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Chapter 3

  • "Are you just going to let them get away with this?" Lisa's nose flared, as she spoke to her mother, once they were in a cab.
  • She watched as her mother flung her face to the other side, her head resting on the taxi's window.
  • She had not uttered a word since they left the mansion. Her head hung low.
  • "Seriously, mom!"
  • Lisa called, stunned at her mom's behaviour.
  • "Mom!" She called again when she got no reply from her.
  • Lisa, irritated, charged her mom into facing her.
  • Then, she noticed it.
  • streams of tears on her mother's face. One after the other, they dropped onto her lap.
  • Then, quiet sobs escaped her lips, before they turned wild.
  • At that moment, Lisa felt bad, and guilt settled in her stomach.
  • How could she have questioned a woman who had just lost everything in a day?
  • Her eyes stung, and she could already feel a tear racing down her left cheek.
  • "I am sorry." She choked as she apologised. Her voice was barely audible due to how hard she was struggling to keep herself from crying out.
  • She heard the faint sniffling coming from her mom.
  • " It's okay, honey. It is not your fault I am like this? Please, stop crying, or you are going to make me sad further."
  • Lisa's body trembled, as she cried harder and harder, unable to stop her tears.
  • "You are making me awful, Lisa." Mary choked out, her face covered in tears and snot.
  • "I'm sorry, but I can't stop it." Lisa cried out, hugging her mom as tight as she could.
  • "It's not your fault, baby. It isn't. There are explanations for my tears, and they were not incited by you. " Her mother cupped her face with her hands, wiping away her (Lisa's ) tears.
  • "But I made you cry, not even thinking about what you were suffering. I was so mad and selfish that I failed to see how I hurt you. "
  • Lisa's face was red; her eyes, swollen and puffy.
  • Mary placed gentle kisses on her daughter's eyelids. She watched her daughter affectionately, her eyes full of love.
  • "You can never hurt me, Lisa, and you know why?" She asked, lingering briefly.
  • She never waited to get a reply from Lisa, before she replied.
  • "That is because you are my world, and I would give my everything to please you." She said, looking at Lisa fondly.
  • She placed her head gently on Lisa's and connected their foreheads.
  • She gazed into her daughter's eyes, and Lisa felt all the love her mother had for her.
  • More sobs escaped from her lips, and for once, she cried out of happiness.
  • "I love you, mom. I love you so much. "
  • Lisa cried as she pulled her mom into a bone-crushing hug.
  • "I love you too, honey, and never forget that. I will always be here for you, no matter what." She promised.
  • ***Flashback concludes
  • That day, after the whole episode that went on in the cab, they found a place to stay, using the extra money her mother had always saved.
  • The rest of her cards had been blocked, leaving them with only a handful of cash.
  • When her mother fell ill, they had to give up that money, which was barely enough for them.
  • Due to that, they had to find the cheapest apartment in New York, which is why they ended up in this dump of a flat.
  • She had to do multiple jobs, just to ensure food was on the list.
  • The blasting of her ringtone brought her back to reality.
  • She blinked multiple times, as drops of tears fell on the floor.
  • She brought out her phone, which was in her pants, and she stared at her phone's screen before she answered.
  • "Hey, Chloe!" It was her friend calling from the cafe.
  • "Where are you, Lisa?" Chloe screamed over the phone. "I have been trying to reach you."
  • "I am sorry, I kept my phone in the kitchen." She said, wiping stray tears from her face using the back of her palm.
  • "Oh please, Lisa. We both know how small your apartment is. You could have heard your phone ringing in the bathroom, so don't give me that shit of a bull story. "
  • Lisa imagined her rolling her eyes at her. She knew Chloe only said it for her well-being, and not out of mockery. Yet it still stings to portray her apartment as small.
  • All her life, she had been brought up with influence and wealth.
  • She had been surrounded by people, who had always boasted about how big their houses were.
  • "Then I have no explanation to give you, Chloe." She tried to sound cheerful, but she knew she failed when Chole asked.
  • "Were you crying, Lisa?" Chloe sounds astonished.
  • "N–no?" She answered unsurely, as her thoughts ran a thousand miles a second.
  • "No?!" Chloe roared. "What happened?" She barked.
  • "I... it's nothing, you don't need to worry about it."
  • "Cut the shit out, Lisa." Chloe was livid. "You can't lie to me, and you can't say it's nothing when it does make you fuss."
  • Lisa stared blankly at the wall. Her expression was grave, her face red with how much she held her tears in.
  • "You know what?" Chole spoke when she heard nothing from Lisa, exhaling from her mouth, to dampen her anger.
  • "We can not discuss this, while on the phone. Get over here, so we can discuss it personally. I called to tell you that Mr Marcus was in, I would do my best to stall him. Simply hurry up."
  • Lisa held a faint smile. "I will."
  • "You better." Chole's stern voice rang through.
  • Lisa ended the call, before walking over to the sink to wash her face.
  • She didn't want anyone else to find out that she had been sobbing. Especially not her mother, since she was to visit her today.
  • She snatched her coat from the racket and took out her keys from her purse, and locked the door.
  • She walked down the creaky stairs, as fast as she could, running once she was out, to hail a cab.
  • "Martinez diner," she told the cab driver once she was in.
  • He nodded without a response and drove off.
  • Without even asking, the cab driver brought her to her workplace, rather quickly.
  • "Here." She handed him a handful of bills and rushed out, heading towards the restaurant.
  • She went in through the back entrance meant only for staff.
  • Once she ran in, she spotted Chloe, who was standing in a corner, with a scowl on her face.
  • "I am here," Lisa said, holding her knees, and breathing through her lips.
  • "You are late." Chloe deadpanned.
  • "I made it, didn't I? It's all that matters. " Lisa retorted.
  • "Not quite." A voice interjected, and it brought chills down her spine.
  • The scowl on Chloe's face deepened.
  • "M—Mr. Martinez." Lisa stammered as she stared wide-eyed at the old, potbellied man, as he walked toward them.
  • Something in her gut told her to run, as what would happen next, would not end well.