Rolling with Dice

Chapter 22

Fired.

Mr. Flores fired me. After everything that I went through for that jackass, he fired me! Tricked me! Used me! And to top it all off, he kidnapped my friends – and Bobbi, who was more than a friend to me yet we still haven't discussed our relationship status so I don't know exactly what to call her yet!

I guess for now while I'm rambling on in my head like this, I'll just call her what I want her to eventually become: my girlfriend.

Damn right I said it. Bobbi was my girlfriend, and now because of me, both she, her father and her team were in great danger.

I slid down to the ground with my back against the glass wall and made fists in my hair. This was all my fault. How could I not have seen any of this coming? I mean I know I'm not the smartest guy around but this betrayal came out of nowhere! If I would've known Mr. Flores was going to go on with his psychotic plan regardless of me bringing Bobbi's diary to him, I would never have let Bobbi leave the condo!

And as for Feather...she was even worse, but on the bright side of all this at least if I was getting screwed over, so was she. George Flores had already proven he couldn't be trusted; I figured it was only a matter of time before he stabbed her in the back.

I hit my head on the glass behind me and closed my eyes.

Dammit. What was I going to do?

"Erm...hello?" whispered a voice unsurely next to me.

I looked over to my right to see an old lady staring back at me through frail silver frames.

"Yes, mam?" I sighed. I may have been a mess, but my mother's upbringing prevented me from being rude to the elderly.

"Are – are you ok?" she said hesitantly.

"No, I am not."

The old lady cocked her head to the side and gave me a sympathetic smile. She looked familiar but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"Why?" she asked.

I sighed again. "I messed up big time."

The old lady patted the empty space beside her.

"Why don't you tell Aunty Paula all about it," she welcomed.

I stared at her in consideration. She looked normal; just a plain, old lady with heavily creased dark brown skin and silvery grey hair to match her tiny grey glasses, but there was still something vaguely familiar about her...

I dragged myself up from off the ground – with great effort I might add, I was just in a car accident – and trudged myself over to sit next to her.

"Now what's on ya mind, sugar?" she said attentively.

And just like that I began to pour my whole story out to her. I made sure to skip out the major bits – like all of my illegal break-ins with D.I.C.E, Sweet Delia, and Luca being dragged to the hospital – and summarized it. I kept the focus on Mr. Flores betraying me.

Aunty Paula was quiet the whole time I spoke but gave considerate nods here and there to assure that she was listening. When I finished my story she gently squeezed my wrist with a wrinkled bony hand.

"Well, Milo," she said softly, "there's nothing I can really say but ...." She smacked me hard on the back of my head. "Wake the hell up!"

"Ow!" I winced. I wasn't expecting her to pack such a powerful slap.

"What in God's name is wrong with you?" she yelled in my ear.

 "What? I –"

Paula stood up now.