Chapter 22
Kendall
I arrived at the office early as Elijah wasn’t going to be in. I set my things down as the remaining staff entered the office. I noticed the looks on their faces and noticed they all seemed more jovial and happy than they used to be before Elijah had his accident.
“Hey girl!” Jefferson shouted as he exited the elevator. “What’s new with you? And how was your weekend?” he asked.
“It was good. I had a nice day out yesterday with Bo. It was nice to change things up a bit,” I replied.
“So, what did you guys do?”
“I had a date yesterday, it was cool, a drive into the country and a little lunch before returning back home, and you know how the rest goes,” he said with a smile and a wink.
“You dirty dog you!” I replied laughing, “Can I ask you something?” I noticed Jefferson’s positive attitude.
“Sure, fire away,” he replied.
“Well, you know there’s such a real difference in Elijah since his accident. Have you noticed the difference in the staff's attitude now that he’s different?” I quizzed.
“You don’t know the half of it. It’s all good, let me tell you…” Jefferson explained.
“Go on, please tell,” I said with a laugh.
“Well, nearly everyone has said they are totally relaxed with Elijah now, and he’s so much more understanding and approachable. He’s still the boss, and they still acknowledge that but they no longer expect him to blow his stack for no real reason,” he said as he sipped his latte.
“Well, I for one can see a major difference in people. Even you, you are no longer the grumpy one that you used to be!” I mocked him.
“Ah, my dear, that is not from work, wonderful relationships certainly put a spring in your step, let me tell you. There’s no better feeling than holding the one who you care for, you should try it someday,” he said as he walked to his desk and leaped.
I sat there and smiled at how the office was changing for the better, if only Elijah could know the difference before and how glum he made the staff feel. There had been no end to them threatening to leave because of his attitude. Even I had considered it and had changed my mind.
I had just finished compiling my reports and uploading them to the server, I lifted my head as the elevator door opened and out walked Elijah. I could see from his face he looked haggard and wasn’t his normal, chirpy new self. I wondered if he had gone back to the tyrant boss he was before for a split second. He walked down the hallway and headed straight to the office. Had he forgotten he wasn’t supposed to be here today?
I entered his office behind him and closed the door, “I thought you were out all day visiting your mother, has something happened?” I asked concerned by his unusual demeanor.
“I have had hardly any sleep, I’m knackered and a little worried. Well, not really worried. I’m disturbed, that’s it. I’m deeply disturbed.” My heart dropped with worry.
“Something has happened, Elijah what is it? Is there anything I can do?” I asked.
“Those fucking flashbacks I mentioned. I had another, I woke up just after one am soaked in sweat,” he explained. “This one though was bad, and it’s not one I can explain.”
“Shit, it must have been bad,” I replied as I took a seat. I wanted to help him.
“There is no way I can see my mom like this. I need to figure this out. I need Peter’s help to figure this out. God, the flashback was of him and Dad,” Elijah explained.
“What were they doing in the flashback?” I asked as I tried to tread carefully.
“That’s the problem, Peter was doing nothing, it was Dad, he was giving Peter a real beating, and from what I could tell there was no reason for it. Maybe he just said something to him, or maybe Dad had found out something about Peter,” he said as he placed his head in his hands.
I looked at Elijah, he was truly concerned about these flashbacks, and there wasn’t anything I could do to help physically, he needed to understand them himself. He needed to learn how to deal with them. I was just a bystander in all of this, and there was only Peter who could really help him right now, anyway.
“I need to rest now; can you leave me for a while? Please?”
“Of course, no problem,” I replied as I helped him to his couch. “Lay down for a while, and I’ll take care of everything.” I turned off the light and closed the office door.
I wanted to help, but there wasn’t anything I could for Elijah apart from comforting him in his time of need. I thought maybe I could contact Peter and let him know what had happened. Maybe he could advise me what to do.
“Hello, Peter? It’s Kendall,” I said in a slight whisper over the phone.
“Hi, Kendall what’s up?”
“I have to be quiet. It’s Elijah, he has had flashbacks again. Bad ones this time,” I informed him.
“That explains why he didn’t come with me today, is he okay?”
“He said he had no sleep last night, so he’s resting in his office.”
“Good, so did he say what the flashbacks were about?” Peter said with a concerned voice.
“Yes, he mentioned this one was quite graphic, and it wasn’t of him this time, it was you and your dad,” I explained.
“Well that is strange, all the other have been of him and Dad, I wonder why I was in this one and not him?” he said in a puzzled tone.
“When he told me, he said it deeply disturbed him, and that was why he couldn’t, or wouldn’t go back to sleep, I think it scared him,” I said.
“So, what was in this flashback? I mean what was I doing with Dad? And where were we, at the office or something?” he replied.
“No, it wasn’t anything like that. He didn’t mention the location and that you were being badly beaten by your dad,” I explained quietly.
“Ah,” said Peter sounding like he understood.
“So, you know what it was about then?” I asked.
I quickly thought about what Peter said so far. I could sense that he knew what the flashback meant, and what caused the scene that Elijah had seen.
“I have a good idea what it’s about. It’s something I’ll talk to him about when I get back into town. He just needs to relax and try to get over the emotions accompanying the feels. It’s all in the past now. Nothing to worry about,” Peter explained without seeming worried at all, “I had hoped he wouldn’t remember any of this, or at least not yet. His mind is still so fragile. Any information overload could do something drastic, or that was what the doctors explained to me.”
“Are there many bad situations that might affect Elijah while he’s in this state? Or if he keeps having these flashbacks?” I asked Peter.
“Unfortunately, there are, and if this one is the one I’m thinking of, on a scale of one to ten of how bad his flashbacks could be, well, I would rate this one a seven.”
“Holy crap, so he can really get in a bad way at some point if these come flooding back to him?” I asked as I started to worry.
“He could. I’m just worried he could have one while he’s driving, there is no saying what might happen if he had one in his car, or even on his bike… it could be catastrophic,” he said plainly.
“Damn, I never thought of that, I just always assumed he would be asleep when he had them, the possibility of them coming at any time is dreadful,” I replied.
"Like I said, I’ll speak to him when the time is right, and I won’t force the issue, maybe he will sort of forget it again, or he might accept what he has seen. Hopefully, that happens so it can become an old memory like it should be,” Peter explained, his voice soft and kind.
“A good point, I won’t mention anything to him even though I know, if he wants to talk about it, I’ll just go with the flow. But I won’t instigate any conversation,” I replied.
“You’re a good help, Kendall. I’m sure he wouldn’t know what to do if you were not there for him, you have even supported him more than I have, so thank you.”
“Is there anything else I can do while he’s like this?”
“I suggest you keep him occupied as much as you can, the more his mind is taken away from things like this, the better.” He was being so lovely and cared for his brother so much.
“It’s obvious that he relaxes around you, which is great. The more he can see you, the more he will have less time to think about his flashbacks. And like I said, hopefully, they can gracefully become just lingering memories again,” he said.
“Alright Peter, I’ll do my best and see what I can come up with. Do you want me to inform any of the staff you will be in the office tomorrow, or just keep it quiet?” I asked.
“Good point, just have a quiet word with Jefferson, he’s the one I trust the most. So. just let him know I’ll be in touch with him in the morning,” Peter explained.
“Not a problem at all, I’ll do it just before we finish for the evening so he can’t spread the news, you know what a gossip queen he’s, sometimes,” I said with a laugh.
“Don’t I just, Kendall, don’t I just,” he said with a chuckle, seeming calmer than when we first spoke.
“I better go, I think I can hear Elijah in his office, I don’t want to lie if he asks who has been on the phone,” I explain.
“Good girl Kendall, see you soon!” Peter hung up the call.
I opened the office door and peeked in toward Elijah. I could see he had finally fallen asleep. He looked so fine laying on his couch but, he was so troubled in a way that no one could have predicted. I quietly closed the door behind me and smiled as I let him sleep.
I sat at my desk and tried to think of what could take his mind of the recent flashbacks that he had been having. It had to be something totally different than the dog park because that was too quiet and he had a chance to think there. What I needed was something noisy, somewhere full of distractions so he would have no chance to think.
I looked at the clock and noticed it was almost four, Elijah had slept for most of the day. I was about to check on him when he emerged from his office.
“I have slept!” he said.
“Nearly six hours,” I replied with a smile.
“Well there is nothing I can do now, I’m going to head off home and try to continue resting, I feel shattered,” he said as he rubbed his head.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I replied trying to make him feel comforted.
I waited for Elijah to leave and called Jefferson over to my desk. I explained that Elijah and I were going to be out of the office, tomorrow and that Peter would be in charge for the day.
“Oh great, Peter is in charge, yippee!” Jefferson quipped.
“Get excited, why don’t you!” I laughed at his excitement.
I explained to Jefferson that I had to distract Elijah for the day, and the reason for doing so as well. He understood easily, and I felt great that I could confide in him,
“I know just the place you can take him, Dear. Somewhere he will have no chance to think,” Jefferson explained with a wink.