Such a Rude and Noisy Woman

It was still early to go to bed by the time Rachel returned to the bedroom, so she decided to call Celine while Hiram was taking a shower. She wanted to ask Celine to speak to the PhD the next day.

Rachel stayed on the line as the call connected, but nobody answered at the other end.

She tried calling twice but the calls went unanswered.

'That's strange! Celine rarely stays in bed this early,' thought Rachel. After sometime she tried calling again, but, still, nobody answered.

Rachel was filled with a sense of foreboding and walked around the room to shake it off. She had last met Celine at the bar just two days ago, and they hadn't spoken since.

Rachel accosted Hiram just as he walked out of the bathroom, "Hiram, I called Celine's house several times, but she hasn't answered. And she didn't even call back! I am beginning to worry!" Hiram tied his bathrobe as he pondered about what to do. "Why don't you call your colleagues and ask them if Celine came to the office today?" he asked.

"Oh, yes! I can call Fiona or Michael!" With that, Rachel found Fiona's number on her phone and dialed.

'At least Fiona would give me some information about Celine. I could ask her whether Celine came in or whether she seemed okay yesterday,' mulled Rachel.

The line connected. "Hello, Fiona! Has Celine come to the office today? Oh, and what about yesterday? Oh! Okay. Did she seem normal yesterday?

"Well, got it! Thanks, Fiona!"

Rachel hung up and replayed their conversation in her mind, 'So, Celine didn't come to office today, but she had come yesterday and apparently looked the same as usual.'

Hiram watched Rachel's face contort with worry and tried to reassure her. "Take it easy, Honey. Celine isn't the type of woman to commit suicide for a man."

With those words, Hiram had only succeeded in voicing Rachel's deepest fears. She frantically picked up the phone and dialed Celine's number again. Still, nobody answered.

"Hiram, I'm worried... This is too much...I am scared for her..." bleated Rachel anxiously.

Hiram couldn't bear to see Rachel in such turmoil and offered, "Give me Celine's address and I'll have a staff member swing by her place. Don't worry, everything will be just fine." Rachel thought it was a great idea to send someone to Celine's apartment to check on her. She promptly fished out her address and gave it to Hiram.

Since they lived quite far from Celine's apartment in West Mountain District, this would be the quickest solution.

Twenty minutes later, Hiram received a call from the staff he had tasked to check on Celine.

Before Hiram could answer the call, Rachel snatched his phone and shouted into the receiver, "Hello! Have you seen her? Is she okay?"

"Good evening, Mrs. Rong! I have asked a clerk of Miss Celine's apartment to check on her. He knocked on the door a few times, but nobody answered. I wonder if there's nobody at home?" reported the staff.

"No, that's impossible! She hadn't asked for leave, so she couldn't have left the city. Is he absolutely certain that the house was empty?" Rachel asked uneasily.

"Mrs. Rong, the clerk said he had waited outside the room for ten minutes listening for any noise or movement in the house, but everything was quiet. The house was undeniably empty," the man said firmly. Hearing this, Rachel became even more agitated. She looked towards Hiram in silent apprehension.

Hiram sighed; changed his clothes and said, "Well, I know what you want to do. Let's go! You won't get any sleep over this if you don't see her by tonight."

Rachel was touched by his thoughtfulness. She walked over to him and wrapped herself around him. "Honey, thank you!"

"Don't be silly! Celine is your best friend. If I care about you so deeply then by extension- I care about her as well," said Hiram with a smile. He ruffled her hair and continued, "Come on! Get your coat. I'll wait by the car." It didn't take long to reach Celine's apartment since traffic, at that hour, was light. There were hardly any cars on the road.

Rachel knocked sharply on Celine's door and waited. But, just as the clerk had said- there seemed to be nobody inside.

Hiram walked over to her after speaking to the property clerk, and said, "I asked him to check the surveillance video and it shows that Celine didn't go out after coming back." "Then... then she..." Rachel couldn't complete her words. She had hoped that Celine had popped out to go somewhere. Fear gripped her as her mind began to assume the worst. Her fear spurred Hiram to act. He knew that the only way to get inside was through this door.

He had to break it down.

He took several steps backwards, swung around, and kicked the door-

it crashed open

with a resounding bang!

Rachel rushed in behind Hiram. She sniffed the air for any telltale signs of what might have happened. She switched on the lights to find the living room was still neat and tidy. She walked to Celine's bedroom and opened the door slowly. It was pitch dark inside.

Rachel groped for the switch blindly. After a short moment, she found it and turned the lights on. Celine's small frame was lying on the bed curled in a fetal position. Rachel walked over to her and shook her shoulders lightly.

"Celine?... Celine sweetheart... Wake up..."

Rachel spied a medicine bottle lying on the bedside table and her heart sank. She reached for the bottle, turned it upside down and found it empty.

"Celine!

CELINE!"

Hiram, who was waiting outside, heard Rachel's cries of horror and rushed into the room. It took him a few seconds to register the empty bottle before he called for an ambulance.

Thankfully, the paramedics arrived soon after and took Celine to the hospital. Rachel and Hiram followed right behind them and soon Celine was wheeled into the Emergency Room (E.R) while they waited outside.

Rachel felt so guilty and couldn't

stop the tears from falling down her face. She should have stayed and comforted her after what had

happened at the bar that day. let

she

had stayed, maybe Celine wouldn't have driven herself to this point.

"Honey, don't cry," said Hiram softly, pulling her into his embrace. He patted her shoulder and whispered, "Take it easy. Everything will be fine."

"No, Hiram, it's all my fault," she sobbed and continued, "She must have been devastated after the breakup with Philip. And I, her best friend... didn't' even call her once after that!"

Rachel's face was tear-stained as she grappled with the guilt. It had never crossed her mind that Celine, who had always been such a strong and independent woman, would ever consider taking her own life.

Hiram found no words of comfort to offer her. If anything happened to Celine, then Rachel would be grievously heart-broken. If that were to happen, he would kill Philip.

Soon after, the door of the Emergency Room opened, and the doctor stepped out. He took off his surgical mask and sighed in relief. "The patient is out of danger now. Fortunately, you got her here just in time," he said. Rachel let go of Hiram and ran to the doctor, grabbed his coat weeping with joy, "Thank you, Doctor! Thank you so much!

Can I go inside and see her now?" she cried eagerly.

The doctor waved her off sternly and replied, "Not now because she is still in the ER." Seeing her crestfallen face he softened, and added, "You can visit her once she is transferred to the General Ward. She will make a full recovery after a few days of complete bed-rest." Then he turned to the nurse and issued her the medical prescription for Celine.

Rachel could barely contain herself and ran to hug Hiram.

"I told you that she would be fine! Don't cry anymore, sweetheart, you're breaking my heart," said Hiram, as he wiped her tears away.

Rachel nodded, her eyes sparkled with tears of happiness, "I'm so glad she is out of danger."

"Trust me, everything will be fine," Hiram comforted her, holding her close.

"Honey, wait for me here please. Let me go check with the doctor in the General Ward and make arrangements for Celine. Hardy is on duty today, I'll request him to take care of her personally," said Hiram Rachel took a deep breath, finally recovering from the ordeal. She said with a smile, "Sure, go ahead. I'll be right here."

Several minutes after Hiram had left to negotiate the logistics, Celine was wheeled out of the Emergency Room. 00000