Secret Affair

Cheated

After Ryan left the pub, he didn't want to go home immediately. He thought if he stayed away long enough, his grandfather would realize his folly and call him back. With this thought in mind, he drove around town through the early hours of the morning, with no specific destination in mind, waiting for his grandfather's call, which never came. He realized that his grandfather was trying to frustrate him into groveling before him. Determined not to give his grandfather what he wanted but not having any money at the moment, Ryan thought long and hard about what he should do next. He had never felt so alone and helpless before; all his friends had abandoned him. His car was already showing signs that it would need a refill of gas soon. He looked at himself, wondering what he could probably sell or exchange for a place to stay for a few days. There was nothing he could part with, but he couldn't possibly continue driving aimlessly, and then it came to him like a sort of revelation. He could sell off the car. Once it was out of gas, he wouldn't be able to refill it anyway. At least with the money he got, he would be able to afford a decent place to stay and buy food. Satisfied that he could also think about ways to make good money and survive on his own without his grandfather, he drove to a mechanic's shop.

"Hello, how can I help you?" the shopkeeper greeted when he saw Ryan. He could already tell what kind of kid he was by looking at him, he had seen so many of his kind before, arrogant and proud.

"Eh, can I see the owner?" Ryan said carefully, since his embarrassment at the pub yesterday, he had started being careful what he said. The shopkeeper looked at him bewildered, everyone in the area knew he owned the place, his name was printed boldly at the entrance, Max's Mechanic Shop, but he only shrugged. Perhaps the boy isn't from around here, so he might not know.

"What do you need?" he asked, cleaning the oil off his hands with a dirty rag. He was working on a truck before the arrival of Ryan.

"I really would like to see the owner," Ryan insisted.

"I am the owner," the man said and Ryan heaved a sigh, he was seizing the man up and down, wondering if this poor-looking man could pay a good price for his beautiful car.

"Oh, I was wondering if..." Ryan began, looking around the shop in disgust, he could either sell off his car here or take it elsewhere. The problem was, he couldn't because the car was completely out of gas now. The first shop he went to wasn't very friendly and his Mercedes was worth a couple of thousands "you would like to buy my car," he finished, but the man just stared at him long and hard, as if he had never heard such words before.

"That's your car?" he asked, going close to the red Mercedes. Max had seen a lot of cars before, but this was the first he would see such a nice car up close. It could be a stolen car for all he knows, because why would anyone want to sell such a nice car to a mechanic?

"Yeah," Ryan answered, as if he was supposed to know this. Doesn't anyone watch the news? Surely, they would know who he is.

"How old are you, son?" the man asked, looking Ryan dead in the eye.

"Why? What does knowing my age have to do with selling my car?" Ryan burst out. He had never thought he would have to explain anything to anyone. Once he told them what he wanted to sell, they would automatically pay him. No questions asked. The first mechanic he had gone to had asked a similar question, and he had stormed off.

"Well, because only a dumb person would want to sell a car this nice to a mechanic."

"I am not dumb!" Ryan exclaimed, how dare a nobody like him call him dumb? "It's... it's just out of gas, I wouldn't have sold it either," when he said that, the mechanic only nodded his head and walked back to where Ryan stood.

"What else is wrong with the car?"

"Nothing, I promise, just that it would need gas to run," Ryan explained, as if the man didn't know all this before.

"You sure it's not stolen?" The man asked, and Ryan became angry. How dare anyone think he stole the car? It was his car, his.

"Look, if you are not interested in buying, it's fine, just don't insult me," Ryan said. He knew deep down that if he should leave the garage, he couldn't take the car with him, the gas tank was empty, he was already getting hungry now, and he didn't have any money with him.

"I am not interested in buying," the man said and made to go back to working on the truck. Ryan didn't expect this attitude from the man, he looked like someone who could easily be swayed. Again, he thought perhaps, it was his grandfather messing with him. Maybe the old man had reached out to every mechanic in town and told them not to buy his car. This is the only logical explanation.

"I will give you a discount," Ryan said hurriedly, and the man stopped in his tracks. Of course, buying a car from such a young boy is questionable, but it would also be a big cheap buy for him. However, if the real owners of the car came down to wreck his shop, he would have only himself to blame, and last but not least, he didn't have the kind of money the boy might ask for, no matter how much discount he was willing to give. He sighed, turned around to face Ryan, and said,

"I might be old and all, but I have seen these kinds of things happen too many times before, so my advice to you is that you return the car to the real owners before anyone gets hurt."

"What are you talking about? I am the real owner, okay," Ryan said, "It was a present from my grandfather, I have all its documents," he said, scratching his head to remember where he left the documents. He rushed to the car and searched the glove compartment. Sure enough, the document was still there and his name was boldly written on it. "Look, I told you, it is mine."

"Okay, point made, however, I can't buy this car off you, I don't have the money to do so," the man confessed.

"How much do you have," Ryan, who was desperate for money, asked.

"Five thousand, give or take," he said, watching the kid's face fall. The money was meant for his vacation to visit his daughter's town. He only said this because he was certain the boy would never agree to sell the car for so little.

"That's so small," Ryan said, as if talking to himself.

"I told you, I don't have the money to buy something like that."

"I will take it," Ryan announced. Although it was way below what the car was worth on the market, there was nowhere else he could have sold it, especially since it was out of gas and couldn't be moved back to the city. At least with that amount of money, he can rent a house and buy some clothes. Perhaps it is time to look for a job. He was going to show his grandfather that he wasn't completely useless.

"What?" the mechanic asked flabbergasted, never in his life did he think he would get such a car for so little, but aside from that, he didn't even need the car, he only said that to get rid of the kid.

"I said I would take it. I hope you have the money here. I don't like the hassle of going into banks, you see," the boy said nervously.

"I don't have it here."

"Well, you can go get it at the ATM, I will wait," Ryan said, finding a place to sit.

"Ah, not, I can give you half of it. You will get the remaining half of the money after a week as long as there is no problem with the purchase," the man said expertly. If he was going to give his money to some teenager for selling off his car to him, the least he could do was take precautions. If, after a week, there wasn't any report about a missing car or a missing teenager, then he would pay the rest. That way he wouldn't lose too much.

"Come on boss, there isn't going to be a problem, I promise, the car is mine, and I can sell it at any time," Ryan whined, but the man was unbothered.

"It is either we do it that way or you can take your car and go somewhere else,"

"I really needed the money," Ryan said almost to himself.

"What did you say?" He asked.

"I said I would take it. How much are you paying me now?"

"Didn't you go to school? Do the math."

"Three thousand?" Ryan said hopefully. At least with that amount, he could live a little comfortably until he gets the rest.

"No, two thousand five hundred,"

"Come boss, the car is in good condition, three thousand isn't so bad."

"Are you going to sell it for three thousand then?"

"What? No," Ryan couldn't believe his ears, how did the man suddenly become so greedy? "Just give me the two thousand five hundred now, I will come for the rest in a week."

"Wait here," the man said and disappeared into an inner office, coming back out after a few minutes with the cash for the exact amount of money he promised to pay. Ryan snatched the money, handed over the car keys, and began walking off. He had no idea where he was going, and he missed the car.

******************

Richard didn't think his grandson wouldn't return home after storming off during his party and this broke his heart. He was worried that the boy wouldn't be able to survive on his own without his support. The next day, he heard his precious grandson had pawned off his car of several thousand dollars for a ridiculous price and had gone to rent an apartment for a week in a small town. A lot of times, he wanted to interfere but constantly reminded himself that everything he was doing was for his good. Once he learned his lessons, he would come back home. Joshua, who is a retired inspector general of the police, promised to send some men to keep a watch over him and only interfere when the matters get out of hand.

For the next week, Richard got steady updates about Ryan, how he tried working as a waiter and a shop assistant but got fired the same day before the day ran out when one of the men sent to keep an eye on him asked the shop owners why he was fired. They both had the same thing to say. The boy was too pompous and believed others were beneath him, he couldn't serve customers properly and acted like he owned the shop. Things went badly for Ryan, but there was a feature that stood out; his stubborn and resilient attitude. That is, no matter how many times he got shunned or fired, he kept trying to get employed. He believed having a good job was the only way he could prove to his grandfather that he didn't need his grandfather to survive.

It was the day the mechanic promised to pay the rest of the money for his car. Ryan was counting the hours before daybreak. When he got his first payment, he had first located a good restaurant, had a decent meal, and went house hunting. He wanted something nice, but everywhere he went, the kind of house he wanted was too expensive and above his budget. If he was going to live off the money he just got, time to save up for at least a week. This was why he resorted to getting a single-room apartment instead, since he was the only one who would be using it anyway. But after paying for everything, he blew the money pretty quickly and was left with a little below a hundred. Ryan was motivated by the fact that he would soon get the rest of his money, so he didn't worry. He sold off his dress and exchanged it for cheaper clothing, then he sold his shoes, anything of value he had left on his person, until there was no difference between him and people living in destitution. Still, Ryan was not worried, he tried getting a job, but everywhere he went, people looked down on him too much, and others were so rude and made fun of him as uneducated. The longest he had endured a waiting job was five hours, and he honestly tried to take everything that didn't agree with him, but it was just too hard. Because he had no money, he was always hungry, and sometimes he would go for hours without food. The owner of his apartment reminded him to move out because she needed the space and the six days he paid for was up. Ryan didn't spare a breath before saying everything he thought was wrong with the house, knowing he would no doubt get some money and find a better place to stay once he returned from the garage. Ryan was in high spirits when he left the house, happy he didn't have to spend another day in the ugly apartment, with the money he was going to get, he would look for a cheaper apartment and get only what was necessary. He believed he had grown a little wiser than before and contemplated asking the mechanic for more money. He happily skidded to the bus stop. Once upon a time, he had looked down on people who took the bus and called them poor. He still looked down on them, just that he was beginning to understand a few things now, he wasn't any different from them. With only the bus fare in his pocket, Ryan began to think of all the things he would get with the money the mechanic would pay him. Nothing prepared him for what he met at the garage. Ryan first checked the signpost again to make sure he was at the right shop. Sure enough, it was the Max's Mechanic Shop. Only, that was the only thing that stood the same. The garage was deserted, there was no sign to indicate that it had been occupied before. The man from before was nowhere to be seen, and the building attached to the garage looked deserted as well. Ryan had gone over to knock, but it was clear no one was in there. He then thought maybe the shopkeeper had gone to town to get something, and so he waited, but the longer he waited, the clearer it became that he wasn't coming. The man had cheated him and absconded. And as if that wasn't enough bad luck for one day, the rain started pelting down. His grandfather had always told him to be wary of people who are way too friendly and that he was a bad judge of character and only today did he understand what those words meant. He never thought anyone would cheat him this way, especially because he was the one who promised to give him the rest of his money today. He had no money left and knew he couldn't possibly go back to the apartment he left after calling the landlady dirty and ugly. There was only one thing left for him to do. Bracing himself, he began walking in the rain back the way he came from. He would remember today, he would remember Max and he would pay him back everything in multiple folds. The only way Max would escape his wrath was to die before he was ready to exert his revenge.