Chapter 9

The nightmare day has finally arrived, so ever since I got up, I've been holding the phone in my trembling hands, hoping that Jackson will call. It's just now passing the thirteenth hour, and I haven't heard from him since morning. With fear, my heart rises to my throat. I sit like on pin, staring at a single point on the wall. I don't know what to do.

My grandmother looks in on me several times to see if I'm okay. I lie to her that today I'm having a worse day and just want to be alone. She is not going to interfere as long as nothing bad is happening and, true to my word, leaves me alone.

- Jackson, what's wrong with you? - I say in a whisper.

After yesterday's meeting, I got the impression that his goodbye was not the same as usual. He didn't walk away from me with a cheerful smile on his face, but a sad face that made me realize that he was in pain, even though he was hiding all that pain inside.

- How can I help you? - I bite my nails with nerves, wondering if I should call him again.

I can't take it anymore. I need to get out in the fresh air, and even if I have to go around the whole city, I'll do it until I find him.

Grandma looks at me uncomprehendingly as I run to the exit door.

- Didn't you want to spend the entire day alone?

- I did, but I will feel better outside. I want to take a walk. I think I'll recover faster then," I make her aware, to which she just shrugs her shoulders.

- That's fine, but if you're not back in two hours, I'll call you. I'm not stupid, I can see that something is wrong.

- In that case, I'm on the phone.

I force a smile and run outside. In front of the fence, I fell straight into the arms of a boy.

- Jackson! - I'm surprised, yet just as happy to see him standing in front of me, all right. - Why aren't you taking calls from me?

- I lost my cell phone, but it doesn't matter. Come. - He grabs my hand, and together we run across the sidewalk to hide in a safe place.

The best refuge seems to be the narrow path that separates the two houses. We run between the hedge, behind which are the villas of the rich.

We stick our backs to the leafy fence. Furthermore, we are in a dead end, so if someone finds us here, I see the chance of any escape as black.

- Did they chase you? - I'm terribly worried about him, even though he's standing next to me all right.

- Yes, although I still have until the seventeenth. They don't believe me and want to speed it up.

- Accelerate what? - I ask with horror in my voice.

- My death. They are sure I won't give them the money if I wait until the very end. But the worst part is that someone has been secretly taking pictures of us, and you are also on their list. I'm sorry," he says in a broken voice, looking at me with a gaze full of suffering. - That's why I came running to get you out of the house.

I brush my hair away from my face, not knowing how I should react. What if they bury me with him in the forest? After all, I am panic-stricken with fear of death. I'm not as brave as he is.

- Will they kill me too if you don't give them the money?

- Don't even think about it. - He puts his hands on my shoulders and looks into my eyes. - I won't let them hurt you. I swear.

- So you will give them the money?

Jackson lowers his head.

- I lied to you. - I furrow my eyebrows, wondering what he's talking about. - I already gave them my brother's debt. I withdrew all the money from the passbook.

- When?

- The day we were supposed to meet at the amusement park. That's when they beat me because they decided that since I had played with them for so long, I now had to pay them back the interest. They gave me until today.

That is, Jackson gave them all the money back.... He did, but now he has a more serious problem because he is penniless and has no money with which to pay them back the interest.

- Why didn't you tell me this earlier? Together, we would have worked something out," I say in an offended voice.

- Excuse me.

- What tempted you to give them the debt, since you were running away from them all along?

- You. - I open my eyes wider. Again, I am surprised by his directness. - That day I realized that I didn't want to die. I realized it thanks to you.

If he had said it earlier, when I wasn't yet in danger, currently I would probably be happy to hear his words. Now I can't even force a smile.

I have to think of something before we both get hurt.

- Since you gave them all the money, now you can't give up so easily. We have to think of something before we fall into their hands.

- I have already considered everything. I have nowhere to get ten grand from.

But I have.

-I will help you. At this point, all I'm thinking about is getting you out of this swamp. - I look into his eyes for a long moment, becoming more and more sure of my words. - Let's go before it's too late.

*

Before I enter the house, I take a deep breath and wave my hand in front of my face to recover from the terrible heat. I look eloquently at Jackson, letting him know that he is to behave in front of my grandmother as he always does.

- Don't let on that we are in danger of something.

He nods his head.

We go inside, and then I force a cheerful smile, informing my grandmother that during my walk I met a friend who made me feel better.

- Jackson, you have to tell me what the secret is. She has been sitting depressed in her room since morning and would not talk to me. - Grandma leads him by the hand to the kitchen. - Or maybe you were the reason for her worries?

The boy begins to improvise. This is what he is best at.

- Last night we had a little argument. I wanted to make her happy, so I gave her her favorite jelly beans, but Alice did something that hurt my heart. She mercilessly threw the package on the ground, claiming that I was acting like a child. I was pained by her behavior, so I shouted in her face that she was horrible if this is how she handles food when other people don't have anything to put in their mouths. She is a master at making the right faces.

I furrow my eyebrows as my grandmother fulminates me with her eyes.

- I'm not at all surprised that Jackson felt offended. I didn't expect such behavior from you, Alice.

- Keep listening to the accusations about me, and meanwhile I'll jump upstairs to pick something up.

I run up the stairs to the second floor, but avoid my room and head deeper into the hallway. I stop in front of the door that leads to the place where my mother keeps all her unnecessary things. When I was a child, I often played here. I liked to hide from her. Once, when she found me here, I got a strip on my ass. I remember that I was then banned from entering this dusty room.

Why did she hit me? Because that day I watched her from hiding when she brought a large black bag. I saw her open it and smile broadly at the sight of the banknotes. I was a child at the time and had no idea why she was storing them there, but when I grew up, I understood that my mother was the devil incarnate, since this money came from unknown sources.

Furthermore, I don't know what she does for a living, aside from the legitimate work she does, but she's a viper, so nothing would surprise me.

Even as a child, I couldn't stand her, so the next day I did something to spite her. I took four files of banknotes out of my bag and hid them in the cushion of an old armchair, promising myself that this was compensation for the suffering she had given me throughout my life. I decided that I would buy toys for myself with all that money.

One bill was enough, and the saleswoman then pressed several dolls into my hands. That's how I saved the money, and I keep it there until now. Maybe not the whole amount, but there is one bundle left, so I can help a boy I care about.

- Since it's dirty money, it will fit perfectly into the hands of usurers.

I put the money in my shorts and cover it with a loose tunic. I run downstairs and stop at the threshold of the kitchen, watching as Jackson continues to charm my grandmother.

She has long since lost her head for him.

- We can go.

The boy looks over his shoulder and crinkles his eyebrows, wondering what I've come up with.

- You've only just arrived. - Grandma looks disappointed.

- I'm sorry, but we decided earlier that since the weather was so beautiful today, why don't we go on a date? - The boy winks at me, making me blush in front of Grandma. - Alice insisted that in this case she must look nice and went home to get her favorite lipstick," he turns to the older woman.

- Yes," I confirm quickly, taking out a pink lipstick from my pocket.

- Bottom line. Enjoy it while you are young. Enjoy yourselves. I'm not stopping you.

If only she knew what a nightmare we are doomed to today.... She would have convinced herself that this is a date from hell.

We leave the house and as I close the door behind me, Jackson looks confused.

- What did you come up with? - I pull a bundle of banknotes out of my shorts, at which he opens his eyes wider. - Where did you get such a sum?

- Don't worry. This is not purely earned money. They do not belong to my family. They will fall perfectly into the paws of these hoodlums. Let's go...

I don't know when the last time I was so brave. Meeting this boy made me realize a lot. It's thanks to him that I'm getting more and more confident with each passing day. I no longer care that my mother abandoned me. Now she can go even to the devil. I don't need her.

*

I hide outside the building, impatiently biting my nails and praying that Jackson will come out of there all right. Twenty minutes have passed since he left me here. I don't know what to think about it. I have no idea how long such meetings last, so I'm worried about him.

What if they don't like something again and hurt him, I think frantically, and then I spot him. He is walking towards me. He is holding his stomach and blood is pouring from his lip.

They beat him up. Another time.

- Jackson!

I run up to him and watch him carefully as he forces a smile.

- You saved me. - He puts his hands to my cheeks. - Not only by your existence did you make me realize that life was still worth living, but you also snatched me from the clutches of death at the last moment.

- Did they give you peace of mind? - My voice is nervous because I want nothing more than for Jackson to start living normally.

- They stated that since I gave them every penny, they no longer had any business with me. They called themselves honest people. What paranoia.

- Honest people? - I wrinkle my eyebrows, thinking this is idiotic. - So why did they beat you up again?

- To say goodbye. The most important thing, however, is that they gave me a break, and thanks to you. - He rests his chin on my shoulder as he leans over and embraces me. - I promise that in time I will give you everything back. Every penny.

- Don't promise. - I smile under my breath. - I saw with my own eyes how long you ran away from usurers to get out of debt. Besides... I don't want this money. They ended up in the hands of the right people, so let's just forget about it, agreed?

The boy nods as he moves away from me.

- You know... we'll have to walk home because their kicks have damaged my body quite a bit.

With one hand, he embraces me, while with the other, he holds on to my sore belly.

- Home? To the hospital, I think. - I snort under my breath as we walk with a slow step.

- We can't... Your grandmother will think I'm some kind of gangster. It's obvious that I will lose in her eyes. Well, unless she is attracted to bad boys.

- If you were a gangster, someone else would need a hospital, not you," I say in an amused voice. - Let's tell her it's because of adoring fans who are jealous of me.

- Miss Johnson, haven't you become overconfident lately?

- With whom you align yourself, that's what you become. - I shrug my shoulders, laughing out loud when I see his surprised face.

I wonder if he is my angel, or am I playing the role? I have no idea, but one thing is certain.... we required each other to help each other and start living again, forgetting the past.