Chapter 2 MICHAEL

Michael Williams:

Trouble seemed to haunt me, as if it were a way of making me suffer for my past actions. It was a Thursday evening, I had just left an extremely boring lecture, when I decided to go to a nearby bar. Before I could order the Princess Dose, Lilian was calling me and sending me naked photos, hoping that I would answer her and maybe be hers tonight too.

"Lilian..." I was really full, I'd had a bad day, and as if that wasn't enough, Lilian was calling me just for sex and lust.

"Michael, you don't seem nervous when you're inside my mouth." her voice became more and more irritating and every day I asked myself what I did to deserve this, or why I didn't know how to get away with it while I could.

"We've talked about this, Lilian. There's no longer the two of us, there's just you and me. I want to see you well, but we don't work out anymore, after all, we never worked out, we just lived together and..."

"I don't need your help or your money, I just want you and nothing else, Michael. Sometimes you seem to want to complicate things between us. Can't you see that we were made for each other? We both deserve each other, my love!"

"See you later, Lilian." I decided not to drink for the time being, so I went home.

It was raining, the streets were empty and it was very cloudy, you couldn't see very well who was passing by, and that's when I hit someone...

The airbag was triggered, so I got out as quickly as I could and saw the skinny body lying on the ground, right in the middle of a puddle of water, but the water was already red from the blood that had been spilled. I approached quickly, picking up the small body from the ground and carrying it to the car as quickly as possible.

"I'm going to take you to the hospital." And the man who seemed to no longer be alive mumbled a few words that I didn't quite understand, but I retorted. "You should watch where you're going!"

"I don't need a hospital. I need to go home." she was stubborn, but there was no time to contradict her, her situation was precarious.

"Where do you live?"

"455 Dairo Street. It's on the left!" For a moment, our gazes met, giving me goosebumps.

"I know where it is." For a second, and for the first time, I realized that I had spoken rudely to someone again, but she didn't seem to mind.

The silence was disturbing, even though she was in pain, she didn't say anything or make a sound. Worried, I looked back and saw her crying, but without any expression. She was beautiful, but now she was dirty and broken, because of me. I couldn't leave her like that.

I stopped the car at the corner and looked back, getting a fucking glimpse of her heaving breasts as she tried to hold herself up and open the door.

"Leave me here, please." Slowly she left, looking at me and saying her last words. "You were wrong not to kill me." She smiled weakly and walked off, leaving the car right there and following her.

The street was deserted, the people who were there were only there to use drugs or have sex in the dark alleys.

Her house was modern, but uncared for. The gate was rusty, the money was high and the trees were covering the front of the house. The girl came in and I heard a slap, it couldn't have been what I was thinking!

"What happened to you, you bitch? You left home in one piece and came back broken pink, do you want us to do something for you? Well, you know you'll have to bear the consequences..." the voice was female, but who should it be to speak like that with such authority? "After all, were you trying to take your own life again?"

"I've never tried to take my own life, I'm not as stupid as you are. And I was walking absent-mindedly and fell into a manhole on my way back from a party." His sweet, calm voice was attractive but sad.

"So you must have money! Or was it just a fall? Wasn't it someone who knocked you over?" this time, the manly voice shouted, as if it was going to go from there to worse. "When I'm talking to you, look at me, do you understand me?"

"Yes, Dad!" so those were her parents?

I wouldn't be selfish enough to just listen to her suffering without doing anything...

"I'd like to talk to your daughter!" she said after a tall, thin lady with gray hair in a ponytail opened the door.

"Émie's not here, if you want to talk to her, call her!" before the lady could close the door, I put my foot in to block it from being closed.

"I've lost my cell phone, I've also lost your number. Could you write it down for me? I can pay for that favor!"

It wasn't difficult, in less than two minutes I had your number written down on a piece of paper. I handed him a hundred-dollar bill, which made him smile, said goodbye and left.

My conscience was weighed down by the fact that I hadn't done anything, even though I was working on automatic. My thoughts were confused and Lilian had managed to mess them up in an inexplicable way.

I didn't leave until I was sure that it really was her phone number, so I called, and when I heard her voice, I quickly hung up.

(...)

"Good evening, Michael. As there was no communication, I left last night and I'm arriving now. Is there a problem?" Rose was my light, she was the one I looked for in the chaos. She was always there for me, and when I moved out on my own, she decided she wanted to come with me. She was my mother in my spare time, when my mother was working.

"All right, Rose. If it's okay with you, I'd like to give you a vacation, as many days as you want. There has to be something you want to do, I don't know... visit someone or somewhere." I wanted some time to myself, she didn't bother me, but she was there all the time.

"I'd love to go and visit your grandmother, I'm sorry about your mother, but everything will be fine." Her arms wrapped around me in a warm, comfortable hug. "You can call me if you need anything, or if you just want to talk."

"Thank you, Rose."

She didn't take long, within half an hour Rose had packed her bags and was waiting for a cab to take her. There were a thousand and one thoughts in my head right now, more than half of them about Émie. I needed to know how she was, but her mother had lied about her not being there, so at least I now had her number.

I took a cold shower and before I did anything else, for the first time I felt like I had to call someone. If that girl died because of me, I'd never forgive myself, and I couldn't come to terms with the things I'd heard at her house.

I dialed the numbers and it didn't take long for her to pick up...

"Hello! Who is it?" - his voice was low, as if he'd answered out of obligation or expecting something.

"Hi... it's me! I just want to know if you're okay. I was worried about your condition, I've never seen someone refuse help after being hit by a car."

"I'm fine. Thanks for your concern, but there's no need to worry about it. It was my distraction."

"All right... If you need anything, or still want to see a doctor, you can call back. If I can help with any val..." yeah... she was less patient than me.

Before the call ended, I heard a scream where she was, so she hung up. A few minutes passed, but there was no return call, so I didn't call again, as there was nothing more to say at that moment.

With Rose gone, I could now focus a little more on things at home, since I'd been away most of the time. We're only two weeks into a new semester and I'm completely out of my mind.