Billionaire's Toy

Chapter | XIII

"Sounds good?"

"I-i can't--where am I suppose get that much money?!" Charles raged, pacing back and forth. "At least give me more time!"

"Huh? I think three months is pretty generous." The unknown man clicked his tongue thrice, courtesy of him being generous with the due date. "I could've given you a month. Or maybe a week, you know?"

"I'm actually being considerate here, believe it or not. I mean, he got scammed real bad! He's like a few steps away from being bankrupt. So I came by to check up on him, willing to give him a short extension." Jordan grabbed Charles by the shoulders, stopping him from pacing around like a madman. "But, it seems like your father is planning to run away and hide from me. Really bad move, I can't have that. It's hard to earn money nowadays!"

Charles sighed, running his fingers through his hair aggressively. Charles is on the verge of breaking yet again, confused with his own emotions. He's worried for his parents and their safety.

'Do you need a hug?' Jordan mouthed, taking the phone away from his ear for a moment. He was ready to engulf him with warmth, but Charles refused. Biting his lips, he pushed the phone against his ear again.

"Err~ are you still there? You're making this very awkward." The man sighed. "It seems like i legit gave you a fright, haha."

"..three months, right?" Charles' voice broke upon mentioning those words, uncertain with the man and himself. "I-i'll do it. I'll pay you...just don't touch them again."

"Huh? I didn't do anything. If only your dad weren't so loud~" The man chuckled. "Oh well, it's a deal then. Do you have anything you wanna add?"

"N-no, nothing.."

"Okay, sweet! If that's all, I'll be on my merry way." He cheered, whistling a happy tune. "Oh, you better keep your word. Bye bye!"

Charles breathed once the call ended. He sat on the bed, making it creak a little. "What the fuck."

"Are you okay?" Jordan asked timidly, afraid of overstepping boundaries. "I...do you want to talk about it? I can go if you want some space."

"Yes please." Charles mumbled. He's subconsciously pulling on his hair, clearly agitated.

"Hey, stop doin' that. You're hurting yourself." Jordan scolded, removing the grip himself. "Just think too much about it, it won't help."

"And how exactly am I suppose to do that?!" Charles shouted, springing up from the bed. "A fucking loanshark just called me, Jordan. Through my mom's phone! And that man also threatened me to pay or else they'll hurt my parents!"

"I know." Jordan tried to soothe him, but that little outburst raised Charles' frustration to the point he started crying. "Sorry, i just wanna to help."

Fuck, now Charles feel bad for yelling. But that wasn't his priority at the moment. Right now, he's thinking where will he get the money his parents owed. His entire savings are not even enough to make up 5% of the amount needed. Maybe I should--

His phone started ringing once again, same caller ID as the previous caller. Who would've thought that seeing that name can bring out so much fear?

"You don't have to answer it, Charles." Jordan adviced upon seeing his hesitation. It rang a few more times before the call ended. But shortly after the quick taste of silence, the caller dialed again.

"But I can't ignore it either, my parents are on the line." Charles whispered. He closed his eyes and breathed, answering the call immediately before his paranoia can make him think twice. "H-hello?"