Chapter 7

72 hours until release

Elena

A picture?

This guy must’ve been absolutely nuts. Wasn’t the picture on my profile more than enough already? It was one of my best pictures, and it was in HD, so I didn’t know what he was getting at.

I was unsure of whether to send a picture or not, but everything changed when I read the email for the fifth time. He didn’t seem as tough as he looked, and maybe if I sent pictures of myself, he would send some in return.

Marvin was one of the few who had praised me for being a mixologist, and it felt good to know that he appreciated my job. It wasn’t as easy or useless as some people made it out to be.

I gathered some courage and decided to write back.

—

Dear Marvin,

Thank you for your encouraging words. You’re right. Being a mixologist requires some kind of special skill and is not for everyone!😌

By the way, if your cousins are just as cute as you (minus the long list of felons), you can definitely hook me up with one!

Although I’m not one to judge, and if you say that the truth is not out yet, I’ll trust your word for it. I think we have the same issue because I also have a really, really good heart and I’m not even embarrassed to admit it.

I want to live my life as if it’s my last, but it’s kind of hard to do so when I don’t only have a nosy dad but also a brother breathing in my neck.

You said you couldn’t wait to breathe some fresh air, and that brings me to the next question. I’ve never been to prison before, and I don’t know anything other than what I’ve seen in prison break, but I thought they had something like a yard (I think?)

Also, please don’t feel creepy for asking for more pictures. It’s completely understandable. At first, I was a bit nervous and worried about sharing my personal information, but I feel like we’re getting along, and I wouldn’t mind getting some pictures in return.

Here are the pictures:

🏞🏞🏞

Ps. (Please don’t call me pretty, I’ve heard it many times before, and I always get embarrassed whenever someone praises me for my looks😓)

—

I read the message over and over before I decided to send the email. It sounded good enough to me.

“Leaving already?” My brother, Alex, interrupted me from my thoughts. I flinched upon hearing his voice and hid my phone behind my back. “Yes...I have work remember?”

“Does my face frightens you that much?” Alex laughed. I shook my head and took a breath. “No, of course not.” I smiled. It sometimes still felt as if I was doing something illegal by talking to an inmate.

Marvin was much nicer than I initially thought and it kind of scared me. The perfect way to describe him would’ve been a ‘dangerous person,’ but all I could see was the good in him. He was interested in my life, funny, and easy to talk to. It was not as if I had a crush on him, but it wouldn’t be too crazy to consider him a friend. We had only been talking for a few days, but I wanted him to be my friend. The only issue was my dad and my brother.

“Can you please watch dad for me?” I asked Alex. One of the advantages of those two working together was that I did not have to worry. They could look after each other.

The passing of agent Maddens and the entire cartel thing had stressed out my dad so much that he had even started drinking. Alex was just as stressed as my dad.

It was a disaster at work because Maddens apparent killer denied all charges and made a deal with the DEA, meaning they had to let him out soon. There were many disagreements at work, but there was nothing anyone could do about it.

All the evidence they had collected for years had turned out to be for nothing.

In the end, the bad guys won.

“Don’t worry, Elena,” Alex reassured me. “I’ll look after dad and make sure he’s alright.”

We walked out the door at the same time and gave each other one last smile before we both left to go to work. I had to admit, sometimes I felt like an outsider. Dad and Alex worked as DEA agents, while my goal to become a lawyer had failed. I was stuck at a cocktail bar and had no plans to leave anytime soon.

Perhaps that was the reason why I got such a kick out of talking to inmate Marvin Romero. My life was incredibly boring, and I lacked that bit of danger. I was sick of doing everything according to the books, so talking to an inmate brought a bit of excitement into my life.

“You’re early today!” Rona spoke as I walked in. I smiled at the two unfamiliar faces behind her and looked at her with a frown on my face. “Oh, these are Santiago and Anya.”

“Tiago, Anya—this is the girl I was telling you about.” Rona introduced me to the pair. I looked at the young couple in front of me, and crazily enough, the male grabbed my attention just a tiny bit more. He looked around my age and had a soft smile on his face. His handsomeness blinded me, but I quickly got to my senses and turned to look at the woman who appeared to be his girlfriend.

“You must be Elena!” The girl named Anya spoke. She walked forward and grabbed my hands before she stared into my eyes. “We need you!” She pleaded.

I felt confused by her actions and gave Rona a questioning look. “Anya, calm down,” Tiago spoke. He walked over to the woman and showed me an apologetic smile while he pulled her away. “Oh, I’m sorry.” Anya apologized. “Where are my manners.”

“Uh?” I spoke, confused. I didn’t know what was happening and felt a bit attacked. “Hi, you don’t know me.” Anya began. “My name is Anya, and this is my fiancé, Tiago.” She introduced herself. “My sister bought a coffee here, like two days ago—and I just can’t stop thinking about it.”

“I’m getting married, and I’ve been planning this wedding for over a year.” She dramatically spoke. “I always felt like something was missing, and I concluded that it is your coffee!”

“It is?” I spoke, startled. Rona gave me a thumbs up and nodded her head. “I-I mean, yes it is!” I said, a bit more confident. Judging by their outfits, these people seemed rich and looked like they were willing to pay a lot. The shop could make good use of that money. “So, how can I help you?”

“I need you to either sell us your recipes or to be our bartender at our wedding next week!” Anya requested. I looked at her fiancé, Tiago, who shrugged his shoulders at me. “Your friend told me most of the recipes are yours,” Anya spoke with a nervous look on her face. “I’ll pay you guys anything you want.”

There was no way in hell I was going to sell my recipes, that was out of the question, and even though the idea of money sounded nice, the date seemed a bit risky. How could I possibly prepare for a wedding which was supposed to be next week?

“One week?” I asked. The hope in Anya’s eyes disappeared, while Tiago looked at her as if she could break down any minute. He made eye contact with me and mouthed a, please, while I looked at Rona, who did the same.

“You know what, sure why not.” I raised my hands. Anya looked at me with big eyes and let out a gasp before she pulled me into a forceful hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“No problem.” I spoke awkwardly. Rona jumped in the air and clapped her hands. “This is so exciting, our first official event!”

I laughed at Rona’s excitement and looked at the couple who seemed just as happy as her. Tiago stepped forward and held my hands. “Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to us.”

“You’re like a god-sent angel, Elena.” He winked at me. “Kind and beautiful, thank you.”

I felt my cheeks flush and quickly turned the other way, so his fiancée couldn’t see me. He was quite a flirt for someone who was about to get married.

“Okay, now I really need to use your restroom!” Anya spoke in a hurry. “She has this nasty diarrhea,” Tiago shared. “One push and boom, it will almost seem as if a bomb has exploded.”

Rona covered her mouth and snickered while I had a surprised look on my face. Anya gave Tiago a push against his shoulder. “No, he’s lying!” She spoke defensively. “I just have to pee!”

“It’s okay, really.” Rona smiled. “Come on. I’ll bring you to the restroom.”

Anya shot Tiago one last look before she followed Rona to the restroom. “So,” I smiled at Tiago. “It seems like your fiancée was going to break down any second. She left me no choice!”

Tiago scratched the back of his neck and showed me a shy smile. “Yes, I’m sorry about that.”

“Don’t be!” I laughed and nudged his shoulder. Tiago froze up and had a nervous frown on his face. Due to his actions from before, I had expected him to be as outgoing as I was, but that was not the case.

I had this issue where I just couldn’t stop being touchy with people, especially when I had to laugh, and I really needed to stop doing that. I stroke Tiago’s jacket with my hands. “I’m so sorry!”

“That’s okay.” Tiago smiled. “I’m really awkward whenever Anya is not around, so it’s good to have you here.”

“It is!” I agreed while I flipped my hair to the side. Tiago gave me a nod and stood in a polite stance. He did seem very nervous. “Can I ask you something?”

“Y-yes?” Tiago stuttered as if he was expecting the worst. I let out a chuckle. “Don’t worry. It’s just a question.”

“You and Anya seem really young. How old are you?” I asked. Tiago’s face lit up the second I mentioned Anya’s name. “Anya is twenty, and I’m twenty-one,” Tiago spoke. “I know we’re still young, but—“

“No.” I shrugged. “My parents got married when they were twenty.”

“Oh, really?” Tiago spoke with a surprised smile on his lips. “For how long have they been together?”

I let out a sigh and got sick of myself. My parents’ love story was not something to brag about, and I would probably only worry poor Tiago even more. “They’re not together anymore. My mom abandoned us when I was five.”

Tiago widened his eyes before he slammed his head against the counter multiple times. “I-I’m making a mistake, am I?” He suddenly whispered. I didn’t even know why a stranger would want to discuss this with me, but I did know one thing, and that was that all of this was my fault.

I walked over to him and placed my hand on his back in a comforting matter. “N-no, not all people are the same!” I told him. “I’m sure your story with Anya will be different.”

“Do you, really?”

“Yes,” I smiled. “My mom was a bad woman from the get-go. Is Anya a bad woman?”

“No,” Tiago shook his head. “Of course not. We’ve been together since high school. Anya is amazing.”

I almost felt jealous of how highly he spoke of her and gave him a reassuring nod. “Then you have absolutely nothing to worry about.”

Tiago let out a breath. “Nothing to worry about? My big brother will miss my wedding, and there’s nothing I can do about it.” Tiago started another rant. I grabbed his hand and led him towards a table so that we could sit down. “So it looks like Anya is pooping after all, doesn’t it?” I cracked a joke, but Tiago did not seem interested.

“Listen.” I sighed. “I know you don’t know me, but you’ve already shared so much—so you might as well tell me about your brother.”

“Really?”

“Yes.” I rolled my eyes. I was in no mood to play therapist, but I was the first to stick my nose into others' business, and this guy seemed to have several issues. “So tell me, where is your brother?”

Tiago was quiet for a few seconds. “He’s on...vacation.” He chuckled. “I was hoping for him to make it back in time, but unfortunately, it’s not going to happen.”

“Oh, too bad,” I spoke as I tried my hardest to show him some sympathy. “Where is he at?”

“He’s on an island,” Tiago answered. “He’s not the first one to have gone there.” He smiled. “My dad went to the same island, and so did all of my friends and uncles, but not as long as my brother.”

“Must be a special island!” I chuckled. “I want to go!”

“No, you really don’t want to go there.” Tiago interrupted me. “It’s work-related, and it’s not worth it.”

“Why? Have you ever gone to that island?”

I could see the confused look in Tiago’s eyes and felt the need to ask further. “I was supposed to...but my brother went for me instead.” He explained.

“That’s some brotherly love right there.” I nodded. I could not see Alex sacrificing everything to go to an island for me. “Anyway, I’m sure your brother did it out of love, and he’d want you to be happy, right?”

“Right.”

I was curious about this island and wanted to ask more, but before I could ask another question, Anya and Rona had already returned. “Did you get all of that diarrhea out?” Tiago joked while Anya took a seat next to him.

“No, I told you I wasn’t!” Anya spoke, irritated. I looked at the lovely couple in front of me and smiled at Rona, who took a seat beside me. “They’re cute, aren’t they?” Rona commented.

Tiago seemed like a completely different person with Anya around. He seemed proud and more confident. He was not the same chicken from a few minutes ago.

“So,” Anya spoke. “Let’s get down to business.”