Chapter 18: The Prayer

The loud sounds of an alarm startled Arielle out of her sleep. Her arm tapped about with no success as the sudden realization fell on her. Her phone was not on the couch or even near the couch. It was an idea she had to encourage her to get out of her bed when her alarm went off, but here she lay wondering if her eyes deceived her or if it was much too early to be awake.

She turned sloppily, falling from the couch and onto the plush carpet. The stinging pain in her back, that she hadn't experienced the night before, made itself known.

"Ow," Arielle groaned. She carefully place her hands down in front of her as she came to a stand. Wiping but one of her groggy eyes, she stumbled in the direction that the sound came from.

Reaching for her phone, she squinted and studied the screen until her vision cleared enough to show her the stop button. But to her surprise. the alarm wasn't an alarm after all, but instead, a phone call. It blared mercilessly as sharp rings loudly filled the room.

She studied the screen for a brief moment, feeling confused as to why an unsaved number would be calling her in the wee hours of the morning.

"Hm," She hummed thoughtfully.

"527," she mumbled, trying to decipher the area code. It wasn't a New York area code. "Who..." she mumbled before shaking her head and clicking the bright green button.

"Arielle?" A deep voice answered from the other end of the phone.

"Yes, that's me," she replied, her eyes just as squinted as before. "May I ask, who I am speaking with?" She replied politely while tapping lightly against the wall with her free hand.

With a sigh, the man responded. "This is Vincent, Alexander's cousin. I was calling because he didn't come into work today and he hasn't been answering any of our calls, have you seen or heard from him?" He asked intentively.

Arielle's groggy state quickly switched to that of focus. "No, no, but he was here last night. He stayed for dinner with us, but he left saying that he was going home." She replied recalling the night before. The way he had worked so tirelessly at his laptop seemed that he was prepared to get back into the office the next day. Simply not showing up wasn't like him,

Vincent could be heard breathing another sigh, but this one was filled with frustration.

"Does she know where he is?" A woman's voice could be heard on the line.

Is that Meghan? Arielle wondered.

"No, one second." He responded to them before turning his attention back to the call.

"Have you driven to his home?" Arielle pondered aloud, trying to help in any way she could, although it felt as though her hands were tied.

"I spoke with his workers there. He never went to his house last night." Vincent responded. His voice exposed that he was at a loss. It was as if she were his last hope and it was snatched up.

"Well-" she paused, racking her brain for anything. Julia exited the bedroom, nodding over to the phone with a confused, yet sleepy expression. Arielle responded with a tight-lipped smile before returning to the call.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" She wondered. She wondered if Julia would loan her the car so that she could help comb through their small city.

"I- I don't know. I didn't even know that he was going to your house last night. He's been more private ever since he left for Italy." Before he could continue, a voice in the background could be heard, likely requesting his attention.

"Okay," he could be heard responding to them before returning to the phone.

"Thank you for letting me know what you know, Arielle. I must be going. Please, just stay safe." He rattled off quickly.

"I wi-" Click. The call ended abruptly. She sighed and placed the phone on the counter and ran a hand through her stretching curls. She didn't know what she could do to help and she wouldn't know where to look.

"Is everything okay?" Julia asked. Arielle turned around and pulled at her own robe.

"No. Alexander never returned to his home last night. His cousin can't find him."

Julia's eyes widened. "Whoa, that's so serious. Where could he be?"

"I don't know... That's what I'm trying to think of too." Her eyes wandered as she allowed her thoughts to come up with various suggestions, but she knew little about where he would go. "I'm going to head to the room, to get ready for the day. Do you need anything from in there for the next hour, hour, and a half?" Arielle asked.

Julia shook her head no. "No, you're good." She smiled and flopped onto the couch.

Arielle returned a quick smile and made her way to the bedroom. She had so many questions, but she couldn't remain stagnant. He wouldn't remain stagnant if it were her and even if he would, she couldn't bare the thought of something happening to him.

Yanking out a new outfit for the day and some of her things to get ready for the day, she placed them to the side. They would be ready for when she needed it. She closed the door behind her and knelt on the side of her bed. For now, she would pray and plead with God to keep him safe.

Alexander's body was cloaked in warmth. He sighed and turned over, pulling the blankets closer to him.

A sweet dream, of a beautiful summer day danced in his mind, coaxing him to remain where he was, to enjoy it a little longer. Short and tall grass blew in the wind, swinging back and forth and he smiled at the sight. He could easily stay there forever it seemed.

A man was standing there with a short woman he recognized.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

His brows furrowed in his half-sleep state as he turned to keep himself comfortable, but it was feeble. The small tapping noises continued, slowly pulling him from the peaceful dream that included a few people he recognized and loved.

Alexander yawned, blinking slowly as he was filled with disappointment to have his dreams disturbed and interrupted.

What could that be anyway? He thought to himself.

In a groggy blank stare, accompanied by the sleepy rubbing of his eyes, he peered around his room to look for the source of the sound.

With widening eyes and shallow breath, his eyes rapidly scanned back and forth. This wasn't his home. He yanked back the blankets that weren't his blankets and was ready to jump to his feet when pain erupted up his arm.

"Don't move so fast." A familiar voice warned him. Relief washed over him as he glanced over to the entrance of the room to see his close friend, Officer Rodriguez.

"Rodriguez." He replied in relief, mixed with mild confusion.

"You've always been so formal," he chuckled. "Just call me John."

"It's a survival tactic," he replied with a slight grimace, but mild amusement shined through. "What am I doing here?" Alexander asked. The bedroom he was in clearly once belonged to a teenager or young adult. The posters on the wall were of bands that he'd witnessed young girls squeal over.

"Ironically, surviving," Rodriguez replied with a small smile while placing down a small mug of coffee and a glass of apple juice. The ceramic and glass clinked against the table, such a simple noise, but it triggered a stinging pain in Alexander's head.

"Oof sorry about that. You don't remember anything yet, do you?" He asked while examining his friend.

"No, nothing," Alexander replied rubbing his forehead in pain.

John sighed. "I don't blame you. Once I saw them running, I leaped into action."

"Who was it?" Alexander demanded.

"I don't know, but realistically, he's with Lorenzo. One of his workers. I was on shift outside the young woman's house and I was ready to switch with one of the other retired cops you hired when that man popped up. He was waiting for a weak moment, but it worked in your favor. By the time I got to him, he had smashed the car window open. We got you all patched up, but the impact caused some to projectile and slice your arm there, one lodging its way in a shallow part."

Alexander went to reach for his arm, but John stopped him.

"I wouldn't do that. You need time to heal." He reminded him, pulling his better arm away.

"Does anyone know?" He asked while grabbing the mug of coffee.

John shook his head. "Not a soul. Anyone, you need me to call?"

Alexander groaned. "Everyone. Please just call everyone."

"On it." He replied with a small smile and made his way out of the room.

Alexander sat by the window and stared out at the modest backyard. It was fenced-in and rather small, but it reminded him of his childhood. Rodriguez had reached out and made two phone calls on his behalf. Vincent was swiftly informed and then his workers were at home next.

He wanted to be out of there, but John was right about Alexander needing to take it easy.

The odd attack from the night before was clearly from Lorenzo and for the first time in a while, he felt helpless. Lorenzo had been a rival for so long, but Alexander had rarely ever been a target of his violence. Naively, he thought the businessman would be too fearful to taint his name, but rage would quickly cloud his better judgments.

Alexander examined the glass in his hand. Boredom. For the first time in a long while, he felt completely and utterly bored. The office would be delayed another day and his employees would likely begin to wonder if their boss would ever return. Vincent was a surprisingly good fit for his position. It made him smile at the thought of Vincent's eyes widening at the sight of ceiling-high filing cabinets, filled with paper that demanded his attention.

He sighed and took a sip of the slightly bitter apple juice, crinkling his nose in response to its taste. Even the coffee had been sweeter than it.

"What's with the face?" Vincent's voice startled Alexander out of his thoughts. He nearly jumped out of the chair.

"Why are you here?" He asked astonished. Work was never so forgiving for Alexander. It demanded his attention every second of every day.

"Oh and is that how you speak to a worried family member?" Vincent's lopsided grin revealed that he was not offended.

Alexander rolled his eyes and leaned back.

"When they frighten me, yes. Yes, I do." He muttered. Vincent rose a brow, pulling up a seat for himself. His stare was challenging and unwavering leading Alexander to stand down. "But my apologies, cousin. I do appreciate your efforts to check on me. Forgive my shortness with you. Rodriguez helped me out of there."

"So I've heard. Since we're apologizing, please forgive me for possibly worrying your lady." Vincent replied sheepishly.

Alexander's eyebrows furrowed as he leaned forward. "What do you mean?" He asked.

"I called her to ask about your whereabouts and just like me, she didn't know. Not a clue."

Alexander groaned. "Now why would you do that?" He dragged out. He gripped his forehead and wavy pieces of his hair fell forward.

"Should I have hoped you would turn up and delay my search for you?" Vincent's tone was that of a stern, yet concerned parent. The frustrated sigh falling from Alexander's mouth was enough of a response.

"Exactly," Vincent replied to himself. "But no worries. I updated her about your whereabouts. She's a sweet girl. She was so overjoyed in knowing that you were okay that she began rambling saying how she knew God would answer her prayers by keeping you safe." Vincent replied with a smirk. "She seems smitten. Almost as smitten as you are by her."

Now that Alexander wouldn't argue. He wanted that. A smile tugged at his lips. The way she placed others before herself caused him to form a great respect for her and her morals. He could only hope that his feelings were requited.

"Send her a bouquet from me, would you? Tulips and daisies." He requested as he face back toward the window with a small smile gracing his face.

"Interesting choice. May I ask, why those specifically?"

Alexander took another chug of the sugar-free apple juice before turning to Vincent once more.

"They make me think of her. Pure, innocent, and beautiful." His answer rolled off of his tongue because this wasn't the first time it had come to mind. Only now he knew why. Her standard for morality did not come out of nowhere. "Her heart has been molded by God. I've learned that all good things come from Him, and I've witnessed so much beauty in her and now I know that it is because of Him."

"Wow," Vincent replied, genuinely taken aback by his response. "Well, I will have those sent to her right away, cousin, but for now I must go. You seem to have more meetings than one man can handle, but I'm trying to keep it organized for you." Vincent followed up assuringly. With a professional smile and a dusting of his suit pant, he was in his way.

"Thank you," Alexander called out to him, just before he reached the door. "You're taking this on well. Better than I had when I first began."

"No need to thank me, cousin. I'm sure you would have done the same thing for me had the roles been reversed."

Alexander smiled, giving a gentle nod as Vincent exited the room. He surely would.

The cost of business was high, very high, but he had built it from the ground up, willing to fight to protect it. He was sure he would be the CEO for many decades to come, but something shifted. From the moment he first went to Italy and spoke with his godmother about God, everything changed. Nothing was as important anymore.

He saw how much God worked in the life of his beloved godmother and his beloved. The cost of following God appeared to be higher than even his business ventures, but God was more than worthy and Alexander sat with the realization that He was willing to give it all up for Him.

He never knew that he could grow tired of the fast pace, but there was this peace that he seemed to experience for a moment when he thought of giving it all away for Christ and he knew that he wanted it for a lifetime.

His eyes drifted to the skyline and he whispered a short prayer to the One True God he hardly knew, but wanted to know. "You can have it all if you'd like, but please show me what to do, and please... protect her."

And God would answer that prayer sooner than even he could anticipate.