My Perfect Love Story

Chapter 15: Remembrance

The tall skyscraper was watching over everyone in the unknown city. Well, at least it’s unknown to me. Michael had a tight grip on my arm as he dragged me into the building. Bystanders in the building roamed around the area and ignored Michael’s hostile behavior towards me. He continued to drag me down t hallways upon hallways until we reached an elevator.

I wasn’t a huge fan of elevators. The deep inner feeling of falling and not being able to save yourself. I looked at Michael to see the stern expression on his face that won’t look at mine. I looked forward as the elevator began to move again. My heart began racing as my stomach started to feel weird. My anxiety began to rise, I can hear my deep panting. I was sure Michael could hear it too, my temperature also rose and I was terrified. 1,2,3,4,5. 1,2,3,4,5.

The elevator stopped and I sighed in relief. We walked down the long hallway in front of two big doors. I’m not sure what’s inside but I’m certain I won’t enjoy it. The door opened and there was a room filled with men. Very powerful looking men. Terrance was one of them. My breath hitched as I took in the environment. As always, Michael held an emotionless face as the men were looking very cautious in their seats.

There wasn’t anything suspicious about the room, it looked like a conference room. There weren’t any windows or vents, making me wonder if the room is soundproof. The door shut loudly following the sound of the door’s lock. Michael tilted his head in the direction behind and I looked to see a single chair away from the conference table and group of men.

I sat at the table, daring to look at the dominating group of men that sat before me. None of them acknowledged me except for one, Terrance. The smirk on his face made me confused and scared. I hope Michael doesn’t see him looking at me. I look at Michael and notice he is looking at a pile of papers and I sigh in relief. I’d hate for him to hurt Terrance for a look but I know he would. I see Terrance’s smirk get bigger as he licks his lips and sits up. I see his eyes shift to Michael who had his eyes directed to papers.

I don’t know what’s going on in his mind but I hope he doesn’t cause drama for himself. “So Mr.Romero,” s**t! “I see you’ve brought your mistress with you today.” Terrance made sure to look Michael in the eyes when calling me a ‘mistress’. Me? A mistress! Just months ago he’d shown interest in me and now I am a mistress. It’s as if he forgot all about me.

Hope for friendship with him was all gone. Why would I even think we would be friends since he is affiliated with Michael in whatever way. Michael doesn’t even like me looking at men, let alone being friends with one. Michael looked up at Terrance slowly as he took calm breaths. I can see his chest rising and falling as he thinks about his next move.

“Mr. Brown, do you wish to die sooner than your time?” Michael said in a quiet, menacing tone. The tension was thick in the air as all of the men had their heads down, looking at their laps.

“Don’t be so defensive. I’m sure she’s one of many.” Just as Terrance finished his shady comment, Michael chuckled deeply as Terrance managed to keep a sly smirk on his face. One thing I noticed is, Terrance may be the only person that knows how to get under Michael’s skin. 

“Continue to disrespect me and you will meet your father very soon. It seems like you have no respect for your life. Don’t speak on mine and we won’t have a problem.” They stared in each other’s eyes almost like an Alpha challenging an Omega. I think we know who’s playing which role.

“Typical Michael Romero. Always defensive. “ Michael chose to ignore his comments and instead he said to the group of men.

“Does anyone else have a problem with my company in the room?” No one answered. “Am I talking to myself?” After that, many no’s filled the room. All of them were shaky and low.

The rest of the meeting was boring, I wasn’t paying much attention to what was being conversed. All I heard was something about contraband, shipping materials, and drugs. I also heard discussions about rivals, territory, and alliances. I don’t know what he is planning or what he does for a living. However, this conversation pertains to one of the mafia or drug dealers. I've watched a lot of movies so I know the mafia when I hear it.

I watched as the men packed their bags and made their way out of the door quickly. Within seconds the room was cleared. It was only Michael, I, and…..Terrance? Why was he still here? Especially since Michael threatened him heavily during the meeting. It shows how courageous he is to challenge a man like Michael.

“Mariana, hallway.” I wasted no time and left the room swiftly. I closed the door of the room, a bit before seeing the stare down of the two men. I stared at the door, realizing the door was soundproof as I heard no noise from in the room. The halls were clear and I stood nervously. For some reason, the walls felt like they were closing in on me. I got that weird feeling in the pit of my stomach.

1,2,3,4,5. 1,2,3,4,5. The walls were caving in on me, I was suffocating. I held my breath as the hallucination took over my mind. I looked around but all I saw were two walls getting closer and closer. The door opened and my breath hitched as I saw my captor standing in front of me. As I looked up at him, all I saw was his flawless face. I failed to see his bloody s**t or bruised knuckles or the unconscious body on the floor.

As I looked at Michael, my heart began to beat at a steady pace and I was no longer trapped in my mind. “Don’t ever gain too much courage. You will fail miserably.” He said deadly as he stared into my eyes. He walked in front of me after making that statement. I didn’t know whether he wanted me to respond or not so I just whispered,

“Never.” His smirk was subtle but noticeable. I didn’t like that. It made me know he feels accomplished. Accomplished by feeding off of my submission. We walked into the elevator and that deep inner feeling I always get on elevators was absent. I took a deep, content breath on the elevator and I felt eyes watching me. I opened my eyes and saw deep, hazel eyes looking back at me.

“ Don’t forget,” He said before turning away from me.

____

Don’t forget. There’s a lot of things that I fail to forget. I remember every memory, whether good, bad, or traumatizing. My story fragments always roam in my brain amongst other disturbing thoughts of life. It’s the only positive thing that makes me smile. I don’t smile often.

Many of them are fake. As an entrepreneur, you have to be held to a certain standard. As a small business owner, I get to express myself freely. As a person, I am stripped of all emotions. Starting from my teenage years, I was told to stop crying, be obedient, don’t talk back. I left home and moved to Texas, thinking it was going to be different. Yet, I came meeting a reflection of my father. 

I am still told to be obedient, don’t talk back, tears won’t work. There has to be some difference. If not, I have to enact it myself, I refuse to live in submission. I wish to rule my life. I wish to walk on yolks instead of eggshells. I’m tired of being cautious, I want to slip and fall. I want to get up and laugh. I don’t want to continue looking behind me looking for someone who will push me down. 

I remember my mother’s life. I remember my father’s actions. I remember every hit my father gave my mother. I remember every grunt, shout, and cry my mother uttered. I remember every hit my mother took for me. Except for one, the scar on my thigh reminded me of the tragedy that changed my life.

“Don’t disobey me!” He said sternly. 

“Why did you hit mama?” My curious 15-year-old mind said. I wasn’t naive to what was happening, I knew what he was doing was awful, but I was scared he was going to do it to me. 

“Stay in a child’s place.” He scolded me briefly, swaying back and forth. He was clearly tipsy but his words weren’t slurred. 

I was tired of him. I wanted him to feel my mother’s pain, if not a tiny bit of it. I threw my lamp on his head causing him to stumble, almost falling. He turned around and slapped me hard. I fell to the ground with a hard impact, my cheek burned as I recovered from that hit. I was on my knees when he got a weapon to use on me. An electrical cord. I was wearing shorts and I felt every whip on my thighs. My mother walked in the room right on time, my skin needed one more whip to split and I was forever thankful for her that day. 

That day.

I refuse to go through that again. The difference between me as a teenager and me now is, now, I will fight back!

I just have to remember my past and feed off of that. 

Remembrance.

                                                       ~My Perfect Love Story~