A Love Written in Secret

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.