A Love That Sees

Chapter 3: A Love That Meets ✨

FEDERICO-

“Isabella this is the fourth time you are calling me, what’s wrong?”. Federico asked through his phone. He heard the sobs of his sister and he felt more empathic, And worried, Isabella wasn’t such an emotional person, so he wondered why she was teary.

“I can hardly hear you brother, where are ...you?”, she sobbed again, Her sobbing voice was funny but given the situation Federico couldn’t dare a laugh or thus force her wrath on him. Instead, he looked around, He was packed on the side of The road, He was on a manual bicycle that his friend had borrowed to him, It was better than walking, although he missed his bike a lot.

“I am at the road close to Manuel’s shop, I parked close to make your call, what’s going on?”.

“It’s just school funds, I am lacking behind and my part time doesn’t cover much, it’s depressing.” Isabella complained.

“Why didn’t you call me?”. Federico asked frowning.

“Mum said I shouldn’t that she would figure something out, but it has been long and she even said you do not have a job now, so I didn’t know what to do”.

Federico was tongue tied, his mother wasn’t wrong, but no matter how broke he was, he had something saved up for his sister at all times.

“Okay, it’s fine, I’ll send you some money later, stop crying okay?”. He begged.

“Okay Hermano, Thank you”. Isabella thanked before cutting the line.

Federico sighed, He Closed his eyes and Released a breath, It felt like a repeat of all his fears in one, something happening to his sister or him being reminded of why they moved here in the first place.

Federico woke up again after the blaring sound of car horns, he mounted the bicycle again and cycled his way to Manuel’s garage.

Manuel’s Garage was as Federico remembered it to be, the familiar smell of Engine oil, sand, with burnt smoke, was a displeasing mixture that always irritated him. It brought back the memories of when he used to work there, He never liked the state of the Garage, while his friend Manuel, had spent too much money, for the garage to still look like trash and smell like trash apparently.

Spare parts of vehicles laid on each Side of the garage, tires laid stacked at the end of the garage, and he heard the familiar click sounds as he stepped further into the garage, -- The sound of screwing and unscrewing, coming from the mechanics who laid on the floor under some cars. As he walked further into the garage, one of them seemed to notice his arrival, so he brought his head out from under the car and greeted him.

“Morning, Ric”. It was Miguel, his former workmate, who still apparently never smiled.

“Morning, Miguel”. He greeted back, Striding further into the garage with ease.

“He is at the back”, Miguel nudged his head towards the back door at the end, that wasn’t far away. “Your Bike is there too”. Was all Miguel said before going back under the car.

“Thanks Miguel”. Rico said as he took longer Strides towards the back. As he approached the door, Rico, heard the sound of things being thrown, probably a tire, he thought. He walked further in, his eyes meeting his baby first, His 2010 Honda CB Twister in Black, his lips cracked into a smile, as he continued his stare at it, the body of the bike looked as good as new, and he knew with the man standing behind it, it would sound as good as new too.

His friend stood behind the motorcycle with a bright smile on his face, Manuel was tall, really tall, He stood at a surprising 6’2, which always made it hard for him to work as he would constantly bend to reach the cars or bikes. He was lean for his height, not unhealthy lean, just the type of person that wasn’t fat nor slim. Just Okay.

Federico was just as tall as his friend, though he fell short with 2 inches, he had more flesh and was rather more muscular than Manuel. Manuel had long brown hair, something he got from his Latin father, he always tied it however to his back, falling over his shoulders, while he wore a blue face cap turned backwards covering his hair, - his signature style.

His eyes however were as brown as his hair and while his skin was fair, a trait from his German mum, he preferred to wear dark clothes, especially black clothes, like the black t-shirt and pinafore he had on. Federico and Manuel had a history together, one that began years back when he had come to France for the first time, and from then on Federico knew he was someone he could trust and depend on in a time of need.

Manuel’s smile did not falter once as he spotted Federico enter the backyard, walking towards him.

“Rico!!”. He shouted, hugging Federico tightly as he stepped closer to him. – “I thought you weren’t coming no more”. He released him from the hug, going back to the motorcycle. “I was about selling this s**t you know?.

Rico cracks another smile, “You know you can’t do that though?”.

“Yeah man, you’ll probably beat me up”. Manuel says and They both laugh, cracking up. Rico stops laughing first as he reaches for a plastic chair which he seats in slouching down, He drew a long breath. Manuel stops laughing, he picks a chair too and seats close to Federico staring at him, his face straightening almost immediately.

“Quad Factum EST?” (What happened), Manuel asks in his Latin dialect, before switching to English again, “What happened Ric, you sounded urgent on the phone yesterday”.

There is a long pause before Federico talks again. “They came again on Friday,” He shrugged a shoulder “They took everything as usual”. He turned to Manuel, his face neutral, “Do you have a smoke man?, I don’t want to be too serious”. He said faking a laugh, though Manuel did not reciprocate.

“You know you can’t smoke here man”. Manuel looked at Federico whose eyes continued to wander the place. “The job?”. He asked

“Gone’’. Federico replied slumping back on the seat, with his legs outstretched. “Same with My money though”. He released a deep breath.

“That’s f****d up”. Manuel said sharply, “Any plans now?, you know you can always come here to work though”.

“I know man,”, He threw him a smile and fist bumped his shoulders, “Mum got me a job at that mansion, I’m supposed to go today too,” He straightened his back from the chair, getting up, He glanced at the old leather watch wrapped around his wrist, His eyes widened, “Now even”.

Manuel got up with him as they both walked towards the bike. “The mansion?,”. Manuel asked.

“Hmm”. Rico replied as he crouched down to examine the engine of the motorcycle. “There won’t be any problems with it in the future right?”. He asked still looking at it intently.

“Yes Man, it’s as good as new”. Manuel said proudly, with a smile. “Took me a long time, so you’d better be ready to pay a fortune”. Manuel cracked up.

“Fortune, you say,’’ Federico scoffed rolling his eyes, ‘’ I should just pay with my life then, I have no money left”. There’s another silence as they both just stare at the bike.

“What kind of job are you doing there?”. Manuel asked, changing the topic, he picked a rag from the table on his right, he dusts his jean thoroughly before throwing the rag back on the table

“A Gardner”. He drops his hands defeated, “Not the best, but it would do for now”. He cracks a reassuring smile at Manuel.

“It would do, it’s better than nothing, No one can survive without a job in France, you know that”. Manuel speaks up again, placing a pat on his shoulder.

“I do, that’s why I’m heading there now, I can’t miss it, and the pay is good”. Federico picked his helmet up from the hand of his motorcycle and placed it on his head. Clipping it in, he climbs on the bike, pulls out the key and inserts it on the bike before starting it, It starts slow before fully coming to life. Federico pumps the bike a few times before preparing to leave. Manuel picks up a helmet too, he places it on his head and clips it in place. Noticing his movements, Federico questions him.

“You want to ride with me?”.

“I wouldn’t miss the opportunity to see that mansion”. Manuel hops on the bike adjusting himself in .

“Let Us Go then Curious Cat”. Federico says as he drives off, They pass through the garage and into the street, air touches their faces as they speed off. Manuel adjusts again holding the sides of the bike for support. He knew how far the journey to the mansion was, and how important it was to get comfortable.

The Vonn Devv mansion was a popular artefact in France, which was an irony as it was owned by an Italian man Reese Vonn Devv, an Italian businessman and rumoured Mafia don. The man was as feared as the president of France and was swimming in a pool of wealth with three sons and one daughter to his name.

Federico had heard of the Vonn Devv’s long before he moved to France, they were one of the most influential families in Europe and were worth over a Trillion dollars, The head of the family, Reese Vonn Devv was worth at least 700 Billion, but he never actually admits, though his millions of properties and businesses left a lot to question.

The Vonn Devv brothers were just as famous as their father, Francis who was married was the eldest, Elijah and James completed the trio, they operated most of their father’s immense wealth and businesses and were also wealthy as well, the sons had a lot of controversies that kept them in the media’s eyes for long, but Arguably the most popular of the Vonn Devv’s was the only daughter of the Merchant, Adele Vonn Devv.

Federico had heard about her from his mother, Selena, who worked as a cook in the Vonn Devv Mansion. She always complained of how rude she was to everyone, though she pitied her over anything for her lack of eyesight and a mother to take care of her. It was ironic how a powerful man had such a fragile daughter, but that could be the main reason why she was never shown in the media, at least in pictures.

Federico, never thought much about her as he remembered the advice from his mother to stay away from her as much as he can, as she was just as charming as she was dangerous.

Their journey was longer than they expected, as they had been driving for almost two hours, Federico wasn’t so sure his petrol would last him any longer, but his eyes lit up again when they approached the famous Vonn Devv vineyard, a large expanse of land that had crops of many kinds planted on it, it was breath-taking and Federico couldn’t help but be intrigued by the beautiful scenery.

“Wow!!, Tres Bien!”. Manuel exclaimed behind him making him laugh, “So much greenery, I’m impressed”. They both laugh as they continued stealing glances at the Vine. Federico looks forward to see a car coming up ahead, and the gates of the mansion way behind it, He steps on the gas driving on the side of the road closer to the Vine, he sees the car coming ahead and continues driving on the safe part, but like flash, the car hits their motorcycle and before they can comprehend anything their motorcycle is sent flying across the air to ground. Manuel luckily hits the bush, but Federico hits the tarred ground with his head, earning a groan.

Federico has a concussion immediately and for a while as he lays down on the ground trying to get a clear understanding of his present situation.

His head begins bleeding and he isn’t able to move anything or stand for a while as he feels an intense headache in his skull. He wakes up shortly after and picks himself from the floor slowly when he hears an exchange of words between two people.

“Sir, Why would you drive recklessly, My friend is injured badly due to your irresponsible driving”. He heard Manuel argue.

“I’m so sorry, I wasn’t seeing, I called for an ambulance , please bear with me”. A man spoke up, with his low voice that cracked a little, Federico guessed he was in his late fifties.

Federico had managed to get up now, though his head still spun, he managed to take little steps towards the argument going on.

“Who is inside the car, who is the arrogant person inside the car?, Why can’t the person come down and apologize?”. Manuel sounded angry and so did Federico, if there was one thing he hated, it was someone not owning up to their mistakes. So instead of stopping the argument, he walked directly to the car.

He pulled open the back door, and instead of meeting a man, he met a woman, and not just any woman, a beautiful woman. Federico for the first time in a while, felt speechless, he had never seen anyone that Beautiful in his entire life, she felt like a dream. The first thing he noticed were her long red hair, it looked like flames of a fire, though her demeanour did nothing to match her hair, she looked too calm for such a bold colour, her skin was also contrast to her hair, her skin was white like milk, like she had no blood in her, while her lips were full and cherry red in colour, he couldn’t see her eyes clearly as she wore a shade and she turned her face downwards, that annoyed him more that she couldn’t even look up to him, so he pulled her hands yanking her out of the car, beautiful or not she had to pay for the mistakes of her driver, or at least own up to it.

He wasted no time in slamming her to the car, although he felt sorry afterwards with how hard he hit her, he knew she would get a bruise. He could see her eyes clearly now, her shades had fallen, there was nothing to hide anymore. Her eyes where grey almost white, they looked beautiful but empty, it was like they were not there at all, like it was painted on her, though they moved, he noticed she didn’t meet his eyes at all, just staring into a distance.

“Why are you assaulting me?”. An angelic voice spoke up, her voice was soothing like the voice a person who sang hymns in the choir would have, it was very smooth but clear.

“Assault?”, He asked almost cracking up, at how she thought this to be assault. “I just wanted to know why a beautiful woman like you could be this arrogant”. He said rather calmly as he stepped closer to her, he felt her tense up, and just as he was about to say something again, his head began to feel too heavy and without leaving her hand, he fell on her shoulder passing out.