The Royal Contract

"I'm sorry to disturb you. I did not mean to be a bother. But, I need your help." She hesitated to contact him, but she could not think of anybody else to call regarding her situation.

She initially thought of Alex, but she heard about the accident. She figured that he already had a lot on his plate. She did not want to add up to his problem.

"You know you can call me anytime, Cassie. I am your friend." He told her. "Anyway, what seems to be the problem." He could sense that something was wrong, but she was reluctant to share it with him.

Since she moved out of his apartment, this would be the first time that she contacted him. He also avoided calling her, abiding by her wishes not to be bothered in the meantime.

He wondered what changed her mind and why she called him instead of Alex. But he did hear on the news about Dani's accident. Maybe Alex was still busy taking care of Dani to deal with her.

"Jacob, can you come by my place quickly?" She asked him, adding the last word in a whisper. She did not want to sound demanding, but there was some form of urgency in her condition.

"What is wrong, Cassie?" He could detect a sign of distress in her voice as he listened to her trembling breathe. He already knew that something was amiss. 

He would have run to her rescue, but he had no idea where she lived. He thought that was for the better. If his brother asked him again about Cassie, he did not have to lie about her whereabouts.

Now, he regretted agreeing to such nonsense when all he thought about was her safety. He had been bothered by his guilt since she left, thinking that he abandoned her at the time she needed a friend.

"I'll send you the address. Just get here." She uttered, trying not to sound desperate. But in truth, she was. 

She started typing the location of where she was staying. With the help of Alex, she was able to find a decent apartment where she would hide until the situation cleared.

Alex offered to send her to a faraway place where Nick would not find her, but she refused to run away from her troubles. She would not cower in the likes of Nick. 

She would make sure to see this through until she cleared her name and put Nick in his place. Hopefully, somewhere he could not hurt her anymore, behind bars where criminals like him belong.

"I got the address." He quickly took note of the location, which was not that far from his place. Luckily, he was not on duty today. He had time to help out a friend.

"Thanks." She voiced out, whizzing in pain. This time, she could not control her speech as it sounded like a broken sentence. "Bring some bandages and pain medication."

Her desperation finally showed in her distress call. But before she could tell Jacob more, her phone died down. All she could do now was wait for him to show up.

"Cassie, what is going on?" He questioned with a bit of concern. But the call remained silent, and the call ended. He tried to call the number again, but it was not responding.

His mind ran into many different scenarios as he rushed to her rescue. It all ended up in the worse possible outcome. He checked the address she gave him and drove speedily into her apartment.

He arrived at her apartment in a top time of fifteen minutes. Considering the traffic, he drove faster than his usual speed limit. He would have been faster, but reason still overtook his decision-making.

He rushed into the apartment she gave him, not waiting for the elevator anymore. He used the stairs, taking two to three steps until he reached the fourth floor. 

"Cassie." He knocked on her door. But when no one answered, he tried to bang harder on the wooden surface, repeating her name.

He still tried to catch his breath as he waited for her to answer. Luckily, he only had to climb four floors. But still, those were high and stiff floors.

"Cassie." He shouted louder this time, a bit wary of her condition. From the way she first sounded, it did not seem too serious. But the way she ended the call, he was a bit scared for her.

Then, he wondered why there was no one guarding her door. He always thought that Alex would have someone watching her safety. But he did not see anyone, or nobody stopped him from reaching her door.

His anxiousness just tripled, realizing that something might have happened to her. Much worse than he initially had thought. He questioned if his brother had learned of her location and tried to hurt her or worse.

He started banging again on her door until he finally heard a movement. Something heavy must have dropped on the floor to cause such a smashing sound.

"Cassie, I am coming in." He knew he could not wait anymore for her to open the door. He feared that her life was in danger. He had to get to her immediately before it was too late.

Without considering his safety, he readied himself for the pain from what he was about to do. He positioned himself a few feet away from the door to create a distance. 

Using his body, he smashed the side of his shoulder and arm against the wooden door. But before he made an impact, the door opened. He went straight inside the door, losing control, landing on the girl behind the door.

They both ended up on the floor, with him lying on top of her. If Cassie was not injured earlier, she would be now from the strong impact of their collision.

It took them a few minutes to realize what happened between the two of them as shock took over their consciousness. They both groaned in pain from the bumping of their bodies and falling to the hard floor.

"Are you alright?" He asked as he eventually recovered after being stunned by the incident. 

He quickly pushed himself off her, giving her room to regain her composure. But he was more alarmed when he saw her bloody shirt, thinking that he might have caused it.

He knelt before her as he assessed her situation. He mentally kicked himself on the head for causing more harm than good. He came here to help her, not to make things worse.

"I'm ok. Don't worry." She finally answered when the recent event finally registered in her brain. "Nothing broken, I think." She smiled at him, seeing the worry lines on his forehead.

She slowly moved her arms and then felt her toes, just to make sure that they were moving. Then, she slowly lifted her head and was satisfied when she did not feel any pain.

"I'm sorry about bumping into you." He did not know how to explain himself to her.

It suddenly appeared ridiculous even in his mind when he thought of what was going through his mind before the door opened.. He sounded like a bloody lunatic for thinking the worse scenario in his mind.