Keeper

The drive was slow and very uncomfortable as the springs of the seat poked my butt.

My mother’s rickety old car was my companion as I made the lonely drive to a town one hour away from mine.

I dreaded this journey for many reasons- one the quiet drive, two, the fact that I was going to meet my very snobbish, very arrogant aunty.

The instructions were simple – meet her, collect groceries and money then come back but the process was the most agonizing one.

My mother didn’t like putting us through the constant insults and not so subtle brutal statements but she couldn’t help it. Something happened at the company where she worked and she needed to cover for someone. It wasn’t the easiest thing to do but she needed to feed her family at all cost and honestly, I respected her for the things she did.

The weather was on the gloomy side today and the wind was picking up. I just hoped I will reach there before the rain started because this car was not made for harsh weather. I picked up speed and the car protested loudly, as I sped down the lonely road.

I was 30 minutes away when the rain started to fall furiously. The screen wiper was doing a bad job and I couldn’t see the road ahead again. I slowed to a stop having no choice but to sit this one out. I checked my phone and I only got a bar. With barely any network and shitty music coming from the radio I waited.

A sudden knock on the window of the car jolted me form my half sleepy state. I started to panic. The rain didn’t make it easy to see the person that had mystically appeared on a road that didn’t have many road-users.

Another knock pulled me out of my dilemma. I considered calling someone but the network still hadn’t picked up. I wondered if I should just ignore but the incessant knocks made it hard to.

I shakily wound down the glass allowing large drops of rain into the car. I took in a breath at the sight of the man that was staring back at me. Half of his face was covered but his eyes drew me in and I found myself getting lost in them. They were the most mesmerizing pair of green eyes I had ever seen.

The sky rumbled bringing me out of my trance. I was reminded of the rain when large drops started to hit my face.

“who, ar... re you?”

His hands where shaking as he answered and his teeth chattering.

“I just need help out of the rain ma’am”

I became confused not knowing if I should tell him to leave me alone or help him out of the ravaging rain that was already destroying my car seat.

“I… where are you coming from?” I asked glancing around to see if there was a car nearby.

“I was hiking in the mountains the weather report wasn’t so true” he said his teeth chattering loudly.

Like a trigger the rain increased and I quickly stretched to open the door before I hesitated again.

He came in quickly staining the car seat all the more. I ignored it as I stayed alert watching his every move.

He was panting heavily and his raincoat was dripping, water was already pooling on the torn carpets of the car.

I turned on the car heater still keeping my gaze on him as he rubbed his palms together. Dust puffed out of the vents as soon as the heater began to work making me cough a little.

He took deep breaths before he started talk.

“I am so sorry; I know this is highly uncomfortable”

I didn’t try to lie “very”

He looked a little taken aback by my one-worded statement but he quickly masked it with a smile.

Just then, he decided to remove the head-warmer that was already dripping wet. His hair fell down in golden wavy locks on his forehead adding to his surreal appearance. I stared unashamedly at him wondering who the hell he was.

the temperature in the car was suddenly raised, more than the heater can produce when he yanked the scarf covering half of his face away revealing a tight well-chiseled jaw but that was not the main highlight. It was the scar that stretched from the corner of his mouth to the middle of his cheek. Somehow this didn’t subtract from his beauty but added to it in the most mesmerizing way. I didn’t know that some words had left my mouth until he turned to me.

“my hair?” he asked looking genuinely confused.

“what?” I asked confused too.

“you just said something about my hair”

I blinked repeatedly then cleared my throat while adjusting myself on the seat.

“well the color is weird, that’s all. I have never seen that color of dye before”.

He gave me a full-blown smile then. Dimples denting his cheeks leaving me a little flustered.

“its not dye its natural” he said easily.

He reminded me of Gabe in a weird way. His easiness and the dimples were very alike to Gabe’s own. I quickly pushed the thought of Gabe away when my heart did a squeeze and it almost made it difficult to breathe. I wouldn’t think about him not any more than I had done for the past two weeks.

The rain kept pounding as we fell into a tight silence. My eyes were straight ahead but I still managed to monitor him from the corner of my eyes. He sat quietly still rubbing his palms together.

I was still not comfortable. Everything that he had said didn’t make sense. But he hadn’t tried to attack me yet so, that’s a good thing.

First of all, there was no hiking route in the mountains. This place had been restricted after the incidence of some missing kids some few years before I had been born. No one hiked here so, he was definitely lying.

I looked at him again from the corner of my eye still asking the age-old question: who was he?

“I didn’t know scorching heat could turn to freezing rain in minutes”

“welcome to Rin” I said stiffly.

“the hike was my worst in a long time”.

I took in a deep breath as he continued furnishing his lie.

“nothing to find here”.

I fully turned around facing him completely, my eyes narrowed and my mouth pressed in a thin line. Livid that he thought he could fool me and still talk smack about my town.

“who are you really?”

He smiled quickly covering his surprised face.

“no one really, just some random guy hike…”

I didn’t wait for him to finish.

“there is no hiking route up there” I gestured to the mountains surrounding us.

“so, it’s either two things. Either you are lying or you trespassed, and from what I am seeing I’m pretty sure it’s the first” I stated firmly my voice carrying some sort of commanding tone”.

Silence quickly replaced my angry rant and I just faced the front of the car still watching him from the corner of my eyes.

His head was hung low. Hair, covering his eyes his surreal appearance coming in. he appeared to be thinking about the bad thing he just did. good, because he shouldn’t lie to strangers in hope of getting help.

Slowly and steadily he raised up his head. I expected an apology but what I saw both confused and surprised me.

A smile was slowly forming on his lips. His expression looking lethal and I seriously started to wonder why I allowed him to enter my car in the first place.

Fear started to replace my firm and annoyed expression. His eyes were the scariest, they were swimming. Like a vortex I found myself getting sucked into it. I swallowed; my eyes wide as I gripped the steering hard my knuckles turning white.

“I thought you wouldn’t find out; I was waiting until you snap”.

I looked over at him seriously scared of this stranger that was now sitting here. His voice had dropped significantly, a far cry from the warm and friendly tone he used a few moment ago. It was chilling and sensual at the same time. The kind of voice that will make even the strongest of men listen.

“I know that you knew that I was lying, I must hand it to you, you have good self-control. I wouldn’t have waited that long before…” he smiled and without him finishing his sentence I already had a very good guess of what he would do.

“what do you want from me?” I asked finally able to form words.

He turned to me now his expression softening.

“you are scared of me” he asked more of a statement than a question.

“why wouldn’t I be?” I said honestly.

“I came to help you” he said easily.

“why?”

“there is an enemy in your camp, someone who disguises as a friend but actually there to retrieve something from you”. He whispered darkly.

“why are you telling me this” I said my voice laced with desperation.

“because there are bad people in the world doesn’t mean there are no good people”

I turned away from him my face showing pure panic at the words he just uttered.

With a shaky voice I began to talk.

“leave my car”.

“the…”

I stopped him knowing exactly what he wanted to say.

“it has stopped”

He looked outside and surely; the rain were now just drizzles falling delicately on the already wet floor.

He slowly nodded a smile tugging at his lips.

“my name is Alec and I am not the enemy” he said and then he was gone.

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“I have good news”.

We all stood around the worn-out table waiting for my mum to spill the beans as she stood grinning from ear to ear. An automatic smile lit my face matching the one on hers.

“hurry up I need to meet someone” Rita said a little rudely.

My mums smile changed to a scowl pointed in Rita’s direction. Rita immediately composed herself causing my mums smile to return.

“I love you guys from the bottom of my heart” my mum started looking at each us, “and I am ready to do anything to see to it that you guys become something”.

“well” she took in a shaky breath tears glistening on her eyes.

“I didn’t think I was ever going to share this kind of news in my lifetime, because honestly I had given up”

The tears now lined her eyes and they looked like the will spill any moment from now.

She took another shaky breath and with a big smile she spilled it

“I got a raise” she whispered but we heard her loud and clear.

Christy’s hand flew to her mouth. I released a breath I didn’t think I was holding. The rest of them just smiled their eyes wet with unshed tears.

“its actually a double raise, and now I can do all the things I couldn’t do for 15 years” she said fully crying now taking her words one after the other.

We all went in for hugs one after the other and my mum kept whispering, I love you in our ears.

To someone this may seem like something that can happen anytime but to us the Konni’s it meant a better education, better nourishment and most of all a better life.

I watched from the corner of the room as everyone laughed, smiled and cried and I remembered everything. The day he left our lives. The worst day of my life and the day my mum totally gave up on life.

She was really nothing without him. With barely any education and zero literacy it was a miracle that she landed the job as a cleaner in a big company. Of course, she was despised and given minimum salary because of her lack of education.

It may not be something to another person, but this was it for us.

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“you mean she got a raise”

“yeah” I said to George grinning from ear to ear.

“I am so happy for you guys” he said giving me a hug.

“I won’t lie I am happy for us too”.

“you don’t have to go to aunt Brie again”

“yeah” I said grimacing at the thought of what happened the last trip still preferring to keep the details to myself.

“so, after fifteen years they finally thought to give her a raise” George said a little angry the wind blowing his hair in several directions.

“uhh, not really she did say something about some new guy taking over the company and giving each of them raises”

“oh wow” that’s cool

I smiled totally agreeing

“apparently, he felt that the money given to the workers were inhumane and should be a breach to human rights or something like that”

“he said that” George said surprise evident in his tone.

“yep” I said my smile still in place.

“he even gave her an advance”

“to only her or everybody else”

“only her”

“okay that’s weird”

“I know right” I said my smile getting all the larger.

George turned to look at me one of his eyebrows raised

“Tamar?”

“yes” I answered looking a little lost.

“don’t tell me that is what you are thinking”

“thinking what?” I asked still in that dreamy state.

“that maybe her boss is in love with her”

“well uhm... you know” I kept quiet not knowing what to say.

He slapped his forehead with his hand

“oh Tamar, how many times did I tell you to stop reading those types of books”

“what! I just want her to be happy that’s all”.

He smiled “I know”

It was true I wanted my mother to be happy.

We all had our escape route but she never had one. Mine was school, Christy’s was reading, Rita was college, Mira and Evan was work.

If anyone deserved happiness it was going to be her and if getting with someone new then so be it.

AN: hello I know I have been silent but I hope to be more interactive. How are you liking the story, please comment your thoughts on it and spare a minute to vote thank you.