He's Not Doing Well

Deresita wasn't wrong to say that mental stimulation should be good for him. However, Rhodes didn't want high-school math to cripple his already battered brain. As they waited for Giles to come home, Rhodes was in the library. He read through high school math books that Frieda handed to him.

The daughter watched him sit on the single couch for minutes. His movie-star aura didn't diminish, even if he struggled to reference theories from one problem to another. This uncle was hit with amnesia, but he stayed composed and bright. With three books open before him, he looked hard at work for a patient. She could simply ignore the fact that those were math books, instead.

Rhodes glanced up to find Frieda staring at him. He brought his eyes back to the book. "Have you answered the problem? Explain how you got to this answer to me."

"Uh… well…" Frieda struggled to explain her steps. She groaned at the difficulty. Her eyes glanced at the uncle. "…how am I doing?"

"Bad. I didn't understand what you just said." Rhodes chuckled. He closed the book he was holding. "If you can explain it properly, that means you understand the method. Since you can't, I can only assume your answer is wrong. We can see the answer sheet now."

"Wait, let me try again!" Frieda pulled back. She picked up her eraser and redid her solution. As she mouthed the process, she realized she messed up the steps.

Rhodes opened the book in his hand again. He looked down and skimmed it for the last line he just read. However, the wall phone suddenly rang. Rhodes turned to find it on the wall next to the light switches. It was quite a walk from the lounge in the library. He brought the book down, seemingly getting up to answer it.

Frieda glanced at the phone. "Don't bother picking that up. No one's at the other end, though. I mean… that phone isn't connected to anything. All wall phones shouldn't work anymore."

"You answered it once?" Rhodes still got up from his seat. He walked to the phone, watching it ring like a functional phone. However, the LED screen didn't light up. Rhodes figured something else was behind the noise it made.

"Yeah, that happens every week. I don't want to study here because of that damn phone." Frieda groaned. She lost her focus and suffered again.

"Once a week…" Rhodes picked up the transceiver and listened in. A strange white noise played, but he could hear someone faintly breathing. Someone was on the other line, but they were not saying anything. It might as well be the extra person in the Flower House.

Rhodes glanced at the struggling teen. He leaned on the wall to hide his face. He spoke to the unknown caller, "Do you live here? Who are you trying to reach?"

The faint breaths stopped. Rhodes continued listening, losing the white noise next. In the end, the unknown caller hung up on him. 

The doctor snorted and placed the transceiver back. "What a bother."

…

Dinner was served, and four seats had plates on them. However, only three were occupied by people. Deresita glanced at the empty seat at the head of the table. Giles was supposed to be home by then. He didn't call her or even leave a message. The father didn't seem to be accounted for at the moment.

Rhodes could feel Deresita's worry in the air. Even Frieda kept glancing at her mother. In the end, she asked, "What did Daddy say?"

"Huh?" Deresita broke out of her trance and looked at her daughter. She glanced at Rhodes, who watched her as intently as Frieda did. The mother said with a forced smile, "He's going to be late. The hotel needs him more than anything right now. Don't worry. He'll be home. Do you want me to wake you up? Wait, are you staying up instead?"

"…really?" Frieda raised a brow. "You always say that. Daddy will do this; Daddy will do that. He never does. Now, he's starting not to come home."

"Frieda." Deresita would chide her daughter if Rhodes was not with them. She could only glance at their guest. "I'm sorry. She's stressed out. She's not like that all the time."

Rhodes glanced in the direction of the double door concealing the dinner hall. The familiar gaze from earlier was coming from them. However, he was too far to realize that the doors were left open with a crack. Before he could look away, a maid pushed the door open.

The maid briskly walked toward the madam and whispered, "Madam, Master has arrived. I think you should see him immediately. He's not… doing well."

"What do you mean, not doing well?" Deresita gasped and got up from her seat. She quickly left the room, asking Rhodes and Frieda to stay put. 

The madam raced to the main lobby and saw her husband on the couch. One maid carefully cleaned his face with a damp cloth, while another was wiping his glasses. The third and fourth maids attended to his leg wounds. She also spotted a fifth maid arriving and bringing his sprained foot up on a short stool. The image froze Deresita.

Did her husband get into an accident?

Giles was quiet. His stoic face distorted in pain for a split second, before resuming the stone look. However, his eyes were rather downcast. His entire body was in pain… as well as his heart. He couldn't even look at Deresita when she came close.

"What happened to him?" Deresita held back her screams, her body shaking from restraint. However, the maids shook their heads.

"He hasn't said anything yet." The maid who fetched Deresita helped in washing the cloths in warm water. Blood and dirt muddled the water, but she didn't look disgusted.

Deresita sat close to her husband. "Giles… what happened? I won't get angry. Just… let me know. Did someone do this to you? Why aren't you telling me?"

Giles finally looked up at her and then at the two more people who followed his wife. His sullen gaze landed on Rhodes. The man sighed and brought his head down. "…some people… took the car and everything I carried home. I wasn't expecting anything substantial from Rhodes, especially what happened years ago. I took out a loan and…"

The wife gasped in shock. She couldn't help but gently pull her husband into a hug. "Oh, Giles… I'm so sorry. Don't worry… We'll find a way… We'll find a way…"

From afar, Frieda couldn't help but walk to her father and offer her warmth. Her father was mugged on his way home. The hotel was taking more than he could give, but he couldn't quit anymore. A simple resignation letter wouldn't make this problem go away.

"…where did this happen?" Rhodes asked. He didn't walk any closer, wary of intimidating the man. However, his eyes glinted strangely. What a dark gaze for a beautiful man to have…