Surprise At The Door

CLEO GARCIA

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Isa was scaring me so bad. My heart leaped out of me as soon as I heard the knock.

My demeanor sank away and it only got worse when I faced Isa.

We both heard the knock. It had come out fast and loud. It was the type of sound you cannot deny hearing even if you tried.

“Do you think she came back?” Isa asked. Her eyes were wide with fear.

It was clear that she was clinging on to that hope just as I was.

She glanced around and I heard her heart beating from this side of the room.

I shook my head but I wasn’t disagreeing with Isa.

I wanted it—needed it to be Ethan’s home teacher. If it wasn’t her, then I couldn’t guess who it would be.

Maybe a friend from work but I don’t exactly have ‘friends’ that would visit my home without telling me.

I wondered if they were Isa’s friends from school but that didn’t make sense too.

Isa left school a long time ago. She was in med school and had to give up her dreams of being a doctor to take care of Ethan.

If no one from her class had come to visit us in seven years, they weren’t going to start now.

Ethan turned to me as I was standing behind him. “Are you okay, Aunty Cleo?”

He was missing a front tooth.

I pressed my lips together to stop myself from exploding from either his cuteness or the fear of what was about to be our fate.

“No, champ. We’re good.”

Isa zipped the box on the bed and marched over to me.

She walked with purpose, like she had made a decision.

But when she got to me, she stopped.

It was harder to ignore her claims when she was close enough.

“What are we going to do?” Isa asked, searching my eyes.

The fear from her radiated off, robbing onto me.

I was almost terrified.

The knock came again. This time, longer and louder.

I had to think fast.

“I’ll check who is at the door.”

“What?!” Isa shook her head. “You can’t. I’m not losing you.”

She didn’t stop showing signs of disagreement with her head shaking and soon, she was pacing at a spot.

I had to hold her still so I could be sure she would hear me.

God, all she went for was a date. How bad of a situation could she be in?

I stopped believing everything she had said as I spoke to her.

It was the only way to calm her down, and me too.

“I will go to the door and see who’s there and if there’s any reason for alarm...” I paused and swallowed the lump in my throat.

It felt dry and it hurt to roll it down to my stomach.

I sighed and my entire body released the breath with me though the tension knotting my insides didn’t reduce their grip.

Isa was anxiously waiting for an answer. She waited and waited until she couldn’t.

“What…” she stammered. “What will you do?”

She desperately needed an answer.

I decided there and then that one of us had to be okay and courageous.

“I’ll scream. If you hear me scream then you and Ethan have to use the back door.”

Sadness took over Isa’s expression.

“And you?” She asked though she already knew what that meant.

I was going to sacrifice myself for her and Ethan.

“I’ll find my way. The important thing is to make sure he’s safe.” My eyes wandered to Ethan and Isa followed me.

She hugged her self and nodded. “Thank you, Cleo.”

I turned around and the knock came again followed by some muffled voices.

I was trying to assure myself that there was nothing to be worried about.

I had to believe that I wasn’t in danger.

I needed Isa to be wrong about her sixth sense. I needed that to be the case.

But Isa called me again and threw her body on me in a hug.

“Thank you,” she whispered to me and I held on to her.

It felt real. This moment felt like the end of my life.

There was a finality in that hug. Something sealed off in that moment.

I braced myself, knowing I couldn’t back down now.

“I’m coming,” I called out for whoever was on the opposite side of our door. “Just give me a second.”

If they were suspicious, then I had to clear that suspicion before letting them in.

I was practically going to give myself up as a scale goat so I had to make sure the plan worked out well.

Of what use would it be if they go around the house and got Isa and Ethan before they could escape?

On my walk to the door, a million voices arose in my head.

I loved Cleo and she was my sister, but I’ve always had a disdain for her mother.

She hurt my dad in ways that didn’t seem possible. So why was I giving my life for her daughter?

Technically, I was doing this for Ethan. The kid has a hard life already.

His dad was a major douche bag and his mum had to be with him for him to get through a day.

So I had to save them.

I held the door handle. It was cold and the shivers traveled up my hands.

Then I pushed it open.

Two men dressed in neat suits and light colored shirts were standing and waiting for me.

The first guy smiled at me.

“Do you live here?” He asked. Then he slipped in an apology, “my bad. I’m Marco and this is Enzo,” he finished pointing to his partner.

“Okay? And yes, I live here. Is there a problem? Oh my God. Is it the water bill?” I decided to put on an act. “The tap in one of our bathrooms spoilt so water runs out every time. We were going to get a plumber yesterday but it wasn’t a good time for us.”

Marco chuckled, waving his hands dismissively.

Enzo stepped back, buttoning his jacket.

“Oh no, it’s not that,” Marco said.

The side of his lips still turned up from the soft laughter.

If he was laughing, then he wasn’t here to kill us, right?

I didn’t scream.

Yet.

“So what is it?” I asked him, eager to hear that we weren’t in any sort of danger.

They could be anything from the bank guys coming to serve us a notice, or even the police.

As long as they were not here to kill us, that would be a big relief.

My hold on the door tightened and I stopped breathing.

I was either going to scream loud or heave a sigh of relief.

It all depended on what he would say next.

His mouth started moving.

“As I said, this is Enzo and I’m Marco. We work together and we’re here to take Isa and Ethan to her new house. She said she feels unsafe here, right?”

My breath caught in my throat. There were sirens going off in my mind but there was also a comforting breeze swirling.

Isa did say she was not feeling safe. Just now.

She wasn't feeling safe and she was trying to run away.

But how did they know? Did she know them?

And a new house? Isa would never be able to afford a new house!

Was she lying to me?

“You are Cleo Garcia, yeah?“ Marco asked, rubbing his thumb against his index finger and stepping close.

I thought of moving back but didn’t.

I’ll only end up showing him that I was scared.

“Yeah.”

“I saw your article about the tax evasion and the problem it constitutes us as a country. That was brilliant.”

I gasped and it morphed into a small laugh.

A laugh of relief, a burst of unexpected joy.

He read my article. A stranger knew me from my article.

“Oh wow. Are you a writer?” I had to ask him.

“Far from it. I run a media house so we’re always on the look out for what sells in the writing industry and that piece did numbers.”

“I guess it tried.” I shrugged, trying not to get in over my head.

HE RAN A MEDIA HOUSE?!

My cheeks were giving away, turning red.

I betrayed myself when I started to point out all the attractive features of this stranger.

“Is Isa home?” Enzo interrupted us.

It was the first time he was talking and that shook me.

Somehow, It reminded me to be scared.

He kept a straight face, not the type that looked dangerous, the type that looked worried.

I noticed his right leg continuously tap the floor.

I opened my mouth to answer but my throat caved. I cleared it and nodded before talking.

“She’s in.” Turning around, I saw Isa in the living room.

She was trying to stop me from saying anything to him and I mouthed some words to her. “It’s fine.”

It was fine. Right?

My little assurance didn’t magically cause her to stop worrying.

I didn’t expect it to.

“Can I see her?” Enzo looked behind me, noticing that there was someone else in the room.

“Yeah,” Marco added, “And can we talk about our company and the possibility of hiring you at M & M media?”

This time, I gasped for real.

I covered my mouth with my hands.

I was still in disbelief.

Everything was happening so quickly.

Why would a stranger come to my front door and propose a job opening for me.

And M & M media was one of the powerhouses in the publishing sector of New York.

What was I saying? They had the biggest group of companies which extended into a wide range of sectors.

Was I really talking to someone who ran one of their establishments? My brain couldn’t accept that so easily.

I stepped to the side for Enzo and he walked in. Isa met him halfway.

Marco was waiting for an answer.

“How serious is this offer?” I asked him, “because it seems too rushed…”

I glanced behind me to check on Isa. Enzo was blocking her but everything seemed okay.

And then he kissed her.

I wasn’t expecting that.

Marco stole my attention almost immediately.

“Let me reintroduce myself,” he said and I was forced to look back at him. “I am Marco Martin, part owner of M & M group of companies and that’s Enzo Moretti, second part owner.”

That was the moment my jaw fell to the ground.