The beautiful lover of the Gangster.

(2) ​ August's traumas

The day had been quite hard. I wanted to return home and feel safe, since I knew in advance that someone was waiting for me at home. When I opened the door, I was expecting my fiancé's hug, but what I found was a man with brown hair playing with his PlayStation.

–Honey, I'm here. –But the only one who receives me is my dog Spider, wagging his tail with happiness at seeing me. Well, at least someone looks happy.

-Hello darling. –My fiancé Mike says from the couch, while he has a bowl of potatoes on his stomach.

–Today was not the nicest day. –I commented to him as I walked to the kitchen, to start dinner, even though I had told him to make it, but I knew he was so distracted that he wasn't going to do it.

–Tell me, what happened darling? –He asks me to tell him what was happening to me, while he continues focusing on his game. So I began to tell him everything, from August's arrival to the moment his father saved me from Mr. Willis. I was truly grateful for what Leonardo had done for me. With tears in my eyes, I looked to my fiancé for encouragement, but his game was more important. He screamed and quickly got up from the chair when he scored a goal in the game.

I left dinner half-cooked. I couldn't stand Mike's indifference.

Mike is a rising basketball player and the only thing that matters to him has always been his career. I had committed to him after two years of relationship, where I always gave everything, and he always gave me half moments, half love, half space, becoming another student that I must take care of. I thought that since we were engaged he was going to put more effort into this relationship, but it seems we are moving further apart. Did I want to be married to someone who is incapable of loving me back?

That night I went to sleep early. I didn't want to talk to Mike, even though I knew the man would go to sleep late because he was playing video games.

In the morning, I woke up because the sun's rays dazzled me and knew even though it is the weekend, I knew that I had to get up early, since I had agreed to go to Leonardo Walles's house to teach little August.

I wore a nice thin white dress since it was something that distinguished me as a person, a happy dress. I tried not to dress up so much since I didn't want to seem interested in Leonardo, since I was engaged and even if Mike didn't put his one hundred percent into the relationship, I would.

Leonardo sent me the location of his house by message. I hadn't given him my number, but I assumed that the director had given it to him. I took the subway to get to the residential area where Leonardo lived. Everything was different compared to the Chinatown where I lived. Dyker Heights is a residential neighborhood located in the southwest corner of the borough of Brooklyn. I stopped at a huge brown house with beautiful windows. The architecture of the house was crazy. Just by looking at it, you could tell that it cost millions of dollars, while the neighborhood was quite beautiful and quiet. There were no shouts of people selling things, like in my neighborhood. I slowly climbed the steps of the house, timidly ringing the doorbell.

-Who is it? –They asked me my name while I looked at the camera. It seemed to be the voice of an old woman.

–Good morning, I'm Eliana, August's teacher. –The woman who had answered me at the beginning did not answer me back, which caused me some insecurity, since perhaps there was a great possibility that I had gone to the wrong house, but suddenly the door to the mansion opened, revealing me to understand what would happen.

Upon entering the house, I found a beautiful garden with green grass. They had barely watered it, so I could feel the drops of water falling on my feet. And even though it was cold, I couldn't help but smile like a fool, seeing the paradise at home while they had a pool with water so blue that it made me want to get in, and even more so when I saw that the pool had hot water, looking at the steam that I carved so much. I supposed that for a moment I was disconnected from this world, looking at the beauty of the place, so much so that I didn't realize that Leonardo was watching me very carefully.

–You look so beautiful today. –Suddenly I see Leonardo walking towards me, while he is wearing fitted white pants and slippers of the same color. He wore a light brown striped sweater, which outlined his broad back well, while his black hair was disheveled and somewhat wavy. He looked like a fallen angel, looking less elegant than yesterday, but even he knew that he could put a bag of potatoes on top of him, and it would make a high-fashioned item of clothing. His immediate comment made me blush as he leaned against a white fence.

–I told you that you look beautiful. –He repeated it to me even though I had heard it clearly, but I wanted to let his comment pass.

In reality, he was a handsome man with a smile that could kill you. The only thing I could do was smile while the light of the little sun was there covering me. I covered my eyes from the sun, to walk towards where the young man was. When I was in front of him, I offered my hand to greet him, but the bold man only took my arm to bring me closer to him, kissing my cheek and then hugging me.

–Why so serious? –He asks me playfully.

I didn't say anything, I just smiled like a fool. It was the first time that someone left me without speaking. It was as if his mere presence impressed me, but it didn't make me feel bad, rather, I felt eager and nervous at the same time.

–I invite you to my studio.

He tells me, taking my arm while he takes me to his studio. On the way there, I realized that the house's floors were made of black marble, making the place look spacious. The house was minimalist, making the spaces look larger, although it had two or three paintings on the wall. Upon entering his studio, I could see that it was made entirely of wood that smelled quite good, even though the place was somewhat noisy. The young man radiantly tells me to sit in a chair in front of his desk. I take a seat while I can't stop looking at all the books he has, giving the place a touch opposite to what it was outside the study.

–It seems you like reading a lot. –I told him while he couldn't stop smiling, it seemed that looking at me happy was something he liked.

–If you want to have good company and keep it at the top, you must study every time you can. –His intelligence was really attractive.

–What do I know about that? I'm just a teacher. –I laughed embarrassed.

–Your work as a teacher is really important, I don't think anyone can have contact with children. –He stopped smiling, it was as if my comment had bothered him. –Just like dealing with idiots, it shouldn't be easy. –I looked at him immediately, since he seemed to care about what had happened yesterday. –Actually, I want to tell you that you handled things very well, as a lady would have done. –His comment about me immediately made my cheeks blush, it was like it was his superpower. –I thought about that all day.

–Why did you do it? -I asked for. –As you say, you have an important job to be thinking about something as banal as what happened to me.

He didn't find it funny, it seemed that the smile that he used to wear as a shield had collapsed, while he looked curiously at my neck, but I managed to cover it with my white scarf.

–I thought a lot because maybe I should have killed him. –My blood turned cold when I heard that comment. –Maybe I regret having calmed down as soon as you stopped me, and being able to continue with the blows. People like him shouldn't have privileges.

–Don't worry, I've put up with it for a long time, that yesterday was nothing. –I think my words didn't make him feel better. I can even see how his eyes became dismayed.

–Tell me, since when has he been harassing you? – He puts both arms on his desk, while he leans towards me. I could see fury running through his warm eyes, it was as if suddenly that playful man was gone.

–We didn't come to talk about me, right? –I ended up telling him, finally, making him understand that he didn't want to talk about it. Leonardo just let himself fall into his chair, rolling his eyes, and then passed his tongue through his mouth. I think I made him angry.

-You are right. –He sits up again, looking at me carefully.

I nodded, taking out a notebook and a pen, since all the children I work with in regularization had to go through a follow-up of their context.

-Could you tell me a little more about August? -I asked him, interested.

–August has always been introverted, but I think it was my fault. –I was curious, since Leonardo was very open about everything that was going through his mind. –I had to work a lot when he was little, so he was always in the hands of other people.

I just wrote it down in my notebook while the man expressed himself.

-And his mother? –I was really interested to know if there was a Mrs. Wales.

-She left me. –I stared at him since I didn't understand why a woman would abandon two people as beautiful as August and Leonardo. –I also think that my son is like this because of his mother.

–What do you mean? –I questioned him worried.

–His mother did not want to be a mother, so I had to force her not to abort, so my son experienced anguish inside his mother's womb. He sighs heavily. – She wanted to have an abortion all the time, she even had a traffic accident on purpose once. –I find him once again sighing heavily, overwhelmed by the little one's past.

-What? -I told them it was scary without being able to believe it.

–Yes, she was that bad. –He touched his hair to comb it back. –I thought that she was just a streak and that when she had him in her hands, she would love him and see that life is worth it. –He leaves a silence between his words, to look melancholy at the ground. –But that never happened.

–What happened to you to say enough? –He smiles melancholy, seeing my interest.

–I had an important meeting, and my work has always been like that, but I have managed to have a balance in my life, but that time I had to leave it with her, since my babysitters did not come to work that day. –I see how his gaze goes lost, while he explains to me. –When I returned home, I found a nightmare. She left my child in the crib crying for hours. He looked so helpless, covered in dirt, while he looked like he had been in bed since I left.

My back felt like a bucket of cold water fell, I was breathless for a few seconds, since even though I cared for children daily, what tormented me was their abuse of them. I couldn't stand it; it hurt and affected me like nothing else in this world. My tears suddenly fell on the notebook where I was writing, realizing that I was feeling this man's pity.

–I swore to myself that I would raise my child alone. I don't care if I have to take him to the end of the world to keep him safe.

I wiped my tears, and although he saw them, he didn't ask me about them.

–Can you tell me if his wife was sick?

– She was not my wife. –He denied it immediately. –She has schizophrenia. In fact, at this moment, she is in a psychiatric hospital in Ireland. –I had to put the parents' illnesses first, since there are many things that children can inherit from their parents.

–Do you have any illness? –I asked while I was very focused on my work.

–I'm shameless, does that count? –His comment revived the atmosphere a little, it was as if we needed that little joke to not feel so uncomfortable. I laughed a little. –No, not really, I also love working, but I think it doesn't count as an illness.

-No sir. –I shook my head while once again showing a smile.

–Do I look that old? –I immediately realized what I had just done.

-No. –I shook my head and hands. –It's just that I always talk to parents that way, excuse me.

–Once again with formalities. –Crosses his arms while he looks at me nervously. -How old are you? –He asks me curiously.

-26 years old. –I am younger than him.

–Don't call me sir, okay? –Raises one of her eyebrows.

-Yeah. –I nodded nervously.

Suddenly, I looked at him, realizing that my innocence amused him, it caught his attention and he licked his lips when he saw me turn red. It was like he loved to see me blush.

–I will call you Eli from now on. –I nodded my head, even without knowing what to say. –Tell me, Leo.

–I think I should call you by your last name. I think it would make me very uncomfortable to disrespect you, since I am your son's teacher.

-And? –He looks at me without understanding my point. I just wanted to be professional. –You will say to me Leo, from now on, otherwise, I will have to fire you. –It seemed to be an order.

-Alright. –I needed the job since even though my fiancé is at home waiting to be called for a game, I am still saving for the wedding. –Leo.

The man gets his way, so he smiles widely. The moment became less awkward when I saw an elderly woman enter the room, carrying a cart with snacks. It all seemed very British, as no one normally drinks tea in the afternoons, let alone eats fancy snacks.

–I am here, kids. –The older lady with white hair tells us, walking towards us. -Do you like tea? –She asks me.

-Yeah. –I accepted since I liked the aroma of tea.

–This is Mrs. Mary, she is more British than anyone in this house.

I laughed happily, since her uniform was quite peculiar, as he said, quite British and elegant.

–And this child wants to get rid of the British thing, living in America. –The woman serves Leonardo a cup of tea, even though he politely refuses. –But if he lives with me, he will always be British.

Leonardo only mocks what the woman says, taking his tea without saying more.

–How long have you been working with Leo? –I asked the interested woman.

-Oh, wow! –Says the woman trying to remember. –Since he is August's age. –Which surprised me, meant that Leonardo came from a cradle of gold.

–She is like my mother.

I did not hesitate to point out Mrs. Mary in August's file since I could see that she was like the little boy's grandmother. I immediately assumed that he spent more time with Mary than anyone else. After tea, I went up to the little one's room, along with Mary, while Leonardo took an important call, which made us all leave the room. It seemed to be something quite serious.

–The reason why August is very distrustful is that his mother abandoned him. –Old Mary confesses to me as if it were a secret. I think that has become clear to me; I could even say that it was a new trauma for me.

–The last event with his mother was a few months ago. –I was perplexed, listening to what the woman was saying. –Leo had the idea of taking the little one to the medical center to celebrate Cece's birthday. –I guess that was his mother's name. –Cece looked good, so Leo wanted to leave the little one to her, but what she did was outrageous.

Of course, the woman had me hanging by a thread. What had happened?

–Cece tried to choke him. If my Leo did not reach the place on time, he would have killed him. That is why August always looks twice, even when walking, he always hesitates, and it is terrible to see a child so worried about everything. He is afraid to even of his own shadow and that worries me. –Mary seemed dismayed by the little boy.

And I was too.