Love & Lies

Chapter 15: ~Alejandro~

He woke up and wandered around the house like he always would when unable to sleep. When he reached the kitchen area, he opened the fridge and poured himself a glass of milk. Surely that would help him sleep. As the boy drank his milk, he heard noises from outside. Then something crashed against a window in the living room, and whatever it was came inside the house. Startled he let go of the glass and it broke on the floor. He watched in horror as the thing that came through the window burst into flames that quickly spread through the living room.

The boy wanted to call on his father, but he remembered he had not seen him in days and tears began to fall down his face. He was scared.

"Momma!" he screamed loud.

"Momma!" he cried over and over until he heard her footsteps coming down the stairs. He heard his mother's gasp in surprise as she took notice of what was happening.

"Alejandro where are you?" she called on him. The fire had spread over the stairs, and she was unable to walk any further.

"Alejandro, wherever you are please stay away from the fire!"

He continued to cry frozen on the spot. He did not know what to do. She heard her sons cries and called on him again.

"Alejandro, baby, are you listening? Stay away from the fire. If you can get out of the house, please find help." She said but Alejandro continued to not respond.

"Find help! Run Alejandro! Get out!" his mother urged him, desperate to get him out of the house. Alejandro watched the fire spread over to the hallway and it was getting closer to where he stood in front of the fridge. There was no way he could exit through the front door without being burnt. He finally willed himself to run outside through the back door that was in the kitchen area. He ran towards the neighbor's house with the intention of knocking on their door and ask for help, but before he could reach the property, he felt two strong hands grab him from behind and drag him over to the front of his house.

"Not so fast boy." A sinister voice said. Alejandro tried to free himself from his grip, but the attempt was futile. Once at the front of the house, he saw a group of men who he recognized from his father's workshop. When he met them, they were nice to him because he was the son of the boss's right-hand man. But now they did not look at him so nicely.

"Dad!" he screamed when he recognized him. Some sense of relief washed over him, but the feeling did not last long.

"Quiet son." His father told him, his voice low and scared. His expression full of worry. It took him a moment to realize that his father was the only one kneeling on the floor while the other men stood around him facing the fire, watching, and doing nothing. Waiting.

The fire was raging from within. His mother's voice becoming louder and more desperate as her attempts to get out were futile. There was no safe passage to exit. The inside of the home was consumed by the flames. Soon her screams would diminish. Soon the house would be completely engulfed as they all stood outside watching. Alejandro cried for his mother desperately. His father was silent beside him and tears fell down his eyes.

Why isn't he doing anything?

His father was a strong man. The strongest in his eyes. But now all he saw was a broken man, a shell of what he used to be. He could not understand why he did nothing to help his mother. He screamed at his father to do something and save her, but the man did not even look at him. He just lowered his head and closed his eyes.

The men turned to face them. The leader he recognized to be Mariano De la Vega, his father's best friend.

"Niño, presta atención. Esto es lo que le pasa a la gente que traiciona al cartel De La Vega. Que núnca se te olvide." His father's best friend said while lifting a gun and pointing it at his father.