Saved By Alpha Slade

ARIA

Selfish, negligent, irresponsible, reckless, are just a few out of the many words I could use to describe the man I call father, but I would save my anger for a later date. Right now, what is more important is dealing with the issue on ground.

"You told me you were over that," my mother wailed.

"Well, I am, but I have to clear the pending debts. You didn't think they would just disappear did you?" father says nonchalantly.

My mum and dad are opposites. Mum is selfless and loving, especially when it involves her family. How she managed to fall in love and marry a man like my father is still something that baffles me till date.

"Two hundred thousand dollars Harry! How the fuck did you manage to gamble such a large sum? What in hell were you thinking?" she screamed.

"You most definitely wouldn't be using that tone if the odds had been in my favor," he says defensively.

"That's the problem Harry, the odds never favor you, yet you keep trying. There are a thousand and one things you could have done with that money rather than gamble it away..."

I listened to the two of them argue non-stop, and I just feel bad for my mum mostly. She doesn't deserve a man like Harold Edgar, she deserved better. Year in and year out I see her work her ass out to keep the family running while my father goes about pumping large sums into his dirty gambling games with hopes that someday he would 'hit it big', and those were his exact words.

Many times, I wonder why my mum will not just leave his sorry ass. Now we are being threatened by the loan sharks. Can things get any worse?

There is only so much I and my elder sister Audrey can contribute to the family considering Audrey has been saving up for college, and I earn little to nothing.

We have lived in penury since I can remember, and it's all thanks to the man I call father, who doesn't feel remorse for what he'd just done. We are in this mess because of him. It was his mess, yet we had to somehow find a way to clean it up for him, and frankly speaking, there is absolutely no way we would raise two hundred grand in three weeks.

We have sold out almost everything we had. The dining set, sound system, washer, and many other things had been auctioned to pay off dad's previous debts, and even the wall where the TV used to hang now housed an old-fashioned wall clock that only told the time correctly twice a day. The seats in the living room were worn out and tattered, the drapes were faded from years of washing. Nothing about this place can be described as beautiful.

Audrey tapped her foot on the ground noisily, a sign that she too was irritated, but neither mum nor dad noticed in their heated argument. I notice the lines of worry on her face, and I am sure her thoughts were similar to mine. Audrey is dad's favorite and she looks just like him while I take after mom. She has his dark curly hair, baby blue eyes and stands at six feet tall, while I take mum's blonde hair and hazel eyes, and I'm a good six inches shorter than Audrey.

A sharp knock on the door caused all of us to turn sharply in its direction. The knock sounded a second time, but more impatient.

"Open up Harry boy, we know you are in there," a deep voice resounded from the other end of the door, and I feel my heart jump to my mouth. My mom's eyes widened in horror and Audrey jumped off her seat. My dad is obviously confused, his eyes keep darting from the door to the window, as if thinking of a way of escape.

"Okay now, I'm coming in," The voice says, angrily shaking the door knob, and then we hear a loud bang. He was going to kick the door in. One. Two. Three. The door gave way and mum rushes to hug me and Audrey. She is shaking all over, just like me and Audrey.

Three hefty men pushed their way in. One of them grabbed my dad's shirt while the second lunged a hard blow into his ribs. My mum screams "Please stop," tears spilling out of her eyes.

Our small living room could barely contain all three of them. The shortest of them would be at least six feet and four inches. They looked scary, and very intimidating. Facial hairs that had not been shaved for many months made them look really rough, with tattoos all over their very muscular arms.

The third man made eye contact with me, he had to be their leader. While my mum and Audrey were wailing as the men continue to throw punches at my father, I didn't make a sound, but rather stared at them with contempt.

Their leader is holding a small knife in his left hand and when he starts to walk towards us, my mum shields us behind her. He raised his hands to stop his men from hitting dad, who already had blood running down his nose.

Their boss reached behind mum to pull me out. I winced at how hard his fingers felt against my skin, but I don't let him see just how scared I am.

"Feisty huh?" he smirked.

"Please, not my daughter," my mum shrieked "Leave her alone. We will get you your money, I promise," she wailed.

"When?" he thunders, still holding me tightly by my arms. I try to wriggle my arms free, but you can guess how that went. I was only succeeding in hurting myself and making him even angrier.

"Plea...se, ju..st give us time," mum stutters, hot tears running down her cheeks.

"Time?" he thunders "Did you just say time? Do I look like a clown to you?" spittle flies from his mouth as he screams at my mum, and at this point, I wish I had superpowers, because only if I possessed that would I be able to overpower these men.

He turns back to my father and I watched in horror as his knife went flying in father's direction, only slightly missing his left ear to hit the wall behind him. One slight movement from my father, and that would have been it.

"I wouldn't miss a second time," he warned before letting me go roughly. He picks up the knife again, then grabs my father and hauled him roughly to the floor, placing his left knee on his back with my father's arms splurged on the hard floor. He drives his knife into my dad's pinky finger, and father screamed with pain as blood popped from his hands to the already dirty center rug.

"No.." mum rushes to him, but another man grabs her from behind.

"You monster, what have you done?" she screeched.

The boss hissed, then picked up my father's finger, wrapped it in a little handkerchief, and inserted it into his pockets.

"I'll just keep that as a souvenir," he flashed his rotten teeth, tapping his pockets. "Or maybe I can keep two..." he points the knife at my father's ring finger.

"Stop, stop, stop, I have some money," Audrey screamed. The three men turn to her.

"Now that's what I wanna hear," the boss says in a cocky voice before rising to his feet. Audrey dashed to our room and returns in a flash with her piggy bank. I closed my eyes in pain as I watched her hand it over to the man with shaky hands. Audrey has had that piggy bank since she was a child! And she has been saving up for college since I can remember. Now she was just going to give it all away.

The man scratched his beards before snatching the piggybank out of Audrey's arms.

"How much is in there?" he asks.

"I'm not sure, maybe ten thousand," she says.

The three men start to laugh "Ten grand?" The boss clutched his stomach and laughed even harder.

"So, what happens to my balance?" he quirks a brow.

"We'll raise your money, but please spare my father," Audrey cries.

The boss turns to me again, then walks towards me, his eyes sizing me from head to toe. "I like this one," he declares "I want all that feistiness in my bedroom,"

I gulped down the bile forming in my throat and scrunched my nose as the smell of cigarette and alcohol in his breath made my stomach churn. I would like to spit in his face, but I'm fully aware of the implications of that.

He winks at me before making for the door "Three weeks, or you are a dead man Harry boy," He huffed, whistling to his thugs who followed behind him, carrying my sister's life savings with them.

My mum and Audrey rushes to where my dad is laying on the floor, and mum pulls him to hug him to her chest, crying profusely, but my own tears wouldn't form. I just know I have to think of a way to get us out of this mess.

"Ouch.." my dad flinched as mum cleans the amputated area with saline solution. His hand was swelling already and I fear it may already be contaminated. My mum applies less pressure and once she is done, she starts to cover it in gauze wrap.

Audrey returns from the kitchen with a bag of ice and lays it on the table while my mother wraps his entire palms in a waterproof bag and goes on to dip it inside the bag of ice. The care she showed this man, the feelings she had for him, the love she showered him with her every touch.

I'm still trying to process all that happened this afternoon. My father lost his tiny finger today, who knows what may happen tomorrow? Or the day after? How do we raise a hundred and ninety grand within three weeks? Even if we sold this whole house and everything in it, it wouldn't amount to anything, and where would we live after that? I don't even have a penny saved up anywhere, and it hurt to see Audrey give out her college money that way. Audrey is smart, I know how badly she wants to go to college, now everything she had saved up was gone, just like that, and we have Harold Edgar to thank for it. The man we call father.

The sight of my father hurting was painful, but knowing he could have avoided this made me angry. He never learns from his mistakes, and even if we somehow manage to get out of this – which I doubt- he is still going to fall right back into his bad habits.

"I'm sorry Peaches," My dad says gently. Peaches. His pet name for my mum. I used to like how that name sounded on his lips, but right now I just feel irritated.

I don't doubt my parent's feelings for each other. There are days when my dad can be overly sweet, there are days where he would cook for her and they would sing happily together while doing the dishes together, but mostly he caused her pain. They say love is pain, and if this is what it feels like, I don't dream of ever falling in love.

"Sorry is not going to change anything," My mother murmured.

"You know I had plans for you, for us," he lifted my mum's chin with his index finger so that she would meet his eyes. "I know I promised you I was going to quit, but I couldn't resist. I want to do so much for this family, I want to take you and my lovely girls out of this slum, I want to do better, and I just thought it was the right move. The reward was so tempting Peaches. I could have won up to a million bucks. That kind of money would have changed our lives forever. The girls can go to college, we could have gotten a bigger house in the city," he sighed "And I was this close to winning. I'm sorry it turned out this way,"

"Stop it Harry," she slapped his hands away from her face and stands up from where she was seated opposite him. "Audrey gave up any hopes of going to school to save you," She dabbed her hands on a towel and tossed it harshly on the table "You always make promises you never keep, and look where that got us. I mean, how are we supposed to raise that kind of money? Just how Harry?" she screamed.

"We should run," Audrey suggested.

"There's no running from Pablo," Father says "He has his thugs watching me. If I make any attempt to run, then I'm dead, and besides, where could we possibly run to in this present condition? We can barely afford to feed, what would happen when we wander into unknown territory?"

"Maybe you should have thought of that before betting away such a large sum, Harold," I snapped.

"Aria!" my mum snaps "He's your father, and you must respect him, no matter what,"

I rolled my eyes "Then when is he going to start acting like one? Look around you father, nothing is working. And it's because of all the wrong choices you ever made. We are all suffering because of your incompetence and your greed," I went off at him.

"Aria..." mum's warning voice did not stop me from glaring at my father.

With slow calculated steps, my father sauntered towards me. His face was bruised badly, but my father was a fine man, despite his abject state of poverty.

"You hate me so much Aria, and I totally understand why," he says "But you have no idea the decisions I have to make for this family. You do not know what it takes to be a father ..."

"I can see the effects of your decisions father," I make a quote sign in the air with my index and middle finger "It's the reason you have nine fingers left, and if not for Audrey's selflessness, you probably would have..."

"Stop it right now Aria," my mum screamed. She steps in between me and my father to glare at me. "You can't say things like that to him. Not now, not ever,"

"Why do you always defend him?" I screamed, "Why mum?"

She shook her head "Just stop it Aria. He's in pain already. Don't make this worse than it already is,"

"Nothing could be worse than this, Mother," I scowled.

"Guys, we should be cooking up ways to fix this instead of fighting," Audrey says. Audrey is the peacemaker. Our characters are just as contrasting as our looks. She is soft and gullible, unlike me.

"Thank you, Audrey," Father cast her a thankful glance and limped back to his chair. The old chair creaked as he deposited his weight on it and adjusted to a comfortable sitting position.

"What other options do we have?" my mum turns to him "We have sold out all our assets. We could work for Pablo if he wants," she suggests.

My dad scoffed "I know Pablo, and I know what he wants," he stated.

"And what's that?" mum asks.

"He likes Aria," dad says flatly.

My fists curl up in a ball beside me.

"What do you mean Harry?" mum's eyes widened.

Father dips his hands back into the bag of ice and wouldn't turn to make eye contact with any of us "You heard him, he said so himself. He likes Aria. The only way we can have him forget about the loan is if we let him have her," he says.

I feel like the air had just been sucked out of my windpipe, and I had to hold the wall for support.

"What!" mum exclaims.

"Don't scream like I just said something that isn't unheard of. Right now, that's the only solution I can think of. If any of you has any other ideas how we can raise two hundred grand in three weeks, then let us know,"

I blinked severally and once more, I feel my stomach begin to churn. He did not just say that. No, he can't possibly be suggesting that I give my body to that swine to pay off his debts.

"Father, how can your mind even conceive a thing like this?" Audrey screeched, rising to my defense.

"Let's be logical. What else can we possibly do? You all want me to die? I know how it sounds, but give me a better idea if you have any. I'm not saying you get married to him. Just be his mistress, what do you have to lose?"

His words were accompanied by a deafening silence. I stared unbelievably at the man that sired me. I didn't think a day would come when we would be reduced to this. When I would be reduced to this.

"Please Aria. I feel terrible as it is, and this isn't the life I'd hoped to live, hell, this was never the way I envisioned raising you and Audrey, but it has come to this, and we have to find a way to survive it," Father says. "Please,"

"Harold. You do know what you are asking of your daughter? She's seventeen," My mum shrieked.

"Eighteen in a few days," my father corrected. I'm surprised he even knows my birthday. He never buys me gifts or even says a simple 'Happy birthday' but it appears as though he's already thought about it. When he'd taken that loan, he had it somewhere at the back of his mind that if it didn't turn out well for him, he'd make any of his daughters sell their bodies to pay back. Monster.

"I would do no such thing," I spat out.

"Aria..." my mum start to move closer to touch me, but I ducked before her hands rested on my arms and made for my room.

"I can't believe this," I hear Audrey say, as she turns to follow me "You're unbelievable,"

I slammed the door to the room hard with a loud thud but Audrey yanks it back open and joins me in the room.

"You are not going to sell your body to pay off dad's debts especially not to that mongrel," Audrey tries to reassure me.

"The fact that he would even suggest it is appalling," I paced the lengths of our small room. Small as it is, it happens to be the only place I find comfort in this house. I have shared this room with Audrey since we were little, but we learned to respect each other's spaces.

We decorated our sections differently and my side of the room is not as colorful as Audrey's. We have two separate beds on each side of the room. Audrey always has a pink or multicolored bedspread laid, her medium-sized teddy bear sitting comfortably on the bed, a small reading table where she keeps all her favorite books, and a reading lamp by the side.

On Audrey's reading table is an old family picture. Mum held me cradled in her arms, with dad's arms around her waist. They looked happy and so much in love. Audrey is peeking from behind father's legs, her small fists holding on to his jeans, and smiling into the camera with two incisors missing from her upper jaw. I never understood why she cherished that photo so much, but looking at it now, I wonder how I ever missed that sparkle in mum's eye. It was gone now and replaced with sadness.

Her side of the wall next to her bed is decorated with pink flowery wall papers, a design I feel is too dramatic. My own part of the room however is not so bright. The wall is plain white, but age had dulled the color, making it look like Porcelain. I like to keep things simple. I don't fancy all the flowery decorations and teddy bears that every other girl would find attractive.

I have a bedside table with my little alarm clock on it, and a small box containing the few pieces of jewelry that I own, which are just a couple of earrings, knuckle rings, and an old wristwatch.

Despite our conflicting taste in designs, the room still held a feminine beauty. The natural light coming in through the window gave the room good illumination.

We were happy once, definitely not rich, but at least we didn't have any reason to look over our shoulders.

"We have to do something Audrey. I don't want dad's idea to be our last resort because I won't forgive myself if something bad happens knowing there was something I could have done. As much as I hate how selfish he is most times, I can't change the fact that he is my father and we are all tied up in this mess," I slumped on my bed and sighed.

"I could work extra hours, and get a second job. I also saw a vacancy in the restaurant across the street that you can try out tomorrow. They need extra hands and it would definitely yield better income than that dump store you are working. Dylan also promised me some funds. I was going to add it to my piggy bank for my education, but now that I have given that away, I may as well give it up too,"

Dylan is Audrey's boyfriend. He is super supportive and loves Audrey a lot, but I don't think Audrey is into him as much as he is into her. I on the other hand have never dated anyone before, and I don't think I ever will, the reason being that I do not want to end up like my mom. I'd liked someone once, and when he left, I was glad our relationship didn't progress.

She is trapped. She can't leave because she is so in love with this man, and I don't want to ever be too dependent on anyone like my mum is on him. I may never get married even. Maybe just have a child and that's it. I don't want to fall in love, no matter how mom tries to make it sound like it's a good thing.

"Audrey, I'm sorry you had to give up that money. I know how hard you worked for it and how badly you want a college education," I say slowly.

Audrey shrugged "Dad's life is more important. Besides, ten grand can barely pay for tuition fees. I'll just have to start all over. Delaying a few years is better than letting them torture dad or watch them rip off all his fingers," she responds. She is trying to be strong but I know how much this affects her.

"Doing menial jobs is not going to fetch us that money in three weeks," I shook my head

"I know Aria, but we can raise something to keep them off for a little while longer," she says.

"I can also go to the town square, I may be able to do a few things there," I added. Only a miracle can get us out of this situation, but we have to try.

Audrey deposits herself on her bed opposite me, at the same time that a knock sounds on the door.

"Audrey? Aria?" dad's voice called from the other end. I pursed my lips, and before I can tell him to fuck off, he allows himself in.

"No one asked you to come in," I groaned.

"Hey,"

I flipped to face the wall so that my back was facing him. Audrey could listen to whatever he had to say, I'm not interested. The bed dips beside me and he sits.

"Go away father, I'm not going to sell myself to pay your debts," I say harshly.

"I know how it sounds and I'm sorry I suggested it," he says softly

I scoffed "No you're not. I bet mum put you up to this," I retorted.

"No, no, she didn't have to," he paused. "I'm sorry. I won't force you into anything Aria,"

"So, you're going to try to convince me," I snarled.

He sighed "I'm a terrible parent, and many times I feel like giving up, but Peaches make me want to keep trying. She deserves someone better, someone that can take care of her, and maybe I'm underserving of her love, but every day all I want is to make her happy, to make all her sacrifices worth it, and I'm probably going about it the wrong way. I don't know how I'm going to get out of this, and this is not me being selfish," he says.

I sit up to face him, "So you are really going to try and convince me," I say with disbelief.

"Dad," Audrey says warningly.

"I promise I'm leaving the streets once this is cleared out, for real," he adds.

"This isn't fair father," Audrey says.

"Life has never been fair to us Audrey. People do worse things to survive. It's tough out there you know. It sounds absurd, but it's our best bet now. I shouldn't be asking this of you Aria," he turns to face me, but I just glare at him with disgust in my eyes.

"Heaven knows I feel terrible that things have to get to this phase, but it is what it is, and I am not saying you agree to my idea right away, but please just think about it," He finishes.

I can't remember the last time I shed a tear. I mean I just watched those men beat him up and I wasn't moved to tears, but right now I am seriously fighting back tears.

"Mum made a mistake with you," I say unable to hide the quiver in my voice.

"Aria..." his voice trailed off when Audrey interrupts him.

"We are going to work to see what we can raise before the said time. Aria is not going to give her body to a man like Pablo, or whatever his name is. She's not going to sell her self-worth because of a mistake you made," Audrey says angrily. Audrey may not be in support of dad's gambling habits but she loved him. She made up excuses for him many times and seeing her speak to him like this, I knew she too has had about enough.

"You think you can raise a hundred and ninety grand by working in three weeks? you barely saved up ten thousand from years of working, yet you think you can raise hundreds of thousands in three weeks?" he had the audacity to sound angry.

"Father!" Audrey exclaimed. How can he even say that to her?

"Leave!" I screamed.

Father jerked up at the tone of my voice, his arms flying in the air in surrender "Ok, ok, I'm sorry. That was insensitive of me, I'm sorry"

Sometimes when I'm angry like now, I feel like something else takes over my body. It's something I can't tell anyone because it feels weird, but there are times when I also have conversations with this tiny voice in my head.

He paused at the door to stare at me one last time before leaving. Audrey is staring at me a little surprised. It's not the first time she would hear me use that tone of voice on anyone, but maybe I sounded more authoritative than ever. At this point I just want to be alone, and far away from this house. So, I jumped up, grabbed my purse and stormed out of the house.