Chapter 16: Unfortunate Situations
"So, tell me why I'm here again," Diaspro whined for the umpteenth time. Musa glanced at her, obviously annoyed, but said nothing. I called Diaspro first, because she's usually down for anything. Plus, I had leverage on her. She is going to be needed for the distraction part of the plan. Don't worry, I'm not selling my sister out.
"You're here because I told you to be. Now zip it," I snap at her.
She glared back. "You're not my mother."
"No, but I can definitely tell your mother about what really happens when you baby-sit Roxy alone," I threaten. She narrows her eyes but says nothing more. Good.
I turn to Musa. "Alright so you remember the plan, right?" She nods and smiles at me. She is needed to help me look for the tape. Nothing more. I might have taken advantage of the fact that she thinks this will make us friends again. It might, but I still don't know. Neither of them know why I'm doing this, they are just helping.
Diaspro huffs to get attention. I turn a glare on her and bark out, "What?"
"When is the other chick getting here so we can get this over with?" The other chick in question is Mitzi. She isn't apart of the plan. I just need something from her that she definitely won't give me herself.
I look across the parking lot to see her car pulling up. "She's here now. Just do as I told you," They both nodded and we waited by the park bench while Mitzi took her time walking to us. Diaspro was tapping her foot impatiently by the time Mitzi approached.
Mitzi took off her sunglasses and eyed me warily. "What was so important that I had to leave quality time with my boyfriend?" If only she knew.
"I wanted to have lunch with you. We don't spend enough time together." I smile sweetly. She arches her eyebrow.
"Then what are these two doing here?"
"They were just keeping me company until you got here. Well, I wanted you to meet Diaspro as well. Let's go eat, shall we?" She nodded slowly, still curious about my true intentions. I turn to Musa and Diaspro behind me.
"See you later, Musa." I wink secretly.
"Bye, Stella!" Musa says cheerfully and I pull a scowling Diaspro towards me. Musa waves as she leaves to her hiding spot. I turn towards Mitzi.
"Mitzi, this is my sister, Diaspro. Diaspro, Mitzi." They nod towards each other and look the other way. If I didn't know them, I would think they were sisters themselves. Too bad I do know them.
"Let's go to the burger joint down the street." I say.
Silence. I am really not the conversationalist here, because every time I try to come up with a subject to talk about, Mitzi doesn't seem to be in the least bit interested. We are sitting at a booth on the side of the restaurant.
I clear my throat. Time to put the plan in motion. "So, are you going back to spend quality time with Baltor after this?"
Mitzi looked at her nails. "I suppose so." I glanced at Diaspro and gave her a pointed look. She rolled her eyes and turned to Mitzi.
"That is a beautiful purse! Is it Chanel?" Mitzi ears perked up at this.
"Why, yes it is." She put her purse on the table so Diaspro can look at it. "Got it for a great deal. Only $400.00." ONLY $400.00? This chick is crazy.
"Can I hold it?" Diaspro asked in false amazement. Mitzi didn't see through it since she agreed and continued talking about the quality and price. Time to distract.
"Mitzi, how long have you and Baltor been dating?" Mitzi tore her eyes away from Diaspro to me.
"Oh, I don't know. Four months? You know that we've taken breaks but this is the longest we have gone without taking one."
I nodded and 'accidentally' dropped my phone underneath the booth. "Oops. Can you get that for me?"
"Whatever," she replied and bent under the table.
"Left corner pocket," I whispered urgently to Diaspro as she searched for the key card. I felt Mitzi start to come up, so I put my leg over her back.
"Hey!" Her muffled voice sounded angry. "Stella, get off!"
"What?"
"Stella, move!" She screeched. Heads were starting to turn, but it didn't matter. Diaspro found the key. She zipped the purse back up quickly and handed me the key card. I put it in my pocket as I moved my leg from Mitzi's back. She sat up in a huff and her face was red from struggle. "What the hell is your problem?"
"Yeah, Stella?" Diaspro questioned. She shook her head in fake shame and stood up. "Let's go Mitzi. She is freaking crazy." Mitzi nodded in agreement. With one last dirty look at me, they left together. Perfect.
I moved out of the restaurant and around the corner to find Musa. She was doodling on her phone when I approached. She gazed up at me. "Got the key?" I nodded and we went on our way.
Baltor's hotel room was on the sixth floor; the penthouse suite. Musa and I approached the door hesitantly. This is it. If I go in there, I could possibly set Helia free of this weight that has been on his shoulders for so long. I could possibly put Baltor where he belongs, behind bars. I could finally give real justice to the family that lost their inquisitive son.
I glance a Musa from the corner of my eye. "Are you ready?"
Musa gulped noisily. "Are you sure Diaspro will warn us if he's coming?" That was mainly Diaspro's job. She went with Mitzi to keep an eye on Baltor. We had to make sure he wasn't coming while we were here.
"I'm positive. Now, let's go." I slide the card into the holder and wait until it beeps green, then open the door. The suite in itself was large and everything looked expensive. He had a flat screen hanging on the wall and plush carpet. The couch was red velvet coloring and the walls were a nice cream color. Musa shut the door behind her and marveled the place like I did. I shook my head and spun to her.
"We should probably start in the bedroom." We walk down the hallway into his room. Clothes were strewn everywhere. Other than that, it was alright. I was use to messy rooms.
"So, what exactly are we looking for again?" Musa asked as I began searching the closet.
"A tape. Like the one in security cameras. We need to find it and destroy it." She nodded and started looking under the clothes on the floor. I mentally rolled my eyes. I'm pretty sure there aren't any under the clothes, but whatever. I can use any help I can get.
Finding nothing in the closet, I went to his unmade bed. I looked under one of his pillows and found a bright pink lacy bra. My eyes widened. "I found a bra," I called out to Musa who was still probing the ground.
"It must be Mitzi's."
I looked back down at the bra . "Mitzi is definitely not a D-cup." I shivered in disgust and dropped the pillow back down. So Baltor is a cheater. I find that I'm not in the least bit surprised. Pulling out his drawers, I find more papers and junk that doesn't really mean anything to me. I slam the shelf forward in frustration. Why did I think this would be easy?
"Hey, Stella? You might want to see this," Musa says from Baltor's bathroom. I rush into the bathroom to see Musa kneeling before a large black bag. I scrunch my nose in confusion. "What is it?"
She stands up and moves to the side so I can see. The bag consists of hundreds, thousands, maybe millions of dollars. My mouth almost dropped open. Whoa. I have never seen that much money in the same place before. Well, maybe in movies, but never in real life. He must still be dealing drugs.
Musa has a slightly freaked out expression on her face. "Stella, who is this guy? How could a college student with no income have all this money? What's going on. Is he some thief? Drug dealer or-"
"Musa, chill!" I interrupted her insistent babbling. "Just relax. I know where the money came from. Just…let's find the tape and get out of here, alright?" She still looked kind of scared, but nodded in agreement. She put the bag back where she found it and we continued searching the bathroom. I was about to suggest we expand our search to the rest of the suite, when my phone rang. My gaze fell on the caller I.D. Brandon.
"Oh crap," I muttered and looked up at Musa. "It's Brandon!"
"Just text him that you're busy," she suggested.
"I can't. I already did that twice today and he knows I'm not suppose to do anything today. He'll definitely think something's up if I don't answer." I bit my fingernails nervously.
"Well then just answer it. I'm going o start looking in the den." She walked out and I quickly pressed talk on my phone. "Hey, baby." I hope I sounded extra excited.
"Hey, gorgeous. I just got off of work. Want to go hang out or something?" He sounded so chill and relaxed that I longed to be with him at that moment. Suck it up, Stella.
"Uh, I thought you worked until seven?"
"Boss guy let us go early. Can't argue with that though." He chuckled lightly and I tried to laugh with him. It was probably a terrible attempt because he immediately picked up on my lack of exuberance.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm," I cleared my throat, "fine." I really didn't think it would be this hard lying to him. I haven't done it before and now I can see why. I'm terrible at it.
"Okay…where are you? I can pick you up after you're done with your 'business'."
"You don't have to do that," I exclaim quickly. "I'll just… go home after this."
"I thought you were staying at Cassandra's," he stated curiously.
"Right! I am, but you know…it might as well be home now?" My sentence turned out to sound like a question and I knew the gig was up.
"What's going on, princess? Stop lying to me."
"Okay, okay, okay, but when I tell you, you have to promise not freak out." I already knew that was a stupid thing to request. Of course he would freak out. He asked me to stay away from Baltor and I'm pretty sure going to his house was off limits too.
"Where are you, Stella?" Oh snap. He actually used my name. He meant business.
I swallowed hard. "I…um…I'm at Baltor's suit." The line was silent for a few minutes. "Brandon?"
"You're where?" he asks again in a deathly calm voice. I didn't answer and I heard him breathe out once. "Stella, why the hell are you at his place?"
"I'm trying to find that tape. If I can get that, then I can solve our whole problem here. Just trust me." I explained and started picking at a mysterious painting that doesn't go with the room's décor at all.
"It's not our problem, Stella. It's Helia and Baltor's problem. Get out of there now." Brandon demanded and I balked.
"You aren't my Father, Brandon. And you certainly don't own me so I can do whatever want," I snap back at him and he sighed angrily.
"I'm not trying to own you Stella. This is dangerous and you shouldn't have gone there in the first place. I told you to leave this alone, but you can't seem to get anything through your head!"
"Watch your tone with me. I know what I'm doing."
"No you don't! Baltor is a lot more dangerous than you think. I'm coming right now. Get out of there and meet me outside of the hotel." He sounded angry and anxious.
"How about no," I say defiantly. I hear a small distant bang in the kitchen. Just like a thud. Musa must be looking through the cabinets in the kitchen now.
"Damn it, Stella! Get out of there!" My phone beeps once, letting me know I have a text message. I look back down at my phone to see that it is from Diaspro saying: GET OUT OF THERE NOW! What?
"Stella? Stella, are you still there?" I was about to respond when I felt the barrel of a gun at the back of my head. I froze. I heard Brandon repeatedly calling my name, each time more desperate than the other. A face slides in beside my head and whispers in my ear, "Hang up the phone, Stella bear."
Baltor's voice was sickly sweet and brought terrible shivers throughout my body. He gathered the hair at the right side of my head and pulled it tightly back so my head titled back painfully. "Hang it up, now." Tears spouted in my eyes as I pressed the end button on the phone. Baltor let go of my hair, kept the gun at the back of my head, and grabbed my phone. He through it against the wall and I'm pretty sure it's completely ruined. I couldn't tell because my eyes were blurred with tears. I'm so stupid. So, so stupid.
"Baltor, I-" He quieted me by shoving the gun into my head even more, pitching me forward a little bit.
"Shut up. I don't want to hear your poor excuses. Just like Kyle. Too nosy for your own good." He stood in front of me and moved the gun to the side of my face.
"I thought you were a good one, Stella bear. What happened? Oh, well. You've already betrayed me. Now it's time to pay the consequences." He caressed my cheek with the gun, catching a tears as it slides down. "Oh, don't cry. It will be over soon." He smiled. I cringed.
"Where's Musa?" My voice is watery. I would have just kicked him where it hurts and ditched this place by now, but considering he has a gun and has killed before, I think I'll stay put.
"Do you want to see her? Come on." He wraps his hand around the back of my neck and squeezes while escorting me towards the hall again. "There she is." I gasp as I see Musa on the ground, unconscious. The tears I was trying to hold back fell down.
"Y-you ki-killed h-her?"
He sighed sadly. "Unfortunately, no. She's just taking a little nap right now. When she wakes up is a whole other story, though." He came to face me again. "Right now, I want to spend time with you. And maybe we can come to a," He leaned down and kissed the side of my mouth, "compromise." I wanted to sock him in the face and scrub my own face dry. This disgusting piece of trash won't get anything from me.
"Go the hell," I spat. He laughs joyfully and grabs my chin roughly to force me to look in his eyes.
"If I go, you're going with me."
A/N: Thank you sooooooooooooo very much for reading and reviewing and favoriting (not a word; I know!) and following the story. I just love reading each and every one of your reviews.
So…you kind of hate me now right? Yeah, I thought so, lol. I know you guys hate cliffhangers, but it was just to had to resist. I promise this is the last of this story.
Whoa. That was…Wow. Stella just has to do something, doesn't she? Why can't she leave well enough alone, I will never know. What do you think happens next? Will Stella make an escape? Will Brandon come to the rescue? Got to wait.
Only one chapter left and then the epilogue. I have no idea when I'll update next. I'll try Sunday, but that isn't set in stone. School starts Monday so I'm going to be pretty busy.
So…Review!