Two Hearts, One Love

Truth be told, I was a little entertained. She continued to struggle as I carried her back to one of my many spare rooms. Her fights were weak, though, as I knew they would be. I was very curious about what happened to her.

I set her down on the bed and she immediately ran for the window. She picked up the chair and I watched as she tried to break the glass. Patty, my maid, brought me the sandwich I had asked for.

“Um,” she began but I shook my head.

“They’re shatter proof,” I said once Patty was gone. Celeste, her arms shaking, threw the chair as hard as she could against the window and let it clatter loudly to the floor. I put the sandwich on the desk. “When you’ve held titles that I have and am the richest man in the city, you learn that certain precautions need to be made.”

She didn’t answer. She was seething with anger. Her shoulder length black hair might as well be crackling with the fury inside her and her brown eyes showed nothing but hatred. My mom had already said that trying to demand the truth from her wouldn’t work.

“Well, I’ll leave you to rest. Eat this sandwich or you’ll make yourself sick.” I pointed at the remote on the nightstand. “Press that when you want to use the bathroom or get hungry.”

Her jaw dropped. “Are you-?”

“Putting you on suicide watch?” I interrupted. “Yeah, yeah I am.”

“You don’t even know me,” she spat.

I shrugged and got the key to the room out of my pocket.

“That’s true. I’m not going to stand by and let a woman kill herself, though. Ring if you need anything.”

She ran for the door but I had it shut and locked before she even got to the bed. I heard her shout in anger. I knew she’d try opening the windows but they were always locked.

“What are you thinking?” my mom asked when I walked back into the kitchen.

I chewed on my lower lip as I poured some tea into a mug. Marie Parker was a strong woman. After her husband left her when she got pregnant, she made a name for herself in the photography industry. My baby pictures had given her the start she needed to get out of a financial rut left over from being abandoned. The higher she climbed, the more people started to notice me. I was with her constantly – she even homeschooled me until college. Then, at a party she was hosting with her fellow photographers, one person suggested modeling. For a while she was my photographer. Now she was just my mother again, leaving my manager to take care of all the other details.

She didn’t know I had fired my manager yet, though.

“Helping a fellow human being,” I said.

She rolled her eyes and leaned against the counter behind her. When she crossed her arms, I saw the same streak of stubbornness that I had. I didn’t look much like her. In fact, I looked exactly like my father. Or so she says. I was worried she’d resent me for that but she claimed she was very happy. She didn’t love him anymore but she always said even she was mature enough to admit he was handsome.

“You realize how crazy this is.” It wasn’t a question. “You don’t know this woman at all. Her fiancé claims she’s a drug abusing hooker, her mother refuses to come get her, and the only other thing we know about her is that she’s not a vegetarian! Now you have her locked up in the room under watch. She’s right: you could get into a lot of trouble for this.”

I just shrugged. “It’s either that or let her kill herself. I don’t know what her story is but….”

I hesitated and met my mom’s eyes. She frowned at my silence and I gathered my courage.

“Her mom has abandoned her,” I whispered. Though her walls were always up with the public, they never were with me. I saw her shoulders slowly relax. “She’s depressed enough to want to end her life. She’s at the bottom, Mom, just like you were.”

My mom heaved a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. She shook her head.

“I don’t like this,” she said finally. “What if the media finds out about this?”

I shrugged again. “Then we’ll spin it as I’m being a humanitarian or some shit like that.”

She arched a brow. “And have you told Annie about this?”

“She’s asleep,” I said. “I’ll call her in the morning. Anyway, I’m going to follow up on her supposed fiancé. I don’t believe him about her being a hooker.”

My mom scoffed. “Of course she isn’t. Something happened between the two of them.” She looked at the hallway leading to the room. “I’m going to guess you want me to talk to her.”

I smiled. “If you’re willing. I mean, I can make sure she doesn’t kill herself but the only way she’s really going to get better is if she talks about whatever it is that’s making her want to.”

My mom smiled tiredly at me. “You’re a crazy man, Ian Parker, but you have a big heart.”

I went around the counter to hug her. Amidst all the fame and press, my mom was adamant about me keeping my feet on the ground. I was forced into doing community service and helping at shelters. I started off hating it but came around. It was my burning desire to help others that boosted my fame even more.

And I had my mom to thank for all of it.

“She tried to break the windows,” I said and my mom laughed.

“That would’ve been my first act, too,” she said. She sighed. “All right. I’ll try talking to her in the morning. In the meantime, call James. I think it’s strange that you haven’t had anyone come to you in so long.” She frowned. “Maybe it’s time to find you a new manager…. James always seemed a little slow.”

“I don’t think we need to go that far,” I said. It was hard lying to her face so I busied myself with cleaning up, brushing Patty away. “I’ve got it, Pats. Go on to bed.” She just nodded, watching me suspiciously. Patty was a good friend of my mom’s and needed a job desperately. We paid her well and she got to stay in the penthouse with us. “Anyway, just give him another week. If nothing comes up, you can start looking for a new one.”

“All right,” she said. She kissed my cheek. “Good night, Ian.”

“Night, Ma. I’ll see you in the morning. Love you.”

“Love you, too,” she called down the hall and I sighed.

When her door was shut, I stopped cleaning. I frowned into the kitchen sink. What I was doing was reckless, crazy, and stupid. But I couldn’t help it. I wanted to fix this woman’s life. I wanted to make sure she stayed alive. It was clear she hated me, clear that she was determined to kill herself. But I couldn’t stomach the thought of it. Was it because I had been the one to catch her when she tried jumping?

I walked back to my room and looked around it blankly. It was full of books and magazines. The books were mine; I loved to read. The magazines were all collections for my mom. She loved collecting the ones with me on the front. I had a desk shoved in a corner with a state-of-the-art computer, a large fluffy bed, and a closet stuffed full of designer clothes given to me by grateful and hopeful businesses. It was the perfect bedroom but I hated it.

I got into bed and stared up at the roof, finding it hard to even try to sleep.