IT HAPPENED IN THE DARK. (ON HOLD)

I

January 29th, 2015.

7:45am

Amaya placed her feet on the dashboard of her boyfriend's car in an insouciant manner. It was a usual practice for him to drive  her to school every morning and back home once classes were done. They had been dating for a year, and so far, their relationship was as they saw it; perfect. 

"If you're going to do that, you should at least wear clean and nice shoes," he joked, at least that was what she thought. Ryan was never one to be choleric but the few times he got angry, he could be frightening. She brought down her feet just in case she was not wrong about him being in a bad mood.

"So..." she trailed off " are you still visiting your dad today?" She asked although she knew his answer would be a definite yes. She was only trying to make conversation. She felt uneasy and very uncomfortable. She had noticed that he was unusually very quiet and moody when she got into his car, but she just assumed he was tired since it was morning, and he was not a morning person.

"No," he said in a cold tone. She was shocked, not by the tone, but by his answer. Ryan always visited his father in prison whenever he could. He had no work after class, and so, Amaya assumed that as usual, he would pay his dad a visit. Of recent, he had been visiting his dad even more frequently, almost too frequently. Amaya found it strange, but she did not want to get suspicious over a son visiting his father in jail.  

Ryan's dad had been imprisoned for eight years, he had twelve more to go. He killed a guy ten years ago. He had been involved with some very bad people, he stole, kidnapped, and did so many disruptive things to innocent people. Ryan had been heartbroken when he heard the news of his father's arrest, although he was not shocked by what he was convicted for. He always knew the kind of man his father was. His father did everything he could to get money, but he went about acquiring the money the wrong way. He had treated high school like trash, and so he could not get into  college. He lost hope and was desperate. He came across some bad guys who thought him the cowardly way of getting out of the 'rough life'. Through that way of living, he met Ryan's mother, she gave him two babies; a boy, and a girl. The girl ended up getting pregnant at sixteen. Her baby's father ran away, he refused to take responsibility. The boy; Ryan, tried his best not to turn out like his messed up father, but it seemed that his father's genes were dominant.  No matter how hard he tried, trouble always seemed to come knocking at his door, and foolishly, he sometimes welcomed it in.

  No one in Amaya's family liked Ryan. They felt he was dangerous, and she was disgusted that they judged him based on who is father was. She always defended Ryan. 'He's a great guy," she'll yell to her mum 'you don't know him like I do,' She'll say. After months of arguing, her parents finally stopped nagging her about him, but they did not give their approval either. Their guts told them that he was a bad guy, and her parents held on to the hope that one day, he'll reveal his true self to her. Amaya had always been aware that Ryan knew the kind of man his father was. She knew that he was only trying to protect his after by not reporting him. She imagined that she'll do the same to protect her family if she were in his shoes.  

"You say that you want a miracle to fall into your laps that will suddenly make you wealthy," he said.

She nodded her head slowly and waited for him to speak. "There's this guy my father worked for, he needs a favor. Nothing too shady. Says he'll cough up fifty thousand if I help him." From the way he spoke, and from the look on his face, she could tell that he was not joking. For the first time, she knew that he was being very serious because he had a look on his face that was so strong, and so determined.

"What-what kind of favour?" she swallowed hard. She did not want to find out where the conversation would lead.

"He needs a female for it, he wants someone pretty and in a short dress. I already got you covered," he said, and then he motioned his head to the back seat. She turned around and noticed  a shopping bag there. She really did not like where the conversation was heading.