investigation was just an excuse. What she really wanted was just to spend time with Arthur. He was her only friend after all.

"Okay, I'll be there as soon as possible. It'd take one and half hour at least though. Highway has been closed because of yesterday's storm." He explained.