Haunted by the Past

Chapter 19: Frigging Stairs

Copyright 2018 © Rosesareforever 

Haunted by the Past

Chapter 19

Frigging Stairs

Crossing his legs at the ankles, David tried to focus on the motion he was preparing to file, unable to keep his gaze away from the beautiful woman that was currently making a mess of the pile of folders he'd neatly organized that morning. While the neat-freak in him was going out of his mind, David secretly enjoyed having Stephanie in his workspace. It relaxed him.

He was just about to finish the motion when his personal cell phone suddenly started ringing. Frowning, David pulled the blaring device out of the pocket of his custom-made suit. Besides Stephanie, who was currently in his office, and Sedric, who was in court, only his mother had that particular number. Everyone else only had access to his work phone. A knot forming in the pit of his stomach, David looked at the number calling him, his frown deepening. Unknown.

"Thompson speaking," he greeted as he picked up, silently praying that nothing was wrong. The last time he'd gotten a call like that his father had passed away from a heart attack. At his brisk tone, Stephanie looked up from the pile of folders she'd been going through and stared him right in the eye. David tried his best to send her a reassuring smile but failed miserably given the way the woman's eyes widened even further.

"Is this David Thompson?" a woman asked him from the other side of the line, her voice soft and warm.

"This is him," he replied, trying to keep the worry out of his voice. For god's sake, it could be anyone calling him – a call center worker, someone trying to sell him something,...

"Good afternoon, sir, you're speaking to Suzy, a nurse working at the Lenox Hill Hospital. Do not worry, everything is fine, but your mother has been recently admitted to the hospital after she took a fall from the stairs at her home." Her voice droning out, David didn't hear anything else, his hands starting to shake. Not even bothering to say goodbye, he ended the call, threw the phone down and ineffectively started to look for his car keys – going completely berserk when he wasn't immediately able to locate them.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Stephanie interrupted, suddenly appearing next to him, her hand on his arm as she unsuccessfully tried to calm him down.

David couldn't think straight, couldn't seem to do anything but let his mind go crazy with possible bad outcomes. His mother. Oh god, oh no, he wouldn't survive if something happened to her. She was the only family he had left. "Mom, she,..." He couldn't seem to get the words out, his hands still searching for his damn keys.

"David!" Stephanie called out curly, grabbing his chin between her thumb and index finger to force him to look her in the eye. "Calm," she instructed, "Deep breaths."

"Deep breaths," he repeated absentmindedly, nodding as he tried to follow her demand.

"What's going on?" she asked again once his breathing had slowed down, her dark orbs piercing his as she maintained eye contact.

"My mother has been admitted to the hospital," David forced out, his voice wavering as he balled his hands into fists.

Releasing a deep sigh, Stephanie nodded and took control of the situation. "I'll drive," she announced as she was suddenly holding up his keys. Where did they come from? Confused and still feeling unhinged, David didn't even protest as Stephanie led him to the underground parking lot, holding on to his hand. They arrived there in no time. When his onyx BMW M6 came into view, David staggered.

Reading his reaction well, Stephanie shook her head. "No way, I'm driving," she declared, leaving no room for protest. "I know you don't let anyone drive your precious beast, but you're in no state to drive and you need to get to the hospital as soon as possible."