Broken Promises (COMPLETED)

Chapter 45 - Shots Fired

Photo Credit : Another photo whose owner I cannot trace...sorry :(

Hi Beshies, I'm so sorry but this will have to be a really short update. My deadline for AMACon is tomorrow and although I'm almost done, I still need to edit my work. So without further ado, please make do with a quickie chapter.

I will make it up to you after December 1, I promise. Thank you for reading as always and I hope to see you in the comments section of AMACon3 . For now, hope you'll like this chapter :)

Dei and Richard entered the supermarket with Thirdy in tow. Grocery shopping was one of their favorite bonding moments together, and Thirdy was beginning to like this activity too. He enjoyed riding the cart and being twirled around by his dad, never mind if people stared at them. Lately though, people stared because Richard's Men's Health magazine cover made him a recognizable face. It was crazy when women walked up to take a selfie with him, much to Dei's chagrin.

Today they were stocking up on food in preparation for Thirdy's second birthday celebration. Dei preferred to do the cooking herself, limiting the gathering to just neighbors and a few friends from the office. Richard wanted the celebration private and opted not to invite anyone outside his family.

"Babe did you want anything more aside from the kiddie food we're serving? I can add two more dishes, just let me know. The dessert we can buy na lang."

"I'll help you cook, sweetie. Let's get ground beef for grilled hamburgers. Wait, stay here, I'll get the ground beef and the spices too. Mabuti pa, go to the counter na, so you can sit by the senior citizen bench, baka pagod ka na eh."

He pinched Thirdy's nose and went off to get the additional items. Dei did as she was told and proceeded to the counter. They passed a stack of Campbell soups which Thirdy pushed, toppling over about five cans of soup.

"Aww, Thirdy, bad boy ka....." She stopped the cart to pick up the cans that fell down and rearranged them on the stack. All it took was 10 seconds of her back turned form the cart. To her shock, Thirdy was gone when she faced the cart.

"Thirdy, oh God no.....Please no......" She frantically called Richard for help.

"Babe, nasa Cashier 25 ako........please come. Nawawala si Thirdy, someone took him from our cart, hurry babe please!"

She heard Thirdy crying and rushed to where the sound was coming from. It was five counters away, where she saw Thirdy struggling to get away from the arms of a man whose profile looked vaguely familiar. The man turned and faced her, smiling in recognition. She grabbed Thirdy and turned away, but she was not as quick, he was able to reach for her arm to stop her.

"Let go of me or I'll make a scene, Daniel."

He scoffed at her attempt to scare him. "How? Magsisisigaw ka? I'm not doing anything wrong, kinakausap lang kita. Your son is in your arms already. Cute kid ha, ganda ng lahi kasi, pero makulit, nakakabingi. Ang sarap tirisin."

She turned and practically ran away from him. He laughed and called out to her.

"You better watch over your son better, Dei. Ang daming naglipanang masamang loob. Baka isang araw magising ka na lang, wala na anak mo sa tabi mo."

Her knees were shaking when she went back to Cashier 25. Richard was already there waiting for them. He quickly took Thirdy from her, and wiped his tears.

"Dei, what happened?"

"We passed that display over there, tapos tinabig ni Thirdy yung mga soup cans. Ang bilis, pinulot ko lang yung cans and arranged them back in the display. Walang 10 seconds nawala paningin ko kay Thirdy, biglang pagtingin ko sa cart wala na siya. Mabuti na lang nangingilala na siya, I heard him crying kaya nakita ko kung sino kumuha."

"Did you get a look at who got him? Kilala ba natin?"

"RJ, si Daniel yung may hawak kay Thirdy when I found him. He threatened me, RJ. Pag-ingatan ko daw si Thirdy kasi baka isang araw magising na lang akong wala siya sa tabi ko. Babe, natatakot ako."

"Look, upo kayo sa labas where I can see you, I'll pay for the groceries. Pag nahimasmasan ka na, pumunta tayo sa security, I'll ask for a copy of the CCTV footage. Papa-blotter ko na yan."

He was really mad but he knew he couldn't do anything. Daniel was probably out of the building by now. But he could still do something to prevent an incident like this from happening again.

This time he was not letting Daniel get away with anything, especially if it involved Thirdy.