Chapter 5 (b)

Amber felt horrified when she saw where Tadeo Miguero brought her.  After riding the taxi they rode immediately on a tricycle.  They stopped when they reached a narrow street. They just walked because the tricycle could not pass through the narrow road.  In addition, there are sort of men hanging out on the street itself.

 "Hey, Tado! I will just remind you! I'm a black belter!"  She glared at Tado.  She remain composed but deep inside her, she want to step back and run away from the place.

 "Don't worry, Miss. You're safe here. Don't mind them, they will not harm nor even touch the tip of your hair." 

 "Just make sure of that! Maybe you don't know, but I'm telling you now, Tado, I have connections with a mafia boss."  She threatens the man.

 Tado laughed at what the woman said.

 "You need not to threaten me, Miss. I told you, didn't I? I'm don't have any plans of breaking the law. I don't want to be punished, Miss."

 Amber didn't say a word but she silently hopes that she didn't made mistake by trusting a stranger.

 They passed a few more people drinking alcohol and gambling but nobody dared to notice or give attention to them. Amber was surprised for she was wrong when she expected them to make fool of her.

 "Come in, Miss." Tado said as he opens the door of the house.

 Amber roam her eyes around to a two-storey  house. It has a concrete wall painted with light blue color.  Its window is made of jalousie.

 Amber regained her sight.  This house is unique.  It just seems to have a well-structured compared to the other houses in the area.  

 "This is the best house here, Miss. But the rent is a little bit expensive."

 "Let's just choose a cheaper house."

 Tado looked at her for a moment.  He also stared at her for a while as if he is examining her.

 "This house is the only available, miss. Just stay here. Don't worry, I will lend you money that you can use."

 Tado continued entering the house that's why Amber got no choice but to follow him. 

 "I guess you just want to bury me in debt."

 Tadeo Miguero scratched his head.

 "I will not get rich from your money, miss. The interest that you want is too low."

Amber rolled her eyes. 

 "Don't complain, Tado. If you don't like the amount of interest that I want then don't lend me."

 Tado seemed surprised by what he heard. 

 "Don't lend me. Just give it to me.Just think you donated it to a charity."

 "What the--, Miss! You're really unbelievable! I will get even poorer to you."

 Amber laughed softly at the man's reaction.  

"I'm just kidding." She blurted out as turned her back to look around.

 There's no much stuff in the house except for the rattan sala set.  There are two doors.  One is for the bedroom door and the other one is for the kitchen.

 "That's my room," Tado pointed at the door.  "Your room is upstairs, Miss."

 When Tadeo climbed the stairs, she also followed him. There are five bedrooms upstairs.  But seems like , nobody is occupying in any of the rooms.

 "Because you are very special, Miss. I will give you the biggest one." 

 Tadeo Migueo took her to the last room.  The room is spacious.  It also has a sixteen inches flat screen TV.  There is a sofa inside and there is also a bathroom.

 Tado opened another door inside the room.

 "The room will be convenient to you because there's already a kitchen here."

 When she followed inside, she saw the small sink. There are also a gas stove, rice cooker and kitchen utensils such as pots, spoons and many more.  Obviously everything is new as well.

 "Two thousand pesos a month for the rent except electricity and water. You can use all the equipment here. That's really intended for you, Miss."

 "The rent is expensive!"  Amber complained. 

 "Oh! Here we go again." Tadeo sighed in frustration . "All right! I'll give you a discount.  Let's just make it,  one thousand and five hundred pesos per month."

 "And you already know, Tado, I don't have any money for down payment."

 "Don't worry, Miss. Down payment is not required here."

 Tadeo went to the window of the room and opened it.

 "Really? That's good."

 Tado turned to her.  He stared at her for a moment before he opened her mouth.

 "I will buy a set of clothes for you." 

 "Really? Thank you, Tado." Amber smiled in glee.

 "I will include it on your list of debt."

 Amber's smile vanished quickly upon hearing what he  said. She thought he will give it for free.

 "Don't add too much interest."

 "Don't worry, it's free from interest." 

 The girl didn't say a word.  She just watched when  Tado opened  the other windows.

 "Ahm Tado, can I borrow a cellphone?" She said after a few moments.

 The man automatically turned to her. 

 "I need to call my family."

 Tadeo Miguero sighed. "If you will do that, Miss, the people looking after you might find you."

 "I won't let them know where I am."

 That's true.  She just wanted to let her parents know that she's in a safe place so that they will not get worry if ever they found out that she escaped from the Villacorda mansion. 

 "All right. I will buy new phone if I have enough budget for it." 

 "You don't need to buy a new one. I'll just borrow your phone."

 "No way, Miss. I can't lend you my cellphone. You might see my scandal here."

 Amber immediately blushed at what she heard.

 "Just wait if I can buy you or not."

She just nodded in response.

 After that Tado left her for a while.  When he returned, he was carrying clothes for her. He also brought groceries for her. He also bought him a keypad cellphone.  The man's number is already saved there so that she can contact him in case she needs anything.

 Amber texted her parents immediately. She informed them that she will take long time before she can go home. She also told them that she is in a safe place. But Amber did not receive any reply from them.

 The next day, Tado and Amber went out for job application. He took her to a plastic wares reseller.  The job given to her was in the inventory.  The salary is twenty-five thousand pesos a month.  Too high salary for a very small business. In the girl's mind, she would not be surprised if the factory went into bankruptcy due to the large salary for employee.

 Her two months stay  in the place  went well. The surrounding is noisy but people in the area never provoked her. She also rarely meet Tado even though they are living in the same house.

 Once a week the man brings groceries to her.  According to him, it came from the municipality mayor. 

Amber started to think that everything is already fine.  Dark Indigo is now far away from her and he won't be able hurt her anymore. 

She felt relieved. Amber is ready to go in bed when she was disturbed by a series of knocks on the door.

 "Miss Amber! Open it! There's an emergency!"  That was Tado's voice.

She immediately grabbed the silk robe and wear it. 

 "What's the matter, Tadeo." She complained as she opened the door.

 Tado quickly entered her room.

 "Hey! Why did you come in, huh?"

 Tadeo ignored her. Instead he went immediately to the window.  She saw that the man take a peek from the slightly opened window.  Out of curiosity, Amber also approached and peeked out the window.

She immediately got a goosebumps at she saw. Lots of men wearing black polo shirt, pants and caps scattered around.  They are holding guns.

 "They already discovered your whereabouts." Tado said in serious state. 

 "Are you sure?"

 He nodded softly.

 Amber roam her eyes around .It was then that she confirmed that what Tado said is true. She clearly saw the arrival of Warlo Guzman. Amber's heart beat so fast. 

 "No! Indigo can't see me!" She sweats because of too much worries. She felt the coldness of her whole body.

 "No! This can't be. I don't want to go back to Indigo!"  She couldn't no longer hold back her own tears.  It seemed that the memory she had buried suddenly bring back in her mind.

 "Miss?" Tadeo got worried for her. 

 "Don't give me to them, Tado."  She plead as she cried.

 "Don't worry, Miss. They won't get you from me. I will not let them." 

Amber peeked out the window again.  She saw that Warlo is giving instruction to the armed people.

 Her knees trembled. She immediately lost her hope. For her, their two months of hiding could not be wasted.  She needs think ways on how to escape the place. 

She seemed to return to her senses when she felt the pain in her stomach. She groaned as she touched her stomach.  

Tadeo Miguero's eyes widen on what he saw.

 "Miss! There's  a blood!"  

Amber followed the man's gaze. That's brought her to her own legs.  And there she saw the red liquid running down. Her heart beat even faster.  Before she could make any move she felt the blurring of her vision.

 "Miss?"  He even felt Tado catches her before she lost her consciousness.