There's Pain But No Symptoms

As Sebastian's car sped down the road, he caught sight of someone running out from under an awning and onto the road. "Paul, slow down!" he yelled to his driver. "Slow down, slow the car down!" he repeated, more insistently.

Paul brought the car to a smooth, rolling stop, and Sebastian watched as the figure he had seen ran up to the car. The person seemed to be running towards the car happily, and Sebastian felt a sense of trepidation.

He knew who it was, even though he pretended not to. It was Victoria, and a feeling of disgust and repulsion flooded his mind. He couldn't believe that she had the nerve to show her face in front of him again, after everything that had happened.

A million thoughts raced through his head, but one thought was louder than all the others: 'She needs to be taught a lesson. She can't be allowed to think she can just show up in front of me like this,' he thought to himself.

Sebastian looked at her, standing in the rain and begging desperately for him to help her. She was soaked to the bone, and she looked so pitiful. He wanted to feel bad for her, but he couldn't. All he could feel was anger and resentment.

Finally, he motioned for Paul to drive away. He turned his gaze away from the window, not wanting to see her anymore. And that was how he dealt with her in his own little way - leaving her under the rain.

After leaving Victoria behind, he and Paul drove to his mansion. Earlier that evening he had gone to the hospital for a check-up. He didn't know what had happened to him, but he felt like he'd been knocked down by a car. He couldn't figure out why, since he'd been sitting inside his car when the pain came on. It didn't make any sense, but he couldn't stop thinking about it.

"You're back. Welcome, Honey."

His thoughts were interrupted by a warm, welcoming voice. He looked up to see his wife, Malia, standing in front of him.

"How many times have I told you not to call me those names?" he snapped. Without waiting for a response, he asked, "How is our daughter doing?"

Malia didn't move any closer to him and replied in a low voice, "She's fine. She ate dinner and is now sleeping." After saying this, Malia stood still, but Sebastian took a few steps toward the hallway. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his head, and he groaned out loud, "Aargh!".

Sebastian groaned as the pain in his head intensified. It wasn't just in his head, though - he felt a wave of nausea, and his nose started running. It was as if he were coming down with a fever.

Frustrated, he turned back to Malia and shouted, "Get me a doctor! Go call the doctor, now!" He doubled over, letting out another groan. "My head," he gasped.

Malia, feeling panicked and unsure of what to do, rushed to the phone and dialed the doctor's number. "Please," she said when the doctor answered, "Come now. My husband isn't doing well. He's moaning in pain and I think he has a fever!" She was still on the phone when Sebastian stormed over and grabbed the phone from her.

"You stupid, incompetent woman!" he yelled. He then turned to the phone and said, "Damnit Doctor, Get over here right now if you don't want to lose your job for life!" And with that, he ended the call.

Malia watched as Sebastian stormed away and collapsed onto the couch. She couldn't tell what was wrong with him, but she noticed that he was getting angrier by the day. When he turned and caught her looking at him with a questioning expression, he asked, "Why are you staring at me like that?"

Malia was about to turn away and leave the room when she noticed something on his shirt - lipstick. She couldn't control her anger any longer. "Even after that girl, you're still flirting with others?" she yelled, grabbing his shirt and yanking it hard. "You're cheating on me!"

Sebastian, lost for words, covered his head with his hands, and turned away. But Malia wasn't done yet. She continued to rant, "First it was Vicky, or whatever her name was, and now it's some other woman. Who is she? What's her name?"

"I'm sick of you, woman!" Sebastian yelled. "Why don't you ever stop? You're always bringing up Victoria's name. Don't you dare call her name with your stupid mouth!" He was getting more and more upset by the second.

Malia also started raising her voice, and yelled, "Why can't I mention Victoria? Are you still in love with her?"

Sebastian tried to ignore her, but it was becoming impossible. This woman was insufferable.

Malia kept on whining and asking questions, "Don't tell me you still love that girl. You're still in love with her, aren't you?" She scoffed. "Aren't you ashamed? She can pass as your daughter and you…"

Sebastian was seething in anger, but he couldn't just slap the woman. Malia, however, continued to accuse him, saying, "Did you tell Victoria that you didn't even love her at all? Did she know you were just using her for her body and then you planned to dump her? Did she know?"

Sebastian's hand hung in the air, ready to strike Malia. Just then, the doorbell rang. The sound startled them both, and Sebastian lowered his hand, realizing what he had almost done. They both looked at the door. 'Who could that be?' Malia wondered.

Before either of them could move, the doorbell rang again, followed by the sound of someone banging on the door. Malia and Sebastian locked eyes. Neither of them wanted to move, neither of them wanted to answer the door. Suddenly, the sound of the doorbell turned into a continuous ring.

A loud, booming voice followed, "Mr. Quinn! Mr. Quinn, are you OK? Please open the door! It's the doctor!"

Sebastian let out a deep breath as he recognized the voice outside the door. It was Dr. Harris, the family physician. Dr. Harris was a very efficient man, and Sebastian knew he wouldn't stop until he got answers. So, without thinking twice, Sebastian opened the door. Without waiting for Dr. Harris to say a word, he pulled him inside and closed the door behind him.

Dr. Harris felt the pressure of being tugged through the door. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Aren't you sick with a fever? Why are you out here, walking around?" Dr. Harris asked, bewildered.

Sebastian beckoned him to sit next to him, and explained, "I'm not ill, but I've got a terrible headache, and my nose feels like it's running. I feel the pain of having a fever, but I don't see the visible symptoms."

Dr. Harris looked at him with concern. "That's very strange, but let's do a few tests. I've got some basic equipment here with me. May I?"

Sebastian gave his consent, and Dr. Harris went through a few simple procedures. But to his surprise, all the tests were inconclusive.

Doctor Harris confirmed that Sebastian had no obvious symptoms of fever, but he was still complaining about the pain of the symptoms. It was a peculiar situation, and Dr. Harris found himself rubbing his chin thoughtfully. He asked, "Is there anything else out of the ordinary you've noticed lately, aside from this one?"

Doctor Harris could see that Sebastian was deep in thought, as if he were debating whether to share some information with him. He followed Sebastian's gaze to Malia, who was staring at them intently.

When Sebastian looked back at Doctor Harris, he said, "Let's talk about this another day." Sebastian stood up.

"Is there anything else I can do for you today?" Doctor Harris asked.

"No," Sebastian replied. "Good night, Doctor."

Doctor Harris nodded. "Good night, Mr. Quinn. Good night, Mrs. Quinn."

.

Tap! Tap-Tap! Tap!

Victoria kept tapping away at her laptop, seemingly oblivious to the tissue in her nose. She took it out and tossed it toward the bin, but it missed and landed on the floor. She shrugged, pulled out another tissue, and stuck it in her nose.

All the while, she continued to type on her laptop. Though it seemed like Victoria didn't care about her running nose, something else was bothering her.

Victoria didn't have time to worry about her runny nose or the strange conversation she'd had earlier. She was focused on finishing her work before the deadline. She was grateful that, despite the cold, she didn't have a headache or body aches and it was surprising. No after effects of the cold rain, no fever, no headaches. She was immersed in her work when someone knocked on her door.

Victoria's mother walked in and placed a cup of steaming tea on the table. Victoria looked up and smiled at her mother. She removed her glasses and took a sip of the hot tea.

"Careful, it's hot!" her mother said. But Victoria didn't feel any pain in her mouth. Instead, the warm liquid felt soothing as it traveled down her throat. She didn't feel the pain of a burning tongue instead….

.

"Ahhh!!!" Sebastian shouted.

He stuck out his tongue and felt a burning sensation. He winced in pain and tried to rub it away with his hand.

He jumped up from the bed and started pacing back and forth in the room. He was restless, unable to sit still. His tongue was still burning, and he grabbed a glass of water to try to soothe it. If anyone else had been in the room, they would have thought he was crazy, jumping and pacing like a madman.