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Chapter 17. He cares

"Where were you?" I ask my father rather annoyed, with my annoyance only caused by my previous thoughts.
"I am home. I am calling you to postpone our dinner tonight, because something really important that I can't avoid, came up."
Yeah right, something 'important' I am angrily thinking to myself. That something really important is probably a tall dark young man. I feel sick to the thought and I hang up the phone without another word.
*I am available tomorrow and I would like to bring Mr. Yang along with me if that's ok with you* I get a text from him seconds after.
*Ok* are the only two letters I bother to send him as a reply, feelling kind of relieved for how things turned out for me.
Now, I am only hoping that Claire will recover in time and be able to attend tomorrow's rescheduled dinner, or I will be completely screwed.
I sit on the couch and as I am left with nothing else to do, I am tempted to search into Claire's phone, seeing it on that little coffee table next to me, as I was so desperate to learn more about this unknown woman, that I was inexcusably closely observing for the past few hours laying in bed in front of me. I pick it up and it's requesting a password, thankfully preventing me from being the nosy jerk that I was about to be.
I am just so curious to find out what has happened to her, to bring her to this state. I want to learn about the people in her life that broke her down and made her into this fragile woman that she seems to be. Maybe if I read some of her latest messages, I could make some sense of what happened today. I realize how wrong this is and I am assuring myself that I wouldn't eventually go through this after all, even if she had her phone unlocked.

Claire's p.o.v.
I woke up shaking from being extremely cold. I get up in an attempt to call the reception to order some tea to be brought up to my room and I see Alexander sleeping on the couch. I am pleasantly surprised and confused at the same time. I was wondering if he had only stayed there to make sure I was ok and mostly how long has it been.
"Alex..." I tried to call him but my voice wouldn't come out. My throat burned like hell and I knew I was going down with a cold after all, as a result to my previous zone out while still soaking wet, for I don't even know how long. I touched his hand in an attempt to wake him up and he jumped up from where he was sitting. He felt so warm, or was it me that was too cold?
"Claire your hands are as cold as ice." He looked at me with concern and put my hands in his, to warm them up. Then, he touched the side of my neck giving me goosebumps.
"You are feverish. You must be feeling very poorly. Go back to bed and I'll call for a doctor to come." I nodded no to him, as I couldn't even speak through my swollen tonsils and I asked for a tea with a whispering sound that I managed to make with much difficulty. It's just a cold. I don't need a medical prescription to get over it. Only a little bit of rest and lots of fluids and I'll get dressed for the dinner.
"Listen, tonight's dinner is canceled so you have nothing to worry about. Just concentrate on getting better, because I don't think I can cancel it again. It's now rescheduled for tomorrow night and I am hoping you will feel better by then."
He then picks up the phone and orders chicken and vegetable soup instead of tea, telling me I should eat, as I looked so pale and weak. If I only had tea, it wouldn't really make much difference to my poor health.
I thank him for staying here with me and he kindly smiles at me, giving me a sense of warmth and safety.
"Don't mention it. I didn't have anything else better to do, since my plans for tonight were postponed. I didn't want to leave you here all alone, in case you got worse, if that is even possible."
I go to the bathroom feeling very shameful of the way I must look for him to say that and I despair once I take a look at myself in the mirror, that only confirms what I feared. I look like crap. That image would obviously explain why he was so worried to leave me alone. I throw some water on my face that is almost as white as my bedsheets and brush my teeth as my breath must be a killer, but I don't even try to do anything else to make it look better, as I know it's a lost cause.
By the time I was out, my soup was waiting for me at the tiny coffee table. Alexander was sitting on the other side of that small two seated couch, which didn't allow much distance between us. I was only a touch away and he was now looking at me imperatively and I knew he wouldn't take no for an answer.
"I won't leave, until I am sure you are feeling well enough to be left alone. Eat as much as you can. It does actually smell good. Maybe I should order one for myself." He says while smiling, in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere. I made a pathetic attempt to smile back, but from his reaction I know it was bad.
He orders a steak instead and we are kind of having our dinner together after all right there on this tiny table in my hotel room. As the warm broth travels down from the throat to my stomach, I feel unexpectedly soothed and comforted. My throat now actually feels softer and I can speak again, but my voice sounds like I've smoked ten packs of cigarettes. I think I was also dehydrated.
"Thank you for everything." I pause for a minute. "Again..." and this time we are both smiling. Those paracetamol tablets I am always carrying along in my bag, worked wonders on me and I am already feeling much better. I know he sees that too, but he has yet to make a move to leave. I don't mind it really. The exact opposite I would say, as it feels comforting to have someone there with me, that didn't know anything about my past, so I could pretend I was somewhat normal. Well...sort of.
Then he stands up and stays still, only staring at me for a while, but it's not so much of an awkward stare, rather than an 'I am checking that you are ok before I go' one.
"I'd better get going. It's pretty late and you need to get more rest. I won't put my phone on silent for the night, so in case you need anything, don't hesitate to call me. I know you have no one else here in New York so please don't hesitate to ask for my help in case you need it. Oh, and don't think I am spoiling you or something, I am just keeping you safe, only because I need you." He says in a humorous tone, but I know it holds some truth behind it. He sees my annoyance and realizes how that actually sounded to me.
"Hey, don't frown like that. It was only a joke. Come on! I thought you had a good sense of humor."
I try to give him a smile, so that he would just leave. I don't like his presence anymore. I am thinking that indeed what he said was true and I was only a fool once more, to believe that someone had actually cared for me. Never again.
"Goodnight and please do call me if you need anything. I mean it." He continues.
"Ok, goodnight and again, thank you for everything. I really am much obliged."
"Don't mention it." And before closing the door he winks at me.
That would be one difficult night, as I knew the painkillers effect wouldn't last for long, so I order myself a cup of that much needed tea and go straight to bed.
I was rolling around in bed restlessly all night, as the fever had returned. I woke up tired and aching, had some breakfast and head to the closest pharmacy. The hotel's doorman was English too and he was very fond of me. A middle aged man, too polite and always with a big smile formed on his face, which I think was a permanent thing. He would answer kindly and overeagerly to my every question and he would be so happy to help me with anything I needed, making it looked like it was the other way around.
I followed his very detailed directions towards the pharmacy and easily found my way there. The pharmacist helped me, by providing me with everything I needed, along with some vitamins that she had suggested, as she said I looked too pale. I paid for everything and went in this little coffee shop to enjoy what I liked the most! A good cup of coffee. I know that me being English, one would expect me to be more of a tea person, but I loved my coffee.
It was a beautiful sunny autumn day and I was very calmly enjoying sipping my precious coffee when my phone beeped.