Sticky Shattered Glass Pieces

Chapter 2-This Close!

"Yeah mom, I am in class now. Can't talk right now. I will have to call you back later," I said as I almost hung up on my mom.

"No, honey, listen. This is urgent. Can you please come back right away? Your dad and I have something really important to tell you," my mom said in a stern voice.

"Can't this wait, mom? I am about to present after this. This presentation means so much to me, mom," I replied her as I looked at my watch.

"I promise you after this, I will talk to your lecturer to have another session of your presentation. Just come back home now?" my mom was adamant about it.

"Mom...okay, I will have to tell Rachel that I won't be presenting today. I will be back in 20," I said as I hung up my phone.

I was upset that I couldn't present and I was afraid that my grades for this class would be affected too. I entered the class and sat beside Rachel who was already almost dozing off.

"Hey Rachel, something came up and my parents want me back immediately. Can you tell Mr. Geller that I would call him to appoint another session for me?" I said to Rachel.

"Is everything alright? Why so sudden?" Rachel got up from her sleep immediately.

"I don't know but I think my mom sounded a little cautious in her tone when she spoke to me just now," I said as I packed my bag to leave.

"Okay, call me when you get back home, okay? Tell me everything," Rachel said as she saw me getting up to leave the class.

"And you better tell Mr. Geller that I will call him for my presentation, okay?" I reminded Rachel as she tends to forget certain things I say to her.

I walked down the corridors leading to the entrance of the university and outside. I reached the bus stop just outside my university and waited for the bus to arrive. In my head, I was wondering what was so important that my parents wants me back so urgently. Could be one of my relatives died today? Could it be a fire that broke out? My mind was running wild and I couldn't control it. The bus arrived and I hopped in. I sat on one of those window seats and took out my earphone. I plugged it in and played my list of songs from my Spotify list loudly so that it would help me clear my head a little.

It took 2 stops before I reached my housing area. As I got down off the bus, I saw my mom waiting for me outside the house eagerly. I waved at her with a smile but my doubts were coming back fast in my head looking at how she was all tensed up and worried.

"What is going on, mom? Why do you look so tense? Is dad alright?" I asked my mom in concern as I held her hands.

Her hands were cold and shaking badly. She looked worried and she stammered her words out trying to explain what was going on. My mother never stammers or I would say I have never seen her do that but once when I was a kid who almost got into a major accident back then.

"Honey, your dad has something to tell you," my mom said as she pulled me inside the house.

I saw my dad sitting on the couch in the living hall with his head hung down. Clearly, he was upset about something. I walked over to him and kneeled in front of him as I held his hands.

"What is going on here, dad?" I asked him in my low tone.

"Look here honey, we love you very much and we want to see you happy but there is one thing that your dad can't fulfill. I borrowed some money for your university from someone big and now I can't afford to pay back", my dad said as he looked at me.

"Okay, so, let me talk to him. I will ask him to give us some time," I tried to convince my dad.

"You can't, honey. He wants the money back immediately or he-" my mom stopped her sentence and covered her tiny face with her palm.

"Or he what, mom? Dad?" I asked them curiously.

"Or he would kill us all," my dad said as he got up from the couch.

"What?! Who does he think he is! I will talk to him. Give me his address," I said in shock.

"No honey, please try to understand that he is not going to negotiate with anyone here. We have tried," my mom sobbed.

"Well, if you are not going to give me his address, I will report him to the cops and make this a big deal!" I was furious at my parents for being timid.

"Honey-" my dad's voice was cracking as he shed silent tears.

"Just give her the address. Maybe she could talk to him," my mom said as she looked at my dad.

"What if she doesn't come back alive? He is dangerous! We haven't even seen this guy's face before. Who would we complain about later?" my dad tried to rationalize.

"Dad, I know you are worried but look, I am not going to let some guy ruin our life just because of money. So hand me the address and I will talk to him," I calmed down a little and convinced my dad to hand me the address.

My dad was skeptical about this but he eventually gave me the address of this guy to me. I told my parents that I would take a bath and head to his place. My dad sat on the couch back while my mom tried to convince my dad that it would be alright. I rushed to the bathroom and took a quick bath. I got dressed and ran down the stairs to head out. I saw my mother making tea for my dad who was on a call with his friend in the living room.

"I will be going now. Don't worry about anything now. I will talk to him and ask him to give me some time, okay?" I said as I took my jacket.

"Call me when you are there, honey. I want to know everything, okay?" my dad said as he opened the door for me.

"My GPS location is on so you guys can track me easily," I said as I called for a cab.

I looked back at my mom who was clearly upset that I was going there alone but she managed to smile through her worried face. I got in the cab and told the driver the address. I was thinking what if I made a mistake by wanting to speak with him as I got closer to the destination. My stomach was churning and I felt like vomiting when I knew I was almost there.