CHAPTER THREE

I stumbled down the cold street with my clothes soaked from the rain. The rain had stopped but I couldn't but I was still feeling cold.

As I walked down the street of LA, lost in my own misery, a man suddenly staggered into my path. He reeked of alcohol and he stared at me with his bloodshot eyes.

"Hey there, pretty lady," he slurred and then grabbed my arm, pulling me closer to him.

I was shocked and scared at the same time. I tried to pull away, but his grip tightened on me and I could feel his hot and foul breath against my face.

What the heck!

"Let go of me," I tried to break free from his grasp but he refused to let go of me.

Panic surged through me and without even thinking, I swung my fist and gave him a very hard punch in his face. My punch sent him to the ground immediately and began to scream in pain.

But why was he clutching his stomach? I only punched his face, not his stomach.

Wow, this dude was a real actor…..

As I tried to move closer to him, I heard the sound of sirens and then two police officers rushed towards us, as they thought something big happened.

"What's going on here?" one of them demanded, looking between me and the drunkard on the ground.

But before I could say any word, that drunkard beat me to it.

"She attacked me," he whined. "I think she broke my ribs!" He groaned as he pointed a shaky finger at me.

My eyes widened in disbelief as I could not believe that he could tell such a lie when he was the one that tried to molest me.

“No, that's not true! He tried to harass me. I was just defending myself!"

The officers exchanged glances, clearly skeptical about what I said. "Sir, are you hurt?" one of them asked the drunkard.

He nodded, still clutching his stomach. "Yes, she hit me hard. I need a doctor."

"Ma'am, you're under arrest for assault," the other officer said, stepping towards me and while I retracted my step in fear, but he quickly grabbed my arm.

"But I didn't do anything wrong! He was the one who…….." My protests were cut short as the officer suddenly pulled my arms behind my back and cuffed my wrists.

"You have the right to remain silent," the other one added, his was voice cold and detached.

I felt hot tears streaming down my face as I had been wrongly accused of what I didn't do. This couldn't be happening to me right now again. It was all a terrible mistake. I tried to tell them about what really happened but they didn't even listen to my side of story as they were fixated on the man who claimed to be injured.

One of them led me to the police car while the other one called an ambulance. As I was pushed into the back seat, I looked out at the dark, empty street and remembered how my life had fallen apart in a matter of hours. Now, I was being taken to a place I never imagined I'd be.

*********

I sat on the hard chair of the dimly lit police station with my hands trembling. I had never been to this place and what scared me most about this place was the the loud voices of thugs and criminals.

Well..not all of them might be criminals as I wasn't either.

One of the cops from earlier returned and sat across from me, holding a clipboard. "You need to call someone. You are facing assault charges," he said.

My heart sank as I had no one to call but I couldn't really think of anyone to call except for the family that threw me out. But I still need to call my home line as I knew they might pity me and help me out. But as the cop called and my mother-in-law picked the call, I was surprised by her response.

“ Sorry, I had no idea who that was. You can do whatever you want with her.” She said coldly and then ended the call immediately.

I sucked in my lower lip as regret washed over me. I regretted everything I had done to be with Lance, every single decision I made in the name of love. I regret abandoning my parents years ago, leaving them for a man that has discarded me.

I sobbed heavily as I was now left with nothing but regrets. But now, with the threat of jail looming over me, I really had no other choice.

Taking a deep breath, I looked up at the cop. "Please, can you call Marcus Roderigo for me?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

The cop raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Why would he know someone like you?" he scoffed, shaking his head. "Are you trying to waste our time?"

A fresh wave of humiliation washed over me as other cops laughed when they heard our conversation. I bit my lip to stop myself from crying again as that was really my last hope. "Please," I begged, "just call him and mention my name. Maya."

The cop rolled his eyes but picked up the phone as he seemed to be pitying me. He dialed the number I gave him and waited.

When the call connected, he spoke, "Mr. Roderigo, this is Officer Thomas from the downtown precinct. We have someone here who claims to know you… Maya."

There was a moment of silence on the other end and I held my breath, silently praying that he would remember me and still care about me.

“Oh God! Please just save me this once.” I prayed inwardly.

The cop's expression changed and surprise flickered across his face as he looked at me. "Yes, sir. She's here," he said and then handed the phone to me. "He wants to talk to you."

With trembling hands, I took the phone from him. "Dad?" I whispered, my voice breaking.