Confused by Love Read online

  “Izzy, you look so rough. You go back up and I will bring you some medicine and some fresh orange juice.” I turn around and smile weakly at her

  “Thank you, babe. You’re amazing,” I reply. I slowly walk back to bed. My head feels like it’s going to explode.

  I lay in bed, almost dozing back to sleep when Claire walks in. She hands me the box of paracetamol and places the glass of OJ on my bedside table.

  “Thank you so much. I would be lost without you,” I say sleepily, grateful to have her here.

  “You’re okay. That's what I’m here for,” she says, winking at me as she smiles and walks out the door, slowly and quietly closing it behind her. I quickly check my phone, two messages. Both from Donte. I moan in frustration. Why can’t he just leave me alone? I don’t reply. I just turn my phone screen down on the bedside table, roll over, pull the duvet over my head and soon fall asleep. Not a very restful sleep granted, but sleep nonetheless.

  Claire wakes me a few hours later. She gently knocks on my door and walks in with a tray in her hands.

  “Hey, babe. I thought I would make you something to eat,” she says as she sits on the bed.

  “Thank you Claire. What time is it?” I ask as I sit up.

  “It’s just past 1:30. You feeling any better?” she asks.

  “To be honest, I feel really rough, even though I slept more. I still feel really ill.”

  “Okay. How about we lay in here and watch movies all day?” she asks.

  “I would like that,” I say as I lift the duvet back of the bed inviting her in. Nothing beats a day watching movies with your best friend when you’re sick. She giggles at me and climbs in.

  I leave Claire to pick the movie while I eat my chicken soup she made me. It is delicious, but I knew it would be.

  “Hey, since you’re ill, how about we watch one of your favourite DVDs?” Claire asks.

  “Yeah, sure,” I reply with a mouth full of soup. Claire smiles at me, picks the DVDs of the shelf and puts one in the DVD player. She then climbs back into my bed and together we snuggle up and watch TV.

  Seven o’clock comes, and we both agree to get something to eat. I am still feeling ill, but she won’t let me get away with not eating. Claire jumped out of bed and presses pause on the TV. I slowly climb out of bed, put my bathrobe on, over my shorts and t-shirt and follow Claire downstairs. I sit on the sofa as she preps dinner. A nice light chicken salad is on the menu for tonight. We both sit on the sofa and eat our food, talking about the best bits from the Twilight movies we just watched.

  Once we had finished, we go back upstairs and continue watching the DVDs till we fall asleep.

  For the rest of the weekend, I stay sick. I stay in bed all day Sunday, sleeping while Claire visits her parents.

  It was now Monday morning and Claire came in to see me before she left for work.

  “Hey babe, you feeling better?” she asks. I shake my head, answering her question silently. Claire sits on the bed and grabs my hand. “You really should go see a doctor if you’re not feeling well, Izzy,” she says, scolding me. She’s such a mother hen.

  “I will try to get into see them today,” I promise her. If I don’t, she would probably take the day of work to stay home and drag me there.

  “Do you want me to call your work and tell them you won’t be in?” Claire asks.

  “Yes please, if you don’t mind”.

  “Of course I don’t, babe.” Claire then gets my phone off the night stand. “Hello, this is Claire Richards. I am calling on behalf of Isabella Jacobs. She will not be coming to work today. She has been ill since Friday evening.” There’s a slight pause on her end of the conversation so the other person can answer her. “Of course. Thank you.” She hangs up the phone.

  “Are they okay with me not going in?” I ask.

  “Yeah, someone named Nevaeh said she wishes you a speedy recovery, and she will pass the message on to Mr. Mills for you”.

  “Oh, that would be his P.A.”

  “Anyway babe, I gotta go. If you need me at all, just ring and I will come back,” she says as she stands up. “You might want to read your messages, too. It kept beeping in my ear,” she says, laughing as she walks out.

  I pick up my phone and make a call to the doctor. They can fit me in at 3:45 this afternoon with Dr Jackson.

  I decide to read the messages, seven messages and eleven missed calls? All from Donte. I groan in frustration.

  Text messages read -

  **Hey, you okay?. I tried to ring but couldn’t get through to you.**

  **Isabella, I am sorry if I scared you off last night. Are you ignoring me? Because I will see you at work on Monday. Please talk to me. I need to know we are okay.**

  I don’t read the rest I just delete them all. Just as I do, I receive another message. Again, it’s from Donte.

  **Nevaeh has just told me you have called in sick, or should I say, your friend did. Please talk to me. Isabella avoiding work is not going to help. If you don’t text back, I WILL call around.**

  **I am ill. I have an appointment at 3:45. I have been in bed all weekend. We will talk about Friday night when I return to work. I haven’t been ignoring you, my phone has been off all weekend. You don’t need to call round. I will be fine.**

  I put my phone back on the night stand and fall back to sleep.

  Chapter 5

  I wake up and look at my phone, its 2:37. Shit! I have to get up and go to the doctors. I slowly climb out of bed, and drag my sorry ass to the bathroom. I climb in the shower and five minutes later, I’m done. I walk back into my room and throw on a pair of grey sweatpants and a white top. I grab a hair tie and chuck my wet hair into a ponytail. I grab the matching jacket to my sweatpants and throw it over my shoulders. I look at my phone and realize its 3:00. I call for a taxi and the operator says it shouldn’t take long, so I ask if I can book it for 3:20. I put my phone down and slowly eat the apple, hoping I can keep it down.

  Twenty minutes later, the taxi is outside waiting for me, so I drag myself out to the street to meet him.

  At 3:35, we pull up outside the doctor’s office. I walk in and notice it’s clean and bright, with light bouncing off the white walls. There is a long line at the reception desk so I decide to go to the automatic sign in machine that was on the back wall. 'Thank you, you have been logged in. Please take a seat and the doctor will be with you as soon as possible' is the message that appeared on screen after I type in my last initial, and my date of birth in the machine. I go and sit in one of the green chairs and wait for the doctor.

  I'm suddenly been grabbed from behind on the shoulders, making me jump, fearing for my life. I turn around to see Donte standing there, smiling. Holy shit. I get to my feet, grab his hand and drag him out the office before I blow my top.

  “What the hell you doing here?” I hiss at him.

  “I came to see if you’re okay, Izzy. You look so sick. Why didn’t you call over the weekend? Or get medical attention before now? If I would have known you were unwell, I would have gotten you to my doctor!” he says in an angry tone.

  “I said I was fine. What does it matter to you? I'm just an employee, or do you make personal check-ups on everyone when they call out sick?”

  “No, but after Friday night, I was worried about you.”

  “I'm fine, as you can see. Now you can go back to work,” I say, turning on my heels and going back inside. I sit down and Donte takes a seat beside me.

  “I said you can go. What you still doing here?” I ask him, in a no nonsense tone. He is really starting to annoy me.

  “I'm staying until you have seen the doctor. Only then will I go back to work. When I know you are okay,” he says and you can tell he is not to be messed with.

  “Fine, you stay here, but you do not come in that room with me,” I say, making myself clear. He nods his head and we sit in silence.

  Five minutes later, my name is flashed on the led screen above the reception desk. It tells me to go to r
oom 6, so I do, looking back to make sure Donte wasn’t following me

  “Hello, Isabella, I'm Dr. Jackson. What seems to be the problem?” greets the doctor. She must be in her late forties, early fifties at the most. She has grey shoulder length hair and blue eyes that are hidden behind her glasses. She’s wearing a light blue trouser suit set making her look taller but really, she’s a small curvy lady.

  “I haven’t been very well since Friday, late evening. I don’t know what’s wrong though.”

  “Okay, let’s take a look.” Dr Jackson says, smiling. “Can I listen to your chest? See what’s going on. It could be a cold.”

  “Of course,” I answer.

  S he places the stethoscope on my back in three different places getting me to take three deep breaths each time. I am glad she warned me it was going to be cold, it is colder than I ever remember.

  “Miss, your chest is extremely congested. I am just going to check your temperature.”

  She places a thermometer into my ear, leaving it till it beeps.

  “It is a little high. I would expect it. I am just going to check your blood pressure and pulse while you’re here, ensuring I don’t miss anything.”

  “Thank you.”

  She places the cuff on my arm, sliding it up, pulling it tighter. “This is going to get snug.”

  She presses the button to start it. She wasn’t lying. Ouch … It really hurts, it gets really tight, almost like its cutting of the circulation on my arm. I am so glad to hear the beep, letting us know it has finished. She undoes the cuff and slides it off.

  “Your blood pressure and pulse are fine. I'll just get you a prescription for your upper respiratory infection. I’m also going to test you for the flu. You need to take these as it states on the box. Drink plenty of fluids, sit up, and don’t lie down. It will help your chest clear. Hopefully, within a couple of days, you will be feeling a lot better. If you are not improving in a couple of weeks, come back and see me.”

  I thanked the doctor, grabbed my prescription and walked out the exam room and into the lobby. Donte is still sitting there, waiting. He stands up walks over to me when he sees me.

  “You okay?” he asks.

  “I guess. I have a chest infection and the flu. I have some antibiotics and something called Tamiflu that were called into the pharmacy,” I say.

  “Okay, let’s go get it,” he says, grabbing my hand, leading me out of the building. We walk to his car and I climb in the passenger side and curl into a ball. God, I feel like crap. Why does he have to see me like this? I look a mess and it’s embarrassing.

  He drives us to the pharmacy, and he waits in the car while I make my way to the counter.

  I walk back out five minutes later with my prescription in hand. Donte climbs out of his car when he sees me coming and runs to the passenger side, then opens my door.

  “Thank you,” I mutter as I lower myself into the seat.

  “Let’s get you home,” he says and drives us back to my house. When we get there, he touches my hand and looks sincere when he says, “I really hope you feel better.” His thoughtfulness makes me blush.

  “Thank you for bringing me home.” I get out of the car as quickly as my body allows. Every time I’m around him, I feel so...confused. I don’t know what’s going to happen, what he is going to say or do. I walk to my front door and turn to watch Donte leave. I go lay down for a nap.

  When I wake up, it’s five o’clock and Claire comes home early from work.

  “Hey, did you go see the doctor?” she asks.

  “Yeah. Chest infection and flu is what they said. I got some medicine. I already took some and I’m feeling better,” I say while smiling.

  “I can tell, you seem more alive and happy again,” Claire says. I giggle.

  “What would you like for dinner?” I ask her.

  “Oh, you are definitely getting better. You’re wanting to eat again” she says, playfully shoving me with her elbow.

  ***********************************

  It is now Wednesday and I’m back at work, feeling so much better. I actually came back yesterday, but today is much better. Donte was all over me yesterday; he kept wanting to make sure I was okay. Every time he came over to me, he would touch me. A brush on the shoulder here, a light brush of his fingers on my arms, anything he could do to touch me. They were just small touches that could be mistaken as accidental, but not every single time.

  He was back to his playful, flirty self or at least he was yesterday since Amanda wasn’t in the office. He is really starting to grow on me, I can’t explain my feelings for him. They’re confusing me and I don’t want to act on them. I can’t act on them. Today, however, is different. It is like I don’t exist. Of course, that’s because Amanda is here today, so he keeps his distance because he knows Amanda hates me. I am relieved and saddened by this. Relieved I don’t have to watch what I say or do as he kept his distance, but saddened by the fact he really did ignore me all day.

  Chapter 6

  It is Friday evening. Donte walks up to me and gives me permission to go home early. I have to be back at the office at five to travel down to the show. He is meeting us here and driving in the car in front while Claire and I follow behind, so we don’t get lost.

  I go home and pack. The show will be providing the clothes. All I need is my clothes for the night time and my makeup, which of course, Claire would be providing. Claire is also coming home at 3pm to get ready. When she gets home, she packs quickly and then, we are out the door.

  We sit outside the office at 4:55 in Claire's car.

  “You ready for this, Izzy? No backing out once we set off, you know,” Claire asks.

  “Claire, I have been ready for this day for months! After my accident, I didn’t think I would ever walk a run way again, so yeah, I am way beyond ready,” I reply, happiness radiating from me.

  With that, we both exit the car and walk in the office. All the staff are leaving. Two of my co-workers stop to talk to me before they finish for the weekend. Josh gives me a quick kiss on the cheek and wishes me good luck. Tanya hugs me and said she wants to hear all about it first thing Monday morning. I giggle and promise I would fill her in as soon as I see her again after the show.

  Donte walks out of his office and smiles when he sees me.

  “I just have to speak to Nevaeh and ask her to lock up then we are ready to go. I'm guessing this is Claire, right?” he asks.

  “Yeah, this is Claire. She’s my roommate and makeup artist, plus best friend”

  Donte nods and walks to Nevaeh. Claire pulls me back out of earshot from my boss and his assistant.

  “Isabella, he’s really cute,” she says, giggling.

  “Yeah. Shame he's getting married,” I reply, giggling with her.

  “Oh, that is a shame. She is one lucky lady whoever she is.”

  “Yeah. She hates me though.”

  “It’s because you’re beautiful and she must be insecure having a stunner working in the office with her man.” I roll my eyes at her and shake my head.

  Claire and I start walking to the door, Donte catches up with us just as we open our car doors to enter. I notice Donte is on his own, so I ask him where Amanda is. He replies, “She is at her mom’s this weekend. She is running through designs for her new shop.”

  I nod at him and climb in Claire’s car. Donte gets in his car and starts his engine. We follow him as he pulls out in the city’s traffic.

  We drive for about two hours before we reach our destination. Donte always makes sure he would slow down if he saw us dropping behind, so no other car could wedge itself between us.

  He pulls up in front of a big fancy hotel, the Hilton, and I know this place cost quite a bit for the company. Donte climbs out and comes to our car.

  “This is our hotel, not only is it where we will be staying, but we are holding the show here as well,” he says, pointing towards the entrance of the hotel.

  I nod as I climb out of the car. I leave Clai
re to shut the engine off, while I walk to the back of the car to retrieve our luggage. Donte follows me to the trunk and as I grab our cases, he stoops down to grab them. As he does, he grabs my hand at the same time. The electricity that runs through my body almost knocks me on my ass. He just holds on, so I look up at him. He is smiling at me and I blush bright red. 'Why does he have this effect on me?' I idly wonder to myself. He finally let me pull my hand free and as I do Donte says, “It’s okay, let me grab them for you.” I try to protest and grab them myself, but he refuses to let our cases go.

  Claire comes to the back of the car just as Donte walks to the entrance of the hotel. “You okay, Izzy? You look flushed. Are you nervous?” asks Claire.