Free Against The Odds by Senna Fisher

protect her. The dream felt so real that
he woke up and could not figure out where he was. That was
awful . He got out of bed and paced in his apartment. He walked
round and round, in his slow, deliberate way, his short hair spiky
on his head, his blue eyes focused.
    If
Rebecca could see him now, she would have seen why Nana had called
him the white tiger. He was exactly that as he paced. He needed to
do something. He knew that Rebecca was tied to his life somehow and
he realized he had to do something. The butterfly has something to
do with it. He knew she had tried to pretend it was not important,
but she had asked him about it. She also wanted to know. The
question was why was it important to her? Did it also comfort her?
Who had made it for her? Who had the capacity to know how it
looked? It was on her back, so the person had to know exactly what
they were doing. Rebecca could not have been much help. What is all this?
Why am I behaving like this? Also, his connection with her father was disturbing. It cut
deep in him. Even when the man joked with him, about looking after
his daughter, he knew it meant something. He had not been joking.
He had laughed with George, but Clayton knew there was more to it.
He realized that she was not afraid of him. She always stood her
ground with him and flashed her black eyes at him. She was afraid
of someone or something else. Why won’t she just tell me? Why won’t she give me
the thing I need, the honesty? Oh Rebecca, he lamented , please, don’t lie to me. I can’t stand
it.
     
    He
went to work in the morning, determined to get some answers from
her. Her father had been right. If he simply went there, demanding
answers, she would flash her eyes and shut off. He would have to do
this the long, patient way. He would have to charm her, and
when ‘her defenses are down, wham!’ her father had said. This was
all new to him. He never dealt with people like this. He walked
into their lives, got what he wanted and walked right out. Rebecca
was not to be treated that way. She would get the better side of
him, the gentle, caring man he had forgotten resided somewhere deep
inside him.
    When Jonathan saw him, he was very perturbed. “What kind of
date did you have? God,
you look awful. Did you misbehave? Any accusations,
butterfly , lion? ”
    “Jono, not now. I feel awful. What
are you doing? I need a long talk.”
    “ Hold on. I need to drop off these documents. Come to my
office in five minutes. We will go somewhere private.”
    He
went to Jonathan’s office and Clayton sat slumped on the
chair. He was so tired, but also so desperate to get beyond this
confusion. He had already started his work on Rebecca. He sent a
bright, yellow pot plant to her office this morning. She loved
plants and he knew she would appreciate it. It had taken him some 30 minutes to construct a
suitable note. Eventually, it had been two simple
lines:
    Princess, thanks for a great dinner.
    Sorry about the dark blues, C.
     
    Clayton phoned his secretary, and told her he would be out
for a while. She seemed to accept this. For once, she did not
demand an explanation. Jonathan had gone into an office downstairs and phoned
Jackie.
    “It is worse than we thought. There is definitely something
wrong. He really looks like an animal now. Hi s eyes are wild
and he can’t sit still. He wants to talk. What should I
do? ”
    “Nothing, darling, just listen. Please do not argue with
him and rationalize things. Just listen, okay? I have to go. See
you later. Just listen.”
    They went out into the bright sun and Clayton put on
his dark glasses. It was too bright and his eyes hurt. They went to
the park and Clayton told his story. He told Jonathan everything,
the shocks, the arguments, the dream, the father. He left out
nothing and Jonathan had such a vivid image of the events that he
felt as though he had been there.
    “ Clayton, is it possible that there is something wrong with
you, not her?”
    “ Why?”
    “Because