by Sasha Pop
As the TA rambled on about molecule formation, the picture of Rodrigo looking at her for what seemed to be a second too long when they were happily telling each other stories during the walk along the beach resurfaced in her mind. “But that look on his face…That wasn’t the look of somebody who despises.”
“Jess, are you paying attention?” Philipp’s worried voice interrupted her daydream. “This material is sure to come up on the exam. And your scores haven’t been that great lately,” he said, already having scolded her earlier for not choosing to sit in the front of the class to learn better. Jessica was about to tell him to mind his own business, but instead managed to crack a joke.
“So what? You will let me copy the right answers on the exam, right?” she asked, putting him in a corner.
Philipp was stunned at her suggestion, not seeing the humor in the question.
“But, I can’t… that would not be right. What would happen if we get caught? Our future is at stake here,” he said, pausing to emphasize the word “our.”
Jessica just turned away to face the board at his response, ignoring him, feeling slightly hurt. It annoyed her to no end that the boy with glasses would always proclaim his righteousness and claim he had her best interests in mind, yet never was willing to risk something significant for her. She used to dream about meeting a guy who would be decisive when it mattered most and willing to do whatever it took to protect her. The years went by, however, and she realized that she would often by mistake end up with the “Bob” types – naively mistaking their arrogance and cockiness for true courage.
As she dozed off again, she thought of Tara and how the Retriever was happily playing with the young man on the pier, despite the two having barely met. She was eagerly fetching the stick and letting Rodrigo pet her – Jessica had never seen her dog be so friendly to strangers before.
“Dogs resemble their owners.” Rodrigo’s melodic voice rang in her mind. “Wait, what? If dogs resemble their owners…” Jessica thought, remembering again how sad Tara was when they parted ways with Rodrigo. “That means… do I like him?” she asked herself, blushing and feeling like a little school girl again.
“Jess… are you alright? It looks like you have a fever.”
Seeing how Philipp’s hand was creeping to touch her forehand, Jessica rashly stood up.
“Actually, I am not feeling that well. I will see you in class next week!” Without waiting for his response, Jessica walked away fast, not caring to keep quiet and not disturb the session. Her classmates had been commenting on how she was acting strange lately, so unfit of the star student reputation she had established over the first two years at U of M. She would have cared before, especially before the break-up with Bob, however that incident had been a real eye-opener regarding who she could really trust. Everybody who surrounded her, even those she considered to be her friends, either began to spread rumors around or tried to take advantage of the situation. She was not too saddened by this anymore. It felt like she had grown up, becoming colder and more distant despite her positive act, and there was very little of the naïve freshman girl left that she once had been.
As she walked through the hallway, Jessica thought of where to go next. Her parents had flown for a weekend getaway with her little brother to Lego World in California and were not coming back for the next two days. That also meant she would be staying all alone in the huge house of theirs. She enjoyed the peace this brought during the day, but at night, even the slightest noise already terrified her.
It did feel a little lonely to be all alone, especially on a Friday evening. The campus was half-empty with everybody off to do their own thing, either to prepare for the party later that evening, or to spend time with their significant other.
As she was heading to the car, she bumped into a bunch of guys from the tennis team who happily waved at her, inviting her to “pregame” at a certain bar. Jessica politely declined, not tempted in the slightest to take them up on their offer, preferring to spend time at home reading.
Once in the car, she found herself on autopilot taking the route along the marina where she had jogged last Saturday. It would also lead her home, but it was not the shortest way. She just felt like driving by the abandoned pier, secretly hoping to see the red Ferrari parked there. As she was about half a mile away, she saw what appeared to be a red car parked in the distance, not being able to tell for sure in the dark. Her heart beat increased instantly, and she didn’t think of anything during the next few seconds it took to drive there. Once close by, Jessica realized that this was just a red Toyota, and that it was actually parked further away. She thought for a second about driving another three miles along the coast to Docks, but that appeared to be a little bit too much, and she had exhausted her courage for the day. Plus, she did not want to appear to be a stalker. It was time to head back.
As she drove her BMW X5 through River Oaks, Miami’s most prestigious neighborhood close to the heart of which her house was located, she thought about an idea that had been following her for quite some time: just how privileged all the people living here were. The spacious mansions with large backyards, giant pools, private children’s playgrounds, garages with luxury cars – they all were dime a dozen here. The residents all acted like this was the natural order of things, like they were entitled to these riches and it was beneath them to even be associated with somebody who didn’t belong in these circles. This attitude passed along to the children, most of who also grew up to expect being handed everything on a silver spoon platter. Jessica remembered how her life changed drastically when her father rose to prominence in the medical world when she was but six years old. They used to live in a nice apartment beforehand, in a quiet neighborhood with upper-middle class families – but the move to River Oaks drastically changed things. Suddenly, she was no longer able to just be herself - now there was an image to upkeep to be part of the high society – even as a little kid. She found herself accompanying her parents to social events in fancy dresses, instead of the playgrounds she really want to be at. The etiquette lessons she was forced to attend, and the arrogance of the teachers at the private school were still an annoying memory in her mind. Lost in thought, thinking about Marta and her other circle of friends at U of M, Jessica pondered:
“Did I become myself like them?”
As she drove towards the “Perry Residence”, she clicked the keys to open the gate. Clicking several times to no avail, Jessica had no choice but to park outside.
“I guess the gate is broken again. Didn’t we replace it just last year?” she wondered, rolling her eyes.
Walking to the door on the side of the gate instead, she got an eerie feeling that everything was too quiet around the house. Tara usually would start barking well before she approached the gate. Why did her parents need to leave today? She tried to calm down, reminding herself that nothing ever happened in this area –thieves knew better than to mess with the local residents, some of whom had a private security army. Bracing herself, she put the key inside the lock, only to notice that this was not necessary – the door slowly opened by itself, with a squeaky sound…
Jessica pulled away, taking a few steps back, looking quickly from side to side to see if somebody was watching her. There was no way that her parents, especially her responsible dad would forget to lock the front door before leaving on a trip. Worried, she thought of what to do. Going inside was not an option – what if whoever opened the door was still in the house? Frantically, Jessica reached for her phone and dialed 911. After hearing her nervous explanation of what was going on, the dispatch officer promised to have a patrol officer there in fifteen minutes, as it was a busy night, and told her to wait in the car. A little relieved after talking with the police, Jessica still couldn’t fathom waiting for a quarter hour there in uncertainty, so she started thinking about who of her friends to call for help. Marta was a scaredy cat, and probably drunk at this time too; Philipp? She would be just as unsafe with him; Bob? She would rather
be kidnaped and die than to ask for his help. Scrolling down her contact list, she reached the letter R. Rodrigo…the mysterious stranger she had been afraid of calling for the past week. Not thinking twice, she pressed the green button on her screen.
***** a few minutes beforehand at the Miami Marina *****
“Juan says you did good this week. I have high hopes for you, boy,” Maestro announced from the Louis XIV throne chair. In his ice-cold eyes, Rodrigo could clearly read “do not disappoint me” written. At first, he was terrified to even look the grey-haired man in the eyes, who despite his meager stature had a strange hypnotizing aura that could freeze even a giant in his tracks, but ever since he finally came to terms with his decision to do the operation, a sense of inner peace filled his soul. He would either succeed and save his mother, or get arrested trying. There was no space left for doubts. Since he came back with Juanito, the other members of the gang had been a little bit friendlier towards him, although it felt like they were just giving him sympathy for his last days in freedom, while being sure that he was going to fail. John, on the other hand, the mercenary veteran, was as unreadable as ever underneath the polite British act, when Rodrigo had greeted him.
“Whatever happens out there, even if you die, our secrets die with you. Then you will gain real respect,” he said.
“Quite a motivational speech”, Rodrigo thought with a sad smile.
“Take a break this week. You know where to be next Friday,” Maestro commanded, nodding towards the door - it was time for him to leave.
As he left the club and walked towards the Ferrari, a bittersweet memory crossed his mind. Neri… the blonde, blue-eyed angel with whom he had fallen in love when they first met at the age of fifteen. He never had an active interest in girls before, spending his time studying and training hard to become a soccer player instead. After an important match for the U-16 Miami Fusion team, where he as the team captain scored two decisive goals, he was invited to a reception with the Director of the club. It was a prestigious gala for which he and his mother had to spend a considerable amount of savings to buy him an appropriate suit to attend. There among all the guests to whom he was introduced as a soccer prodigy by the coach, he met Neri, the daughter of the director who had been involved in the life of the club since she was little and was an avid soccer fan herself. Beautiful, unpredictable, whimsical, Rodrigo could not take his eyes off her. The two of them clicked instantly – she found cute how he was blushing hard whenever he was around her, but respected his skill on the pitch and found him attractive. When he asked her out, she said yes without hesitation, already enamored by his charm.
However the longer they dated and the more she found out about his family and living situation, the more distant they became. Rodrigo didn’t blame her – he knew her father was pressuring her hard to stay away from him. The Director used to tolerate him while Rodrigo was the star player of the youth squad, however once he received a potentially career-ending knee injury at the age of 18, her father intensified the suggestions for her to find a more suitable candidate. As his recovery took longer than expected, he had lost his spot and started receiving less money from the team, no longer able to keep up the costly dates he had with Neri, having to go on the bus to meet her. Over time, she was becoming “more and more busy” whenever he invited her out, until once he saw the then captain of the U-18 team, Italian-born Rafaello holding her by the waist, as he was walking outside of rehab. Furious, Rodrigo stormed to them and demanded an explanation. Neri was just looking shyly at the floor, clearly uncomfortable, while Rafaello cockily taunted him in his Italian accent.
“What is your problem you ghetto Latino-boy? Get on your way, you see she wants to be with a real man, who can give her what she needs.” He lightly spanked her on the butt.
Not saying a word, Rodrigo made a step towards him, with his tightly clenched right fist punching Rafaello in the jaw with all his might, sending the foreigner back against the wall bleeding from the nose. The two teammates who were standing nearby rushed to grab Rodrigo’s back to immobilize him, but the Mexican youth wasn’t about to continue. As they were holding him down, he just looked at Neri’s eyes with a mix of kindness he still felt for her and a growing emptiness.
“I really….you, you know,” he uttered, while the staff that arrived was taking him to a conference room to hold a disciplinary meeting, which would result in him being kicked out of the club.
In his eyes, she could read the word “loved” that was missing from the sentence he said. Tears were rolling down her cheek, but he couldn’t see her anymore.
“If only she could see me now,” Rodrigo chuckled at the irony of his current situation. “Driving a Ferrari, with a handgun in the glove box, dealing drugs…She sure would fall in love again.”
Then the phone rang with an unfamiliar number on it. It was too late to be some random advertisement, so he decided to pick it up.
“Um…Rodrigo?” a trembling voice said.
He recognized the caller and could sense by the tone that she was in trouble, so he avoided making any jokes about her calling him late on a Friday night.
“Yes?”
“Listen, it is Jessica… I am sorry to call so out of the blue, but I don’t have time to explain…Do you remember my house where you dropped me off when we first met?”
“Yes.”
“Could you possibly come over? I need…”
“I am on my way.” He interrupted her and hung up.
“Phew, that was easier than I thought it would be. He didn’t even ask any questions,” Jessica thought, slightly surprised at his decisive no-bullshit attitude.
Five minutes later, she could hear the roar of a powerful engine approaching. The super sports car parked rashly near hers, and the driver imposingly came out, dressed in a black leather jacket, and a white shirt, slightly exposing his defined chest. It was a similar look to how she remembered him when they first met, except she thought he looked cooler and more adventurous with the leather jacket than with the blazer on. Her first reaction was to jump out of the car and hug him, however she managed to control herself.
“Thank you for coming,” she just said, looking sheepish. She felt bad for bringing him all the way here out of the blue, but was glad he decided to come.
“Are you ok?” he asked, placing a hand on her shoulder and noticing that she was trembling. “What happened?”
“My parents are out, and when I came home, the front gate was broken…and also, this door was open.”
Rodrigo glanced at the house, listening to her with a serious expression.
“I called the police, but they will still take a few minutes to get here…and I am really afraid for Tara, what if they hurt her?”
As a former vet student, Rodrigo knew that if an animal was seriously injured, even a minute could make a difference between life and death. Seeing in Jessica’s eyes how deeply she cared for her pet, he decided that he had no time to lose. With all the nightlife business he was involved in lately he was better than ever aware of the risks of crossing paths with robbers. Still, he had to do the right thing.
“Get back in the car and lock the doors,” he ordered.
“But, but… What are you planning to do? You can’t go in there alone, it is dangerous!” she protested. He grabbed her hand and held it between his two hands for a brief moment.
“It is going to be ok,” he reassured Jessica, looking her in the eyes. Somehow, she immediately lost the will to fight when she felt his strong grip holding her tightly. After making sure she was inside the car and couldn’t see him, Rodrigo quickly opened the glove box in the Ferrari to get the gun. It almost felt like he was starring in an action flick, except this was real life. And soon he would be doing something far more dangerous.
Rodrigo moved quickly through the door, taking precautions not to make any noise. After verifying that no one was there in the backyard, he decided to enter inside through the window in case anybody was ambushing at the front
door. Once inside the dining room, he quickly looked for a light switch to be able to orient himself. Stumbling upon pieces of furniture in the near absolute darkness, his hand finally reached a switch. Finally taking a moment to breathe, Rodrigo looked at his surroundings. What seemed to have once been a beautiful room with exotic furniture was now vandalized and despite the disarray on the shelves, he could tell that something must be missing.
Who could have done this? His train of thought was interrupted by a squealing sound coming out from the hallway. Realizing that it was the poor Retriever, Rodrigo rushed towards the corridor to check on her. As he saw the crying animal lying on her side on the floor, he realized his feet were standing in a pool of blood. “Oh no!” he exclaimed, kneeling near Tara and checking the wound – it appeared to be a large cut from a sharp object on one of her paws. It was not fatal, but she had been losing blood for whoever knows how long, which could be very dangerous.
The adrenaline rush gave him clarity of action, and with some luck he quickly found the kitchen. He looked frantically for any towels and utensils that could be used in giving first aid. Finding a bottle of alcohol, a towel and a bandage Rodrigo hurried to patch the poor dog up, while putting 911 on loud speak to call an ambulance. As he was almost done, petting the dog to calm her down, he heard the loud police siren on the outside.
“Oh damn,” he cursed, realizing that he had a gun on him and it would be bad if the police were to search him before Jessica had a chance to tell them about him. Hurrying back to the dining room through which he entered, he quickly wiped the gun and dropped it inside the large vase that was near the entrance.
After one loud bang, the main door crumbled; it seemed like the policemen were going in. Rodrigo returned to sit by Tara to try to calm her down – the poor creature was increasingly nervous with the loud noise around her.