Merrick

Later in the afternoon, I get ready for the event. I take my car. For unofficial affairs, I rarely bother my drivers and like to take my BMW by myself. After parking my car, I walk into the hospital. It's a huge institution with two main buildings and a separate research unit. Along with this, it has other special amenities which make it different from the conventional hospitals such as surrounding lush green gardens, gyms, attractive playgrounds for kids, and a huge auditorium for carrying out cultural stuff.

Rowan is the President of this cancer treatment and research institute which is funded by our company. I initiated establishing it in memory of my dad after he died of cancer six years ago. Rowan is a nice guy, and I am proud to say he takes care of it responsibly. Along with the usual administration once a month, his management team takes time to organize some fun programs to keep their patients engaged and let them also enjoy their lives like other people. I usually never miss any of these events because they are mostly conducted on Sundays, so it's easy for me to fit them into my schedule.

Most people would scrunch their noses to the smell of the disinfectant here but surprisingly, I enjoy visiting this place. I think it's mostly because of the people and the atmosphere here. And of course, the remembrance of my dad. I walk through the hallway, and I see Rowan making his way towards me. We hug, clapping each other's back as he says. "Always pleasant to have you here."

"I know you can't function properly without having me by your side." I joke and he laughs, shaking his head. "Just kidding. I love being here too." I say.

"The event is just going to start. Let's get in." He says, and we walk down the hallway. Crossing the extreme end of the hospital, we make our way to the auditorium, which is next to the cafeteria.

We enter the auditorium quietly. It's dark in here and we grab our seats quickly in the front row, where most of the officials and doctors are already seated. The program starts shortly after we settle down and, to be honest, I can't take my eyes off the participants once the program gets on. The performances are so good that I keep clapping. There is a nice solo song presentation by a girl, then a drama show followed by a very entertaining group dance and a sweet elderly couple dance.

And then the last presenter to get on the stage is my little buddy Archer. He comes on the stage and I frown when he begins to search for someone through the crowd. His eyes light up when he sees me and I realize he was looking for me. I wave at him and show a thumbs up before he starts with his cute hip-hop dance. By the end of his performance, everyone in the audience is whistling and cheering, of course, including me. He has done so well. His smiling face just let me forget about everything that I've been endearing for the past two days. It's so refreshing to see all these people still finding a way to smile while being in the midst of such a great battle with a deadly disease, and it puts me to shame for crying over an ungrateful woman who probably doesn't give a damn about anyone's fucking emotions.

After bowing down and thanking everyone with a bright smile, Archer disappears behind the curtains. With that being the end of the show, I stand up to head backstage to congratulate him when I am halted by Logan, the finance head of the hospital.

"Mr. Addington, what a pleasure seeing you." He says as we shake hands.

"Likewise, Logan."

"Do you have a minute?" He asks as he looks at me intently.

"Of course." I nod as we walk out of the auditorium. Logan then leads me to an office on the right.

"I really didn't want to bother you, but the reason is unavoidable. The hospital is doing exceptionally well under Rowan's administration. But lately, the doctors are falling short of certain things." He says as he sits and I nod, telling him to keep going.

He looks away for a moment and then speaks again, adjusting his glasses. "We need to get some more powerful drugs for the chemo treatment and probably more ICU units. And our finances are not being able to meet ends for it." He hesitates and then looks back at me. "I am sorry, but I thought it would be better to bring it to your knowledge."

"You don't have to be hesitant about it. After all, why am I here?" I shake my head and say. "I want the patients here to have the best possible services. I can't afford to compromise with their lives." I reach for the booklet in my pocket and take it out to sign a check. "Just tell me the figure or you can fill it yourself."

I stand from my chair after handing the check of the required amount to Logan. "Thank you, Mr. Addington. You know, all the people around here call you an angel. You are doing so much for all of them. They just love you immensely." He smiles, looking at me. "I am sure your father would be proud of you."

I smile, having a warm feeling in my heart. "It's nothing. I am glad to be a part of this family."

I then leave to get to the rooms backstage. Rowan lets me know about the room where Archer is, and I hurry towards it. When I reach it, I stop dead on my track by what I see in front of me. What the fucking hell? I see Zelina in there playing with Archer. I rub my eyes to confirm whether I am imagining her or she is real. But when I hear her and Archer giggle, I know she is really there. She is holding Archer's little hands in which there is a remote and helping him coordinate the moments of a toy robot. I lean against the door frame and watch them. They both seem to be having a good time together. They probably haven't noticed me, but I can see them.

I watch Zelina whisper something into Archer's ear as he laughs. I realize that the Zelina I am seeing right now seems so different from the one I've met on Friday. She isn't being bossy or arrogant. She looks normal, like she really is enjoying her time being here. Honestly, I didn't think of her as a woman to be comfortable around kids, but she is doing considerably well. I frown when somewhere behind the shine of her dark eyes; I notice a hint of sadness reflecting.

"Are you even going to come in or just stay there and stare at me?" Zelina crosses her arms and cocks an eyebrow at me amusedly.

I shake my head awkwardly and straighten up. "I wasn't looking at you. I was looking at Archer." I clear my throat and walk towards them.

"Mr. Addington, has anyone told you that you are a really bad liar?" She says, but instead of listening to her, I find myself admiring the beautiful off-shoulder maroon dress that she is wearing. What the hell, Merrick? I quickly avert my gaze from her to Archer. I place the box of chocolates that I brought for him on the side table.

"Hey, Archer!" I say, opening my arms for him. Archer looks at me and a wide grin appears on his face as he drops the remote and runs towards me.

"Merry! How did I do?" He jumps into my arms and I swing him around. His eyes look tired and I try hard not to falter my smile. I know it's probably due to his treatment, which is good for him, but it's still difficult not to feel bad for what this little kid has to go through at such a tender age.

"You were amazing, buddy." I run my hand over his bare head as I hold him up.

"Did you see me doing a moonwalk?" He places his tiny hands on my shoulders and looks into my eyes curiously.

"Of course, how could I miss that. You totally rocked it." I say and he giggles. The sound of his laughter echoes through the room and I smile.

"Excuse me, boys, I am still here." We both turn to look at an offended Zelina staring at us with both her hands on her hips.

"Ohh...I forgot to show you to my new friend." Archer wriggles in my hold to get down, and I place him back on his feet. He runs towards Zelina and pulls her towards me. "Her name is...." He speaks but then suddenly frowns when he doesn't remember her name. He taps his little index finger on his temple, trying to remember it, but fails.

Zelina laughs, looking at his confused face, and says. "Zee." I realize she shortened her name because of the way Archer called me. She would have grasped about the little kid's difficulty to pronounce our full names.

Archer beams and turns towards me. "Yeah, Zee. Zee, this is my best friend Merry, and he loves me this much." He widens his hands innocently and gestures to the space in between. He is so cute!

Zelina kneels to his level and says, looking at me. "I could see how much he loves you. Too bad he doesn't get you a roaring Optimus Prime like I did."

I frown when Archer looks at her and turns towards me with a doubtful look on his face, as if he is starting to believe her.

"You haven't been here for a few minutes and you are already trying to make him against me." I narrow my eyes at Zelina and say.

"I don't have to do it. I got him on my side already." She shrugs, pointing towards the toy she got for him.

"Archer, don't listen to her. See what I have, your favorite chocolate marshmallows." I say, handing him the box and he happily grabs it and begins to open it.

"Thank you, Merry. You are the best!" He squeaks and I smile proudly.

Turning towards Zelina again, I ask. "What are you doing here?"

"Playing with Archer. What does it look like?" She answers.

"I mean in the hospital?" I shake my head, letting out a frustrated sigh, and say through gritted teeth. "You can't stalk me everywhere like this?"

"I wasn't stalking you. I just came here to attend this wonderful program." She smiles.

"And who exactly invited you?"

"I am your friend. Isn't that enough for me to get to a place that you love spending so much of your time?"

"We are not friends, Zelina," I tell her.

She studies my face for a minute and then smirks, placing her hand on my arm. "Why not? Do you want us to be anything more?"

"Stop it." I pull my arm away from her before I hear footsteps approaching.

The doctor who is on Archer's case, then comes in and I also see his mother accompanying him. I meet them and the doctor fills us in with the development in Archer's health status. I sigh in relief when he says that he is doing well with his chemotherapy. Archer was admitted here with stage 2 leukemia about seven months ago and since then he is being treated by Dr. Kevin. I knew I loved that kid the moment I met him. He is just so full of life and watching him smile makes everyone around him happy. His dad stays away from home most of the year serving for the Army, so his mother is the one taking all the responsibility.

"Mr. Addington, I can't thank you enough for what you are doing for my son and all the other people here," Catherine says after Dr. Kevin leaves.

"It's nothing, Catherine. These people are getting what they actually deserve. Life has been cruel to them. They deserve to have a better life and live happily." I look at her and say. "I am just being a little help in that cause."

"What you are doing is anything but little." She says, and I can see her eyes getting teary. She shakes her head to gather herself from getting emotional when her eyes capture something behind me.

"Who is that?" She asks and I turn to find that she is pointing at Zelina. I notice that she is now feeding the marshmallows to Archer, sitting next to him on the couch.

"That's Zelina," I say and then struggle to come up with an answer. At last, I sigh in defeat and complete the sentence. "My friend." Zelina lifts her head to look at me and smiles in triumph. I roll my eyes, knowing that she probably  just heard what I said.

"I've never seen you around with a friend before. She must be special." Catherine says as Zelina walks towards us. She doesn't know that Zelina came uninvited, but she is right. I usually came here alone because Monica always found a reason to be busy with her shoots. Not like she was interested in tagging along with me, anyway.

"I am Merrick's friend, Zelina Miller," Zelina says as they both shake hands. I internally groan when she gives me an amused glance before turning back to Catherine again.

"Catherine Lopez, Archer's mother."

"It's so good to meet you. I must say, your son is a real bundle of joy, Catherine. He is so talented and charming." Zelina says and we all look at Archer. He seems too happy munching on his marshmallows, not giving a damn about the world.

"Yes, he is," Catherine says, and we all laugh.

We hang out together, playing with Archer for some time. And then Zelina gets a call, and she excuses herself to leave the room. I stay there until it's about Archer's rest time. I then say goodbye to him when Catherine asks to take him back to his room. After they both leave, I go and stand by the window. I suddenly realize it's been so long since Zelina left to receive the call and I begin to wonder where she is. Why are you thinking about her? It's none of your business, Merrick. I shake my head and then realize something. This is my perfect opportunity to sneak out without being caught by Zelina. So I get to Rowan's office and take leave from everyone and then rush outside immediately.

I reach the parking and hurry to my car. When I am about to get in, I sense something weird. Then I realize that my car has a fucking flat tire. How the hell it happened? I groan and look around, wondering how is it possible. And before I can think, a car drives next to me. I look at it and frown when it stops by my side. Its glass rolls down, and I look at a smiling Zelina in disbelief.

She puts her shades above her head and grins mischievously as she asks. "Need any help?"

A/N:

Do you think Zelina will get what she wants from Merrick? XD