Octavio clearly had a way with words. Less than a minute after approaching the couple, Rodney saw the man letting out a stream of words while looking angry. He went away and Octavio and the girl laughed before starting to dance together. The date was so good that Octavio took her back to his apartment. Rodney had decided to stay the night at the apartment as well. He would sleep in the spare bedroom. As they went to the apartment, Rodney started thinking of an idea. When they got to the apartment, he asked Octavio to show him the bedroom, after mouthing we need to talk when she was not looking at them. They left the girl in the living room.“You need to get her drunk,” Rodney said. “We need to know if she can tell us some of Alberto’s secrets if she knows any.”“What, you’re still on that stupid plan that will never lead to anything good.”“You want your freedom, right?”“I think I gave up on that.”“Let’s just try, okay. If she knows nothing, we’ll let go.”“Okay, I have the perfect
A part of Alberto was amused by what Rodney had tried to do, but another part was proud of him. That boy had the courage of the Rocos, and the Nelsons. Sara Nelson had been one hell of a woman, and he had loved her at a certain point in his life. That was before she ran away with his child without telling him about it. The next time he saw her, he was not very happy with her. And it annoyed him very much when she stood up against him. Sara was not one to sit back and do nothing. He had felt that she would create problems for him sooner or later, which was why he decided to get rid of her. He hated that it caused a big rift between Rodney and him but he figured there was nothing to do. Life had to go on, and Rodney had to find ways of coping with the new reality.Alberto was surprised when Rodney built his life and became a great man. He was not very happy when he decided to leave everything in New York just to come and play nurse to a little girl. Although Rodney accepted to join the
Rodney frantically searched the streets for his cousin, Octavio. He didn’t remember how he found himself in the streets, sounded by a bunch of homeless people. They had been kidnapped last evening but he had been released. However, there was no sign of Octavio and Rodney was determined to find him. He ran from door to door, asking anyone if they had seen him. His heart pounded in his chest as he feared the worst. Who could those men have been and why did they take Octavio and not him? Were they Alberto’s enemies who recognized Octavio only? He couldn’t go back home without finding him. He was the one who had convinced Octavio to be part of the stupid plan. As the sun became hotter, Rodney's hope started to dwindle. He had no leads and no idea where he could be. Tears streamed down his face as he collapsed onto the sidewalk, feeling helpless and alone. Just then, a kind stranger approached him and knelt down beside him. “Are you okay, son?” the man asked gently. Rodney shook his head
Octavio.Octavio hands were tied tightly behind his back, and he could feel the rough ropes digging into his skin. His mouth was gagged, and he felt a lot of discomfort allover his body. One of Alberto’s men stood in front of him, a cruel smile on his face. The tall burly man held a knife in his hand. He walked around for a while before turning back and moving towards Octavio. He crouched down and dragged the blade slowly across the Octavio's chest, causing the young man to flinch and writhe in pain.“You thought you could mess with the wrong people, huh?” the man sneered. “Well, you're gonna regret that. We're gonna make you pay, one way or another.”Octavio desperately tried to plead with his eyes, hoping someone would come to his rescue. But no one was coming. He was alone with his tormentor, who continued to torture him with the knife, cutting him in small, shallow wounds. Octavio couldn’t help but wonder if his uncle was okay with the mutilation. The cuts were not very serious bu
Rodney was feeling a deep ache in his chest. He had been friends with Octavio for only a few days but was missing him so much. He stared out the window, watching the leaves fall from the trees. The atmosphere outside seemed so dull and lifeless, just like how he felt inside without his new friend. He curled up on bed, wishing he could just disappear and never have to face the pain of losing Octavio. He had not prayed in a long time but that night he did. He prayed for Octavio to be alive.He went and sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the dull walls of the room. Tears streamed down his face as he thought about his mother, who had been murdered in cold blood just a few months back.As he sat there, he could still hear her sweet, angelic voice in his head, telling him to be strong and to never give up. She had always been by his side but now, he felt lost and alone without her. For a dark, gloomy moment, he thought of ending it all but the thought quickly left his mind, which
Rodney stood nervously in front of the kitchen counter, staring at the different ingredients laid out before him. His teacher was a seasoned chef called Marlon Price. He worked exclusively for his father’s cartel, earning millions. He had worked on a TV station for a while and never made anything substantial so he was more than happy to work for the drug lord. Marlon stood beside him, ready to guide him through the steps of creating a delicious meal.“First, we’ll start with the vegetables,” Marlon said, picking up a large, sharp knife. “You want to chop them into small, even pieces. Like this.” He demonstrated, expertly slicing the vegetables into neat little squares.After seeing how it was done, Rodney picked up the knife and mimicked the chef’s movements, trying to keep his cuts as even as possible. His looked a hundred times worse than the chef’s. Rodney had decided to learn how to cook out of boredom. As he looked for a way of delivering Alberto to the police, he decided to do s
Miss Jones.Miss Jones was marking her student’s maths homework after having her lunch. When she came upon Lyra Sandman’s homework, she paused, feeling mildly annoyed. She remembered the girl’s brother who had promised to call her but had ghosted her instead. She felt more annoyed at herself for flirting with him. That’s what you get for flirting with your students’ parents, she chastised herself. She decided it would be the last time she would ever do something like that.She decided to forget the brother and focus on her student’s work. She realised this was Lyra’s best work. She figured the brother must have been helping her with it. Before, Lyra’s homework was always poorly done, as if there was no responsible person to help her with it at home. She felt admiration for the man.When she reached the second last paragraph, she saw something that had been written in a smaller font in between the paragraphs.“Lives on the wrong address. Details faked. Both stuck. Most wanted dl. Don’t
Two weeks laterRodney was tired of being confined in Alberto’s mansion. He had reached his breaking point after begging alberto to let him go in vain. Taking care of Lyra was the only thing that gave him some comfort. One afternoon, he was sitting on the edge of the bed, his sister seated on a small stool. He carefully combed through her soft, curly hair, trying to gently untangle the unruly knots.“Ow, that hurts!” Lyra protested, squirming in his grip. Her hair had been messier than before that morning.“I'm sorry, Ly, but you have to let me comb your hair,” Rodney told her, trying to be patient.He continued to comb the hair, using his fingers to gently loosen the tangles. His sister’s hair was so curly and thick, and it was a struggle to get through it all. Finally, he finished and leaned back to admire his handiwork, a proud smile spreading across his face.“I’m done now,” he said. “You have the most beautiful hair in the world.”Lyra giggled, reaching up to touch her now-smooth