Chapter Three: Reunion

The thought of meeting my father after all these years sent shivers down my spine. It’s a mixture of anger and being terrified of what I can do when I see him; or what he can do when he sees me. The guy in the suite mentioned his head towards one of the red doors. I’m guessing this is where my bastard father is. I followed him reluctantly. Silently praying for my safety, and for my mother’s as well.

The guy knocked three times. You can hear the laughter of girls inside that stopped at the sound of the knock. The door was opened by a woman, around five-six feet tall, wearing a very skimpy spaghetti dress that is untied on the back and on the verge of falling out. She smiled at the guy then her eyes moved to me. Her smile faded. I felt like I was being undressed at that very spot.

In front, my father is sitting on a half-circle-long couch. His arms are spread on the backrest and his legs are wide open. He’s wearing a suit, but the blazer is resting on the table and his inner long sleeves are opened four buttons down. I seethed with anger.

“Where is my mother?” I lunged at him as I shouted. But the guy in the suite held me back. He held both of my hands behind my back as I struggled to break free.

“I miss you too, my dearest daughter. Your mother is right here.” he smirked then pointed at the side corner. 

My mother is wearing a plain white loose dress. She is seated on a heart-shaped couch and staring at nothing. Her lips are moving as if she is speaking to someone. 

“Mom!” I wriggled free from the guy and ran to my mother. I checked her if she is alright. I noticed redness on her cheek. She must have been slapped from escaping. I threw a piercing look at my father.

“She knows she will get punished for escaping. She has everything she wants but she still wants to go away. A slap is a small price.” he said while a girl is traveling with her hands on his bare chest.

“I’m taking her with me.” I stood up and gently assisted my mother to stand up. But she only looked up at me and smiled. She held my face and tucked my hair behind my ears.

“We’re home, Leilah.” My tears wanted to flow down.

“You’re leaving already? We’re just about to start.” A man with dark brown hair wearing a red suit set is standing behind me. My eyes grew bigger if they could even more. Tears started flowing and my hands are shaking. I took little weak steps towards him.

“Colby.” My voice cracked. He smiled. Oh, how I miss that smile. 

“Hey, sister. Missed me?” He opened his arms and I ran to embrace him.

My little brother is not so little anymore. I hugged him as tight as I can. This moment feels like he will disappear at any time. He hugged me back and buried his face in my neck. We stayed there for a few seconds then he kissed my neck.

“Colby!” I pushed him away and my hands immediately went to my neck covering it. He is bending over laughing. Grew up to be a jerk, as I can see.

“I’m so sorry. I can’t help it. You smell so good.” he said while still laughing.

“That’s creepy. You’re a creep.” I said as I look at him disgustingly,

“Alright. I’m sorry.” He is trying his best to stop his laughter. “ But seriously, don’t go just yet. Let’s at least have dinner. The two of us.” he said as he put his hands on his waist and stood tall.

I wanted to. But I looked at our mother hesitantly. She is still looking for and mumbling unrecognizable words, then I looked at my father with hateful eyes. He just shrugged and kept drinking and moaning as the girls play with his body.

“Don’t worry about Mom. I’ll take her back to her room. That moron won’t be able to touch her there.” Colby said. He knocked on the door and two men in black polo shirts came in.

“Take Mom to her room.” One guy lifted my mother and carried her bridal style. The other one assisted them. I want to check on her and followed them to the door until they made it out of the room. Then Colby invited me again and I agreed.

“We’ll just eat at the restaurant here. Don’t worry.” Colby said as he leads the way out of the venue. 

I remembered the guy that was staring at me earlier and looked at the seat where he was before. But he is not there anymore. I tried to look around, but unfortunately, it is too dark to see any faces far away.

Unfortunately? Why is it unfortunate, Leilah?

“Looking for someone?” I bumped at Colby as he suddenly stopped walking. I guess I wasn’t paying attention to the way anymore.

“No. Just looking around. What is this place?” I tried to divert the situation. He just smiled at me and took my hand. 

We took the elevator hand in hand. I am holding his tightly and so is he. I tried to stare at him through the reflection of his on the elevator walls. 

I missed out on ten years of his life. I still blame myself for not being there the day he was sold. I could’ve protected him. That could’ve been me who was taken. He can protect Mom better than I did. I ran away like a coward and left Mom behind.

Tears started to form again when he caught me staring. He smiled and turned to me. He wiped my eyes.

“Don’t blame yourself.” He said. I’m a bit shocked. 

“Oh, sister. Your emotions are written very well on your face.” Well, that was my cue to turn red and he laughed.

We get out of the elevator on the 40th floor. It is a luxurious restaurant with a dark ambiance and overlooking view of the city lights landscape.  A few people are dining in and you can see their status on their clothing. I’m guessing the price is fancy as well. 

I suddenly felt out of place once again with my get-up. Who had time to think to dress up when your mother was kidnapped though?

The staff bowed at Colby and gestured us to a higher deck in the farthest part of the restaurant. Colby assisted me with my seat and he settled with his. The server gave us the menu.

“Pick anything that you like.” Colby said as he is choosing his meal. Damn, the menu doesn’t have a price.

“It all sounds expensive, Cols.” He laughed. I looked at him puzzled.

“Sorry. No one calls me that anymore. It kinda sent shivers to me. I guess I missed that.” He shook his head like he can’t believe he is saying that. But I smiled. I missed that too.

We picked our food. I was looking around and staring at the view of the place. It kinda feels like a once-in-a-lifetime experience for someone like me to be able to see this view. Colby took my hands and held them on the table. I looked at him and he was smiling.

“How are you, Cols? Look, I’m sorry …” he pressed my hands to stop me from talking.

“I told you. You don’t need to blame yourself. No matter if you are there or not, I would still be taken away. But look, I’m fine! You’re fine! Let’s start new, sis. Stay with me.” Colby is seriously looking at me. He is brushing his thumb on my hand like this conversation is making him nervous.

The food came and he let go. We stayed quiet for a few minutes before he started a conversation.

“So sis, where do you want me to start? He took a bite of his steak.

“What happened after the man took you? I guess let’s start with that.” This will be a long night.