"Ow! That hurts!" It really did.
"Then why did you get yourself involved?" Mother scolded me. "You should have just let this amazing father of yours get beaten himself." She then turned to father. "How can you do this to us? You know how hard our lives are already. Why would you go gambling?"
"I'm sorry." He said.
"Sorry? Just look at your daughter." Mother was mad. "Even your son has bruises. Why did go there? How long have you been keeping this from us?"
"I'm really sorry. It was someone from work who brought me there. He said it was his favorite past time. I went with him. I only wanted to try it once but I got really lucky. I kept winning and winning. Then suddenly, I kept losing everything I won at first. I couldn't believe it and thought I could win them back. I kept playing and still kept losing. I lost the money I earned that day. The next days, I wanted to earn them back but every day I kept losing more. I borrowed money from someone who's a regular at the den. I only borrowed a small amount but he didn't tell me about the interest." Tears started falling from his eyes. "I had to find money so I could pay him but I didn't know who I could run to. So I went to the den every day to gamble. I won a few times and was able to pay the initial amount I borrowed but the interest had piled up." His voice broke at the last word. "I'm really sorry." And he started crying.
It was the first time I saw my father crying. Mother went to him and wrapped him in an embrace. She was mad, but my mother was the most soft-hearted person I knew. She cried with him. That time, I had mixed emotions. Though father seemed pitiful, I still hated him. He could have just stopped. Had he stopped after that first lost, he wouldn't have caught himself in the mess. It was still his fault. His foolishness put us in trouble. I was full of loathing. I got out of the house without saying anything and walked to the small park two blocks from the house. I sat on the bench and pressed on my shoulder. I was hit by a baseball bat earlier and the spot was aching. I touched the bruise near my lips and the one on my left cheek. I definitely looked like a mess. Out of nowhere, my brother sat beside me. I didn't even notice that he followed me.
"What do we do now sis?" He asked. "They said we only have three days."
"I don't know yet." I really had no idea. "I'll think of something. Don't worry about it, okay?"
"How can I not?"
"You're still just a kid. Let us adults handle it." I teased.
"Hah. You're not so grown up yourself."
"Excuse me? I am eighteen."
"Whatever." He said grinning.
"Go back to the house or mother will worry." I told him. "I'll stay here for a few more minutes."
He hesitated but eventually obliged. I stayed for almost an hour more. I really didn't feel like seeing my father or seeing mother comforting him when he was obviously the one who should be comforting mother. Mother was just too kind. If it was me and my husband did something like that, I probably would have kicked him out of the house. Husband. Haha. I erased the thought. How could I even think of something like that?
"Kira!" It was Eliza. She was running towards me. She hugged me tightly as soon as she reached the bench. "I heard what happened. Are you okay? Oh my! Just look at your face."
"I'm fine. It's just a scratch."
"If only I came earlier." She said.
"It's alright. Even if you did, you couldn't have been able to do anything." I told her. "I just need to go look for money tomorrow."
"Yeah. Leon told me." She got quiet for a few seconds. "Maybe I can help. I can talk to my boss and ask for a loan."
"No. You don't have to do that. You've already done so much for us by letting us stay at your house. I can't let you get more involved in our problems."
"But we're family right? Family should stick together."
It was the line I always used to say. Family. My father was part of the family but he caused us problems. Family was supposed to lift each other up not bring everybody down. And there was Eliza. She wasn't blood-related, but she called us her family. She was always willing to help before I even ask. She was always there for me.
"No. It's okay. You've done so much already. We're family. That's why I won't let you get involved in this mess." I told her. "You understand, right?" She nodded her head.
I spent the next three days trying to earn the money to pay for what my father owed. I knew it was pointless and that I wouldn't be able to save enough for what was needed. But I was very desperate. I held on to that tiny glimmer of hope that it was possible. I worked at the bakery until ten in the evening since it was the weekends. I also found a night job as a waitress at a diner near the coat factory at the fifteenth floor. The job was until four in the morning because people working night shifts at the factory come out at three and the diner was the closest for a light meal before going home. On the third day, I stopped by the park on my way home from the bakery to count all the money I've saved up. The bakery was open only until five because the owner had somewhere important to go to. The money I saved amounted to two weeks' worth of our expenses at home. It felt like it was such a waste to hand them over to those brutes when I worked so hard for them. It could have been such a huge help to us at home. I sighed. I didn't have a choice. Though it was such a huge amount to me, it wasn't enough. I was still missing a few gold coins. I sighed again. I wondered whether they'll just accept the money and let us off.
"Kira!" It was one of our neighbors. "Something bad is going on at your place! You have to go. Now!"
I picked up the coins from the desk and shove them in the pouch. I hurriedly went home and saw those brutes harassing my family. I ran to them and pushed away the guy who was grabbing my brother's arm.
"What do you think you're doing?!" I yelled at them.
"Have you forgotten our deal?" The leader asked.
"Of course not. But the day isn't over yet." I said. "Here's your money." I threw the pouch at him. "I'm only missing a few gold coins. I'm definitely giving you the rest tonight."
"Hah. I already gave you a chance by giving you three days and now you pay me less than what you owe? You have quite the guts." He smirked. "No need." He threw the pouch back at me. "You can keep your money. I've got a better deal."
"Are you for real?" He must be joking. "What do you want then?"
"Someone 'upstairs' needs a slave." He said. It made me take a step back. "He needs a boy who can go and run errands for him." He looked at my brother. I moved in front of Leon to shield him from the devil's malicious stare. "Your brother seems to fit the description."
"No way in hell I'll let you take him!"
"Boys, grab the boy." He ordered.
"Noooo!"
We fought back against the big men. I saw my father getting punched in the face while some asshole had the nerve to kick my mother in the abdomen. I was fueled with rage. I successfully snatched the baseball bat one of them was holding and swung without hesitation. I hit at least four of them before I felt something hit the back of my head. My eyes lost focus and I fell on the hard ground. I heard my mother screaming my brother's name, and heard my bother calling to me. I tried to lift my head but I suddenly lost consciousness.
I woke up in the bed my parents had been using. I was lying on my side. I tried turning but I felt pain on the back of my head. I slightly touched the bandage on it. My lips were dry and I licked them but tasted blood instead. I cut my lip or more like someone did it to me. I couldn't even remember how I got it. My head was foggy and I couldn't think straight. Then I slowly remembered what happened and got out of bed immediately. I got out of the bedroom and saw my parents sitting on the couch with their heads on their hands. I slowly approached them and knelt in front of them. They looked at me. At that moment, I couldn't stop my tears from falling. It felt like all hope was lost. It felt like a piece of me was taken away. My brother. We didn't even know where he was taken to. I wailed. It was the first time I ever cried in front of them. I was never one to show weakness.
"Kira!" Eliza appeared by the door. "I've got it. I've got the money!" She announced with a smile. But her smile faded as soon as she saw our expressions. "What's going on? What happened?"
"Eliza." My voice broke. "It's Leon. They took him." I started crying again.
The black bag she was holding fell on the floor. She ran towards me without caring about it and hugged me tightly. "Oh no. I'm so sorry. I should have come sooner." She started crying as well. "I'm so sorry."
We all cried that night. The days after that, the house was even quieter. We hardly spoke to each other. We were all grieving, and each of us had our own way of dealing with it. My father started going to the gambling den again. But unlike before, he kept going there hoping he'd bump into that master brute again. He never did. The man never went back to the gambling den. He probably didn't need any more wins after earning a lot from selling off my brother. He'll pay for it someday, I promised. Eliza almost never came home, and when she did, it was only to sleep a little. We never even shared a meal even once. She kept saying she'd just eat at work. It seemed like she blamed herself for not arriving on time even though I kept reassuring her she had nothing to be guilty about. Me, I kept myself very busy. I continued working as a waitress at the diner on top of the cashier job at the bakery. I was only at home for about two to three hours especially on weekends.
My mother had it worse. I noticed her getting weaker and weaker every day. She was already weak before and was worsen after what she had been through. I saw her touching her stomach a couple times. She was obviously in pain but she always shrugged me off saying it was just indigestion. I saw it. I saw it with my own eyes. I saw how she was kicked on the stomach and landed on her weak back on the ground. "I'll definitely hunt that man down." I tried persuading her to go to the doctor a lot of times. I had the money I saved up in the black pouch sitting in one corner of the house beside the black bag with Eliza's money. Both were untouched and were just collecting dust. Mother said she didn't need it. She said she was okay. Liar.
Mother died a few weeks later and it drove my father mad. He blamed himself for everything. Though truthfully I blamed him too, I felt so sorry for him. He was filled with sorrow and despair. I wanted to comfort him but I was hurting too. Just eight days after mother died, my father killed himself. Just like that, my life fell apart and my whole world shattered to the ground.