AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Florencia gasped, and Lorena snapped her fingers, pointing at me. “That’s an idea,” she said, sitting back down at her computer and typing furiously, her eyes moving across the screen rapidly with every hit of her keyboard.
“I don’t know,” Florencia said quietly. She was curled up on the couch, looking out the window. “Why would he?”
My father had lost his seat in the house a few months earlier to a more libertarian candidate, but he was still hell-bent on running for the presidency eventually. I didn’t know many details, but I had heard that he was keeping his ears to the ground and hoping that the incoming government would select him for a cabinet role. Despite his loss in the governor race, maybe his political party would still take him in. This would, allegedly, position him favorably with the press, and then he would eventually run for president. It was a long game. A game he was an expert at playing. So I saw Florencia’s point.
“Because this is career-ending for him,” she said absentmindedly. She picked up her glass of water, her eyes still looking out the window.
She was smart, and she would have done great inpolitics, but then my father happened, and he wreaked havoc on her life.
There was a loud boom from outside the house, followed by the distinct slamming of three car doors. “¿Qué te escondes, cagón?”Coward. He was calling me a coward.
Florencia’s gaze snapped to me, and she scurried away from the window towards the back of the house so that she wasn’t visible from the outside. It was Eugenio’s unmistakable voice, yelling from the street, right outside the living room window. I could hear someone else talking to him, asking him to calm down.
“¿Vas a salir, o no?”Are you coming outside? he asked, fury in his voice.
Florencia looked at me, then looked to the front door, waiting for the knock. Lorena was focused on her research on the computer, barely acknowledging what was happening outside. A few minutes later, there was a flurry of activity, and a bright light shone into the house.
“What the fuck?” I asked, walking to the window to understand what was going on. The press was standing outside, lights and cameras blaring. “Shit,” I said under my breath, but Florencia had noticed. She stood still, not moving a single muscle, her eyes blinking rapidly with incredulity.
“He’s not the leak,” she said. And I nodded. His ego wouldn’t let him throw away his career like that, and if he were, he wouldn’t be out for blood. Did he assume it had been me?
“I’m going outside.”
“Francisco.” Lorena perked up, straightening her back and squaring her shoulders. “I advise against that. We need to prepare a statement.”
“Okay,” I said to her, looking straight at her. “You do that, and I will see what he wants.”
She cocked her head in defeat but smiled nonetheless, her eyes shining still. Maybe an idea popped into her brain. I opened the door, and he was standing there, swaying a little in his spot. His eyes were glazed over, and his breathing was irregular, like the screaming match he had against the house took it out of him completely. He startled as soon as he saw me and leaned into my body, his breath reeking of alcohol.
“Why are you doing this to me?” he slurred. He was blinking in slow motion, almost like he was trying exceptionally hard to focus on me. I opened my mouth and then shut it again, thinking about my next words.
Play coy.“What are you talking about?” I cocked my head for maximum impact, but there was a prickle of wariness raising the hairs on the back of my neck. The sound of my voice seemed to snap him from his drunken stupor, and he lunged for me, trying to get a punch in. We were tucked under the house’s awning, the cameras set up a few meters away, right in front of the window, but no one was getting close to us. Maybe my father’s security detail was holding them off, possibly bribing them to deter them for a few more minutes. “Calm down, old man. You are going to hurt yourself.” I couldn’t help but smile at his reaction, his nostrilsflaring at my words. His personal security guard was standing to the side, his back to me and facing the street. I could see the slight shake in his head, like he disapproved of this too.
“Leave before you embarrass yourself.”
“You are ruining your mother’s life. Is that what you want?”
“Oh, please, Eugenio. Like I don’t know I’m the biggest mistake she ever made.” At that, he sobered up. “But honestly, I don’t know what you are talking about. I’m not the leak,” I added calmly.
“It’s that whore! She's been out for revenge ever since that child died.”
“What did you just say?” My voice sounded incredulous to me, taking a high pitch I didn’t recognize from myself. “Eugenio, I swear to god.” I sighed, trying to control my temper. It was about to get explosive here, just like one of the many fights I’d witnessed as a child. I clenched my fists, tucking my hands into my pockets.
It was a weird feeling, this heavy, sinking thing in my body. Like this was the absolute end of this relationship. There was no saving it, not for my benefit or for the benefit of anyone else. He was ruthless, and he didn’t care who went down with him.
“She is the closest thing to a mother I’ve had. Don’t you dare talk about her like that,” I said through clenched teeth, my heart beating fast inside my chest. I wanted to punch him square in the face, to see that motherfucker lying on theground, wailing in pain. But the press was here, and I had to protect Florencia, so I brushed past him.
As soon as my arm brushed his shoulder, his hand closed around my wrist, tugging me back into him, his breath on my face, the stench nauseating. “This is how you speak to me after all I’ve done for you, boy?”
I closed my eyes, then snapped them to his, so similar to mine. “I never asked for anything from you. I just wanted to be normal, and you paraded me around like I was a little prop,” I spat. “Please, Eugenio, don’t be delusional thinking that who I am today has anything to do with you.” I tugged my arm, trying to get rid of his hold, but he tightened his grip. For an older man who was significantly impaired, he was strong. He wasn’t above physical violence. I had witnessed it many times. “The only thing you ever did right for me was Jazmín.”
And at those words, he threw a punch, barely missing my face and stumbling towards me. I used the momentum to push him back, and he grunted as soon as his back hit the brick of the house, his face transforming with pain and surprise when his head bounced off of the wall.
The press seemed to pick that exact moment to finally break through, and the cameras flashed brighter, capturing the dramatic scene. My forearm was pressed against his throat to keep him in place, my face mere inches from his. His jaw was pulsing with fury, but he was too stunned to speak. Reporters shouted questions, trying to make sense of the unfolding drama.
“Francisco,” someone said behind me, a soft hand tugging at the back of my shirt. “He’s not worth it.” Florencia was looking between me and my father, a pained expression on her face.
I blinked, suddenly realizing the scene we were causing. I took a step back, attempting to create some distance between us. Maybe the cameras hadn’t caught all of it and we could still figure it out, although I was certain this was the final nail in the coffin.
