Adventures In My Heart

Chapter 2: I'm lost! No way!

Next morning, I feel drained and completely baffled by what happened last night. Something I did not expect under any circumstances. I mean, I knew Dario was trouble but not to the point where he could hurt me like that; not to the point where my life might be at stake. Maybe he didn't take things seriously enough, maybe he thought they wouldn't hurt me for real... I don't know and I would probably never know. The only thing that I am certain of is that finding at least some of the money to pay those people back is crucial. I can't hide, or in other words, I don't dare to run and hide because they threatened me and I truly got the vibe that they would hurt me, for real, not just as a threat. And even if I'm mistaken, I don't want to risk it and take a chance. Come on! This is my life we're talking about...or at least my ears, or fingers.

I try to think but the more I do I get more and more confused. And at the same time, I feel I can't distinguish what's real and what's not. I am not sure if those people are a real threat, or they are just bluffing. My gut tells me they are dangerous, or at least their boss is. Dario was definitely afraid of him.

So, what I decide to do is to try and find their money so they can leave me alone. The problem is I don't have where to find them. My credit card debt is to the limit because occasionally Dario would beg me for money, and I would feel guilty for not helping him and at some point, I would give it to him. I had tried calling for a personal loan of about 5 grand and I was declined. So definitely forty-four grand is out of the question.

It is Saturday so I don't have to work today. While I am sitting on my couch trying to brainstorm, my phone rings and I jump at its sound startled.

"Hey, what's up, girl? Long time no see!" I hear the voice of my best friend Jayda. She is super outgoing and easy to talk to. I met her before meeting Dario, we were classmates in high school and then worked at a restaurant together, I as a hostess and she as a waitress. We are very different but once we got to know each other we found we actually liked each other a lot - I love her witty sense of humor and that I can always count on her no matter what. She says she loves my jokes and the fact that I always had her back when we were coworkers and when her mom was sick. Since I met Dario, we would see each other less but we would always keep in touch, especially if one of us needed the other. Jayda used to have a lot of issues with her family because she has three younger siblings, and her mom was not able to take care of them because of her illness. After the waitressing job she started working as an escort and that helped a lot with her family's money problems.

"Hey." I answer back.

"Oh-uh. What's up? Is it him again?" Apparently, I couldn't hide the sadness in my voice.

"Yep, it's him but it's more complicated this time," I say.

"We'll talk about it. I'm not working tonight. I need to see you, come on. Dress up, I am waiting for you in an hour and a half at Infierno." She hangs up before waiting for a reply. I guess I will go since if I stay home, I will most likely drown in self-pity and sadness. Maybe Jayda can help me figure things out better.

After taking another quick shower I go to my bedroom to decide what to wear. I barely recognize myself in the mirror: dark circles are surrounding my eyes and my dark blond hair looks so dull around my face. Jayda won't like it if she sees me like this, so I need to do something about it. I decide to straighten my hair and put some light makeup on, at least some foundation and corrector to hide the marks of my sleepless night. I also put some silver eyeshadow and mascara on and only some lip gloss on my mouth. I am not in a mood for a full face make up. For my clothing, I decide to bet on the more obvious choice and put a mini black dress on, always a good choice when in doubt or you don't have energy to come up with anything better. I also put some high heels on but not too high because I am tall and don't want to be so much taller than Jayda. I take a final look at myself in the mirror and this time I approve of myself. Not great but a decent looking girl.