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2024-10-29 19:42:56Jacob fell to his couch. He had never been so grateful to be back to his studio apartment—even if he had a bandage around his chest and another slightly above his eyebrow. He could use a little of liquor if it wasn’t so fucking far off.
“You should really change your locks,” Christine said, walking out of the shadows.
Jacob jerked and the pain on his chest struck like lightening. He groaned, holding his rib. “For fuck sake!”
“Jezz” Christine rushed to him, “What happened to you?”
“I am okay…” Jacob raised his hand, stopping her from touching him. “I just need to rest.”
“What you need is a doctor”
“Close. It was a slight accident.”
Accident, She froze, lips quivering and heart beating fast. She could hear the screeching sound of the tires and the blue and red lights. She could hear her name in a distance. It’s her mom. Next thing, flashing lights of the hospital as they pushed her bed.
“Christine!”
“Christine!” Jacob shouted her name the second time.
She snapped out of it like waking up from a bad dream. She rubbed her sweaty forehead. “I am okay. I am sorry. She tried to look normal, “How did it happen?”
Jacob dimmed his eyes and raised his eyebrow. “Are you sure?”
“Really?” She scuffed, “you are going to ask me if I am okay? Looking like that?”
“Fair enough.” Jacob shrugged and it was on his face it must have hurt him.
Christine sat beside him. “What happened?”
“It’s a long story, and it’s just, I don’t know, just, umm, just an accident,” Jacob said, looking to her. “Now tell me how you got in here.”
"Well, I know someone who knows someone,” she replied.
“Who knows how to break into houses?”
“If you put it like that, Well…”
“So what exactly was the plan after that?”
“I really haven’t thought of that yet.” Christine chuckled.
Jacob rolled his eyes, and surprisingly to him, it didn’t hurt. “What are you doing here?”
“Fine, I see you don’t have a sense of humor. To see why you haven’t cashed your ten million-dollar check yet.”
“Maybe because it’s been less than a day since I got it.”
“It’s been a day and five hours. And not a lot of people need that much time.”
"Well, not a lot of people have.” He paused. He didn’t want to mention the Accident again. “...look like this after getting a ten million-dollar check,” said Jacob.
“Fair enough. Plus, next time keep your checks safe.” She nodded towards the check in the center of his table.
“Okay… Thank you for breaking into my house to tell me that. I really need to get to rest now.”
Christine got up from the couch and said, “I actually came to ask when you’d need the lawyer for the divorce case, but obviously you need a doctor first."
“I already did,” Jacob said, sounding cold.
“Did what?”
“I already signed the divorce form, and it’s finished.” Jacob made sure his feelings didn’t leak out of him.
"Oh, that's interesting. When did you sign?”
“Today?”
“Before or after the accident..."
"Does it matter?”
"So, are you…”
“Christine, I need time to get my shit together before jumping into a marriage and…”
His phone rang, and they both looked at the phone.
“You can’t reach it, can you?”
“No I can’t. ”
"Of course,” she said, helping him with it.
It was the hospital calling. They don’t call, if it wasn’t time to pay for her treatment. And he already did, at least for the next two months.
“Jacob?” Christine called. Jacob raised his head and she asked, “Are you going to pick?”
Jacob swallowed, looked at the phone and, with a deep breath, enough to make his chest hurt, he picked the call.
“Hello. "Yes, this is him. Yeah. Sure. When? Tomorrow! I don’t understand! Can I speak to... I’d be there tomorrow. I don’t understand why you can’t just tell me... For fuck sake! I'll be there tomorrow.” He hung up.
…
She wasn’t the same. Not the girl he grew up with nor the woman who stood with him. Her blonde was gone and the warmth of her presence now cold. Her tan skin had faded into paleness. It wasn’t the Ryle, not the one he knew.
“I’d leave you two,” Aunty Jen said as she grabbed her purse and walked out of the room.
It was now just the both of them. Jacob didn’t want that. He feared it. He had always feared to be there when she took her last breath and the odds are better when he’s not alone with her. Aunty Jen closed the door and Jacob looked to Ryle again.
“Jacob,” Ryle said. Her voice now sounds a little louder than a whisper.
Jacob took a deep breath in. He hated what it was, what the doctor called it. Her last moments. “How long?” Jacob asked.
Ryle did something like a shrug, “Four weeks or less.”
Somehow Jacob feels like she’s not bothered. She’s never bothered. Never had been the type. “I have enough money now, Riley,” Jacob said, moving to the edge of his seat. “We can move you away from here and…”
“...Jacob.”
“...and treat you; we can save you.”
“Jacob,” she interjected. “You should stop.”
“But…”
"The doctors said I have four wonderful weeks to live, Jacob. It’s stage four now. I don’t want to think about it. I want to do new things, Jacob, like finally finishing Harry Potter,” she laughed.
“Riley?”
“I have this cool app Aunty Jen downloaded for me. It plays novels for you and all…”
“Stop… Stop Riley… Just. Stop.” He couldn’t stop the tears any longer.
There was a short silence, enough for Jacob to see she was prepared. She had made up her mind on this.
“Jacob,” Riley broke the silence, “don’t pity me. And don’t you ever feel like you could have done something different? It’s not a blame game, and if it was, it was never your fault.”
Jacob sniffed, wiping his tears. “If only I could..."
“But you did. You did all that you could. And for the past two years, you’ve been living your life for me to live mine. Jacob, that’s more than I could ask for.”
“But it wasn’t enough, was it?"
"Don't, Jacob, don't,” she said, forcing a smile. Even though her eyes were clearly fighting back the tears, “And what about Madi?” she asked.
She changed the topic but he wasn’t going to fight it. “She's... she’s happy,” Jacob said.
“That’s great. I wish she had come too.”
Jacob sniffed, and he said softly, “She wouldn’t.”
“Yeah… I understand,” she coughed, then continued, “Madi has always been a very busy person.” Riley smiled like she was remembering things: “Tell her I miss her, and I wish I could have some of her strawberry coffee.”
Jacob wiped a tear. “Riley?”
“Jacob?”
He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t tell her that Madi and he were no longer together, not when she was about to die.
“I’m sorry… I.”
“It’s fine, Jacob,” Riley said, “and you should really stop making me teary.” A tear slid down her face to the bed.
“I can’t believe you haven’t seen Game of Thrones," Jacob tried to distract himself.
“Yeah, it actually is a death threat to see the show.”
They both laughed, and then came the silence.
Riley tried to raise her hands a little, and Jacob grabbed them softly.
“Jacob,” Riley said, looking into his eyes with compassion, “promise me you’d have fun, you’d travel, you’d go to movies, and you'd do all the amazing things I have robbed you of for the past two years. Promise me.”
He probably wouldn’t, Jacob nodded. “I promise”
Riley smiled. “That’s all I wish for, and if you don’t do it. I’d haunt you.”
“Shut up, Riley,” Jacob smiled back.
Both of them went silent for a few more moments.
Jacob said, “I love you, Riley.”
Riley smiled. “Shut up, Jacob.”
…
Christine’s driver was already waiting. Jacob got into the car, removed his shirt. It’s been a few hours of pretending that he wasn’t hurting every time he moved— he couldn’t give Riley any more reason to worry. He wound down, allowed the fresh country air to blow
It was ten minutes into the drive when the driver looked back to where he was and asked, "Sir, where are we going?”
Looking at the driver from a rare view, he said, “To the bank.”
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“You leave,” Victor said. Jacob shook his head with his eyebrows lowered. “What do you mean by leave?”Victor pressed his lips down. “hmm.” He took a step closer to Jacob. “I’d double whatever she has given you,” Victor said. “I’d give you twenty million dollars if you leave now.” Jacob dropped his head. Money…“What do you say, huh?” Victor shook his hands in his pocket. “It could be yours right now.”Jacob raised his head. “Money,” he said. “It’s always about money, isn’t it?” Victor raised his eyebrow and said, “I’d tell you what? Forget about the twenty million dollars. I’d double that. Forty million dollars. It could be wired into your account immediately.” Jacob dropped his head, lifted it, and leaned towards Victor with his eyebrow raised, “If you will excuse me, I have a wedding to finish.” He was about to walk out when Victor called him again. “Everyone has a price.”Jacob nodded, backing Victor, “Well, meet the first person you will know that doesn’t.” He started to walk
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“Madi” Alex tapped her from behind. She slowly turned to face him. Her face has gone pale from what she just saw. It was one thing to hear about it and it was another to see it. “We are leaving,” Mrs. King said, looking at Both Madi and Alex, “And…”“Lady King?” Mrs. Prescott called, walking up to her.Mrs. King turned slowly, pretending to have a smile on her face. “Lady Prescott?”“I’d love for you to meet Christine and her husband.” Mrs. Prescott looked to where the couples were and they were already swamped by another family. She turned to Mrs. King “Well, when they are a little less occupied.” “And we’d love to,” Mrs. King said, “but sadly, we have to be on our way already.” “Oh, so soon?” Mrs. Prescott frowned. “Yeah, something came up,” Mrs. King forced a smile, “But, hey, I promise I’d come visit you one of these days.”“Are you okay, Madison?” Mrs. Prescott asked. Madi smiled. Mrs. Prescott must have caught her still staring at the couple. At Jacob. “Yes,” she said, "Yes
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“It’s your wedding,” Bob said, “not mine?”“Just answer me, goddamn it!” Jacob shouted. “Red or brown tie?” He went to the mirror and placed each on his neck to see which went the best.“That’s not even red, Jacob; that’s like oxblood or something,” Bob said, biting his hot dog.“Really, but Franklin said it's red.” Jacob said as he turned to him, “Are you serious? The best time to eat is now.”“What?” He said with a huge chunk in his mouth, “I am the best man , not the best woman.” The ketchup from the hotdog dropped on his white shirt. “Aagh, fuck.”Jacob turned back to the mirror and sai
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Jacob sat with his hands clenched together in a corner of the giant sitting room. Different artworks, probably from the eighteenth century, hung on the wall: angry-looking paintings and heavily bearded sculptors of philosophers. But of all the paintings and sculptors, there was one that he could not get his eyes off. It hung slightly at a height of roughly three feet. The painted man had a fierce look that was not so different from the rest of them in the room, except this one was not from the eighteenth century. He looked different, except for the windpipe he held in his mouth. And the face looked like... “That is my father,” Christine said. Jacob turned. She was standing by the door frame. “I did not realize you were there.” “He looks scary, doesn’t he?” Christine said as she stretched a document to him before getting seated. “You know,” she continued, “sometimes I think it’s his fault I never found love. I mean, look at his face.” She laughed, then looked at the portrait.
