Rodney was tired of his horrible life, and he was going to end it. He couldn't bear the torment anymore as his life continued to spiral out of control. Whenever he thought it was about to get better, it became worse. He had been walking for seven minutes when the tallest apartment building came into view. It was long and run down, in one of the most dangerous parts of the neighbourhood. The building itself was a disaster waiting to happen given its inclined state. It was leaning to the right, but people still lived in it because rent was cheap and most of them had nowhere to go. Rodney glanced up, took a deep breath and entered the building. As he trudged upwards, he thought of his mother. He knew that she was going to be hurt, but he was sparing her extra expenses. He was tired of being hungry all the time, and lacking basic needs. He could barely sleep due to the crippling depression he battled. Soon, he reached the last floor. He could hear his heart pounding in his chest as he c
Sometime later, Rodney’s eyes fluttered open after he regained consciousness. He immediately sat up and observed his surroundings. He was in an exquisite bedroom with grey walls. The expensive bed had a grey headboard and a soft mattress covered by a beautiful duvet. Next to it was a black bedside drawer with Rodney’s old phone and wallet on top. A few metres away from it was a dark brown couch with a pillow.Clearly this man was stinking rich. Rodney wished his mother had told him about the man earlier. Mother. Rodney shot out of bed when he thought of her. Putting on the sandals near the bed, he ran out of the room and walked into the hallway until he found a grand staircase.“Mother,” he shouted, not caring who would hear him.“Roddy,” his mother voice repeated from somewhere.Rodney’s heart relaxed when he heard her voice. It was like music to his ears. He saw his mother down and descended the stairs to meet her. They hugged each other.“Come with me to the living room,” she said
The smell of delicious food reached Rodney and his stomach growled immediately. He had not eaten proper food since lunch the day before. Since he had been unemployed, he had been doing odd jobs here and there which helped him earn money which was barely enough to provide for his and his mother’s needs.Even her work as a maid did not bring in much so sometTheimes he would sacrifice for his mother’s sake. He would lie to her that he’d eaten before coming home. His stomach was used to it. The smell was enticing and Rodney wanted to go to the source but he remembered the manners his mother had told him. Although the owner of the house was his father, he was still very much a guest.A rap song started playing on his vibrating phone. Removing it from his pocket, Rodney saw that it was his best friend Harvey. He looked around the room and although he could not see cameras and microphones, he didn’t want to take a risk. Rodney stood up and took quick strides out of the room and into the foye
That day ended with no further incident. After dinner, Rodney retired to his bedroom as his mother argued with one of the women in the house. That was the only thing he hated about his mother. She was always getting involved in arguments and fights. Rodney had witnessed way too many to count. She had fought at least once with every woman in the neighbourhood mostly because of her ability to stir and spread gossip. It was why she had lost so many clients and barely got any money in.Rodney had never been in a bathtub full of warm water. Being in one felt like heaven, the warm water surrounding his whole body. At his neighbourhood, the showers barely worked. If you needed hot water, you had to boil water and put in a bucket. He enjoyed using hot water but it would never be around his body all at once like in the bathtub. He could fall asleep in that thing. When he finally came out, he dried his body and wrapped it around the body.There was knock on his door. He went and opened. There w
Rodney was led into a black luxurious car and told to sit in the back with one of the men who kidnapped him. At the front was the driver and another man.“Don’t try anything stupid, son.” His father warned before retreating to the house.Since there was no point in saying anything, Rodney stayed silent and looked outside as the car sped through the streets of the high profile neighbourhood. He could not fathom how a wanted drug lord lived right under the noses of rich people but could not be captured. As he stared at the beautiful mansions, he wondered if a number of the owners were criminals as well. Were they all part of the mob, and that's they couldn’t report each other?From what he knew, most criminals did not stay in one place for a long time. Maybe that was what his father did as well. His father had not even slept at the house which made Rodney wonder if he just popped up once in a while. His house was also the most secluded in the neighbourhood with the highest wall fence. Y
When Sara finally stopped crying, she and Rodney walked into the house. Rodney could hear loud, masculine voices coming from the living room as they made their way to the stairs.“Brother,” a man said when they were on the middle of the steps. They stopped walking and Rodney turned to see a man who looked like a younger clone of his father. He was exceptionally handsome, tall and muscular as well.“Hey,” Rodney said.“Come on, let’s bond. Spend some time with me and my friends. We are brothers, after all. We might as well get to know each other since we will be leaving in the same house.”Rodney did not like the idea very much. He was hoping for negative results so he could leave as soon as possible. What was the point in getting to know each other when they would soon part ways?“I don’t think that’s necessary.”“Okay, I’m quite disappointed in you, Rodney. Are you going to cry like your mother as well? I doubt there’s anything interesting in your bedroom.”Rodney was content with ju
Rodney was so sad that he did not go down for lunch that day. He did not want to see anyone. Thankfully, his mother brought him some food. She asked him what was wrong but he refused to answer which made his mother think it was something to do with Rodrigo. Sara swore she would teach him a lesson despite Rodney’s pleas for her not to do anything. Rodney was already considered weak. If his mother got involved, they would make fun of him for running to mommy. “Mum, promise that you won’t say or do anything. I really don’t want any drama.” “I’m not going to let this people treat you like dirt, Rodney. Alberto is your father, and you have as much right as his other children to be here. Just because they lived here all their lives doesn’t mean they’re better than you. I want you to know that.” “Mum, I’m tired of you interfering in my affairs. I’m 18 now, okay? Just let me sort out my issues for once. You should stop treating me like a child so I can grow up.” His mother’s lips parted an
When they got back to the house, Rodney and his mother were taken to their respective rooms, given food and locked up. All the key copies were taken away.Rodney could barely eat because of anxiety. He was not claustrophobic but he was afraid of being locked up in any place, big or small. He tended to be quite paranoid sometimes, worrying about every possible thing that could go wrong. For instance, a fire could start and everyone would look for the nearest exit to save themselves, forgetting about Rodney and his mother.The more he thought about this scenarios, the more anxious he became. His heart was filled with dread and his nervous system felt like a train wreck. When it became too much, Rodney grabbed the plate of food, stormed to the window and opened it before throwing it to the ground below.The plate shattered into several small pieces and food splashed around. One of the guards saw the incident and shook his head at Rodney who closed the window and returned to the centre of