Chapter 112. Distance
Lilly Bradley
I looked at my phone screen after hanging up with Jackson. My lower lip trembled, and I realized a couple of tears had slipped down my cheeks. I wiped them away with my hand, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly.
"Breathe, Lilly. Breathe..." Someone knocked on my door. I tried to pull myself together immediately so no one in the house would worry. "Come in." The door opened, and it was my father. "Hi, I thought you weren't home."
"I was resting. When I left my room, I heard your voice and came to make sure you were here and not just my imagination." I smiled faintly.
"Yes, it's me..." I replied, and he frowned.
"What's wrong? Are you crying?" I quickly shook my head.
"No, no, why would I cry? It's just a bit of dust..." I looked away.
"Don't you dare lie to me, Lilly Elizabeth Bradley Parson." I looked back at him, unable to speak, a lump forming in my throat. "Can I come in?" I nodded. He walked over to me and then sat beside me. "Tell me, what's going on?"
"Problems at work," I said calmly, trying to hide my worry.
"What kind of problems? Come on, talking might make you feel better."
"Dad," my voice broke as I remembered Jackson's words. I started crying uncontrollably. "I don't know what's wrong with me," I said between sobs. "I've never felt this bad..." I kept crying, and my father put an arm around my shoulders to pull me close.
"It's okay, cry..." And I did. I cried for a while longer. When I finished, he waited for me to say something.
"Thank you, Dad."
"You're welcome. Do you want to talk now?" I hesitated for a moment, but I needed to talk to someone. Maybe I needed a lawyer.
"Yes," I took a deep breath and held it for a moment before letting it out through my teeth. Then I stood up and pulled the desk chair to sit in front of him. "First, you have to listen to me, please."
"You're making me nervous, Lilly."
"Today, an embezzlement was discovered at the company," my father's eyes widened. "And..." The words wouldn't come. My heart pounded, and my father's face slowly changed as he imagined what I couldn't say.
"Tell me it isn't..." He shook his head slowly, not taking his eyes off me.
"I had nothing to do with it, but everything points to me... I have so much going on in my head, trying to figure out what happened. Why am I the one who seems to have done everything when I haven't done anything?" My father stood up abruptly.
"I believe you. I didn't raise you any other way. We have principles. We are honest," he looked down at me. "What does Jackson say about this?" Then I felt the tightness in my chest increase. The door to the room opened, and Leah entered, agitated and upset.
"It's Jackson! He fainted!" I stood up quickly, alarmed.
"What? Where?" I asked urgently.
"On the sidewalk in front of the building. Jacob saw him and parked behind his car. Then we noticed he got out and was losing his balance. Jacob caught him." I followed her, our father right behind us. We went down the stairs and reached the outside of the building. I saw Jackson's car on the opposite sidewalk. I heard my father shout for me to stop, but I dodged the cars. All I wanted at that moment was to get to him. Jacob saw me coming.
"Calm down, he's coming to... he's okay," Jacob tried to reassure me. Jackson was lying in the back seat.
"What happened? Why did he faint? Should we take him to the hospital?" I asked Jacob quickly, who seemed concerned.
"It's not necessary," he frowned. "He hasn't had an anxiety attack in years," he confessed quietly to me, and I was stunned.
"Anxiety attack?" He nodded.
"Yes, I just remember that when it happened, I had to force him to control his breathing and talk to him to bring him out of his trance." He ran a hand through his hair. Then we noticed Jackson asking for water. Jacob nodded and went to his car. I approached Jackson.
"How do you feel? Do you need to go to the emergency room?" He stayed silent, but I could see his chest rising and falling unsteadily. "Jackson?" I tried to get him to respond. Jacob arrived and handed him the bottle of water. Jackson took a long drink, and Jacob looked at me, signaling not to worry. My father arrived with Leah.
"Is Jackson okay?" I nodded. "Do you want me to check on him?" he asked Jacob, but he shook his head.
"He's fine, Mr. Bradley." My father approached to look more closely.
"Do you want us to take you to the emergency room?" my father asked quickly.
"Mr. Bradley," Jackson said suddenly, as if he hadn't realized there were more people around. "I'm fine, thank you, it's not necessary."
"Alright, if you need anything, don't hesitate to let us know."
"Thanks again..." I sighed in relief as I saw his color returning. My father said goodbye, knowing he was worried about Jackson and would ask me about it as soon as I went back to the apartment. Jacob exchanged a few words I couldn't hear and then stood next to Leah, giving us some privacy. I approached again and squatted down, watching him.
"Do you feel better?" He turned his face to look at me properly.
"Yes, better." I sighed in relief.
"Why did you have an anxiety attack?" He looked away, shifted his position, and turned completely to face me.
"I'm not sure." He confessed in a serious, almost shy tone.
"Why didn't you tell me on the call that you were feeling bad?" I asked, concerned.
"I just ignored it since it hadn't happened in years..."
"It must be the stress from the embezzlement issue."
"Lilly..." he whispered. I stood up quickly, and he grabbed my wrist, probably thinking I was leaving, but I wasn't.
"I think we should take some distance from each other." Jackson got out of the car, and I took a step back, but he didn't let go of my wrist.
"No." It was a firm "No."
"It's necessary."
"No. I won't take any distance."
"You think I'm the one who did this, maybe..."
"I regret saying that. I should have listened to your side before insinuating."
"I understand why you acted that way. Everything points to me." There was a silence between us. "But if you're already questioning everything, the fact that we've known each other for a short time and..." he interrupted me.
"Tomorrow, my security team will present everything. We'll review it and find out why everything points to you." The knot in my stomach grew. I tried to free myself from his grip, but he didn't let go.
"Can you let go of me?" He slowly shook his head. "Your words hurt me, Jackson."
"I know, that's why I came to you immediately. I want to apologize for that. I know it was stupid of me to jump to conclusions, but I was blinded by everything..."
"And yet, your words were harsh."
"Lilly," he whispered my name again, but I shook my head.
"Please, let go of me."
"Please, Lilly, don't leave me like this." I lifted my gaze from his chest to his eyes.
"How do you think I felt after your words?" Noticing he was distracted, I pulled my wrist free, surprising him. "I think the best thing is to take some distance until this is cleared up."
"Ask me for anything, but not that."
"You're better now, so I'm going home. I was in the middle of a conversation with my father before I found out you had fainted. He must be waiting for me."
"Please..." His voice broke for a moment, which moved me, but his lack of trust in me had thrown me off balance, and though it was extreme, I knew what I had to do.
"Until this misunderstanding at the company is resolved, we need to keep our distance," I stepped back, and he paled. "And when it's discovered what really happened and my name is cleared, I will submit my resignation... Mr. Johnson."