Chap 5 As he walks down the street, hand pulling his jacket closer together, he spots a hotel. He goes inside and rents a small room for the night. He arrives at the room, key in hand, and opens the door. There sitting in the room, is a small round of a woman looking straight at the man, a satisfied smile plastered across her face. “Well, Jake, have you found the girl? Or have you been too busy counting the stack of bills in your mansion?” Jake sighs, collapsing on the bed. The impact causes the pillows to bounce up and down, then fall back in place. “Look Maria, I’m not in the mood. And no, I haven’t found the girl. Apparently, she isn’t alone. She’s brought a younger one into her mess as well.” Maria leans back in her chair, grinning wider. “Well, double the people, double the fun, double the money.” Maria leans in. “Jake, you do realize that if you don’t get the girl in less than a week, both your money and mansion will be taken away? Don’t you want to ‘stay undercover’ as you’ve said before?” Jake opens his mouth, then clamps it shut. “You don’t know anything about me, Maria.” Maria snickers. “And that’s the part where you’re wrong. I know everything about you, Jake Wilson. I know you visit your dead parents in Eternal Promise Cemetery. I know your sister is in Cleveland Clinic. I know your parents aren’t even your parents. You were set up for adoption when you turned 2.” Jake sucked in a sharp breath. “Fine, so you may know about me. But you still have the audacity to come and show your face after running away from your mother.” Maria's eyes darkened quickly and the grin on her face faded. “I ran away because I had a reason to.” Jake rolls his eyes. “Then why is your presence in my room?” Maria looks around, her eyes darting around every corner of the room. “I need help.” Jake laughs, then abruptly stops. “So, you’re telling me, that after you break into my room, INSULT me, but finally give up, you need help?” Maria sighs. “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.” She laughs. “Now I feel stupid, coming in here, thinking I own the place.” Jake sighs. “I don’t understand. What do you want from me?” Maria looks around, as if to say, Is there anyone overhearing our conversation?. “I’ve gone… bankrupt.” Jake bites his lip to stop his laughing. “Y-you’ve gone bankrupt?” His face goes serious all over again. “You need my help because you’ve gone bankrupt?” Maria nods quietly. The room stays awkwardly silent for a moment, before Jake starts speaking again.
“How in the world am I supposed to help YOU when you’ve gone bankrupt?! And don’t think I forgot that you BROKE into MY apartment, INSULTED me, then beg for my help?! Maria, this is stupid! You’re 26, for God’s sake! Don’t think just because you’re my daughter, you can come anytime you want and force me to help you when you ran out on me when I got sick. Your mother was the only one who helped me when I was going through all that. YOU should’ve been in HER place. Yet you ran away like a coward. I’m truly disappointed in you, Maria. I expected more from the girl that ran away from her future. See how life can repay you? You do one wrong move, and the whole universe turns.” Maria’s eyes are overflowing with tears. “Papi, that’s not true! I was outside playing because Mom told me to go outside so I couldn’t see you. This strange man came to the gate and said he had candy. I was 6 at that time so I was stupid enough to agree that I wanted some. He led me to this strange van which I thought was pretty suspicious looking, but thought nothing of it. He did have candy, and it was pretty good and he treated me awesomely. Most kind man I’ve ever met. He took me to this farm and he told me, ‘The only reason you’re here is because your mom didn’t want you to see your father suffering.’ He hugged me, and then cooked me a meal. I’m pretty sure it was pancakes. After I had eaten, he took me to the farm animals. I saw the cutest cows, sheeps, and all the other animals. There was pounding on the door, a man demanding for me on the other side. The kind man led me behind hay and the last thing I heard was a gunshot. “The police station was nearby, and they heard the gunshot. They took off running. The police caught them. I came out from behind the hay and saw the man lying on the floor, coughing out blood. It was a horrible sight, but I loved him. I yelled for the police to come. I yelled for them to call 9-1-1! But, by the time the ambulance came, it was too late… I had nowhere else to go. So I stayed on the farm. All of the animals died in the 20 years I was there. It was sad, but I did it. I tracked your phone, and found out that you were going to this apartment number. And here I am. So Papa, I didn’t run out on you guys. I was forced to.” Jake wipes his eyes, but sobs. “Oh honey. I didn’t know your mother did that. I would have objected to that decision so many times that she would’ve had no other choice but to give in. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions when I didn’t know the real truth behind the story. And yes honey, I will help you. Now, what is going on that caused you to go bankrupt?” His face slowly starts recovering. His eyebrows slowly burrow. Maria sighs. “I had this boyfriend and he kept asking me for money. He eventually stole the remaining money I had, then went with the girl he was cheating on me with. I called the police and told them what had happened, but the only thing they told me was they couldn’t help me because apparently love life isn’t a crime or cheating. But they told me that they were going to do everything in their power to help get my money back. They found my ex and his girlfriend and I have to go to court tomorrow. And I need to bring either a trusted adult or one of my parents. As you can see, I don’t have any trusted adults, so I decided to go with you.” “Why can’t you go with your mother? She would make an awesome defender or an attorney to help in court. After all, she is a retired judge.” Jake admits. Maria’s eyes go huge. “You didn’t hear the news?” Jake squints his eyes. “Why? To find out a celebrity cheated on their fiance, they’re calling off the wedding, and the other celebrity has their heart broken? I’d rather sit and chill with a newspaper. Old fashioned, yes, but waaaay less dramatic.” Maria drops her head. “No, it’s not that… M-mami…” Jake sighs. “Spill the beans. What did your mother do now?” Maria quietly says, “Mami died in a car accident. Some drunk driver hit her. She was bleeding a lot by the time they found her. She was quickly driven to the hospital, but by the time they got there, she was long gone. She had no pulse. I’m sorry you had to find out this way, Papa.”
