Chapter 3

NARRATOR

Colorful laser lights were scattered all over the place in sync with the loud music playing in a private underground country club in Cherry Hills.

Everyone on the dance floor was dancing and singing to the DJ's party music like it was going to be their last time to party.

People's sweat, perfume, and hair gel scents were in the air, along with the odors of liquor and smoke from everyone puffing on cigarettes. People partying didn't care if they bumped into a stranger or got hit by another person dancing next to them. 

All they cared about was having fun and forgetting about life and what was outside for a while.  

Among the people present were these five adult men, who were sitting in their favorite corner. There was an oblong table at their center full of empty and unopened cans of different liquors and glasses from drinks they ordered. 

Like everyone else, one of these men had problems dealing with them that made him so annoyed that night.  His problem? His father. 

It had always been him. His father was a well-known aeronautical engineer who owns a huge company that provides services and creates the best engines for all kinds of planes. He was labeled the best, but he made his late wife ride an airplane that took her life back then. 

This was why, for years, he worked tirelessly to provide the best, safest, and smoothest air rides possible. Many people adored him for caring for people's safety, but everything Lennon's dad achieved and the money he had in his bank account were things he hated about him.

Lennon blamed him for his mom's death. Since she died, he has become unknown to his father's world. A speck of dust entered his vast world. He carried his surname; they live in the same house, but they do not seem related to each other.

His friends knew how much resentment he had for his father; just like him, his friends were also sons of some well-known tycoons. They were also the black sheep in their family, which was why they'd been called "five black sheep" for a reason, and because of that, their bond was more robust. They know and understand what all of them feel and are going through, though this is something beyond theirs.

"Hello, Lennon," a beautiful woman whose name Lennon couldn't recall approached their table. She sat straight on Lennon's lap and started stroking Lennon's hair. She was drunk but acting up. It was too obvious how intoxicated she was, and the way she looked at Lennon and how she clung to his neck made the boys think the woman was in heat. 

"D***! You indeed had the charm for women in need, brother!" One of his friends, Felix, sarcastically commented, emphasizing “in need,” which made his other three friends chuckle as they watched the woman seduce their friend.

He also wanted to laugh, but he was caught by how the woman touched his chest. He suddenly felt her lips kissing his neck, and he was shocked at how fast her hand traveled. It was already in front of his trousers, and he was trying to unzip them.

"Get a room!" another friend of theirs shouted while laughing.

"Dang! She's really in heat. Take her somewhere. I'm not in the mood for this," Lennon told one of his friends sitting next to him, and he removed her hand where he caught it.

His friend didn't insist on the offer. He pulled the woman away from Lennon and dragged her inside one cubicle inside the restroom.

Lennon was in a bad mood and not in the mood for something hot that night after his dad ruined it so early. He just wanted to drink his anger out until he got wasted after William scolded him again, telling him to fix his life.

Their encounter made him go home, which was a bad idea. He caught him inside his room, just about to dive into his cozy bed after a tiring night. It was very rare when he went home, and he intentionally went when his dad wasn't there. He didn't expect they would see each other because it was Thursday and already nine o'clock in the morning.

His dad wasn't supposed to be home that day and time, but he had a meeting before lunch that morning, and he stayed home until it was time to leave, and he didn't expect to see his son that day. 

He only wanted to ask how he was when Lennon became enraged after assuming his father had just entered his room to scold him. It ended that way, but it was only because Lennon told his dad to mind his business and leave his room. William couldn't take the disrespect from his son, especially since he was inside his house.

Their lives since Lennon's mom died have always been like that. It was rare for them to cross paths. They were like oil and water, which nobody could ever mix. He stayed mostly out of their house because he found that place suffocating, mainly when his dad was around. When he started making more friends, he discovered clubs, where he learned to smoke, drink, and get into trouble.

William just let him do what he wanted because he had enough money not to starve himself. He could rent a hotel room, even in a five-star hotel’s VIP unit, if he wanted. Lennon could buy all his needs with his own money from the bank account his mom had saved for him when she was alive. He still tried to come home once or twice a month when he needed some rest from the noise and the active life he had because, even though his mom wasn't there anymore, he still could feel her presence around, which he undeniably missed. That was why he came home again after weeks of being gone, but with bad timing—his dad was there as well.

It was Linda who always tried to step in when their argument went too far. He was the one who left immediately and drove his car as far as possible until he found himself in front of his mother's grave.

Inside the mausoleum, he fell asleep like a homeless person who didn't have any place to go. It was already breaking dawn when he opened his eyes, and he immediately called his friends.

same place again. Not everyone was allowed in that club, which was located underground and protected by someone unknown with power. That was the same place where rich kids could do things, even against the law. They had no fear when they were inside that place. Even sheriffs were not allowed in there. 

 Lennon's mind was preoccupied with so many thoughts at that moment. He was cursing his dad, who seemed to not care about him. He only cared about his job—their multibillionaire aeronautical company—which was why his mom died. 

Sometimes he asks himself, what if his father was the one who died that day and not his mom? Would it be any better?

"Hey, Lennon! Wanna come with us? Pedro is currently hosting a party at his place." A hard tap on the shoulder put Lennon back into his senses. He knew he was already drunk, and his friends were as well, but he was not yet wasted because he had a high tolerance for alcohol and that party would give them free drinks or maybe something else.

"Let's go!" he instructed them. 

As they walk up the stairs, the noise from the background where they came from decreases as they walk further. They could no longer hear anything when they were already out—a total silence. not until one of his friends started his car engine. 

Each of them owned a luxurious sports car. They drove to the residential area where they could find Pedro's house. So many cars were parked outside that they had difficulty finding a parking space. One of his silly, drunk friends found a space in front of a neighboring house. When Lennon noticed his other friends doing the same thing, he parked his car next to theirs.

They were already inside Pedro's house when the owner of the property where they parked noticed the sports cars on his lawn, and he instantly got mad about what they had done because one car wrecked the wooden fence he put up himself.

He immediately went out to check if the owner of those five cars was around to tell them to move it somewhere else, but he found nobody. He heard loud music coming from nearby. It was already late when he checked the time on his watch. Another neighbor walked out of their house and approached the older man.

"The spoiled brats again?" the man from the neighborhood asked the angry neighbor.

"Yeah! Just look at what they did to my lawn!" he exclaimed, furious at the sight.

"Let me handle this," he said, taking his phone from his pocket to make a call.