Saving his life

Chapter 18

I’ve had enough of living here, I can’t take it anymore. I need my own space and I need it now. I only had a couple of hundred left to make up the money for the apartment and I had to think of another way to get it. I knew just who to ask for a short-term loan. 

“Carlos, I’ve got a counter favour to ask you” I stated down the phone.

“Oh really? And what’s that?” He asked.

“I need to get out of this house by tomorrow, I’ve had enough of living here, my parents are doing my head in. I’ve had my eye on an apartment for a while now and I’m so close to having the money together for it. I’m only a couple of hundred short and was hoping maybe you could loan it to me until the end of the week. Payday is Friday, so I will...”. He suddenly cut me off.

“Done”. I was silent, unsure what he meant. 

“What?” I questioned him and he chuckled.

“It’s in your account” he explained and I sniggered.

“How did you know my account details?” I asked him and he just chuckled at me.

“I’m in the mafia remember? We’ve got our finger in every pie” he explained. Of course he did. The mafia can be sneaky fuckers sometimes and they have access to information with the click of their finger.

“...and don’t worry about paying it back, consider it a thank you gift, for everything you have done for the people closest to me” he stubbornly said. 

“Oh Carlos, I can’t...”

“See you at 3pm tomorrow” he interrupted and hung up. He can he so difficult sometimes but his heart’s definitely got his heart in the right place. 

The next day, I was sitting by the desk when my mobile started to ring. It was the estate agent that had been dealing with the sale of the apartment. I had called her earlier but she didn’t pick up her phone. She was returning my call so I picked it up and headed towards the back. 

“Hello there Maria, I’m just calling you back from earlier. I’m terribly sorry I was with a client. How can I help you?” She explained.

“Oh, no problem. I just wanted to have a quick discussion about the apartment I have been interested in buying” I informed her.

“Oh yes, are you ready to buy now or is this a different enquiry?” She asked and I giggled with excitement.

“Yes, I’m ready to buy the apartment and was hoping to set up a meeting as soon as possible to finish the transaction and sign the paperwork” I replied to her and she sounded delighted, probably because it was finally being sold and she could add it to her sales for the month.

“Brilliant, what about 3:30pm today?” She asked and I couldn’t be happier with the time she suggested. I could go and sort it out before speaking with Leon. At least that way I will have something to go back to after the car crash conversation I was going to have with him. 

Carlos picked me up from his usual spot. I turned to him as we drove off and asked if we could make a quick detour. I explained to him that I was going to pick up the keys and pay for the apartment. 

“Of course! I get to see your new pad” he joked and I laughed at his usual childish behaviour. We pulled up outside the block of apartments. It had freshly trimmed bushes that lead up to the front door. Thankfully it had an elevator, which I guess seemed pretty pointless for a four story building (bottom floor was the communal floor) but when you have to go up and down all the time, it was well worth it. We headed over to the sofas on the bottom floor where Alice, the estate agent, was waiting with the paperwork.

“Maria” she greeted and shook my hand.

“Nice to see you again Alice” I replied and she turned her attention to Carlos with wide eyes.

“And you must be her partner” she assumed, holding her hand out to him. Carlos chuckled and of course, took his opportunity to wind her up.

“Yes, I’m her lover, Carlos” he joked as he shook her hand. I rolled my eyes and corrected him.

“He’s just my friend”. 

“Mmhmm” Alice hummed, not believing a word I said. She took out the documents and read through the policies with me. I signed each page and handed her a cheque. 

“Brilliant, I hope you enjoy your new home Maria and Carlos” she winked and handed me the keys. I shook my head at him as she walked away.

“What?” He said innocently and I just laughed. We entered the elevator and turned the key next to the floor number my apartment was on. Every tenant has a key slot next to the  numbered button in the elevator, the button will not work without the permission of the tenant who will allow access from their apartment. The only time you don’t need a key is when someone presses the intercom next to the elevator door to ring your apartment and you press the open button from your end. That way the elevator will allow the person to press the according number to go to that floor. It’s very complicated but it’s also very secure. The staircase that wound up each floor also had a lock on it and will only open by using the key. This was in case the elevator broke, people mainly used the elevators to avoid going to the bottom and unlocking the door. If there was ever a fire, the doors to the stairs automatically unlock to make it easier to exit the building safely. 

When the doors opened, it revealed a small corridor leading to the main entrance to the apartment. On the left was the door to the stairwell. When we opened the front door, the dream apartment I first visited the other week appeared. It felt amazing knowing it was mine. Carlos scanned the room with wide eyes, impressed by my new pad.

“f*****g hell, you hit the jackpot didn’t you?” He rhetorically asked and I giggled. 

“I’m sure your place is a lot bigger and impressive” I laughed and he shrugged.

“Yeah, it’s expensive but this apartment is so.... you” he grinned. I took him on a quick tour of the place and we finished on the balcony. 

“This is amazing Maria, it’s beautiful” he complimented as he looked out to the hills in the distance. He sighed deeply and looked down at the ground. 

“Are you okay?” I asked him as I felt the atmosphere change.

“Yeah, I’m good... I just...” he took a deep breath and leant his back against the balcony railing. 

“I’m frightened for Leon, I’ve never seen him act this way. Even when he found out his mother hadn’t passed away from natural causes at the age of 16, he was still in control of himself” he admitted.

“Really? His dad hid that from him for 10 years?” I asked slightly disappointed at the lies his father told him as a child.

“He didn’t want to ruin Leon’s childhood, he was so young and he wouldn’t have understood at that age. His dad wanted to tell him when he was older so that he didn’t think of his mother suffering when she took her last breath” he explained to me. I smirked at how sweet it was. His dad must love him to bits, I understand now and if I was in the same situation I know I would probably do the same. 

“Why now?” I prodded Carlos and he glared at me, willing for more information.

“Why turn to drink and drugs now?” I repeated the question in more detail. Carlos stepped closer to me and took my hands in his.

“Maria, he’s completely in love with you. I know he f****d off when you were in hospital but I genuinely believe he did that because he didn’t want to see you hurt like that again. The guilt is eating him up inside knowing that not only did you get shot as a result of his own problems, but he also broke your heart as well” he tried to explain and the icy wall I had put up to protect my feelings began to melt. I know he loves me, but I’m too scared to love him back again, especially after everything that has happened. I had made progress with leaving my feelings for him behind and I didn’t want to bring them all back. However, the last thing I want is for him to completely self destruct. 

“Come on, let’s go and find him” I demanded, heading towards the elevator.