She's The Boss

by M.G. Marquez

CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

  MAGGIE

  Guji packed my things.

  He came into my room and grabbed every single thing he saw and stashed them into a bag. He didn’t even let me touch anything. But I let him be.

  When we went back to his car, he asked for my phone and exchanged it for his. I don’t know what he’s up to, but I let him be. I’ve been the one who’s in charge of the situation for a long time, thinking I am such a super girl. This time, I let Guji take over like he should’ve been in the first place.

  He hasn’t talked to me since we left the tree house. I know that he’s mad, confused, and terrified right now. I noticed that his right hand’s trembling so I placed my hand over it, squeezed it, and never let go of it until I fell asleep.

  It’s nighttime when I woke up. No one’s beside me so I panicked, only to find him talking to an old woman at the porch of a medium-sized house. I stepped out of the car and walked towards them. The old woman regarded me as soon as she saw me.

  “You’re safe here, Hija. This is far from the city and no one will know that you’re here,” she told me reassuringly.

  “I’ll go ahead then, Nanay.” Guji said, spinning on his heel. I caught his arm at an instant.

  “You’re going to leave me here?”

  “I want you safe,”

  “But I want you here!”

  He freed his arm from my grasp and looked at me intently. “No. I want you here. Don’t leave. Don’t tell anyone, okay? I’m the boss now. Do as I please,”

  “Just tell me where you’re going so I wouldn’t be worrying about you!”

  Guji then wrapped me with his arms so tight I could’ve died. “I’ll be back before you know it.” I nodded. “You’re not going to die, you hear? I’ll fix this.”

  Nanay and I stood side by side as we watched his car leave. What could I possibly do in here? Guji’s phone doesn’t have much use to me. It only contains four contact numbers I don’t feel like calling right now. Maybe I’ll just lie in bed, wait for his arrival, and collect my thoughts about this mystery.

  He’s one of your friends.

  I could still hear Lyn’s voice in my head telling me one of my friends is a traitor. Who could it be?

  “Go help yourself,” Nanay placed a plate full of cookies in front of me and a glass of milk. “I used to give Master Guji these when he’s afraid at night.”

  I couldn’t help but let out a smile. “Must’ve been hard for him when you’re gone huh?”

  “Oh, he hardly gets afraid when he got older. Or that’s just what I thought?” She knelt in front of the coffee table and picked up a cookie. She dipped it on the milk and offered it to me. I accepted it and ate. “I’m Hana’s mom. I’ve been at the Kim’s service almost all my life. They even gave me this house to stay after I retired,”

  “Great family,”

  “But they aren’t perfect, I know.” I saw her sighed so deep. She looked up at the ceiling as if she could see the heaven up there. “Song Hyun can’t take failures too well. They messed him up, and everything around him. His greatest failure created a tragedy to his life,” she looked at me and smiled at her to tell her I could follow.

  “He lost his wife – oh dear Reinzia! Such a lovely lady, such a lost. You know, I’ve always loved her playing the piano every morning at home. That served as our wake-up call, beautiful wake-up call. Those days of peace… I miss them so much,”

  “How about Guji? What is he before Mrs. Reinzia left?”

  “Master Guji was a very energetic boy, loving and sweet. He would always follow his mother wherever she goes, tugging the hem of her dress like any other child. He used to play the left hand parts of the piano piece, while his mother played with the right hand. They even play duets. He saw his dad as the greatest man who ever lived, loved him like no other. But that was so long ago. He’s very different to the Master Guji I once knew.”

  I want to meet that 8-year old Guji, I figured.

  The bed was soft and comfy, but I couldn’t get myself to sleep. I tapped the bulge on my right pocket, feeling its body. I took it out and put it into view.

  This dart.

  “Where are you from?” I held the ID Lyn gave me days ago and leveled it into view. The card has been soaked in blood and I couldn’t see the name imprinted on it. The only thing readable on this is the label of the organization it’s from.

  La Famiglia Dutchess.

  I sat on the bed and worked on this information. If I would be translating this name to English I would get “The Dutchess Family.” The bell is ringing inside my head but I don’t know where exactly it’s from. I know I heard that name from somewhere.

  When I got frustrated, I took my laptop out of my bag and searched the web for any hits. I clicked the first item that appeared. It was an article about La Famiglia Dutchess being one of the oldest Mafia families in Italy. I skipped their history and proceeded to present events. One of the recent clippings I saw was about the death of the Supremo’s wife on 2002.

  My heart then skipped a beat.

  “Let me see your family then, Supremo.” I clicked the hyperlink on Supremo and it directed me to another article. The article included pictures of a huge group of men, officials, and another one with only three people.

  “Supremo (starting from left) with his son Syne and wife Josephine…” I bit my lower lip as I clicked the hyperlink on the name “Syne”. It redirected me again to another site; one which was full of pictures a young boy of 13. My eyes went blurry when I think I recognized that face.

  I do recognize that face.

  I jumped out of my bed the moment I heard Guji’s voice outside. I hurried out to meet him and hugged him when I saw him. He smiled at me and held my hand, led me to the sofa and sat face to face.

  “I’m going to clean your wound now,” he told me. I saw a pack of cotton balls, alcohol and Betadine beside him. “If it hurts too bad just squeeze my arm, okay?”

  I watched him clean my wound carefully. I maybe flinching in pain but I’m too focused watching his face, and his slight changing of expressions. I slowly touched his left cheek. He moved away.

  “Why?” He asked me.

  “Nothing. I just feel like touching your skin,” because I may not be able to touch it again. “I’m sorry to interrupt you. Go on now,”

  He then continued with the Betadine. After he has covered my wound with gauze, he bowed his head. “I talked to Dad a while ago. You know what? He knelt in front of me, crying, asking for forgiveness. Do you know what I said?”

  “What?”

  “I said I will never ever forgive him. I lost my mom because of what he did, and now I’m going to lose you, too? No… I just can’t.” I heard him sniff. He can’t be crying, can he?

  I poked his arm over and over again, but he never looked up. When I got frustrated, I peeked between his arms and saw that, indeed, he’s crying.

  “Hey there, why are you crying?”

  Instead of answering me, he stood up and walked outside. I was about to follow him but Nanay stopped me. She said to give him space.

  And so I did.

  As I watched the stars shine above, I watched Guji smoke throughout the hour.

  He did not only smoke, he also drank his ass out. I could’ve strangled him for that, but I let him be because I know he’s having a hard time now. And it hurts to see him like that.

  After a while, I decided I should go to him and keep him company. I sat in front of him, smiling.

  “That would be your last, okay? You’ve had four in a row already,”

  “Janella…” He dropped his half-finished cigarette and stepped on it. He offered his hand to me and asked, “Will you dance with me?”

  “You serious? There’s no music,”

  “I could sing it for you,” he smiled at me that my heart faltered. I smiled back at him.

  I took a bow before him when I stood up. He laughed at that. I took his hand and placed them around my waist, mine around his neck. He pull
ed me closer that I almost screamed, “Oh!” He again laughed.

  He made me rest my head next to his cheek. We swayed left to right.

  “Oh I wanna make you smile, whenever you’re sad,” he started singing, I continued. “…carry you ‘round when your arthritis is bad, all I wanna do… is growing old with you,”

  “I miss your voice even though I’m hearing it now,” he whispered. I smiled. “I miss your presence even though you’re so near to me,”

  “…I’ll miss you, kiss you, give you my coat when you are cold. Need you, feed you, even let you hold the remote control,” I felt him pressing his cheek harder on mine. I kissed it lightly.

  With all the stars hovering over us, with all the clouds and dead wishes, with the silent trees and moon, we danced. I want to cry in perfection.

  “I’m sorry,” he breathed in my hair. “I’m sorry, Janella. I only caused you troubles from the very start. You don’t deserve this. You deserve something more –”

  “Ssh. Guji, I deserve you. You deserve me. No one else deserves us but you and me,” I cupped his face with both of my hands and looked at him in the eyes. “I love you and your ways, and everything in between. I chose you, I accepted it all. Even this,”

  “Why do you love me so much?”

  When you love someone, there’s no ‘why.’ There’s only ‘I just did.’ “I love you. There’s no ‘why’, no ‘that’s because you’re like this, you’re like that,’ I just love you Guji Tarence Kim. I love you wholly.”

  “No leaving behind, okay?”

  “No leaving behind.” Then he kissed me though he tasted like alcohol and cigarettes.

  “Don’t look for me. – BD”

  I don’t know what to think or do when I read his message. Last night he just promised me that he won’t leave me behind, but what did he do? He went off all by himself and asked me not to look for him. What the hell.

  I jerked when Guji’s phone rang beside me. The LCD said it was Fred calling. I answered on the second ring.

  “Boss, where are you?! Don’t you ever leave Boss Janella! She’s in danger –” Someone snatched the phone from him and I heard a different voice now. “Guji, listen up. Don’t go where he wants you to go. Papa set you up. He didn’t want you yet, he wants Janella –”

  “Shut up, Syne.”

  “Syne? How did you know my real name?” I heard the change in his voice, from agitated to alarmed.

  “Stop pretending to be our friend Jason. That’s not helping you at all,”

  “I know you all hate me now, but I swear I did my best to stop this from happening. I can explain later but for now, please promise me you will stay wherever you are!”

  “Heck I’m going to listen to you?” I ended the call and hurried out my room. I called Nanay but no one answered me. In a second, my adrenaline rushed throughout my body.

  “Nanay? Nanay!” I checked all the rooms of the house, but found them all empty. When I checked outside, I saw a yellow cab waiting. I caught my breath when I saw a man coming out of that cab. I started to run.

  My heart’s beating so fast I could hear it on my ears, deafening me. I could feel my lungs slowly failing me, my legs burning. When I looked back I saw the man running so close to me, then I tripped on my own foot.

  I fell down on my face and I tried to stand up as fast as I could. But he was faster. He grabbed my arm and pulled me up. His grasp was so tight that I might’ve cried. I’m not sure if I did. He dragged me along when I had no strength to fight back. He pushed me inside the cab and fastened my seatbelt. I tried to unlock it, but failed.

  “Enjoy the ride, miss.” He said when he started the engine.

  GUJI

  “Guji Tarence Kim,”

  I eyed him disdainfully. He’s the one who called me last night, telling me I should see him to fix things. That he’s the one who’s been following me for years; the one who’s been threatening Janella’s life. He told me he would leave Janella alone if I go here all by myself. No police, no Dad. Just me.

  “Guji Tarence Kim –”

  “I know what my name is. You don’t have to tell that to my face,”

  “You know what? I’ve been trying to kill you but my plans get busted all the time,” I watched him play with his knives like a child playing pencils. I say this guy’s one heck dangerous. “You want to know why?”

  “No.”

  “It’s Cantos! Your friend had always been on the lookout for my plans, and they get all busted! THAT REALLY SUCKS! You should’ve died ten years ago in that fucking school bus!”

  Cantos? Did he mean Yvan? Yvan’s been saving me from him all these years? Why didn’t he tell me anything?

  “Why don’t you answer your phone first?”

  I was so engrossed to the fact that Yvan was a savior that I didn’t hear Janella’s phone ringing in my pocket. I took it out and answered her call.

  “Hello?” I started.

  “Guji! Where are you?!”

  “Didn’t I tell you not to look for me –”

  “No, listen to me! It’s Jason, he is … has been spying on you … son of the woman your dad … killed –”

  “Just calm down. I could barely hear you!” When I looked up to face this man called Secret, I saw him smirking at me. He winked at me and motioned his knife to tell me I should go listen to her.

  “He told me don’t go … set up you up! They will kill me now!” My eyes widened at that, my heart pumped like nuts. I could feel all my veins constricting, and my head aching in anger.

  I eyed Secret with such menace I could create. “What… do you plan to do with her?!”

  He smirked at me and said, “Your girlfriend will die in a car crash. In five minutes to be exact,”

  “Five minutes?” That’s when I started to panic. “JANELLA?! Are you in a car? JUMP OUT OF THAT FUCKING CAR RIGHT NOW!”

  “I can’t! The seatbelt’s jammed!”

  “WHAT?! Do everything you can to get out of there! GET OUT –” before I could even finish my sentence, the line was cut. But before it did, I heard a sharp screech and crash, a series of glasses shattering, and metals colliding and folding. It was so loud that my ear was hurt too badly.

  Then everything went mute.

  Except for the line that went dead.

  This is all just but a dream.

  I’ve been sitting here for I don’t know how long, watching him pace to and fro. I don’t know where my spirit had gone, or my will, or my strength. Janella’s phone is still on my hand, waiting for her to call me again. But she never did.

  Will she ever?

  “How about that? How painful is it to lose?”

  I want to punch him in the face but damn these legs, I can’t move an inch! Fuck this. I feel so weak. I feel… hopeless. Pain is eating me alive, eating me slowly. I want to scream, I want to go wild, but I just can’t move a muscle.

  I can’t move.

  I heard footsteps coming toward me. These were heavy unlike Secret’s. “Supremo, he’s the one.” I heard Secret say.

  He stopped when he’s only a couple of steps away from me. I saw him squat and pierced something hard on my head. I’m guessing that there’s a gun ready to shoot my brain out. “Ah, then we finally meet.”

  I looked up to him and saw an old, angry man staring back. I noticed that his eyes were too red. I bet he’s drugged. Then I felt my spirit coming back to me, warming me up. The anger came back. I spit on his face.

  “Bullshit! Did you just spit on my face?!”

  “Yes, I just did.” He slapped me with his gun, but I tried to be still. I could taste my blood on my tongue, flowing. I coughed and let the blood stream down my mouth. “Hurt me all you want, I don’t care. Kill me, punish me. Do as you wish.”

  “Of course I will.” The moment I heard him pulling the trigger, I closed my eyes.

  I will follow you, Janella. To heaven, to hell. I will.

  “Pa!” I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard Jason’s voice. Wh
en I opened my eyes, I saw him standing in front of me. “My friend is already dying in the hospital. One is enough, Pa! Just stop this crap –”

  “YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO LOSE SOMEONE!”

  “Pa, I lost my mom too. Don’t act as if you are the only one who lost someone in life. Everyone dies. It’s fucking natural!”

  “Natural, you say? Let me kill him then!” I saw him spun around and shot Secret in the head. My eyes followed his falling body. His eyes were staring straight at me making all of my hair stood on ends. I gasped when I saw Dad just standing behind the once alive man. It could’ve been him if Secret wasn’t there.

  Dad was staring at me, I stared back. We’re both horrified.

  “Tell me who shall I shoot next?” Supremo asked his son so casually. “Let me abide with nature, son. Everybody dies, right? SO EVERYBODY WILL DIE!”

  He began shooting just about anywhere. One of the bullets came straight to my arm. The pain first came like lightning, fast but vivid. Then it became like liquid, warm and thick.

  “You,” I saw him pointing his gun at me. “My wife died, so YOU should die, too. I love her so much… I love her more than my life! But this bastard –” he shifted the gun from me to Dad. Dad flinched. “Killed her helplessly. SO YOU SHOULD PAY FOR THAT!”

  I was surprised when he shifted his gun to me again and clicked without me breathing at its interval. I heard a loud bang and I think I should be lying down now. But instead of doing that, I watched how someone fell down just in front of me. He was smiling the whole time, telling me I was the best guy he ever met.

  “Yvan? Y-yvan…?” I forced myself to crawl to him though it’s hard. “Yvan, don’t close your eyes. Yvan, no!”

  When I have placed him on my lap and have tried to keep him awake, that’s when I started to really cry. I’ve been holding back all these tears only to cry them all out now. I can’t do this anymore. I can’t contain all these pain, this madness.

  “Everybody dies. So am I.” I heard another bang and saw another body falling in front of me. The Supremo’s eyes were staring back at me, mocking me until the last second of his life.

  I screamed.