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.