I stood there next to my front door, with the color drained from my face as I tried to believe that Rafael was actually here in front of me. I had met him in high school, when we were both sixteen years old. Rafael and I loved money, and we had big dreams of being rich one day, so we were always trying to find things that we thought would get us rich quick. The money never lasted long, though, since our appetite for spending was equally as large as our love of having money. I guess we were much too addicted to the thrill of expensive things. When my mom found out what I was doing, she tried to get me to stop seeing Rafael because he was a bad influence on me, but I refused to listen to her. Eventually I just started staying with Rafael more and more since his parents didn't really care about what he did with his life. His mother was a drug addict who mostly slept all day, and his dad worked a minimum wage job just to keep shelter over their heads. Rafael and I quickly got involved in petty theft that started with food since there wasn't much of it at his house.
"Hello, Natalia. It's been a long time."
"Umm, yeah, two years. I thought you were..."
"Dead? Nah, it takes a lot more than a little explosion to kill this guy."
"Are you... here to fill a contract?"
"Why? Did you get in some sort of trouble that you need to be taken out?"
"I kind of botched a job tonight. I had to run a long way before finding a bus stop. I haven't even reported to Boss yet. He probably thinks I got myself killed."
"Yikes."
I maneuvered myself towards the counter, keeping myself somewhat far away from Rafael. It wasn't that I was scared of him, but I did continue to be very much in shock at the fact that he was still alive. The day I lost him had been terrifying. I was eighteen. Rafael and I were on a job together, and we got separated when the client staged an ambush. We had been on our way out of the building when an explosion happened, but once my vision cleared and my hearing halfway came back, I realized Rafael was nowhere near me. I had just assumed he never made it out of the building. A few days later, Boss got a tape of Rafael tied to a chair and this ambiguous message saying that he was being held for ransom. Boss wasn't going to be intimidated however, and he planned out a rescue, but Rafael's body was never found. We just all resigned ourselves to the fact that Rafael had been burned or something, so that there'd be no evidence he ever existed.
"Rafael, how is it that you're here? The last we'd heard of you, you were tied to a chair being tortured, and we never gave your ransom."
"Oh yeah... that. Well, they did, try to kill me, that is. I think it was pure luck that I got away, to be honest. Another rival group just happened to attack the people who were holding me, and they wanted to use me for their own purposes. They assumed I was an innocent civilian, and I didn't correct them."
"Why didn't you come back? Or tell us you were alive at least? Working for a rival group? Rafael, what the fuck."
"No, it's not like that, this group wasn't a rival to ours. They're not even in the same town. When those assholes made that video they sent to you and Boss, they purposely taped it in a different location to throw you off. That's why when you went to rescue me, you couldn't find me."
"How did they expect us to give your ransom then... if they transported you and didn't tell us where you were?"
"They never intended to fulfill their end of the bargain. The plan all along was to kill me. They wanted to give you guys false hope."
What Rafael said did make sense, even though I didn't know if I could trust him completely. He had always been manipulative, but then again, so was I. You really need that as a quality to work well in this business. Rafael didn't seem to be lying to me or hiding anything, and he had answered all my questions point blank. I decided to accept the information, but at the same time, I wanted to keep my guard up. I had loved him, or so I thought, I had been sixteen, so I'm not sure if it was just infatuation at the time, or if it was really love. After the initial fear that he might have been here to off me for my fuck up had passed, I did look at him and realize I still found him attractive. I really liked his long hair and the way his brown eyes sparkled against his tanned skin.
"So why did it take you till now to show up?"
"I was under contract, Natalia, I had to work for the people who rescued me... for two years. If I didn't agree, they'd kill me. They had no reason to rescue me, and I was of no use to them if I refused to work for them, you know?"
"That does make sense..."
"Look, I know you're reluctant, and that's okay. When I got back into town, I had nowhere to go. You were the only person I remembered in this town whom I guessed would still gave a shit about me. I don't even know what Boss will say if he knows I'm not dead."
"How did you know I lived here?"
Rafael looked embarrassed for a few seconds as he squinted his eyes and rubbed his neck.
"Uhh, I have been back for a few days, and I followed you home from work one day. I also wanted to see if you'd been seeing anyone."
"You have been stalking me? Rafael, that's creepy."
"Well, yeah, but I didn't want to show myself to you if you had already moved on with your life. I know I pulled you into this lifestyle, and if you had cleaned up, I didn't want to intrude on that. I want you to be happy, Natalia."
Hearing Rafael explain his creepy behavior in such a sweet way made me remember how I had felt when I first fell for his charms. I went over to him and gave him a hug. He was warm, which felt good against my cold dampened skin, and he hugged me back gently.
"I'm glad you're back, Rafael, I was devastated when I lost you."
"So you missed me too?"
"Yeah. It's not your fault shit went down the way it did. That's just the life of a criminal. I'm glad you're alive, and thank you for coming to see me."
As much as I enjoyed being in Rafael's arms again, I knew that he couldn't stay in my apartment. I believed that he really was here because he still had feelings for me, but two years was a long time to be away from someone. I felt like I needed to get to know him all over again, not to mention Boss didn't like secrets being kept from him. If he even suspected that I knew where Rafael was, but didn't tell him? There'd be hell to pay. Rafael and I had been two of the most daring ones in Boss' crime ring, and he liked how we worked together. We got shit done most of the time, and we got it done well. Most of the other people in our group have been arrested a few times, but Rafael and I have never been caught by the authorities. Boss considers us great assets because of that. I pulled away from Rafael as much as I didn't want to, so that I could tell him he needed to go.
"I think you should stay somewhere else tonight."
"Oh, all right. I'll get a motel room."
"Are you mad at me that I don't want you to stay?"
"No, I understand. It's been two years, and I just dropped into your life. I can't expect things to be just as they were before. I am giving you my phone number, however."
"Thank you, Rafael. See you later."
Rafael took my phone and plugged his number into it, then smiled as he gave it back to me and walked out the door. I leaned against the door, locking it behind me. Then, I went around my apartment to check for bugs, in case Rafael had planted any. Call me paranoid, but I didn't really want to fuck up any more than I already had. Finding nothing, I smiled to myself that all the evidence pointed to Rafael really coming to pay me a visit out of the goodness of his heart. It was now time for that long overdue shower.
Her parents didn't trust him and he seemed to get her into her current line of work. Now for two years he has been working for some rival group and he just drops in out of nowhere. For some reason I am not trusting his story at all. I think she needs to be careful with dealing with him.
ReplyDeleteYeah, her mother didn't trust Rafael because he was a bad influence on Natalia. She wasn't necessarily a juvenile delinquent before she met him, although she was rebellious, so her mother was not appreciative of that fact. Rafael and Natalia's path of delinquency caught the attention of Boss, who wanted some dedicated workers, and he thought they would be perfect, so they got recruited. Natalia does like her job now, and it's possible she might have found her way to it eventually, but Rafael did jump start the whole thing. His story does make sense, halfway, because the criminal world is so ambiguous, and people do tend to disappear at times for reasons beyond their control. Natalia doesn't trust him completely about his story, but she is glad to have her friend back in her life. She's confident he won't hurt her, but she will probably keep details of her jobs confidential from him, or just not talk about work with him because she doesn't know if he has an ulterior motive. She's smart though, so she'll be careful.
DeleteThank you for reading and sharing your thoughts! :)
Well, not sure how to feel about all of that. His answers made sense, but in 2 years he couldn't make a phone call, a text, something? I get he 'had' to work for those people, but something feels off. She botched a job and now he comes back the same day. Might be more than just coincidence going on here.
ReplyDeleteI also wonder how he got into her apartment. She was talking about having to punch in codes and such yet there he was, in the flesh, in her kitchen. Yeah something doesn't add up at all!
Yeah, Natalia's not sure how she feels either. She's pretty torn right now because he's her friend from before, the person she used to spend a lot of time with, and also the romance part. At the same time, her instincts are saying she needs to not just fall back into place with him. In two years, he was stuck working for those assholes, and if he had tried to make a phone call or a text, it would be easy for those people to track his old boss, and Natalia. He severed contact to keep them safe. Ehh, could be, but we'll find out later. Truthfully, I'm writing this by the seat of my pants, which is how I write most things. I don't have all the tiny details worked out in a formal outline, so my thoughts are changing and new ones are forming as the days go on. When I wrote this, and had him be there the same night she screwed up, it really was just coincidence that it was the same day. I needed something else to happen on this night, other than her just coming home and going to bed. I thought having another character would help with that, plus add suspense.
DeleteWell, to answer that... Rafael used his skills. He's a criminal, as we know, and he's got a keen sense of observation. How he got into the front door of the lobby was easy, he waited for someone who lived there to use their key, and then just pretended like he lived in the building too, confidently walked into the lobby. Then the person punched in their code for the elevator, and he got on. To get into her apartment, he picked the lock. XD Sneaky bastard. ROFL. Yes the building has security, but all it takes is for someone to act like they live there, to be able to get in. That other resident wasn't even thinking about "what if this guy doesn't live here?" LOL. Also, not everyone knows their neighbors, so yeah. XD
Hmmm, something tells me there's more to this than he's saying. It's very convenient that he just drops in out of the blue after working for a rival "company" for two years without a trace or any contact. She says his story makes sense but I'm sure there's more to it than what he's saying. She will have to read carefully until he can prove himself or get out of dodge if he's handing her a line of bull.
ReplyDeleteThey had a rough start with her mother not liking him and his parents not caring what he did. He got her into their line of work and it seems she's never looked back.
Looking forward to the next part. :)
Haha yeah, it's convenient, but the timing was coincidence. I wanted to have something else happen for Natalia tonight other than her just coming home and going to bed. I wanted an exciting beginning to this story. When he got stuck working for those assholes, he didn't want to phone or text because they could trace his old boss, and Natalia. He severed contact to protect them. Natalia believes that he did disappear for reasons beyond his control, since shit like this happens a lot in the criminal world. She might not fully believe him word for word just because there's that tiny sliver of a doubt that he could be lying, but she is glad that her friend is back in her life. She will probably not tell him confidential work stuff just because of her suspicions, but she does think that hanging out with him casually will be good for both of them.
DeleteHer mother didn't like him because she knew Natalia was prone to that kind of behavior, and Rafael amplified it. Had Rafael not been there, Natalia would have still been the rebellious teenager she always was, but there is a chance she wouldn't have gotten involved in criminal activity of such a large scale. His parents were useless, his dad was nice, but oblivious, and too wrapped up in trying to keep the family not homeless that he wasn't much of a father to Rafael. Natalia realized she loved illegal activity once Rafael gave her a taste of it, and yeah, she doesn't really think it's that bad because she's excited by it. LOL. Them evil Sims, I tell ya.
Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it.
I don’t blame Natalia for being so shocked—it really is like seeing someone back from the dead! I’m also glad that she’s being cautious. I mean, of course it’s in her nature because of her line of work to tread carefully, but since he’s an old flame she could have easily given into her want to trust him and be with him again. Rafael’s story does add up pretty well, but that makes it a little suspicious too because it almost seems to work out a little TOO well. Like Natalia said, she’ll need to get to know him again before she can start putting any trust in him—if she even can. It’d be nice for Natalia to have someone by her side, but sometimes “going solo" may be the best choice ;)
ReplyDeleteYeah, it literally is, because they thought he died. Oh yeah, she's very good at her job, so she's prone to ask questions first, feel things and deal with consequences later. LOL. Yeah, she could have gone the "typical girl" (no offense to girls LOL) route and gotten mushy and slept with him right away or something. She however, is not a typical girl. Hahaha, well, he really did get captured in a different town. What happened after the tape got shown remains up for speculation because everything's so up in the air with criminals, they can be unpredictable at times. Natalia is happy to have her friend back in her life, but as far as her opening up completely to him? Probably not going to happen. Haha, yeah she's very much cut out for going solo. ;)
Delete'ooh, I like them together! They are an interesting couple and their careers make them all the more exciting! I'm looking forward to reading more about her, she's an interesting founder to be sure! I hope they can pick up their relationship again. I'm guessing her boss won't kill her right away since this challenge would be over very quickly that way, so hopefully they can find some time with each other.'
ReplyDeleteThanks! I liked writing this a bit unconventionally. I'm glad that you're finding it exciting. :)
DeleteHaha, thanks, I liked having her start out in the criminal path, it gave me something different to write about, plus having that sinister air about things always makes me happy. LOL. I think you're the only one who wants them to get together! :D I like that, haha, differing opinions. I'm not sure myself what will happen with that yet since I write chapter by chapter, and ideas change as I go. You're right, her boss is not going to kill her LOL. Yeah, maybe Natalia can spend some time with him, if anything, she'll probably be willing to do the platonic thing with him because she is happy that he's in her life again.
Oooh, the suspense! haha It is odd that he just showed up out of the blue. But hey, if Natalia trusts him, then maybe she knows better than I. I still feel like maybe there's more to the story...It'll be very interesting how this all plays out though with Rafael. And the boss. We still need to see what he has in store for Natalia after she botched her last job. I'm really liking the story so far though. :)
ReplyDeleteLOL, yes, it's a coincidence that he showed up tonight. Natalia half trusts him. She missed him because of their history together, and that's normal. When someone you had a connection with whom you thought you lost comes back and wants to see you, it gives you warm fuzzies inside. She's not sure if his story is all true, but she does know that up until the torture video, he was telling the truth, yes, he got captured by a rival gang and was tortured. Where he was for two years, that's the part she isn't too sure she completely trusts him on. She doesn't know if he's back but working for someone else and trying to keep tabs on her because she's now a rival, which is why she checked for bugs he may have planted in her apartment, LOL. But there were no bugs, so she doesn't feel too paranoid about that anymore. Yup, haha, next chapter you'll see what Natalia faces with her boss. Thank you!
DeleteWhat a weird feeling, after 2 years, I wouldn't want to be on her place!
ReplyDeleteI think it's for a good reason her parents tried to get her away from him. Looks like he contributed a lot for her career's choice.
Hi EliRoc! Welcome to Solace of Elysium. :)
DeleteLOL yes, I wouldn't want to be in her position either. o.O
So many uncertainties that she is feeling right now, and they're conflicting feelings, which is even worse.
Yeah, her parents tried, but she didn't listen, LOL. He did get her started on the path down the criminal activities, but she still might have done that without him, he just made it happen quicker.
Thanks for commenting!
Hmm, I find him a little suspicious, so I'll be keeping my "heartbreak" guard up just in case he breaks both Natalia's and my heart, lol.
ReplyDeleteWell, not that I've done anything rash, but . . . I do know the thrilling feeling of rebelling a little. "Too bad" it was just a phase and never lasted long xD I can see why Natalia rebelled and followed Rafael, but the whole criminal business is just a little too much for me >.<"
I totally burst out laughing and almost spit out my drink when Rafael confessed to being a total stalker the past few days. It was just too funny xD
Yeah, I think it's pretty normal to be suspicious of Rafael right now, I think any sane person would.
DeleteThe criminal path doesn't sit well with most people because of the illegal parts of it, Natalia and Rafael rebelled to a bit of an extreme level, but that's the kind of people they are.
LOL, I thought that part about him stalking her would be amusing in this context, I'm glad you thought so too. Normally stalking is not a good idea, but in Rafael and Natalia's case, it is kind of funny because neither of them mean the other one any harm. XD
Everyone is super suspicious of him and his sudden return, hahah!
ReplyDeleteNatalia is a very nice name for her I think. I am very curious about this man and where he's been, how genuine his return is. It's good she's so cautious.
I agree with Mischief, what a dynamic pair.
Hehe, yeah, I think in this business of criminality, it's probably fair to be suspicious, especially after someone supposedly returns from the dead. O_O LOL.
DeleteAww thanks, I'm glad you like her name and her cautious behavior. Hehe, you'll find out more about Rafael and what happened to him as the story deepens.
Eeee, I'm glad you like them together. :) I wanted their pairing to be exciting and dynamite. XD