GRATUITOUS ATTACK
Tulio was driving her home after the fight that she didn't watch until the end. Getting into the vehicle and putting on his seat belt, he turned to her and asked:
" Are you okay?”
He was really not normal for asking her this and looking out of the car where the people were dispersing, she managed to smile:
" Am I okay? You're the one who just fought! Let me see " she turned his face, holding his chin and looking at his face to see if there were any injuries. " At least they didn't hit his eye again this time. I won't save you anymore, be warned. Once in a lifetime is enough for me.
He also laughed and started the car. He didn't want her to realize that her touch had caused him to feel differently.
" I'm fine. Let's go? Where were you going?
" To the manicurist, but I must have already missed my appointment. You can drop me off at her salon anyway.
" Did you like the music? " He gave her a quick glance and kept driving.
" I love it, Tulio! Thanks, it came in handy.
" Were you really scared?
" Of course I was, man, you always scare me, you know? " She joked, and he looked away from the street just enough to speak to her in a serious voice:
" You scare me too.
Cloe didn't know what to say, and they remained silent until he left her in front of the manicure salon.
Cloe spent the weekend thinking about and reliving the whole unusual morning she had had, and on Monday morning there he was, waiting for her at the door to take her to school. They chatted about trivia, such as the movie they had watched over the weekend and her rehearsals for an event she would be playing in two months. It became routine for both of them to be together, even if only to and from her classes.
One morning when Cloe got up early, after watering her plants, getting ready, drinking her coffee, and waiting for him, she noticed that she was either a little early or Tulio was late. She decided to wait for him on the sidewalk and soon Milla, Jake and Shay joined her.
" Milla, who Cloe hadn't seen for days and who were neither friends, just acquaintances, approached her and her body posture showed that she was ready for a fight.
" Excuse me? " Cloe asked, startled.
" Sorry, my ass! You were fucking the little playboy from Sambra, weren't you? " Milla raised her voice and took steps forward, getting closer to Cloe, maybe seeing that the girl was retreating, seeing her supposed weakness, the girl seemed to grow. Milla was almost two of Cloe's, both in size and weight. Shay and Jake looked like they wanted to see blood and were getting ready to join Milla. " Why did you come to take a shine to Tulio's side too?”
“ Milla, I really don't know what you are talking about! " Cloe took another step back. " I dated Cris for a few days and I'm not dating anyone right now, it must be a misunderstanding...
" Fuck! Just because you play the piano, you think you are better than us here. Now you are hitting on Tulio, thinking you are the best of us. Get real, bitch, he's a lot of sand for your little truck! " As she said this, Milla seemed to get even more inflamed, her voice was very loud, and Cloe saw that the three of them would make fun of her and tried to get in, opening the gate, even with her back turned, groping the gate in an attempt to open it and thinking that there wouldn't be time to unlock the door before they attacked her. She couldn't see Tulio's car approaching, but she heard a motorcycle engine.
" You're full of shit," Shay said. " You must be going crazy for Tulio, but we're going to slice your pussy open with this! " Shay pulled a knife from her waistband, which until then had been covered by the T"shirt she was wearing. Cloe was trembling and felt afraid, they were going to finish her off and they wouldn't listen, so she knew that nothing she could say would help. She was just trying to get to her gate and hide in her house. Milla stopped her from going through the gate and into her house, and when Cloe turned around, the woman held her by the hair tightly, preventing her from leaving.
" You kept quiet, didn't you? That means that whoever keeps quiet consents! " Enraged, Milla was twisting Cloe's hair, forcing her to bend down, and she was already expecting the stabbing, when the motorcycle's noise got louder, the loud exhaust announced that it was a strong motorcycle and swallowing hard, Cloe turned over Milla's heavy hand and saw when the rider stopped, leaned the motorcycle on the stand and removed the helmet. She knew it wasn't Tulio, because the biker was taller and she faced Gringo.
" What's going on, Milla? " He came walking slowly and Milla released Cloe's hair. Shay and Jake also took a step back.
" Nothing, Gringo, we were just talking to Cloe. " Milla was smiling at the man, but Cloe could tell she was scared. Milla's smile, though false, vanished from her face when she saw Tulio standing on the sidewalk. Cloe hadn't seen him there either. " Tulio? " Milla's voice came out ragged. Gringo walked away and leaned against Tulio's car, just watching and waiting to see what the women would do.
" So were they going to attack Cloe, or did I misunderstand? Am I crazy?” Tulio peered at the women, Cloe's heart hadn't even had time to recover and was still beating wildly.
" No, that's what we were telling Gringo, we were going to talk to her, nothing more than that.
" And you are a hairdresser? Why were you grabbing her by the hair, or am I a liar? Correct me if I am wrong, please.
Even Cloe was afraid of him, the coldness with which he looked at each of the three women, more like prey about to pounce, and the women sensed it. And for the tiniest second that he only looked at Milla, fists clenched at his sides, clearly furious, it was enough for Jake and Shay to run out and he ignored them, concentrating only on Milla and making her cringe, waiting for the blows.
" I think, given the facts, that one or two broken fingers would be sufficient, which would you prefer? Shaved head and two broken fingers or intact hair and five broken fingers? " Tulio spoke softly, even Gringo couldn't hear him from where he was, but Cloe and his wife could hear him very well, and Milla knelt in despair and trembling. Tulio was a step away from her when Cloe asked him:
" No! Please, Tulio, don't hurt her " his voice came out low, the request was sincere and seemed to make him stop, but he still didn't look at her, his icy eyes were still on Milla, eager to punish her, he seemed to taste blood. " Please, I'm late for class. " She asked, her voice firmer and louder. Then he looked at her, his expression calmed as if by magic, his clenched fists relaxing.
" Shall we go then? " he asked, pulling away from Milla.
" Yes," Cloe ran to his car to get him out of there soon. Gringo laughed at them, relaxed in the back of Julius' car, grabbed his helmet and sped off, the powerful motorcycle engine roaring out of sight.
Tulio didn't even look at Milla, who remained in the same place, dropped to her knees and pale as death. Opening the door for Cloe, Julius turned, sat in the driver's seat, and drove away.
A LIVE CAR RACE! Tulio dropped her off at the door of the music school and when he turned off the car, usually he didn't even turn it off and as soon as he got out he drove away. Having turned off the car this time, he looked at her and Cloe waited, she knew he wanted to tell her something. " Do you like car races? " He asked a little shy, which was rare, and Cloe smiled at him. " I love it! I always watch it on TV on Sundays, but I have never been to a race. Is that why you are always with this sports car? ” " I like very powerful and sporty cars. Will you join me for a race tonight? ” Cloe was taken by surprise, she didn't imagine that he would invite her to this kind of event, but she remembered that tonight was the night that professor Oscar would give them a class after eighteen o'clock. Tulio noticed the indecision on her face, thinking that she wouldn't like to accompany him, spoke up: " It's okay if you don't want to go.” " Yes I do, Tulio, it's just that today I have a
BUTTERFLIES IN THE STOMACH" You're late again, is everything all right, Cloe? " Livia, her arithmetic teacher, meets her in the school corridor and stops her, holding her gently by the elbow, her everloving smile on her lips." Yes, Miss Livia, you are. I've been practicing a lot in some piano lessons, you know, but I'll try not to be late anymore, I promise.”" What a good thing, Cloe, it makes me very proud to be a pianist. Just try to unite the two, my dear, both studies are fundamental. Can you imagine a famous pianist who travels the world and doesn't know basic mathematics? " The teacher was mocking her and Cloe knew that she admired her and was just trying to get her attention." I wish I was a pianist who travels the world! " Cloe joined her two hands together in prayer and smiled at her teacher." Yes it is possible, Cloe. You are very diligent in your studies, I just hope you keep it up. " Slipping an arm through her student's, she urged her into the classroom.Cloe wanted
BEFORE " Is this your bike? " asked Silas, and Tulio felt his stomach clench as he heard the older boy's voice. Everyone knew that Silas was the neighborhood troublemaker, in fact, Silas wasn't even from the neighborhood, but he loved to venture out and pick on younger boys. " It's my cousin's. " He lied, even knowing that no matter what he said, Silas wouldn't care, the bike could be the Pope's, if he wanted it, he would have it. Tulio was tired of hearing stories about Silas and other big boys in the neighborhood and even though he was much smaller than the coward, he would not give up the bike without a fight. He could already imagine his grandmother saying "Why didn't you just hand over the bike, boy! Did you have to pull your father so hard?" He had gotten the bike after helping Macca and Digo with their homework the year before, and it was under strong threat, promising to break the teeth of Digo, Macca's older brother, who promised to give him the bike if he helped them wit
BAPTIZED IN FIREThe years went by and Tulio was respected by everyone he knew, his fame preceded him, and even those who didn't know him had heard of him. He was sought out to settle disputes and prided himself on never having taken anyone down, never having taken the life of an innocent.Mrs. Layla, his grandmother, who was sixty"eight years old, had been his best friend for as long as he could remember, treated him like a boy still, stood by him, and when she learned of his accomplishments at eleven, she had made such a big deal out of it, inventing that he was suffering from blood pressure, bronchitis, diabetes, and so many other illnesses, that he hid to go when she came with his eyes watering, his glasses soaked through, and his hand on his chest simulating a threatened heart attack.When Macca started going to her house after Tulio had freed her from the beatings of her drunken husband, and bent her knees in front of the child, thanking him, it was the first time he had ever se
PUNISHMENT VERSUS BIRTHDAYHanna's mother called, worried, and Liz, Cloe's mother talked to her for almost an hour, disappointment seeping through her every word. They were at home and her father, always so quiet, seemed to search for the right words to instill in his daughter's mind all the craziness she was doing by starting to date, regardless of who it was now." Daughter, it's not just because that boy is who he is....”" It's because of that too, yes, Calo! " shouted Liz. " That Tulio is always involved with heavy people! He's not a man any mother would want for her daughter.”Liz's tears were falling profusely. And Cloe felt the need to defend her beloved, it hurt her to hear her mother talking about him. Even if she was a little right, she shouldn't be so prejudiced." Do you know him, mother?”" Hey," her father interrupted her. They were in the living room, they had just arrived and she already knew that tempers were going to get very hot. " Let's not go that way, daughter.
PAINFUL REJECTIONTulio laid her down on the grass of the hill, laid her gently, and she was at his mercy, her dilated pupils staring into his eyes, saying nothing, her mouth red from the kisses, already missing him.He then proceeded to scrutinize her body with his hands. Cloe closed her eyes and could only feel his hands that started at her shins. His strong hands went so gently up her legs and thighs and to her it felt so natural, even when they reached her thighs and didn't stop. She felt the cold wind pinch her bare thighs, but his warm hands took care of that quickly.Cloe was relaxed about his advances and longed for more, she sighed softly when he spread a hand on her panties, she felt his open palm on the delicate fabric of her panties, as if testing if she could go further.Opening her eyes, she saw his devotion to her body. He looked into her eyes, there, so beautiful and desiring him, his hands then moved up her waist, down her belly, taking the dress with them and slowly
ANGUISHCloe did not understand what she had done to be rejected by him. Her heart ached when they reached the end of the Hill in silence. She doubted it was because he had to work something out, as he had said.When she climbed through her bedroom window without her parents knowing about her defiance, and only then, when she closed her bedroom window again and sat down in the chair at her computer desk, did she allow herself to cry. The sobs shook her, and she cried until she felt empty.She lay down hoping to sleep soon, but the thoughts wouldn't let her. She thought he didn't want her because she was a virgin. Who would want to have sex with a woman with no experience at all? How could a night so magical and promising turn so quickly into a disaster?She thought back to when her parents had picked her up from school, maybe that had been a factor too? Of course it had! That had to be it, her parents had scared her.Her confirmation came the next morning, when as she sat down to brea
LAYLA STUDIO Cloe thought it might be an afterthought for her parents, switching schools, it should just be an empty threat, or those thoughts of desperation and that soon cool down, but she was wrong. They took it all the way. " Don't hate us, daughter, we are thinking about your future and we will do whatever it takes to keep you from straying from your ways, from your future " her father was the one chosen to speak to her. She thought her mother was a coward not to come and speak to her herself. Her father was the quieter of the couple, he would put on a warm cloth when her mother was angry, and when he came into her room to give her the news that they had transferred her to another school, her world came crashing down. Peter and his mother had left, she now knew that it was a strategy of her parents and she could even imagine her mother giving her the idea, telling her father that since he was calmer, the quieter of the two, it would be better if she left with the younger one w