Lucid Ending

“Please don’t,” he said.

She brought her face down to his level and looked at him curiously.

“I’m not worth it any more.”

Karen placed her hands on either side of his face to hold his head in place. Leaning in, she left a lasting kiss on his forehead and then moved upwards, kissing all over his baldness. Cradling his head in her arms she whispered into his ear, “You are worth the world. With or without hair.”

She held his head long after he fell asleep, soothingly whispering into his ear. When she was confident he was asleep, she shed a few tears on his scalp and kissed them.

There was a soft prayer on her lips to make her love all right. She did not care if he was confined to a wheelchair forever and required someone to feed him and help him to the bathroom. Karen knew that she would gladly do it as long as it was needed. * *

With his future laid out for him, Adrian decided to have just one wild night before he was packed off to the ivory towers of Harvard. Just for one night, he wanted to feel what his father felt every night. He wanted to break free of his self-imposed shackles.

In retrospect, this was not his best decision.

Victor Carmichael was a consummate professional at indulging in a whole cornucopia of forbidden pleasures and still ending up on the right side of the law. He had a network of people around him at all times to protect him.

Adrian was a novice, going out of character for one night on a whim. He got together with a group of guys and girls from his class and decided to paint the town red for one night before they went their respective ways to college.

So, when he ended up in an underground rave party, stoned out of his mind and in a heap of bodies he barely knew, it wasn’t a surprise. The surprise was when his drug induced fantasy was rudely interrupted by the entry of several men in blue, wielding guns and badges. He was still in a stupor as an officer escorted him to the precinct.

Finally, he came to his senses in the lock-up and realized what he had just done. The horrifying realization that his pristine record and entire career might have been derailed by this one incident jangled through him. It was only a matter of time before they came asking him to pee in a cup and then… he shuddered at what would come next.

He desperately tried to remember what he had taken. The party was only a collection of blurry images. He remembered someone offering him hardcore drugs. He turned them down. Then, his friends handed him something milder, some pot.

It explained why he was in his senses before everyone else, but it still would not be enough to save him.

He sat among his fellow party-goers in anticipation of his doom. Every passing second brought with it further possibilities. Would the press get hold of it? Would that slut from Channel 9, Judy Lynch, milk it for all it was worth in front of the cameras? He could see the headlines flashing before his eyes:BILLIONAIRE’S SON ARRESTED AT RAVE.

Wouldn’t that please the recruiter at Harvard?

The more he thought about it, the further he slipped into the depths of despondency. All that he had worked so hard to build, all gone in one thoughtless night. He just wanted to see what it was that his father enjoyed doing so much, just for once.

Adrian sat with his head in his hands as a guard came up to his cell.

“Adrian Carmichael.”

He looked up.

“Come this way, sir.”

This was it – the beginning of the end.

Mechanically, he rose and walked towards the bars. The guard opened the door. He was escorted past a series of rooms where his friends (who were still intoxicated) were being tested. Soon enough, he would join them.

But he didn’t.

The guard led him past all the rooms till he was standing in the waiting area. A familiar figure was waiting for him.

“Karen?”

She smiled softly. Taking a few steps towards him, she engulfed him in a hug. Taken aback by this sudden affection, he reciprocated weakly. She brought her lips to his ear and whispered urgently.

“The guard will go for a coffee break for a few minutes. Take this,” she said, slipping a Visitor’s pass into his pocket. “Put this on your jacket and go downstairs. They are still processing the junkies from your party, so they will be too busy to check you thoroughly. Walk out of the building and go two blocks till you get to 44th. A car and driver will be waiting for you. A silver Porsche. Your cellphone and wallet are in the dashboard. It will take you home.”

Quickly, she pulled back her face and gave him a peck on the lips. He just stood there, gaping as she hurried out. He took the pass from his pocket and attached the clip on his shirt. Sure enough, the guard at the gate went towards the break room.

Seizing the opportunity, he walked into the elevator. He had sobered up enough to pass for normal. He made a conscious effort to stand upright and not make eye contact with anybody. The elevator stopped frequently as other visitors, officers and staff got on and off. His heart jumped into his throat each time he saw someone with a badge entering.

Thankfully, no one recognized him till he reached the ground floor. There was still a milling crowd of inebriated goths shuffling through the lobby like a horde of zombies. The officer at the main gate barely gave him a passing glance before taking his badge and opening the door.

His low profile paid dividends.

He walked briskly till he saw the shining Porsche waiting for him at the corner of 44th and Lex. The driver took one look at him and opened the passenger side door. He got in fast and opened the dashboard. His phone and wallet lay inside, along with a large turkey sandwich. The napkin had a note on it- “I know this is your favourite and you must be really hungry. Love Karen.”

He wolfed down the sandwich in three large mouthfuls as the car made its way home. The driver parked it in the garage among the rest of the fleet owned by Victor. He got out, still dazed by the happenings of the night, and walked up the stairs. His parents were sunning themselves on the French Riviera and did not have a clue about these events.

He walked into his room to see Karen waiting for him with a tense look on her face. It broke into a smile as he walked in and sat down. He had so many different things to ask her, that he could not even begin to form coherent syllables. So, he just blurted out.

“T-th-thank you.”

Her smile became even broader as he struggled to form any more words.

“What? How..?” he mumbled incoherently, at a total loss. Karen giggled at this.

“There are many things on heaven and earth, Adrian, that are not dreamt of in your philosophy.”

He continued gaping like a blowfish.

“In case you can’t contain that curiosity any longer, you should know your father has several contacts in law enforcement who help him in case he ever needs it. I just used one of them. Called up Gavin Larkin and told him to extend the same courtesy to his son,” she said nonchalantly.

Adrian stood up straight, his eyes wide.

“You called up Commissioner Larkin to get me out of a drug charge?”

“He was the first name on your dad’s ledger. Turns out they are both members of the exclusive Metropolitan Club. That’s a pretty strong fraternity. He was honour-bound to get you out of the station before they charged you.”

He kept listening, his jaw hanging open.

“Brother Gavin called me up and got me in touch with the Captain at the precinct along with a few other friendly officers. The rest was a formality.”

“But how did you know?”

She laughed and turned on the TV. Judy was there on screen, slutty as ever, reporting about a massive rave party that had been busted in Midtown Manhattan. Several high profile citizens had been arrested and were being processed. He saw people being escorted in front of the camera, too wasted to cover their faces.

“Your friends were driving to Midtown for a party. I knew.”

There was one last question in his mind.

“Why?”

She paused for a second to consider her answer. Something told her the real answer to that question would freak him out, so she said, “Because I care about you.”

Adrian silently walked up to her. They faced each other for a few moments, her eyes searching his expression for a hint. He embraced her tightly and buried his face in her shoulder.

“Thank you, Karen. It’s the first time someone has done something like that for me. So, thank you. I owe you one.”

She hugged him back, biting her lip from saying her actual feelings out loud. Finally, he released his grip on her and kissed her gently on each cheek before leaving. Karen smiled wistfully for several moments after he had left.

“Silly fantasy. He’s my step-brother for crying out loud,” she said to herself, not daring to listen to a very private part of her brain that suggested otherwise.

Even as she suppressed her urges for the time being, she knew they would raise their heads again at night. Once asleep, she was defenceless before the onslaught of primal desires about Adrian that manifested in the form of extremely lurid dreams.

She had been defenceless for several nights now. * *

Adrian’s eyes opened slowly. It was still very early in the morning, the very crack of dawn. The imminent sunrise caught his attention. There was a vermilion tinge on the horizon. Looking to his other side, he saw an auburn mess of hair splayed across the pillow on the couch.

The first golden rays of the sun just peeked out. A thin ray came in through the window and fell on her face. She stirred as the room got gradually brighter.

“Hey handsome,” she yawned, reaching over to caress his hand.

“Hey gorgeous,” he replied, in a tone missing its usual cheer. It came with a lot of effort.

She got up, tousle haired and saw his face. He was missing his eyebrows as well. Now he was completely hairless.

Standing up at her full height, she slowly smoothed her hair behind her shoulders. She knew how much Adrian loved to see her hair flowing behind her.

The surly doctor came once again to check on him.

“We have seen no noticeable improvement yet, but we must keep trying.”

Karen looked crestfallen, but Adrian did not even bat an eyelid. He had mentally prepared for his death. She looked at his deathly pale form, her lips quivering with a deep anguish. Sensing her turmoil, Adrian spoke as well as his battered body would allow.