Take My Breath Away

"Then, don't hold a scalpel. We can afford to feed a cripple." Keith wouldn't change his mind. He sat in a chair.

Baldwin took the ruler and sighed inwardly. He hadn't hit Niles for more than ten years. He wondered whether his son could take it. Knowing Niles was studying to be a doctor, Baldwin went for his butt first. If he injured his hand, Niles might not be able to hold the tools of his trade steadily enough.

He dragged Niles over and made him bend over a table. When his dad swung the ruler at his butt, Niles screamed, "Grandpa, Dad, I was wrong. I won't do it again. Ow!" He was more than twenty years old. He hadn't expected his grandpa to punish him like this. Luckily, they weren't having any guests over that day. That would be humiliating.

Cecelia wandered in the street after leaving the house. 'Niles isn't a child anymore. Being hit like that, what if he gets depressed? A beating is pretty harsh.' She was so worried she even forgot that trying to help him would only make things worse. She pulled out her phone and called Wesley. "Wesley, your grandpa is so ticked off. He's even beating Niles. Help him!"

'Beating him?' Wesley frowned. When Niles was little, he was very naughty and would cause a lot of trouble. Keith would punish him with a spanking, and Niles would run around the house like he was running from the Grim Reaper. But after he started junior high, Niles always behaved and was never hit again. But why now? "What's the matter? Why is Grandpa so angry?" asked Wesley.

"It's all about you, Niles and Blair." Cecelia told him everything, including how Niles had tricked Keith into buying him an apartment.

Wesley lit a cigarette, listening quietly to his mom. "Mom, I'll only call Grandpa to suggest he use the whip instead of the ruler," he said.

Cecelia was dumbstruck. It dawned on her that her firstborn was even worse than Keith. He had a moral code, and held everyone to those high standards. He'd probably be even harsher than his grandfather.

That was when she realized that she turned to the wrong person. "Never mind. I never said a word. Stay out of it. Besides, it's your fault anyway. You set Blair up in Niles' apartment. So I made assumptions. He took advantage of that. But if you won't help him out, I'll call Blair."

"Why her?" Wesley was confused.

"Your grandpa likes her. Maybe she can stop him before he beats Niles to a pulp." Cecelia was Niles' mom. The thought of him being beaten almost worried her to death. And her heart ached.

'Grandpa likes Blair too? Do they think she's a member of this family already?' Wesley didn't like that at all. It was not like things between him and Blair were going well. And then Niles somehow got tangled up in this. And now even his mom and grandpa...His head started throbbing.

Blair's phone started ringing. She picked it up, glanced at the caller ID. She wondered why Cecelia would be calling her. She got her answer quickly.

"Blair, I need your help. I thought you and Niles were an item. And Niles' grandpa made the same mistake as I did. Now he found out the truth and is punishing him. Can you call Niles' grandpa and ask him to lay off him?" Cecelia prattled on anxiously as soon as she was put through. "Me?" Blair was bewildered.

"Yeah. He'll listen to you. He likes you. I'll text you the number, but you need to hurry up. It's urgent," Cecelia urged.

"But I don't think he will even remember me." Blair had only met Keith once, and they barely talked. She wondered how she could help Niles.

"Don't worry. He'll remember you. Keith remembers the name of everyone he's met. Wesley is like that too. And, as I said, his grandfather likes you. What could go wrong? I have to go. I'll text you the number."

Blair felt she didn't have a say in this.

Hardly had a minute gone by before she got a message from Cecelia with Keith's number.

She hesitated whether to even call or not. What was she supposed to say to him?

After a moment of struggling, she decided to help Niles, and dialed the number.

Keith's phone had been ringing for a while, but he was in no mood to answer it, so he just ignored it. The persistent sound annoyed him. He glanced at the screen. It was Blair. Why would she be calling? He saved her number on his phone while she was still in London, but he never called her.

Keith picked up his phone to answer it. "Hello?"

"Um... good evening, Grandpa Keith. I'm Blair."

"Oh, Blair. It's late. What's up?" Keith pretended that he didn't know it was Blair.

"Nothing. I just miss you and... um... want to check up on you," Blair said, feeling nervous. She was now starting to sweat. This wasn't going well.

Hearing his grandpa say Blair's name, Niles, who had been whimpering, raised his voice and cried, "Blair, help! I'm dying here!"

He sounded miserable. Blair felt bad for him. "Grandpa Keith, what's going on over there?" she asked, feigning ignorance.

"Oh, nothing. Everything's fine. Why are you still up? Don't you have to be at work early?"

Keith changed the subject abruptly and gestured for Baldwin to stop. Baldwin paused mid-stroke.

As soon as his father stopped, Niles fled the study, holding his buttocks.

Watching him run, Keith could do nothing but stomp his foot angrily.

"I'm about ready for bed. How about you? I didn't wake you up, did I?" Blair asked in a sweet voice.

It occurred to him that she might become his granddaughter-in-law one day, so Keith couldn't help smiling. "Of course not. I'm glad you called. I enjoy talking to you. Call me whenever you can, will you?"

"Sure. I'm going to bed now. I'll visit you next time I'm in your area," Blair coaxed him gently, as if she was coaxing a child.

"I'd like that. You and Wesley should come visit me together," Keith said.

Blair knew what he meant. "Okay. Bye, Grandpa Keith," she replied with a smile. Even though he couldn't see it, he could hear it in her voice.

She was now covered in a sheen of sweat when she hung up. What made her bold enough to deal with a general on the phone?

That question didn't linger long in her mind, though. After a nice shower, she put on her nightgown and opened a book. Yet she couldn't concentrate. Her mind kept drifting, imagining visiting Keith with Wesley. But not long after she sunk into her reverie, her phone rang again. Speak of the devil. She wondered what it could be about. Wesley almost never called her.

She picked up her phone to answer it. "Hello?"

"Did you call my grandpa?" he asked.

Blair blinked. "How did you know?"

"What did you two talk about?"

"Nothing. He asked me to visit him when I can. What did Niles do?" She couldn't figure out what could piss Keith so much that he had to beat his grandson.

She knew how harsh that could get. The Li family and the Ji family were well-known for their punishments. Hartwell had been a good boy when he was little. And now he was a successful man.

But even he had been punished by his father like this.

"Worried about him?" Wesley's tone got colder.