11. Trouble

Lila

When we  got back to the office, the first thing I noticed was Mara’s face.

She  did not even try to hide it. Her lips were pressed tight and arms folded like she was holding back a full blown adult tantrum. Her gaze flicked over me and I smiled triumphantly. I was back and Theo had personally come to get me.

Theo beelined for his office while I went to my desk and waited.

Thirty minutes passed. Then an hour. I rearranged the icons on my screen thrice. Changed my wallpaper four times waiting to be assigned something to work on. I was deliberately avoiding the internet since I knew news of my death were plastered all over.

Two hours passed and there was still nothing. Every time I heard footsteps approaching, I straightened, ready to work. But they were never for me.

Why had Theo even asked me to come?

If he didn’t want anything from me… that was also fine. Being ignored was a small price to pay for a paycheck.

By the time it was five o’clock I felt like the afternoon had been 12 hours. Mara was also already packing when I stood, reaching for my bag when my phone buzzed.

Eve.

“Hey,” I answered.

“Sera, I’m so sorry. I’m still at work,” she said breathlessly. “Our department is doing overtime tonight. We had a system crash this morning. I won’t be done for hours.”

“Oh.” I replied, trying to hide the disappointment. Today was one of those days I could really use her presence.

“So I’ll head home alone?” I asked.

“You can take our usual bus,” she suggested. “Or walk straight home. Text me when you are home, okay?”

“Of course,” I murmured as I hung up.

 I had never left the office alone. Eve and I always walked out together as it was the final part of our daily routine.

Today felt… different. 

The ride home was uneventful and by  the time I reached my building, my shoulders sagged in exhaustion. I was still getting used to the 8 to 5 routine. I had no idea how exhausting sitting down while staring at the  computer all day long could be till now.

The stairwell leading up to my apartment was dim, the only source of light was the streetlights. The bulb had blown and had not been replaced since I had been there and that’s why I did not notice that  there were men standing there.

Three of them.

They leaned against the railing, blocking part of the path. One smoked lazily, another scrolled on his phone, and the third one eyed me in a way that felt predatory and made me uncomfortable.

The area I lived in wasn’t safe as I had come to learn from Eve.

Men loitered everywhere, half of them harmless but the other half was trouble. I kept walking, putting up a brave front..

I was almost past them when a  hand closed around my arm and jerked me back so hard that I stumbled into a solid chest.

“Where do you think you’re going, pretty thing?” a voice rasped near my ear. I twisted, trying to pull away, but the man’s grip tightened.

“I don’t …excuse me, I live upstairs…”

“Oh, we know,” another man drawled, stepping forward. He had a thick beard and a smile that was all teeth. “Sera, right? Or do you prefer sweet little thing?” 

I was in trouble.

“No,” I breathed, shaking my head. “No, I—I think you have the wrong person.”

The bearded man chuckled.

“You think we would waste our time on the wrong person?” he asked. “You took a loan. A big one. And you are  late on payment.”

“ I didn’t…” My voice cracked. “I never…” I tried again as he shoved a piece of paper into my hand.

It was a contract. With my name scrawled on it in Sera’s handwriting.

My heart dropped. “See?” the man murmured. “We are not liars, sweetheart. But you… You owe us money.”

“I…I don’t have it,” I replied, hoping they could give me more time.

“That’s not our problem.”

The first punch wasn’t to hurt me, it was to shock me but it was enough to knock the air from my lungs. I folded, gasping, hand braced on the railing.

“What…what are you doing..? This is illegal," My words broke as a slap followed, sharp and hot across my cheek.

“Payment is overdue,” the smoker muttered. “ Your interest keeps going up.” I was not prepared for the  second slap that blurred my vision. I staggered, tears burning at the corners of my eyes.

“I don’t have the money,” I finally whispered. “Please..I don’t…”

“We figured,” the bearded man said, leaning in until his disgusting breath warmed my face. His gaze dragged slowly down my body, making my skin crawl. “Which means you got one week. One.”

He held up a single finger inches from my forehead.

“Seven days.”

“And if you don’t pay,” another added, “we will collect in other ways.”

Their gazes made it clear exactly what those “other ways” were. I was repulsed. 

“No,” I rasped. “I’ll pay. I will. I promise.”

They laughed. Actually laughed.

“See you soon,” the leader murmured, tapping my cheek twice like I was a child. “Don’t make us come back.”

He released me, and my legs nearly gave out. As they left they deliberately brushed shoulders with me and I remained frozen until their footsteps disappeared below.

Only then did I suck in a trembling breath before the tears came. I pressed my back to the wall, covering my mouth with both hands to stifle the sobs shaking through me.

I  was living a nightmare.

How many more blows was I supposed to take before something finally gave way?

I managed to slowly drag myself to my house but all thatI kept replaying was their voices.

One week.

We ill collect in other ways.

I needed answers. Money. Anything. I had avoided going through Sera’s things but now I had no choice. Those men weren’t bluffing. They would be back. And I had nothing to show. I searched through the closet, a few suitcases and then I found an overflowing shoebox shoved under the bed.

I dragged everything into the middle of the room and my fingers tore through envelope after envelope. Bills, overdue notices, shylock receipts, loan agreements, credit card statements with red stamps across them.

I kept flipping through them, disbelief giving way to horror.

Sera  was drowning. At some point I didn’t even realize tears had begun to fall, landing on the papers in my hands.

“How am I supposed to fix this?” I whispered to no one.

Payday was two weeks away and those men had given me one.

There was only one option left, finding the  father of the child I was carrying.