Blood red love by Dripping Creativity

16 

Vidar was looking forward to the Thursday club more than usual. It was always nice to meet his true colleagues. But now Thursdays also meant seeing Charlie. As he no longer had a need for her, he couldn’t rely on her being at the office. And since he had put strict rules in place for himself not to contact her, Thursdays would be their only point of contact from now on. He was chatting with Henry as they all took their seats and started dealing the cards. The door to the room opened and all of them turned around, happy to greet Charlie. Only to realise it wasn’t Charlie. 

“Who the f**k are you?” Nasir asked. The waitress had stopped, surprised by the hostile mood in the room. 

“I–I’m Tina, sir. I’ll be your waitress tonight,” she stammered. Vidar narrowed his eyes, he had seen this girl before. Wasn’t she the one Millard had brought to tears the first night Charlie had waited on them? It was one of the few useful things the bastard had ever done.” 

“You’re not Charlie,” Adisa said in an accusing tone, dangerously close to a growl. 

“N–no, she is sick. I’m filling in for her,” Tina said. 

“Fine. Get us our drinks,” Henry told her. 

“And what would those be?” she asked. They sighed as one. Charlie had learned their order after one go. They weren’t used to this. They all impatiently ordered and waited for the waitress to leave. As the others started whining about Charlie not being there, Vidar took out his phone and sent her a text. He was worried the events of the last days had taken a bigger toll on her than he had thought. Or the detective had taken his anger out on her. If that was the case, James Heralds would wish for death. She replied almost instantly that her brother had insisted she take a few days off to stay with them. Vidar approved. It would mean he didn’t get to see her, but she would be safe. 

“Here are your drinks. Can I get you anything else?” Tina asked as she came back. 

“No, get out. We will call you when we need you,” Vidar said. She disappeared, and they started playing. It wasn’t the same. Charlie had made them relax and since she had joined them, there had been a playful mood in the room, which they hadn’t had in years. They all felt something was missing. 

“I hate this,” Henry finally said, tossing his cards on the table. 

“I agree. Thursdays had become the oasis in the week,” Adisa agreed. 

“I think we all feel the same,” Jun told them. If even the quiet Chinese man objected, you knew it was affecting them. 

“F**k this, I’ll go and see if she is okay,” Millard said, standing up. Vidar was up off his chair before he could think about 

1. it. 

“The f**k you are. You stay away from her,” he growled, 

1/3 

“Who made you the boss of me?” Millard asked, the two of them standing face to face, so close their chests almost touched. 

“He is right, Millard. None of us have the right to approach her, to spend time with her alone. Not yet,” Nasir told him, getting up and standing on his right side. 

“She has to be free to make her own choice,” Adisa agreed, boxing Millard in from the left. Jun and Henry stood behind him. 

“What the f**k are you doing?” Millard asked. 

“Making sure you stay put,” Vidar said. They stood like that, in total silence until they all could see Millard relaxing. 

“Fine,” he agreed. The others sat back down without a word. 

“We should do something nice for her, if she isn’t feeling well,” Vidar said before he could stop himself. 

“We can send her a basket with sweets,” Henry said. 

“And balloons,” Adisa added. 

“She would like a stuffed animal as well,” Nasir told them. 

“And something she can pamper herself with,” Jun chimed in. 

“Wine as well,” Millard said. Vidar nodded and made notes on his phone. 

“I’ll arrange it,” he told them. 

“We’ll split the bill equally,” Nasir said. They all nodded. 

“And sign the card the Thursday club,” Adisa told them. They all agreed on that as well. 

“And why the f**k do we trust Vidar to arrange it? And how come you have her adress?” Millard asked. 

“I am merely putting it together, Millard. Chill the f**k down. I don’t have her address.” He did. “I’ll make sure Jenni gets it delivered.” He wouldn’t. “I don’t know where she is.” He knew exactly where. “I haven’t talked to her.” He had. “And I won’t be doing any part of the practical getting the gift together for her.” He would. He had already included a stuffed lynx to let her know who had prepared the gift. He shouldn’t, but at this point, he had almost stopped trying to keep away from her. Almost. 

3 

“Vidar is right, he is the one who has shown most constraint. We’ll leave it to him and Jenni,” Adisa said. Vidar nodded, 

but in his mind he was trying to think of a way to let the others know what he suspected had happened. But until he knew how, he would keep a low profile. 

“We all know our duty towards Charlie. You may be young, Millard, and like playing with the lines. But this is not something you can mess around with. The duty is sacred, and all of us will protect her if needed,” Jun said. Vidar couldn’t remember when the man had spoken so many words in one evening as he had done this. But he had always been big on honour and duty. 

They all decided to end the meeting earlier than usual. No one could get in the right mood. They all chipped in for the tip to the waitress, lower than usual, definitely lower than what they used to give Charlie, but still generous. Tina had taken the blunt of their bad mood and she deserved a compensation for it. Vidar went to find Jenni to hand it over and 

to talk to her. 

“Vidar, you are leaving so soon? Is something wrong?” Jenni asked as he came walking. 

“No, not at all. We just aren’t feeling it tonight,” he said. “If one of the others askes if you have sent a get well basket to 

Charlie, could you tell them yes?” he asked. 

“Sure. But what if they ask her?” 

“She will get it,” he assured her. She smiled and nodded. He thanked her and was about to leave when she stopped him. 

“I know you haven’t asked, but some advice from me. Tell her sooner rather than later. She can handle most things, but 

she has a low tolerance for lies and half–truths,” Jenni told him. He looked at her and nodded. 

“Thank you,” he said. When he was sitting in his car, it took a lot out of him not to ask Malcom to drive by Charlie’s 

brother’s house. Just to make sure everything was okay. But he restrained himself. He pondered going to a club to get some energy out. But soon put the thought to the side. Instead, he decided he would go home and start planning.