CHAPTER TWO
977 Words
She was patient. An hour. Two hours. Three hours. She waited. Panic slowly creeping in. Where was Manny located at the time? Where the heck was Bob at the time? she started to feel anxious and worried. She had not expected this to be the outcome. She looked forward to this day for a long time. She tried to think positively of her situation.
Walking back and forth through the compact room, she felt her heart beating fast. She was drenched in her own sweat. She picked up her phone again, no messages still. Her heart skipped for a beat, she didn’t know how to be calm or sit still anymore.
What had she gotten herself into? This wasn’t what she had imagined. Why the heck was she in a dimly lit room waiting for a man who had yet to show up? The feeling of rebellion was slowly shedding off, She was scared.
The door suddenly creaked open. Manny peeped inside.
“Lisa, are you alright?" He said, brushing off sweat from his eyebrow as he wiggled his way inside the room.
"Manny, I’ve been waiting forever for Bob” She said, trying to keep her voice under control. She wanted to let out a scream. “Where’s Bob?”
"Bob's... busy,” he said, still staring at her. "How about I keep you?”.
There was something in his voice that made her uncomfortable.
“I don’t want to be here by myself. I want to go home."
Manny stepped in, his eyes piercing. “You made a choice, Lisa. You wanted this."
"I wanted Bob!" she snapped, her frustration boiling over. "Not you."
He chuckled softly, a sound that sent chills down her body. “Calm down, Lisa, you’re overreacting, and that’s only going to make you tense”
He took her by the hands before she could think of a reply. The heat radiating off his body was intoxicating; she didn’t know whether to be scared or excited.
“Let go of me” she protested, even when her voice betrayed her. She meant to say it like she meant it, not like she was begging him? She could swear she saw Manny flash a smile.
Manny leaned in real close, his breath all warm against her. “Lisa, you don’t mean that” he whispered. "I can see it in your eyes."
Her heart was racing as she looked into his eyes, trying to see if he was lying or something. But all she saw was this raw intensity. It was terrifying but intriguing too.
“You're wrong” she whispered.
“You came here for a reason, Lisa. Bob told me everything”.
Suddenly, someone slammed a door at the farther end of the building. Another one creaked open and they could hear steady footsteps approaching.
“Bob?” Lisa called out. She felt a little spark of hope.
Someone stepped into the light and her heart sank when she recognized the figure. It was her dad, Fred, but he looked…different. Haggard almost. Worn out.
“Lisa!” He shouted while looking at Manny. His eyebrows furrowed.
“Dad?” She gasped, like she couldn't believe it.
“What are you doing here?” He said, finally settling his gaze on Lisa.
Seriously! She hadn't seen her dad in like two years. Two years! He'd stopped paying child support the minute she turned eighteen. So what the heck was he doing showing up here? She started to panic a little all over again.
Manny let go of her wrist. He backed away a little as Fred came forward, his face all twisted up with anger and concern.
“Lisa, what are you doing with someone like him?” he barked, pointing right at Manny.
“Excuse you? I haven't seen you in like two years and you just show up here acting like you know what you're doing? And what do you mean by someone like him?”
Fred's face twisted up in frustration. “I should've known he'd find you. You need to leave. Now!”
“What the heck is going on?!” she cried like she was lost.
“I'm only trying to protect you, Lisa. Manny's not who you think he is. He's dangerous.”
Manny smirked, leaning all casual against the wall. "Says the devil himself."
“What do you mean by dangerous?” she asked, her voice trembling.
Fred stepped closer.
“He's involved in things you don't understand Lisa. You need to trust me. We can go home and I can explain everything.”
“She's not a child anymore. She can make her own decisions.” Manny retorted.
“I can decide for myself” she shouted, surprised even by herself. “I'm not going back to that life. I want something more”
Fred’s face changed. He went from angry to desperate. “You don't know what you're asking for. This isn't some game Lisa. You need a better life, fine! But not here Lisa, certainly not with him”
Lisa looked sharply towards Manny, who was still casually leaning on the wall, with a boyish smile. It made her hate him at that instant.
“You want to feel alive, don't you, Lisa? You want to breath, to take care of your mom, to be your own boss. Lisa, you should know better, you didn’t go through all that stress of coming here just to turn back because of a deadbeat dad!”
Fred attempted to charge towards Manny, and just as quickly, Lisa found herself standing between them.
Her heart was pounding as she looked back and forth between them.
"Choose, Lisa" Manny said.
She stood there, caught in the middle of all this, and she realized that this moment was it. This was going to decide everything.
- Writer
