A fool

He looked at the third card key on the table with his eyes darkening, he then took out his phone and dialed a string of  numbers.

"Come here, now!"

"But Eric, I'm already at the office now." 

The man on the other side of the phone answered but soon gulped down the large lump of saliva that had been stuck on  his throat.

He knew the moment he saw Eric's ID on his phone that he was in deep trouble, so he dared not see him that day, but now the man was asking to see him.

"Do you want me to come over there myself?"

That question on its own sent a shock wave throughout Rob's body, hence he agreed to drive back to that hotel immediately.

"No, no need for you to come over here brother, I'll be there in the next few minutes."

After hearing that, Eric ended the call and sat on the edge of the bed, but his eyes landed on that piece of paper that the little girl had refused to take.

He picked it up and looked at the sum of money that he had written on it.

"Is she planning to get even more than this?"

He wondered to himself as he didn't know anyone who would turn down a million rands without even batting an eye, or maybe she came from a rich family and money wasn't what she wanted.

Thinking about this alone made him fume in anger and found himself squashing the paper in between his fingers.

Not long after that, there was a soft knock on the door which was soon opened from outside and Rob walked in.

Intimidated by the could air in the room, he could not find the right words to speak.

" Brother, you wanted to see me?"

"Explain yourself!"

Looking at his brother's cold eyes Rob trembled in fear and couldn't help but to confess to his sin.

"Brother listen I'm sorry, I also didn't want to wrong you this way but you know how our parents are, they forced  me to drug you. Even though I told them that you'd kill me."

"Paaah" 

A loud slap sounded throughout the room,

"And you still did it, knowing very well that I would kill you?"

Eric hissed as he asked that question, he felt betrayed by his little brother, the only person he cared about the most. He knew from the get go that it was his brother who had drugged him, but he still needed to hear his reasoning from Rob's mouth.

Rob on the other hand did not duck from the slap and let his brother vent on him, as he was in the wrong. He held on to his burning cheek and apologized to Eric.

"I'm sorry brother, you have to believe me I didn't want to, I even told mom that you were perfectly healthy but she didn't want to hear me out and wanted proof."

Knowing how over bearing their parents can get, Eric also understood the pressure his little brother was in, but what about that girl.

" Did they organized that girl as well?"

"No, she came with Alwyn. She's the winner of the national musical competition. Wait Did you guys...?"

The shock was written in his voice, he didn't even get to finish his question when he realized what could have happened between the two. Eric's reaction confirmed everything as he brushed him off.

"Owh my God Eric! I know it was my mistake and all but she left early, how could she have ended up here, or did you go looking for her?"

Rob realized his mistake right after his last word had dropped, he witnessed a frightening sight of his brother's darkening eyes. He felt as if he was about to be eaten up alive.

"No I know that you wouldn't do such, even at your drugged state, you wouldn't. It's just that she's a great musician and I was planning on buying her contract, the company they'll sign her on wouldn't do good to her career. She's got great potential of succeeding in the music industry, but certainly not with that company. I guess I will just let her be."

He complained dejectedly.

" you can go back to work now."

Eric did not care what his brother had to say, at this point with his mood being sour all he wanted was to be alone, at least he had gotten his answers.

Once Robert had left the hotel, Eric also got out of his room but instead if heading home, he walked straight to the security room to view the footage from the previous night. 

He watched from when Nelly was given a key by the front desk attendant, he followed her through the  screen as she took an Elevator to the last floor.

Once on her floor, She took out her key card to confirm the room number she was allocated to, but now, at this point the drug was at it's peak and the poor girl was soaked wet in her sweat. Through the sceen Eric could see how she struggled, She stopped in her tracks and tried to compose herself, seeing that she couldn't stand on her own anymore, she leaned on the wall for support and held on it till she reached room B18. She inserted the card to unlock the door and got in.

 Seeing the state the woman was in, which was no better than what he felt, he knew right then that she too was drugged and possibly why she mistaken her B 13 room key to B18.

when she got to Erics room, what she didn't notice  was that the door had already been opened. 

Finally knowing what had happend, he now understood why that woman was mad when she saw him that morning, and judging from that blood from the sheet, it was evident that he had taken the most precious thing she had which was her innocence.

"Stupid girl"

Eric felt that she was stupid for not taking that money from him. He then stood up and walked out from that security office heading back to his house.

When Nelly finally woke up from her nap she felt much better and lighter,  when she checked the time though, she realized that it was already passed noon but that would not stop her from fulfilling her plans.

She freshened up , dressed in plain sweatpants and hoody, packed a few clothing items and some toiletries for her journey. She had promised her sister that she would come back for her and now was that time.

She booked a plane ticket to the nearest city from her village, and once that was confirmed she grabbed her bag and walked out.

She took a taxi to the airport where they helped her check in. This was her first flight ever, although it was expensive there wasn't much she could do as she was now easily recognized.

When she first came to Southveil, she had taken a six hour bus which costed under half the price she paid for a plane ticket.

Soon she was called to the boarding gate where they boarded the plane and in less than two hours, she wasn't back to the place that harbored a lot of negative memories.

She took a taxi to the hotel that she had booked, she had planned to only spend a night there so that she would use a lot of money on accommodation. She checked in to the hotel and was allocated a room.

Once she was settled, she didn't waste anytime and did what she came here for.

She had to visit her grandmother's house and get her sister out of that hell hole. 

Before taking a taxi to the village, she bought herself a sandwich to munch on while traveling.

A taxi soon came by, so she stopped it and told the driver she was going to the village.

"Iight have to charge you double miss, as there aren't any passengers that side for me to bring back to the city."

Belly didn't have a problem with that as she would want the man to bring her back to the city afterwards.

" That's ok, I'll pay you double the price but you will have to wait for me as I will not be long."

With that they both agreed on the price, and the man started driving on the much familiar roads.

An old  dilapidated house came in to view, this was what she used to call home, but things had now changed. The taxi driver stopped as soon as they reached the gate, and Nelly stepped out.

"I'll be out within an hour."

She then went straight to the house where she knocked but a rude female voice was heard from inside.