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- Earlier -
The second River enters the bathroom, he crouches over the toilet, spewing out the bitter, acrid liquid from his mouth. He wretches, coughing and sputtering, whilst trying to remain quiet. More vomit comes up, burning his throat as it comes up to fill his mouth. River opens his mouth, choking as his gag reflexes react to the acid in his throat.
He could hear Sebastian on the phone, but the man's voice grows louder minutes later. Luckily, River had dealt with his vomiting and was seated beside the toilet- gathering his strength.
"River?" Sebastian's voice startles him from the other side of the door. "Are you ok?"
River straightens up and wipes at his lips desperately. "I'm
-River's eyes fly open, startled awake by the loud ringing of his cellphone. He quickly shuffles to sit upright, grabbing the gadget from the bedside table to answer."Yes, h-hello?" His voice cracks,"Mr. Kennedi, thank heavens you're awake! I've been trying to call Sebastian all morning, but he won't answer." Grace informs River, who is still half asleep and groggy.After his confrontation with Sebastian, River retired to his room to avoid the face-to-face with the man. He had busied himself with the Merit Global merger files, in hopes of distracting himself. Fortunately it had worked, and River fell asleep after preparing his own presentation since Charles didn't show up, nor did he hear anything else about the man returning. He didn't see nor hear a peep from Sebastian since their last conversation.
-Minutes into the discussion end of the meeting, River has everyone eating out of his hands. Many were still skeptic, but all he could do was designate his point of view and give them a clear and concise view into a possible future."Merit Global's revenue is at an all time high, Mr. Kennedi, so we're hoping to see triple that if and when we agree." Julian Marx chimes in, and River faces him. "We however believe, that this merge is a tactic to remove the competition, by taking it over." He narrows his gaze at River."I respect that as your take on this, but I must inform you that Merit Global is a complementary corporation to Black Co.," River begins and Jason scoffs loudly, but Julian stops him with a hand on his shoulder. "However, I reviewed the balance sheets, and I've discovered a few discrepancies that could harm this
-As River awakes, the sounds of a new day invites him into a feeling of solace and warmth, but it doesn't last long. The sudden feeling of sadness washes over him, yet he manages to get out of bed and to the coffee machine. Though, as he goes to pour a cup, the doorbell rings.River clutches the coffee pot with a frown, considering pouring it out and taking a sip before answering the door. His face then falls as he remembers his predicament."Oh, yeah." He shakes his head. "I can't have coffee."He places the pot down and walks out of the kitchen, then into the living room from the hallway. Learning his lesson from too many unexpected pop-ups, River pauses before opening the door."Who
- "I've been lying to you this whole time, and you don't deserve this, you deserve better than me-," he stops when Sebastian closes the distance. "You don't get to tell me what I deserve, because I want you, and you sure as hell don't deserve a mess like me, but I'm not willing to throw away something like this because of my insecurities." He finishes with a firm shake of his head. "But-, but you're-," River sighs, shaking his head in vehemence. "I wasn't sure I was pregnant until last week, the day we went to that restaurant with the boys." He admits. "They said it could be a mis-fire, but Dr. Abrams confirmed it when he called." "Well, I couldn't be happier." Sebastian grins, gently shaking River's shoulders with his rough, but calming hands.
-River Kennedi’s tight curls glisten from the overhead white lights, pinching his caramel skin and low, taper-fade that stresses the chiselled appearance of his face. His eyes, like stone, blink when his chin rests against his hands atop the protective railing around the hospital bed. In that hospital bed was his mother, Rose Kennedi — still catatonic.He regards her, covered under drab white linen, hooked up to the life-support machine. A dreadful sight, even worse than it appeared weeks prior when he last visited.His mother was once so beautiful with hair as brown as pure honey, now just bland and filled with perspiration.There was nothing more River hated than visiting Pearl Grove Memorial Hospital. Not for the sake of his loathing for medical facilities, but for his fear of losing his last remaining relative. It was a place of dread and a reminder of tribulations faced in the past and present.
Twenty-two minutes after leaving the Pearl Grove Memorial, River enters the relative calm of his small, rundown apartment. Its decor is second-hand furniture, displays of amateur art, plastered in every corner, or standing on an easel. The two-bedroom, one-bath apartment is spotless except for River, the only other case of disarray against the washed out, but immaculate space. The paved tile floors cool his feet after he kicks his shoes off to free himself of its restraints.River releases his messy bun and whisks his curls out of his eyes. He takes a few awkward and pained steps towards the dark green, floral couch, sitting in the middle of the room, across from an out-of-place smart tv.The small, but frail, rectangular table sitting between the couch and the television set becomes River's only moment of peace when he crosses his feet atop it. Slowed by his own weariness, River rubs his pale knees with delicate, defined arms. A futile attempt to soothe
The night had come and past—just like a distant memory in Sebastian Black’s mind as his dark, onyx eyes flutter open. He blinks against the assault of ultraviolet rays, kissing his vision with an annoying ebb of pain. His dark, Nubian complexion blesses the sunlight that trails against his half-naked body. Angled perfectly, yet lazily on the king-sized bed he lays in, after an eventful night of drinking wine and staying home. Before he can reflect on anything else, Sebastian swings his legs off to the side of the enormous bed. Gazing ahead, at the full view of Manhattan, and the reflection of himself in the glass.After a long, thorough shower, Sebastian grabs a pair of boxers from a hallway closet. Hurriedly slipping them on, then walking across the modestly designed penthouse living room area. Sparsely decorated with grand paintings lining the walls. Granting access to his modern condominium is an elevator that opens to his squinted view. Enormous
--River sits up, heart palpitating so loud, he can hear it beating as if within his eardrums. With a fidgeting thumb, he opens the email. To further aggravate himself, he waits ten seconds, but nothing happens. Another ten seconds later, his patience breaks. Yet there was still nothing. He opts to wait another ten, but he gives up after three, the moment he remembers owning a laptop. The only thing in the apartment connected to the next-door neighbor’s Wi-Fi.“Crappy phone!” River curses under his breath, chucking the device on the bed.River then forces himself to his feet and begins skipping towards his uncluttered computer desk where his laptop sits, half-cracked. He opens it up, narrowing his gaze as the screen lights up and within seconds, he enters his password and smiles. He pauses for a second, even more agitated than before. Head swollen with trepidation and rising anxiety. River squeezes his two eyes sh