Chapter 19

Ever since that day, nobody dared to invite me to any kind of party. However, Julie was so hot that even if she was acting up people still wanted to party with her. Or maybe sleep with her. Either way she's the reason I still got to go to parties. Anthony had his own friends who did nothing but smoke everyday. Then one day Anthony started smoking too. I tried to stop him, but he ended up converting me too. I started hanging out with Anthony more and more. We got comfortable with each other. Even now, I'm chilling with Anthony in his house alone. "Hey do you want some water?" He asked as he got up and walked over to the kitchen. "Yeah, with lemon too." I joked. I feel that Anthony and I have become more and more close with each other nowadays. "With some dirt, got it." Anthony joked back as he took two water bottles out of his fridge. He walked back to the couch that he was sitting on next to me and sat down on my lap. "Hey!" I pushed him off as I laughed a bit. "Sorry didn't see you there, tiny." He laughed as he moved over to give me the proper space. Anthony opened his water bottle before he gave mine to me. I reached for my water bottle, but was greeted by Anthony's hand. He moved my water bottle up above me. "What's the magic word?" He teased I looked at him shocked that he would have the nerve to actually tease me. "I will punch you." I glared at Anthony letting him know I was ready. "Violence is never the answer." He put the water bottle on my head distracting my gaze from him. I reached up to take it before it fell. As I distracted myself, Anthony took that time to lean in closer. So when I lowered my face our lips made contact. Shocked I moved back, I didn't mean to kiss him. However, I didn't hate it either. "Sorry, I was trying to kiss you, but then I chickened out." Anthony scratched his head and looked down. When I saw him like that it made me want to comfort him. I put my water bottle down on the floor and cuddled him. "You can try it again if you want too." I closed my eyes not knowing what else to do. I was nervous, my heart was jumping out of my chest and I was pretty sure I was squeezing the life out of him. "Pfft-" Anthony chuckled "Did you just laugh?" I let go of him to integrate him. He didn't say anything, just leaned in and kissed me. It was a small peck so it was over quickly. "Dummy, how am I supposed to kiss you when you're clinging so tightly to my chest?" Instantly, my face flushed. I felt my cheeks flare up as I lost all my vocabulary. Unable to speak I did what I thought to be natural. I leaned in to kiss him. This time it wasn't a peck. I shake my head to get out of memory lane. This man is dying now. He's going to be out of my life regardless if I give him the money or not. I picked up my phone that had fallen on the floor from vibrating too much. I have 4 missed calls from Adam, 2 missed calls from Julie. 45 unread text messages from Adam. I click on my messages to read what Adam wants. "Hey, babe it was actually easy to find the people you wanted. They speak English too!" it read. I continued reading. "Babe, get this one of them actually has family in Florida, wants to know if he can bring his family closer to New York so he can live with them once again." I scrolled down to read more. It was just him talking about how easy it was to find the 5 and how much he misses me. Till I got to the last one. "Babe I'm in the hospital." A huge wave of fear washed over me. I dial his number and call him. "Come on pick up." I try to rush him like he heard me. After the third ring he picked up. "Hello." "ARE YOU OK?" I yelled unknowingly. "I'm fine babe. But, Jesus is not. He was shot." Adam explained. It took me a minute to realize what he had just said. "Adam, YOU F*CKING AS*HOLE!" I yelled at him then hung up. Who is Jesus anyway? I was really scared that it was him who was hurt. I fell to my knees, how did I calm myself down before Adam entered my life? I'm still supposed to figure out if I wanna help my ex or not. Oh I know! I opened my phone only to call the only person who knew Anthony just as well as I did. "You finally called me." Julie answered. My eyes opened wide "you knew?" I said confused at the possibility. "Um….that you would call me eventually. Yes, you have called me at least once a day since I left for France. But, um what's up?" She sounded unsure of herself. "Julie are you okay?" I asked, completely forgetting my problems. "I"m fine, my boss didn't like the photos I sent him so I have to find something that represents France instead of the food and couples kissing. Ugh, I don't know much about France so I visited the museums to find something new. Get this when I sent those pictures, that bastard. He sent them back saying anyone could take them. So now I need to find what France represents." Julie complained. It had been a long time since Julie would complain to me about her job, I mean would anyone complain to their boss about their work? "Hmm, well when I think about France I picture fashion, and families eating bread together." I joked a bit "Hey this is serious. I have a deadline." I could hear her pout through the phone. "Okay, maybe if you try to look at France through the eyes of a french person you might be able to see some unexpected beauty. Otherwise it would make no sense that they're so prideful." I got up only to sit on my couch. "PRIDE!! THAT'S IT! Thanks a bunch. I knew you would be able to help." Julie seemed like she got the life back in her after that one word was muttered. "So, what seems to be troubling you." She asked, I could hear her typing through the phone. She must know exactly where she wants to go to take the picture her boss craves. "Me?" I came back to my own life. "Oh you know, just the regular decision on whether or not I save a life." I tried to make it less important to me. "And when did you ever regard that as nothing? Wait, I asked the wrong question. Whose life are you contemplating?" Julie saw right to the problem. "Anthony's. Apparently he has cancer." I stopped talking. I didn't want to think about it. I didn't want to have a part in it at all. "Oh, that's not just anyone. I can see why you needed to consult with me." The typing stopped. I sat there on my couch waiting for her to give her own input. What would Julie do? I asked myself. If she would let him die I should let him die. But that seems wrong. No matter what a human's life should not be taken lightly. "Let me know the details. How did you find this out? When did you find this out? And what do you wanna do?" Julie's voice now was more solemn than usual. "I" I paused, unable to answer her. It was the last question that she asked that threw me off. "Take it slow, tell me what you can." Julie always understood me. I felt even more appreciative towards her. "This morning. He came over briefly. I let him in and he asked for money to get treated. I made him leave to give me time to think. The only thing is I don't know what to think. I just keep thinking about the past." I began crying. Anthony may have turned out to be the biggest asshole I know. Yet, I still loved him. I just realized how content I was with the relationship I had with him now. I somehow knew he hadn't died in the time he didn't show up around me. And the fact that I could hate him made life easier. Now, the relationship has changed. Now, I decide whether I can help him or leave him to die. "It seems to me, the only reason he came back into your life was to beg for your help all along." Julie said the deep thought I wouldn't dare to think of. "Why not just get it over with? Once you help him you can get him out of your life for good." Julie said then continued typing. "But." I stopped talking when I realized what I was doing. I didn't want to help him. I didn't want him to die either. I didn't want him to be completely out of my life. "Lizzy, I get it. He was the first person in your life to show you what love was. Or at least how it felt like. But, he was also the first to cause you so much pain. Don't you think it would be better to take that out of your life?" Julie started asking me questions that were difficult to answer. "I do….I just think it would be better to….I don't know. I want to help him….Julie I don't want him to leave." I blurted out without thinking. I shocked myself when I heard myself speak. "Lizzy….do you, do you still love him?" Julie stopped typing. I can tell she was giving me her full attention. "I….I think I do." I said uncertain of what it meant. "That would make sense. Is Adam back from the trip yet?" Julie asked. What does Adam have to do with this? "No, he isn't. Why?" "He would be able to help you decide. After all, he is helping you get over him." I felt like I was being interrogated. "So you think I should discuss this with Adam? Won't that make him think I'm unfaithful? He wouldn't want to be with me anymore." I snapped. I don't want Adam to think I was still in love with my ex. He would look at me differently, he wouldn't love me anymore. "Hold up, Lizzy I think you're a little confused by the type of love you have left for Anthony. It certainly is love because you don't want him to walk out of your life, but it's more like the love you give your enemy." Julie paused, I gave her the time she needed to find the right words. "Think of it like this, he's only your enemy because you cared enough for him to let him affect you. Otherwise, all those years of not being able to completely get over him would be fake." This explanation soothed my mind. The love I have for him is that of an enemy's love. "Wasn't your mother's love like that too. You reminded her of the past she escaped, yet she could never give you up. Don't you remember the night I ended up in the hospital." I chuckled a bit at the mention of that night. Julie, Anthony, and I had tried a laced blunt that night. All of us thought we were seeing the devil and Julie couldn't take it anymore. She ran out of Anthony's house and got hit by a car. Her parents were called once she got to the hospital, and so was mine. Anthony's mother was the only one who wasn't called. It was because she was already there. My mother had thought I was the one that was hurt and rushed to the hospital. It was the first time I saw her so full of life. Once she saw that I was fine, she hugged me and told me she was going to beat my ass when I get back home. Although that night was filled with pain I couldn't ask for a better memory of her. "I got the beating of my life that night, how could I forget." I realized then, the reason why I still felt the need to protect Anthony when the girls had attacked him. He was an enemy and a friend. He will always be just that. "Julie, thank you." "No, thank you. I just realized how to make the picture better." Julie hung up the phone. I put my phone down. Now that I understood it, it was easier to decide. But, before I let Anthony know of my decision I need to call Adam. Not to tell him about my new found discovery. But to find out what was going on with this Jesus person. "Hello, as*hole speaking." Adam answered. I chuckled loudly thinking how much I wanna hug him. "I'm sorry about that. Tell me about this Jesus person and why is he injured?" "Oh did you take that time to cool down. I'm amazed. Well, it was more of a wrong place wrong time type of thing. We were walking to a restaurant to discuss the details of moving to America. After all it's not like we can just fly them into the country. But, then a green car drives by and someone from the backseat just starts shooting everywhere. I dropped to the floor so fast that I scraped my hands. However, Jesus didn't drop the same way I did. It's not a pretty site to see. Honestly I want to go back home and forget I ever came out to Spain." Adam's voice was weak. It sounded like he was fighting tears. At this moment I knew I had to comfort him. Yet, I didn't know what to say. "Adam, things happen. Things like that aren't new to the world. In fact, if you venture down the wrong parts in America I'm pretty sure you run the risk of getting shot. But, if you want to come home now you can. I'll be waiting for you with a cup of coffee in one hand and a blanket in the other hand. You did all that you could do." "What about Jesus? I can't just leave him here. He'll die." Adam sniffed his runny nose. "Are you close to the hotel? I know that's a good area. And who said anything about leaving him? I don't know who he is, but I did send you to find people for my company. He is as good as one of my employees. I'll get a work visa for him to come in earlier than the others." I said sternly. "Lizzy, I love you." I can feel the sincerity in his voice. Adam was probably really scared and needed someone to ask for help. Anyone would've fit the roll. "I love you too. Now come home so I don't have to worry about whether you would end up shot next." I smiled gently knowing that even though Adam couldn't see it, he could feel it. "You feel like a mother who just wants to see her child safe." Adam finally broke out a small laugh. "I could be a mother, but for the most part I'm your girlfriend, and I just want to see you safe." This moment made me feel warm inside. Just knowing I could be there for him even when he was away. It's moments like this that help us both to grow more and more in love with each other. I'm glad I called back. "Lizzy, what if I told you that I finished the secret mission early and it was a friend other than the selected 5 that got shot." Adam now carried uneasiness in his voice. "What? So he has no business skills whatsoever?" I was shocked, why didn't he lead with that first? "Well, more like he's a model." Adam spoke softly so I wouldn't hear what he just said. I thought about how a model would ever be useful to me when I first started taking the company. The only thing I could use them for is my clothing lines and I already have models who do that. If I take this Jesus guy in as an employee all he could possibly do for me is wear the clothing for free. It's not like he was famous that multiple people would want to have whatever it is that he has. "Lizzy, please." Adam asked with a steady voice. I knew he was asking me to keep my word and get that work visa for him. "Alright, but he needs to work once he's healed up. Do you understand. You're in charge of making sure he works and does his work properly." Not anyone could become an employee of All Enterprise, you would need to have certain grades, and attend certain schools just to get a look through the door. Yet, this kid with an unknown background was promised a seat in the company just because he got shot next to the right person. He truly was lucky. "Adam, I have something to discuss with you. It's more like telling you what happened." I paused to catch my breath. Should I tell him now? "But, it'll have to wait till you get back." I finally finished. "Why, what is it?" Adam grew curious. I just don't know how to tell him how I became confused and thought I was still in love with my ex, while trying to decide whether I would help save his life or not. Or just leave out the confused love part. "I'll see you in a week love you bye bye." I rushed to hang up the phone. Before I hung up I could hear Adam saying wait. However, I didn't listen. I've decided with the help from Julie to pay for the treatments to save Anthony's life. I get up and get ready for work. Today, I am going to spend the whole day with three people that I have possibly never met before. I hope they don't smile at me too much.