The Contract That saved my Brother but not me

Chapter 25: Past and Present

What? I am not 15. What does he mean?

Richard takes my hands and kisses them. "I know you since you are 15. We even talked a few times before."

"No, I didn't know you. What are you talking about?" I hug myself and sit on his bed. I am looking at his back.

"I saw you with your friends at the basketball court in your neighborhood. You were wearing jean shorts with a Laker's jersey. You had your straight with no bangs. I was asking around for your brother."

"That's when I saw you. You were so cute and pretty. You looked at me smiling. I guess your friends asked you to ask me what I wanted."

"You asked me 'what you want bro? are you lost?' and I remember telling you that 'pretty girls like you shouldn't talk like that'. you blushed and brushed your hair back. 'thanks for the compliment but really, are you lost?' I told you 'no I am looking for someone'."

I try to remember but I cant. I don't remember seeing Richard in my life.

"I said I was looking for Johnny Perez and you said that he was your brother. 'how is it that a fancy looking guy like you is looking for my brother?' you asked and I simply said I wanted to give him work. You smiled and said okay that Johnny was on a date. So I told you thanks and got ready to walk away but I noticed a smell."

He turns to me and smirks, "You were high. I smelled the pot that your little ex-boyfriend and your friends were smoking. Then I saw your eyes, the size of quarters were your pupils."

Oh, that makes sense that's why I cant remember. "Is that how you first met me?"

Richard says yes. "But I knew that you were a good girl just with a bad crowd."

"So you saw me and thought I was pretty then what?"

He gets on his knees and looks at me in my eyes. "I don't know. There was just something about you that I liked. A spark that I saw in your eyes and like you said you are pretty. How can a man resist such beauty?"

"I don't get it though. I can't remember maybe because I was high most of the time but,"

"The second time I saw we talked was outside your house. I was waiting for your brother to come and you were siting on the stairs."

"Wait," I look at him, "you had no facial hair and your hair was like curly right?"

"Yeah," he chuckles.

"You told me that I shouldn't be with Pete. And I got mad,"

That's how I got arrested. That was the day my mom discovered that I used to drink all the time with Pete. How I sneaked at night, how I once robbed a store, and all the bad things about me. Now she is blinded because she doesn't want to remember how I was.

"Are you okay?" Richard asks.

"Yeah, just remembering."

He cups my face, "Don't cry. remember you can't feel strong emotions."

"I hit you and Pete saw me. He thought you were trying to flirt with me so-"

"He beat me up unexpectedly. I didn't even see it coming," he says.

"He got arrested and the cops took me as well,"

"I couldn't bail you out since I was at the hospital," Richard continues.

Wow. This is really weird.

I stand and walk towards the window again. "How did you get the idea of me marrying Ian?"

"Well, mainly for what Johnny try to do and your ex-boyfriend beating me up. I also thought that maybe Ian will come to really like you."

"Like you. Father like son huh?," I say.