Resurrection [On Hiatus]

15 - Not Worth The Loss

THE PAST

In disbelief Hernan stared at the gigantic white house rising in front of him. It was a typical American villa; white walls, grey roof, large pillars on both sides of the insanely large entrance. It was a small palace. Man, her parents had to be filthy rich. He finally understood Clive's interest in her – up to now it was the only house that could compete with that of his own family. He had probably already known about the new student with the rich parents, her big mouth had just rushed things. Hernan wondered what Clive's intentions were: did he believe it was time to have a girl on his side now they were seniors? Some sort of queen standing aside him when he was playing tyrant, one who had the same means? Or was it their money itself he was after? Kidnapping the girl would make some nice money – maybe they even wanted to extort her whole family routinely. 

White pebbles and small bushes flanked the light grey pavement meandering through the lawn. Everything breathed beauty and wealth, and in all honesty Hernan felt unworthy to walk this path. 

When he finally reached the door, he rang the bell. In the glass he could see a reflection of himself. He felt like a costumed monkey in the grey suit he was wearing and tugged on the tie that seemed to choke him. He hated Clive for sending him to this place. It was humiliating to take a girl he was interested in to a date with someone else. 

The door swung open. A sour looking woman looked up to him. Her piercing blue eyes seemed to see right through him, concluding these ridiculous clothes didn't suit him. His whole demeanor probably still screamed 'street kid'.

"Yes?" she asked, sounding very aloof while she tilted her head a little. Raising a hand, she raked her perfectly manicured fingers through her red dyed hair. 

"I came here for Norah," he said. "To take her on a date."

Her plucked eyebrows were lifted higher. "Well well... No introduction before you take my daughter with you?"

He bit the inside of his cheek. He had never dated anyone, how should he know what was normal? Plus, he was nothing but a delivery boy right now. Shrugging his shoulders, he said reluctantly: "Hernan."

She scrunched her nose as if his name gave her a bad taste. "Well, Hernan, Norah told me nothing about a date and I can't imagine she's interested in a dolled up brat like you."

Completely bewildered, Hernan stared at her. Damn, was Norah really related to this vixen? Norah herself had made friends with the biggest freaks of the school, but something told him that her mother would have wanted to drown them like some damn kittens. Maybe she should date Clive.

"Could you still ask her to come to the door?"

His hands were getting clammy. As if Norah would ever come with him. But she had to; if he disappointed Clive he wouldn't get a single shot the next month. As discreetly as he could, he wiped his fingers to his borrowed pants. Nobody would wear it after today anyway; Clive would probably set them on fire to stress what he would never get in his life.

Hernan was met by one more disdainful glance before the bitch closed the door. He sighed. Great. What now? He walked back a few steps, looking upwards. Maybe he could throw a rock to her window, like they did in the movies? He however counted more than ten windows, so which one would be hers? And what size of stone wouldn't break the glass? 

Before he had a chance to try, the door was opened. Norah leaned against the door frame, still wearing a dark jeans accentuating her hips and a shirt showing less cleavage than he would have liked. 

"What are you doing here?" she asked. Her eyes glided across the suit he was wearing. "And why the hell do you wear that?"

He swallowed his shame because proper clothes looked so ridiculous on him and squared his shoulders, hoping to look more confident. "I'm here to pick you up for your date with Clive. I will be your driver."

She stared at him in disbelief. "You are his driver?!"

"Put on something classy. Clive likes elegant dresses. And he hates to wait."

She raised her eyebrows. "You seriously think I'm going with you?"

"Don't be so fucking difficult!" he snapped before he realized. "You think I'm here to have fun? Just be happy he invites you over for dinner instead of something more horrible!"

Her eyes rested into his. Suddenly she nodded meekly, a look of compassion in her eyes. Frustrated, he turned away from her. The last thing he wanted, was her compassion. Fuck – he felt so fucking embarrassed, following all Clive's orders like a good puppy. He had never felt so emasculated. This morning he had wanted to hit on this girl himself, but Clive had simply claimed her and now there was nothing he could do but hope that he would lose his interest in her soon. Although his own window was shut anyway, after this humiliation. 

Norah had turned around, leaving the door ajar. Hernan sauntered across the path and stared into the pond as he waited until she was ready. Luckily it didn't take long; barely ten minutes later she closed the door behind her. It was unbelievable how quickly she had transformed into a real lady. She had put up her hair, a few strands curling down and landing on her shoulders. The dress she was wearing looked like liquid gold, streaming like a waterfall across her curves. His throat felt dry and he swallowed. His glance moved further down, across her long legs, lingering on her delicate feet that were adorned with golden strappy shoes. 

"And? Classy enough?" she asked, her voice drenched in mocking. "Offer me your arm."

"He will like this," Hernan muttered, holding out his arm so she could hold it. He enjoyed the feeling of her fingers around his arm, wishing he could have taken her to a restaurant himself. Not that he could afford more than a hamburger in a snackbar... 

"Why are you doing this, Hernan?" she asked as they walked down the lawn, towards the large gate. 

Hernan didn't know what to answer. Apart from Clive, nobody knew about his situation at home and he wanted to keep it that way. That was reason enough to acknowledge his defeat; now he had seen Norah's house, he would never ever take her to the shithole he lived in. 

"You didn't strike me as a guy who let others walk over him," she pushed, not accepting his silence. 

"I don't," he answered mortified. "I do things for Clive, he does things for me. It's like doing business."

She laughed softly, the sound laced with disbelief. Still he enjoyed her laughter so much he stood still, suddenly afraid that it would be the last time he would hear it.

"Listen babe. If you don't want to turn this into a habit, you keep your head down tonight. Don't challenge him, don't ask questions; pretend that you're scared and boring and maybe he'll lose his interest in you."

She held his glance for a while. "And if he doesn't? Who is he, Hernan? Why can he terrorize the entire school just like that?"

"You wish his power was limited to the school," he said. "His family runs this neighborhood. They can just sent a couple of cops to your house who will arrest your parents and send them to prison without a trial or even a reason. They are the definition of power, Norah, and I hate it, I fucking hate it but that's how things are around here and if I – or whoever – try to struggle away from his grasp, he's going to squeeze his hands and I'd be stone dead. Or someone I care about." He gritted his teeth. He hadn't want to tell her all those things, he didn't want to expose himself this much, especially not to a girl he only knew for one day. "It's simple, Norah. He wants to share his power with you or he's gonna abuse his power to make you do things you don't want. And take this from me: fighting him will get you nowhere." He stared at the ground. "It's not worth the loss."

His breathing faltered. In silence he cursed himself for letting his walls down so easily around her. Tearing his arm away from her he quickened his pace, heading for the car that was parked on the side of the road, Clive waiting in it.