The voice of Simeão Campos, Melissa's father, sounded firm and protective to Josias's ears. Probably Simeão is thinking that it is Fabrício who is bothering him again, and that is why he is on a warning signal to protect his little princess.
“Good night, this is Josias Rocha speaking.” Josias decides to speak immediately who he is to resolve any doubts, “Can I speak to Melissa?”
“Don't you feel that you're too old to speak to my daughter?”
Josias's voice was equally firm and serious, so Simeão thought he was talking to someone his age.
“No sir!” Josias starts to laugh, “I'm your daughter's age. She knows me.”
Simeão relaxes his shoulders and allows himself a light smile. This guy is different from the previous one; he has something good in him.
“Sorry, but you spoke in a tone... do you live in the slum here?”
“Yes, I live i
Josias enters his room with great dismay. He doubts that the girl dragged by Jeremiah is really aware of what is happening. She'll probably wake up the next day without knowing where she is or how she ended up in the guy's bed. She probably doesn't even know his name.After thinking about it, he takes the brush and toothpaste, the towel, the soap and goes down to the bathroom. After showering and brushing his teeth, Josias goes back up to his room. However, while he was on the steps that corresponded to the second floor, something caught his ear.Noises echoed down the corridor. If it was daytime, Josias would not have cared. But, it was almost ten at night; most of the tenants were already in their rooms, probably asleep. He didn't even see Teodoro; he always sleeps early when possible. Was someone having a party?When the noise became a 'no', Josias decides to stay on the second floor and crosses the corridor.The 'no' was a female voice.As he a
Josias goes up to his room and closes the door tightly. The indignation he felt for what he had just witnessed was immense. He leaves the balcony door open, as usual, and undresses to sleep with a frown. The image of that girl crying, trembling with fear and despair will be marked in his mind, perhaps for days.If he didn't interfere, that girl would be raped! Jeremiah was very smart; he was not drunk as she was. He must have done it on purpose: he gave her too much to drink while he still maintained certain sobriety to be in control of the situation. Yes, he could claim that he was also drunk, but the girl was so much more!Already lying on the bed and under the sheet, Josias started to meditate on other things, otherwise, he would not be able to sleep such was his revolt. He started to think about the meeting he will have tomorrow with Melissa. When he thinks of Melissa, he smiles and falls asleep.The next day, he wakes up, once again being guided by the rays
The landline at Pamela's house rang constantly. But, early on Saturday, no one was willing to answer. Pamela appears in the room all fearful and wide-eyed, already aware that it was Fabrício.Her older sister was in the living room watching television and was somewhat annoyed by the ringing of the phone. “Aren't you going to answer, sister? It might be for you.”“I'm leaving!” Pamela speaks harshly and runs out of the house.Tired of being bothered by the ringing, Pamela's sister decides to answer. “Hello?... It's her older sister. She just left... I even said it could be for her, but she said she had to leave and ran from here... Okay, I'll leave a message. Bye!” She hangs up without waiting for the farewell on the other side because she wanted to watch the TV show without distractions.Meanwhile, Melissa is checking her clothing in the mirror. The pink blouse was loose and did not mark her body, anything provoc
Josias is wearing the black T-shirt and jeans that were donated by Uélton's brother. He walks down the street and stays waiting for Melissa at the corner of Hope Street. Not far from him, a drunken customer at the corner bar slept shamefully on the sidewalk.“Boy, in that outfit, I already know there is going to be something serious. But, isn't it too early for parties?” Uélton asks.“Get out, boy.” Josias responds smilingly, “I'm going downtown with Melissa. We have a date.”“Are you going to have your first kiss in Central Square? There is a fountain that can give a very romantic mood.”Josias laughs and pats Uélton on the shoulder. “Who knows, but it's not in my plans. Not today. We're still getting to know each other better as friends.”“Um, this chat about 'we're friends'...”“Well, for you to see that we're getting to know each other bett
“Excuse me, Fabrício.” Melissa decides to apologize, wiping tears from her face, “I didn't want to be so rude. I was about to go out with another guy, but my dad forbade me.”Fabrício takes a step back and observes that Melissa was indeed ready to leave. Now the crying has dismantled all the makeup.“And can I know why? These tears worry me.”“Pamela showed up saying that Josias was planning to take me to a motel for us to have sex.” Melissa pronounces the last word turning red.Fabrício holds on to his instincts when he realizes that Melissa is still a virgin. “Really? What a dude, so gentleman...”“I do not agree!” Melissa sputtered the words, “Josias is not that kind of boy. He is a gentleman and noble, kind and respectful just like you.”Fabrício bites one of his lips, holding back the urge to deny. He does want to take Melissa
Josias strides into the lobby, head down and with a grimace from someone who ate scarlet eggplant. Teodoro is cleaning up the place, dusting off the shelf of the keys to the rooms with a flannel and cleaning products. Seeing the boy entering like that, all furious, he decides to risk asking, “What happened, Josias?”Josias stops walking and turns to him, exploding, “Everything got wrong, Seu Teodoro!”At this moment Jeremiah was going down the stairs, but he did not finish going down. Listening to Josias's angry voice, he remains standing on the steps and listens to the conversation with a mocking smile.From where they are, Josias and Teodoro do not see him, Jeremiah managed to hide.“How tough, young man! We are going to have a coffee and you tell me more details...” Teodoro drops the flannel.“You can go on with your cleaning, Seu Teodoro.” Josias extends his hand, “Just give me the key. I do
“Does the idiot want me to still fix his door?” Josias exclaims indignantly, “May he go to hell!”“Josias, try to be reasonable!” Teodoro frowns, not liking the boy's language, “You overreacted; you could have knocked on the door. Or rather, you could have called me.”“I don't know where your room is.”“How can you not?” Teodoro claps his hands on his thighs, “My room is the first on the first floor! Is the easiest to find!”“I'm sorry, Seu Teodoro, at the time I didn't think—”“You were so upset about Jeremiah that you rushed over. If it were another tenant, you wouldn't kick the door.”Josias is forced to confess. “Yes, you are right.”“So take advantage and try to make up with him. I don't want to witness a murder here.”Teodoro gets up, concluding the conversation. Josias remains seated o
Uélton breaks into the house, irritated by what happened. The punch still hurt, thankfully it wasn't bleeding.However, Wallace, his older brother, noticed his younger brother walking angrily into the room with his hand on his face.Wallace was the opposite of Uélton. He takes after his mother, he was more handsome, his ears were normal and he had a square jaw as Hollywood heartthrobs tend to be.The boy wore only red shorts, as the house did not help with ventilation. His father was in the backyard weeding weeds and he was helping. Their mother was busy in the kitchen.So Wallace took advantage of his parents' distraction to help Uélton without alarming them.If the mother of Uélton and Wallace learns that their son got into fights, she could have a panic attack.Wallace enters the room and finds his younger brother lying on the bed, arms crossed, no longer stroking the visible bruise.“Uélton