CHAPTER 10

Pablo

-ANTHONY! ANTHONY! Wait, it's not what you think....

He wasn't listening to me anymore. He just started running and leaving.

I began to shake Marita by the shoulders.

-MARITA! Talk to him, tell him that what he thinks is wrong.

She didn't answer me either. She just started crying more and more. It's crazy what's going on here.

Helpless and not knowing what to do, I started to run after Anthony. But I couldn't find his trail. He had already taken off into the darkness of the city.

I stand in the doorway of the big door of the recruits' apartments.

Me (talking to myself): what actually just happened there.... I can't believe it.

A few minutes ago, everything was fine. And in the space of a few seconds everything collapses.

I decide to stay and wait for him to come back. I sit down in the shadow.

I begin by dozing with my head falling and falling again mechanically.

It is one o'clock in the morning when I hear footsteps. I blink and wake up. It's Anthony. He has just come home drunk.

I jump on my feet to meet him.

Me (reaching out to him):... Anthony, I...

Anthony (staggering): No,....ne...don't...touch...me....I....bastard...

I still try to hold him even if it's with difficulty by the shoulders.

Me: Come on, come on buddy.

He falls into unconsciousness. I lift him up as best I can and drag him to his apartment.

I put him on his bed and go out while closing the door behind me.

When I leave his apartment, Marita is in front of his and looks at me.

Me: Why!? Why did you do that?

She remains silent. I approach her and shake her mechanically by the shoulders.

Me: Come on, buddy.

He falls into unconsciousness. I lift him up as best I can and drag him into his apartment.

I put him on his bed and go out while closing the door behind me.

When I leave his apartment, Marita is in front of his and looks at me.

Me: Why!? Why did you do that?

She remains silent. I approach her and shake her mechanically by the shoulders.

Me: Why didn't you explain to him that it was nothing that he thought.

She is still silent and doesn't say a word.

Me: You are repulsive to me, you pest!

It's not my habit to insult women, but I have to admit that she has completely knocked me off my feet.

I'm starting to believe that she had it all planned out.

This insouciance and insensitivity that she displays made me even more angry.

Weary, I head for my apartment.

Once inside, I find the TV still on and the boxes of popcorn on the table and some on the floor.

I take off my sneakers and lie down on my bed hoping to get some sleep.

The next day

Patricia

What the hell! What's all this racket.

I turn on my phone on my bedside table and see that it's just five in the morning.

I have a terrible headache and it's this atrocious music with the volume beyond normal that caused it.

I still have the sleep that doesn't want to let me go.

I get up with difficulty and begin to grope with my hands as if blindly to see where it has left.

I put my feet in my slippers when I get off the bed and wrap myself in my pyjama shirt.

I drag my feet and manage after so much effort to reach the light switch.

Once the light is on, I can see better where I am putting my feet.

I walk out into the hallway and see that only the night lights are on.

Me (speaking alone):...hmmm_COPY What is that infernal music?

I keep searching until I realize it was coming from the living room.

Me: who can listen to this kind of atrocious music?....

I rub my eyes with my hands and I run down the stairs.

Once in the living room,

Me:... Oh yeah...of course...who else could it be?

Felix turns and looks at me while wearing a wide smile.

Felix:... Did I wake you up? Ohh sorry.

Me: well, what difference does it make. The damage is done. It's five in the morning... can you believe it?

Felix: You're such a killjoy!

Me: And can mom stand it?

Felix: Yeah, she had her room soundproofed.

Me: Ah...

How did I not think of that. Obviously, it was Felix who was at the root of this whole disaster.

I think the fact that I haven't lived in that house for over three years has made me completely forget that Felix was there too.

I decide to sit down

Me:... Why do you listen to that kind of eardrum-shredding music?

Felix: ... Well, that's the fashion. And I want to become a rapper too.

I almost burst out laughing.

But I'm not surprised.

Me: Ah, of course. And what does mom think?

Felix: Mom, she won't see anything but fire, anyway.

I look at my brother and wonder what makes him so airheaded. There's nothing wrong with making music, but in general, Felix is not down to earth. He lives in his own bubble. And the fact that mom gives him everything only makes it worse.

Me: I'm going to get some juice. Which one do you want?

Felix: Any one, big sister dear!

I smile at her and go to the kitchen to get some.

A few minutes later, I come back, juice glasses in hand.

I hand it to him and he takes it. He takes out some pills and swallows them quickly.

Me (amazed): wait, what was that?

Felix: Well, you know what it is.

Me: You need to stop with that. You're only twenty years old.

Felix: So what? Stop telling me I'm twenty all the time. Mom agrees, so it's okay.

I sigh at my helplessness.

Me: Did you know that Yolanda overdosed?

I see him tense up. He wasn't expecting this kind of news.

Felix (stammering):... What... how... how?

Me: Yes, and I was the one who found her. It was awful to see her like that, she looked like she was dead.

You are my brother and I love you, I wouldn't want you to suffer the same fate or worse.

He said nothing. He remains silent.

Me: She is currently in the hospital in intensive care. Look at me... Felix, look at me.

He hesitates for a few minutes but complies.

Me: You're young and you have a bright future ahead of you but don't mess it up. Get a grip on yourself. I know you're a good boy.... Since dad died, I don't recognize you anymore. I know you're affected and so am I, but pull yourself together. Do it for Mom, but most of all do it for yourself. Mom wants us to be happy, so she concedes everything and nothing, but please pull yourself together. Make an effort.

He still doesn't say a word. There is silence between us for several minutes.

But I feel that he was touched by my words, that it makes him think.

I know my brother, he's not a bad guy, just that he's grieving in a very bad way.

Dad's death has affected us all. But I'm afraid that he and mom suffered more.

Indeed, dad was the one who brought us all together. He was very funny and personable. He could make you laugh even when you were not in a good mood. But life took him away from us. I don't think he would have wanted to see his son go down so badly.

I decide to go to my room.

I put my hand on his head in an affectionate gesture and go back up to my room.

I'm a little anxious to get back to sleep, but I manage it anyway.

Felix

It's nine o'clock in the morning and I just woke up.

After the discussion with my sister, I thought so much that I fell asleep.

Lying on my bed, my eyes on the ceiling, I am still thinking.

The doorbell rings.

Me : Yes?

-Mr. Felix, lunch is ready. Your mother and sister are waiting for you in the dining room.

Me: Okay, Magalie. Thank you.

I get up and take a quick shower before I go join them. They're going to get mad, but pretty boy has to shower first. Laughter!

I finish getting ready and I go down to join them.

Greetings on greetings in addition to kisses.

We have lunch and talk about things.

My mother and Patricia decide to go to the hospital to check on Yolanda.

It hurts me to know that she is in this condition. She is part of the family. And for as long as I can remember, she has always been a happy girl who brought joy everywhere.

Knowing that she came so close to death makes me realize that life is not ours to live.

I wonder what the cause of his unhappiness really is.

If I take drugs, it is because the absence of my father weighs on me. He was my shield, my idol. I loved him more than anything.

Nobody expected it. Mom spent two months closed in on herself without saying anything.

But she finally pulled herself together because she couldn't let this empire that Dad had created through years of hard work and suffering fall apart.

Of all of us, Patricia had the best experience. This girl has courage beyond words.

Now that I think about it, Yolanda may be suffering from this feeling of not belonging. As an adopted child, no matter what the adoptive parents may do, one must certainly wonder about one's biological parents and why they did not want one.

It is true that Catarina cherishes her daughter because she is the apple of her eye, but Yolanda still has to wonder about her biological parents.

Fortunately, Patricia does not experience the same thing. I may not show it enough, but I love her very much and I wouldn't have wanted to have a sister other than her for anything in the world. She is so mature and personable that her every thought and point of view works on me. Patricia is a real gem.

When you are a restless, curious, stubborn child, sometimes you listen at the door. My parents think they are the only ones who know that Patricia is not their biological child but they are wrong. I am also aware that Patricia is an adopted child.