1 : VALERY

The doorbell sounds a little tune when I touch it.

“That must be your sister, Derek. Go get the door. I’m almost done wrapping her dinner,” I hear Sofia say from the living room.

Sofia’s my best friend and while I’m away at work, she’s the only person I trust to watch my younger brother whenever he gets back from school.

“Finally,” Derek’s breaths a low sigh as he spots me from the window.

He’s mad at me. This is the fourth time this week that I’m coming to pick him up late at night. The door opens a while after, revealing an eleven-year-old boy in a black top and a matching pair of khaki trousers- Derek.

“You look sad?” I ask, taking his backpack off his shoulders. “Didn’t you have fun with Scott?”

“You’re late. Again,” he mutters, maintaining the annoyed look on his cute little face.

“They had fun,” Sofia informs, joining us outside.

“Thank you,” I smile.

“And by the way, you look terrible.”

I look at the blue short-sleeved gown I have on and can't help but agree with her. It has some stains here and there making it look even worse than it originally was.

“All for the money Sof.” I turn back to Derek and nudge him on the shoulder. “Don’t give me that look. Frowns and ice cream don’t go together.”

Derek’s face instantly lightens up.

“You bought ice cream??” he questions with widened eyes.

“Yes but you’ll get yours when we get home,” I reply, patting him on the head. I dig my hand into my shoulder bag and pull out a black nylon bag. “This is for Scott. They didn’t have his favorite, so I got him vanilla.” I hand the bag over to Sofia.

“Val, you didn’t have to you know. You need the money more than he does the gifts,” Sofia’s eyes are giving me the you-know-I’m-right look but I'm not bothered.

“One cup of ice cream wouldn’t clear the debt so let him have it.”

“Thank you,” she says, and a smile brightens her face. “Scott’s upstairs having his bath. I’ll save this for him in the fridge.” Sofia goes in for a few seconds and returns with a wrapped flask in hand.

“I saved you some dinner,” Sofia says, presenting the flask to me.

“I’m grateful.” I take it out of her hands and hug her.  

“Don’t mention it, Sam. What are besties for?”

“Let’s go already. The ice cream’s gonna melt.” Derek urges yanking on my arm.

I break the hug and turn to leave.

“Give me a call when you get home,” Sofia yells as I walk away.

“I will,” I yell back.

It’s a three-minute walk to our apartment. The cold air of night keeps us company as we walk along the busy streets of New York.

“You said you won’t be late again, that we would have dinner together today. Why did you lie?” Derek asks, breaking the silence between us.

I should’ve known ice cream wouldn’t be enough to buy his disappointment.

“I’m sorry. I thought I would be finishing early at the restaurant but Mr. Cheng needed me to stay another hour and you know how he gets when I try to turn him down. I’m really really sorry bro.” I extend my right hand to his side and pull him closer to me. “Am I forgiven?”

“No,” he grimaces.

“What about now?” I bring my hand lower to the soft spot by his rib and give him a little tickle. He pushes my hand away, fighting the urge to laugh.

“I’ll think about it after I have the ice cream. What flavor did you get?” Derek says, playfully swinging his arms about.

“Your favorite; Banana.”

Derek gets all giddy after hearing that and starts to walk even faster. I’m exhausted but I try to keep up with his quick steps. I need the comfort of a soft bed.

Caught up in my exhaustion, I don’t notice we have gotten to the part of the street where we have to cross to the other side. I see Derek hurriedly rush to cross and the loud screeching sounds of an approaching car fills my ears.

“Derek!!!” I scream at the top of my voice.

The car only stops after hitting Derek from behind. I rush to Derek now on the floor and help him to the other side of the road.

“Are you all right?” I ask, my heart beating wildly in my chest.

“I think so,” he answers me, twisting his head. “It was just a nudge, really.”

Derek doesn’t seem hurt so I turn to the static car by the side of the road, clenching my hands tightly.

“Wait here!”

Just staring at the car makes me want to pull out the door and give the insane driver a piece of my mind, but before I can make up my mind on what to do, the door opens and a tall man in a flashy suit walks out of it. He shuts the door and leans on it with a phone to his ear.

What? This lunatic has been making a call this entire time.

“Hey! Psycho!!” I yell, staring daggers at him but he ignores me, talking back to the person on the line.

“Tell the stupid director that if it's money he wants, he should name a price so we can get this deal fucking finished. I’m running out of patience!”

Oh! He’s not a normal psycho. Just a rich stupid one.

“Hey! I’m talking to you!!” I reach to his right ear, snatch the phone out of his hand then smash it on the ground. “Now I have your attention. You hit-”

“Do you have any idea how much that phone costs?” he says with a deep voice, his eyes finally meeting mine.

Immediately, the realization hits me and a sudden chill overwhelms me. I can’t even say a word. His dark eyes give me a piercing look and then turn to the side.

“Boy, are you hurt?” he asks, crossing his hands over his chest.

Derek comes to me and mumbles, “No.”

“Good for you. You’re lucky I stepped on the brake when I did. If you don’t know how to cross the bloody street, don’t fucking cross at all!”

Derek lowers his head.

The man reverts his gaze to me and all I can say is, “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” He cocks his head with a chuckle. “Your careless friend walks into the road without looking and all I do is nudge him a bit with my car yet you yell at me and destroy my very expensive phone. I…” A hiss escapes his mouth and he shakes his head as he gives me a onceover.

“I shoul-”

“Just get out of my face!”

Clearly, Derek was the one at fault and I acted too rashly. It'll be foolish to defend myself so I just hold on to Derek’s hand and turn to walk away.

“You’re lucky I have plans tonight. You would’ve spent yours behind a fucking cell!” I hear him mumble and I increase my steps.

A short while after, we got home. Seating on a couch, Derek takes out his ice cream and eats it while I have the boiled rice and fish stew Sofia had packed for me.

I sit still for a few minutes, watching Derek devour his best snack. I love seeing the smile on his face. It reminds me of Mum. She couldn’t spend a day without a smile. I miss her so much.

“I’m sorry for not looking before crossing the road,” he says with a remorseful look on his face. “I should’ve been more careful.”

“It’s alright. Just don’t do it again. You had me really worried.”

He nods and gets back to his ice cream. I’m about to take a spoon into the dish when a knock resounds on the front door. The ringing sound of the doorbell follows.

“Coming!”

I get up and head to the door to find out who it is and what the person wants.  I can't think of anyone who will be at the door this late at night.

“How can I help you?” I question, scanning the unfamiliar figure I meet behind the door. His All-black clothing makes me instantly suspicious of him.

“Are you Valery Hale?” The stranger asks back with his hands behind his back.

How does he know my name?

“Yes. How can I help you?” I ask again, still trying to decode his intentions.

His lips curved into a wary smile.

“It’s not about how you can help me. It’s more of how you can help him,” he answers, pointing into the house.

Instantly, a wave of worry washes over me. I leave the stranger there at the door and rush in to make sure my younger brother is okay. I get to the dining table and just as I feared, I can't find Derek. He was just here a moment ago.

Something feels wrong.

“Derek, are you upstairs?” I shout at the top of my voice but there is no answer. “Derek answer me!”

Still no reply.

While I struggle to grasp what’s going on, I feel something hit hard against my head. I fall, gradually blacking out when someone catches me. My vision starts to get blurry, but I can make out with the color that it’s the stranger at the door who does.

“Don’t worry yourself. Just do as he says and the boy will be fine,” the stranger whispers into my ear.

I pass out.

I wake up sometime later to find myself sandwiched between two brawny guys in a moving vessel with a bag over my head. I can’t move out of their tough hold.

My heart pounds heavily at the random thoughts that flood my mind.

After what feels like a few minutes, the vehicle stops. The bag over my head gets taken off and I’m led out of the van into a huge mansion. 

“Where am I? Where are you guys taking me?” I demand as I struggle to free myself from the rough grips of the men leading me. Their grip is so tight, I can barely feel my fingertips.

“He has been expecting you for hours.” I hear a voice say and when I take a closer look at the speaker, I find the face familiar.

“You’re him! The strange dude at my door!” I shout with wide eyes, everything coming back to me.

“Good to know your memory is in good shape. The boss hates forgetful people,” the stranger answers, adding more confusion to my thoughts.

The boss?

“You… You abducted me!! Let me go! I demand you let me go!” I shoot out with all the boldness I can gather in me, making them stop.

At first, I think it’s because of me then I see a man in a red suit walking towards us. He has this dangerous aura that surrounds him. I’m very sure my heart just skipped a beat.

“Shout one more bloody time, and you’ll fucking lose that tongue.”