Love Written in the Stars

Sitting in the dining room with my head in my hands, I was desperate to be able to find a solution to get myself out of the mess I was in right now. Papers were scattered here and there on the table. They were different bills as well as my payslip. 'How am I going to get out of this?' I wondered.

Leo, my brother who was two years younger than me, had put me in really deep shit. He had always loved playing gambling games, which I didn't approve of course. Yet I wasn't able to top him. This time, he really got me into trouble this time.

My dear brother had decided to bet money he didn't have with people he didn't know. Great!

So there I was, Elea, 20 years old and a waitress, thinking about a way to earn 250, 000 dollars. That was more than I ever thought of in my whole life. How was I supposed to handle this situation? I barely earned 1, 200 per month! I couldn't borrow from the bank because I was blacklisted. As for Leo, he did not even talk about it.

I dropped the paperwork and walked over to the window in the living room. The streets were quiet. The weather was terrible. Big gray clouds hid the sun and rain threatened to pour down anytime. Sighing, I ran my hand through my long brown hair and glanced at my wristwatch. I still had five hours before I went to work. However, I decided to go see my boss in advance to see if I could work overtime. With that in mind, I went to the bathroom to take a shower.

Once dressed up, I walked back to the living room to get my bag and my keys. Then, I left. I went to take the subway to join the bar where I worked. It was barely 8 p.m. and the bar was still empty. The customers weren't coming so early. At around 11 p.m., however, the bar was in full swing most of the time. I decided to arrive earlier so that I could discuss quietly with the boss to take overtime. I'm wasn't naive though. I was fully aware that taking overtime wouldn't be enough to pay my brother's debt, but I had to do something. I was walking to the office of Ed, my boss, when I saw him walk towards me.

"Hey, you are quite early today. You normally start work at midnight, right?"

"Yeah. I wanted to see you first. Could I be working overtime?"

He seemed to think for a while. Then he nodded with a gentle smile.

"Alright, no problem. I suggest you henceforth come every evening at 8 p.m. instead of midnight. Does that work for you?"

"Absolutely! Thanks Ed!"

After signing my contract for overtime, I went to the locker room to change and start my night shift.

The night went off without a hitch. For once, there was no weird dude who hit on me.

I was back home at 7 a.m. and still did not have a solution to my problem. No matter how much I worked overtime, I would never have that amount. 'Damn!' I only saw one option, but a voice inside me kept telling me it was a terrible idea. I decided to call Leo first to know if he had found a solution to his problem.

"Yeah!" His voice was still drowsy.

"It's me. Did you find a solution?"

"Damn, you are annoying! Have you seen what time it is?"

"Yeah, brat! Unlike you, I work! Because of you, I had to work overtime!"

"I didn't ask you for any damn thing!" he spat.

"Are you serious? Should I remind you that you owe a huge amount of money to unsavory people?"

"I know that..." He sighed. "Don't worry I will handle it," he added.

"You will handle the debt on your own? Where the hell are you going to find the money? You're busy sleeping when you should be doing everything you can to make money. Should I remind you that you have until the end of the week to return the damn 250, 000? You are really and idiot!"

"I have already managed to raise 50, 000. I will do my best to find the rest. I already told you this is not your problem. Why do you persist in getting involved?"

"Don't be stupid. You're my brother! You are my only family!" I screamed, losing my temper at his flippant demeanor.

He didn't respond.

I took a few seconds to catch my breath before telling him my idea.

"Now listen, you're going to take me tonight to meet your creditor. I have an idea."

"Elea! Just stop it! There's no way he'll let you in. Even if he does, he won't give you a chance to speak!"

"Let me take care of that. I guarantee you he will listen to me."

"What do you have in mind?"

"You'll see, bro. Well I'll leave you now. Come get me at 10 p.m., I'm not working tonight. In the meantime, I will try to get myself some sleep."

With that, I hung up, not giving him time to answer me. He would have tried to dissuade me. What he didn't understand was that he had no choice. If he didn't pay those bullies, they would kill him. Well, I had to sleep first of all.

By the time I woke up it was around 6 p.m. I paced around the apartment, wondering if I was crazy to go to the demon's lair. 'You don't really have a choice, ' I told myself. The clock struck 8 p.m. I had to eat something but my stomach felt heavy as if it was filled with lead. At 9 p.m., I rushed into the shower. I washed my hair, and waxed my armpits and legs. In short, I just prepared myself as if I was going on a date, even though I was perhaps going straight to death.

After the shower, I got dressed. I chose an electric blue dress that went mid-thigh. I didn't put on a bra since the dress had a low neckline at the back. I dried my hair and curled it. I then applied a light makeup, which accentuating my eyes, highlighting their color. I had emerald green eyes and long brown hair that ran down my back. I was rather pretty and I knew it. Despite this, I was still single. I couldn't say why, maybe I hadn't yet found a man capable of making my heart beat. Whatever, I hoped to find him some day.

Once I had finished my makeup and done my hair, I put on my Louboutin pumps. Those pumps were the only fancy I allowed myself.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Instinctively, I glanced at my watch. It was exactly 10 p.m. For once, Leo was on time. Not wanting to keep him waiting, I answered the intercom to let him know I was coming. I took my purse and joined him downstairs. We then climbed into his car. He was dead silent, looking at nothing else but the road. I knew he was angry, but he didn't have the right to be. All this mess was totally his fault. We drove in silence to the quay and we stopped in front of a nightclub called "48." That was quite a funny name for a club, but whatever.

I was about to open the door and get out of the car when Leo held me back by the arm. I turned to face him and saw his worried face.

"Are you sure you want to do this? Once inside, there would be no coming back," he asked me.

I stared at him, wondering if I was indeed sure of myself. What if I just didn't get involved? Breathing deeply, I nodded. "Yes, I'm sure." He nodded and let go of my arm. We got out of the car and walked steadily towards the club. Two guards stood at the entrance, watching us as we came towards them.

"We're here to see Julian." Leo didn't bother greeting.

"And who are you?" one of the guards asked.

"Leo Vasquez."

"And who is she?" the other guard asked, showing me by his chin.

"She's my sister," Leo answered.

"Okay, wait here. I'll go see if the boss is willing to see you."

One of them went inside the club while the other stayed to keep an eye on us.

A few minutes later, he returned with a man in black. Quite frankly, he was a guy to die for. He was really gorgeous!! At first glance, I would say he was six feet tall. His dark brown hair was short on the side and longer on the top. He had light blue eyes, borderline transparent, as well as the build of a sportsman and square shoulders. Even with his costume, you could tell he had the physique of a Greek god. I literally drooled looking at him.

He must have noticed that I didn't take my eyes off him because when I looked up at his face, I realized that he, too, was looking at me with a smirk. 'Whoops!'

"Leo! I didn't expect you so soon! I hope you have my money. If not, you are really stupid to show up here."

'So this is the man to who Leo owes 250, 000? My god, he seems to be ruthless...'

"Uh no... Hell! I...I..."

Leo was stammering. He was definitely scared to death of what this man might do to him. I decided to intervene. After all, that was what I was there for.

"I have something for you," I blurted out.

The man who should be by inference Julian gave me a sharp look with his deep eyes.

"And you are?" His voice was full of contempt.

"I'm Elea, his sister."

"Oh, I see! So Leo went to whine on his sister's lap," he said hilariously.

"Not at all! But I'll do anything for him. Even wasting my time with an arrogant man like you!" I made my voice sound as firm and fearless as possible.

Julian glared at me. If looks could kill, I would be dead already. Leo shook my arm, probably hoping that I would shut up. Poor fellow. He should have known it was a waste of time.

"So?! Are you going to let us in? Or should I make my proposal here in front of everyone?"

Julian shifted to the side, and waved us in. As I walked past him, he grabbed me by the arm and pulled me towards him.

"I hope you have a great offer. Otherwise you and your brother will be swimming with the fish in the sea. Several people have died just for having talked to me like you just did," he whispered in my ear.

I stared at him without blinking, and yet I wanted to run away. He then scrutinized every inch of my body as if he was assessing me before adding, "Maybe first I'll fuck your little ass. Now, move on!"

I did not wait for him to tell me twice and quickly joined my brother who was a few meters away. I kept wondering if it wasn't the worst mistake of my life to have come here.

We walked along a long dark hallway. The guards inside then took us down a staircase that led to what seemed to me to be a basement. 'My God, that's not a good sign!' Usually, when shady people take you to a basement, it was recommended to run away. You should definitely not follow them.

So we reached the bottom of the stairs, and of course, it was a basement. I shivered but tried to hide it as best I could. Julian was staring at me with his azure eyes with a hint of amusement. He certainly expected me to get scared and run away. 'Never! I'd rather die than put myself down in front of him!' I thought. Well, that was just a way of speaking. Of course I didn't want to die.

The guards took us to a dark room, which smelled musty. There was only one table inside, with chairs all around it.

"Sit down," Julian told us.

Leo and I sat side by side, as far away from this guy as possible.

"Okay, I'm listening! What offer do you have for me?

So there you have it, the fateful moment had come. Mustering my courage, I breathed deeply.

"I am aware of the fact that my brother owes you a very large amount of money. So far, he has managed to raise 50, 000. So here is what I propose; today we give you the 50, 000. Then, you give us a few months in order to pay you back completely. Every week I will personally come to give you the money from my overtime, which should amount to 2, 500 per week. Until the sum is fully repaid, I will give you my overtime as well as my salary every month. That would make 11, 200 per month. Within 18 months, we would have paid you the all the money."

Once I was done, I saw Julian and the others all staring at me with a bewildered look. After a few second, they burst out laughing. I was puzzled.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"Do you think you are dealing with some sort of banking institution or what?" Julian asked, still laughing.

"Sorry, I don't get it!"

"I'll explain you how things are going to happen. Your brother will give me the money he owes me on the date I gave him. Otherwise, he won't live to see another day."

"Damn! Are you crazy? We don't have that amount of money kept somewhere! We will never be able to have it in two days' time! There must be another offer that you would be willing to accept!" I yelled.

Julian looked at me. Well, he was actually assessing me. Leaning forward on the table, his hands joined together, he smiled at me.

"There is indeed something that I could accept," he said finally.

I stared at him in turn and saw a glint of mischief in his eyes. At that moment, I knew his proposal would definitely not please me. Nonetheless, I asked, "What is it?"

"Leo gives me the 50, 000 today and I agree to give him a year to pay me back the rest. But I'll need something in exchange."

"What?"

"You!" he said with a smirk.

"I beg your pardon? I am not sure I heard you well..."

"During the year that I grant to your brother, you will be mine! You will stay by my side to serve as a payment guarantee."

Leo, who had been silent until now, sprang up to his feet upon hearing that.

"Never! My sister will never belong to you! You just have to kill me here and now!" he shouted.

"I could indeed," Julian replied casually. "But even so, I would still need my money. So it will be up to your sister to pay me back."

"That's not what was planned!" Leo yelled.

"No! I'm the one setting the plans, you little piece of shit," Julian spat, grabbing Leo by the collar. "Now listen, never again try to outsmart me! Don't play if you have no money! Talk to me once again like you just did and I fuck your sister right here before I send you swim with the fish. Have I made myself clear?"

Leo nodded. Julian then let go of his collar and returned to his seat at the table. All this time, Julian's men hadn't moved an inch. They were still stationed at all the corners of the room.

"Well then, what have you decided?" Julian asked me.

"I don't think I really have a choice!" I spat.

"We always have a choice, miss."

"Sure! But we will never have that amount in two days. Obviously I don't want to die and I don't want my brother to die either."

"You don't have to do that for me," Leo whispered to me.

"Of course I do! You are my only family, my little brother! It's my responsibility to watch over you!" I whispered in his ear. "So if we have an agreement, you won't harm either of us, right?" I asked Julian.

"If you respect your part of the deal, there will be no problem!"

"Fine! When would I have to go with you?"

"My dear, the deal comes into effect as from tonight. I certainly won't let you take advantage of the night to escape!"

'Tonight? But how am I supposed to do it? I mean, I have a life, an apartment, a job...I just can't leave everything like that!' All these questions ran on a loop in my head. Julian seemed to realize what was bothering me as he answered my concerns.

"My men will go with you to your apartment so that you can take your stuff. Your brother should be able to take care of whatever else is left."

I had absolutely no idea what to say to that. As a matter of fact, there was nothing else to say, so I simply nodded. We all got up and headed to my apartment.

'Damn! I really should have let Leo handle it, instead of wanting to play Wonder Woman. Now I will be at the mercy of this man for a year! Why can't you ever shut up, Elea? Why do you always poke your nose into people's business?'