*LEILA*
"Welcome to New York," the pilot announced, making me sign in relief. I thought I was never going to arrive, especially when the thought of some of Giovanni's men might be in the plane, waiting for me to leave the airport to kill me, which is why I was looking behind me every 5 seconds.
I walked through the crowded halls of the airport, following the people who were in my plane. I didn't know where to go, so naturally, I followed them.
I made sure to throw my phone before I left Italy because I knew for a fact that Giovanni had placed a tracking chip in it. The last thing I wanted was for him to know where I was.
I strolled outside the airport and was greeted with the lovely weather of New York. It was sunny and it wasn't too hot. The rainy smell hit my nose, indicating that it had been raining a few hours ago.
I found a taxi outside the airport and got in, but not before making sure no one was following me.
"Where to ma'am?" The driver asked, looking at me through the rear-view mirror.
I didn't really know where the Gonzalez's resided other than they lived in New York, so I had to find a way to find their home. In the meanwhile, I had to stay in a cheap motel, a little further from the airport.
"Please take me to a motel, one far from here," I told the driver.
He nodded and drove off. He told me that we would be there in thirty-minutes, which I think is far enough from the airport. The reason I wanted to stay somewhere far away was because I was scared that when Giovanni knew I was in New York, he would find me immediately if I was close to the airport. I didn't know if that's even smart, but I felt better doing that.
I looked outside the window and it just occurred to me that I have never seen New York before. Hell, I have never seen anything outside of Italy before. It was so beautiful. New York was so crowded and had lots of traffic. I wish I had lived here. All my life I have been isolated. When I was in Italy, I could only go out to events with Giovanni whenever he ordered me to.
When I married Giovanni, I thought I would be the happiest woman alive. My childhood and teens weren't that great, so I thought Giovanni would help me forget all the terrible things my parents did to me, but he proved to be just like them.
Was I expecting the Gonzalez's to be bad? Yes. But I have heard that they are good people from Alberto. I just hoped they'd believe my good intentions and don't kick me out, or worse! Kill me.
Before I married Giovanni, he never told me about him being a mafia capo. Only after I married him, I discovered that he was by accident. I had caught him yelling to one of his then bodyguards about a murder that went wrong. I remember confronting him and being so mad at him for not telling me, but he never laid a hand on me.
But everything changed later.
I didn't notice I had tears running down my face. I quickly wiped my tears and sniffed.
"Ma'am, we are here. I cannot go farther. There's too much traffic," the driver announced.
"Thank you so much sir," I said, handing him the money and getting out.
I walked for about 5 minutes, until a two-story building came into view, with a sign that said 'Motel.' It looked cheap and a place that no one would want to stay in, which is what I needed.
I strolled inside slowly, as I looked around the interior of the motel. A creepy old man strolled down the stairs, staring at me like I was a piece of meat. I shuddered and quickly made my way to the receptionist.
"Yes?" The woman said in a robotic tone.
"I would like a room please," I said, as she rolled her eyes.
"$20 for a night," she said.
I took $20 dollars from the money that Alberto gave me before I escaped and handed them to her. She quickly took them and handed me a key.
"Second floor, room 245."
I nodded and walked toward the stairs. A cracking voice came out as I walked up the stairs, telling me that this building was going to collapse any moment.
I took a right and started looking for room 245. Once I found it, I quickly put the key into the hole and stepped inside, locking the door behind me. I carefully inspected the room, making sure no one was inside.
Living with Giovanni for a few years made me a paranoid person.
I placed my handbag on the bed and sighed in relief. For the first time ever, I felt independent and I was proud of myself that I reached that far without being caught. I just hoped that I'd make it to the Gonzalez's before Giovanni found me.
The real obstacle was getting the address of the Gonzalez's. I didn't have a phone nor a laptop, so searching the net was a little hard. I needed to find a place that has public computers for people to use if there's even one.
I looked at the clock hanging on the wall and it read 9:00A.M. I haven't slept in a very long time and I wanted to sleep for just a little bit, but I was too scared to close my eyes. I didn't know that place and I had never been outside of Italy, and I didn't trust anything around me, even if the door was locked.
I decided to go outside to find any information about the Gonzalez's. I took my handbag with me, along with my passport, and left the motel. The lady behind the desk asked me whether I wanted to stay for another night or not and I told her yes. She made me pay another $20.
I looked around the now crowded streets, probably everyone going to their work. I felt lost and confused, but I didn't let that scare me. I found the first taxi that came into view and hailed it.
It didn't stop.
I waited for about 25 minutes when a taxi driver stopped for me. I hopped in, giving him a kind smile.
"You're the only taxi that stopped for me, thank you," I said.
"I shouldn't have. You were standing somewhere a taxi driver shouldn't stop in, but it's okay, you seem new here," he replied, making me shrink in embarrassment.
"I didn't know and yes, I am new. Do you know any place where I could use a computer?" I asked, looking at him through the rear view mirror.
"Yes, there's a place close to here," he replied.
"Take me there, please."
The car ride was short, as the place the driver was talking about was literally 3 minutes away from the motel. I paid the driver and stepped out of the car.
In front of me was a one-story building that looked very old compared to the motel I was staying in, which was also old. I walked inside and the smell of sweat immediately hit my nose.
Gross.
I looked straight and found a young boy sitting behind a desk. That place must have been a family business, or maybe not.
"Hello, could I use one of your computers?" I asked, getting his attention.
"$15 an hour," he said, putting his hand out, waiting for me to give him the money.
So straight forward...something I was not familiar with.
I handed him the money and he told me to use any empty computer. I found one and sat on the chair, as I placed my hand on the mouse. The screen lit and I signed in without a password. I opened google chrome and the google page was the first thing that came into view as a default. I pressed my fingers on the keyboard and wrote, 'Gonzalez, New York.'
When I pressed enter, the first link that came up was 'Gonzalez Enterprise.' I clicked on the link and it took me to their homepage.
I didn't know that they had a company...
I wrote the address to the company with the pen and small notebook that I always carry with me. I could have asked the taxi driver about them because their company must be famous if it's on google, right?
I tried to find anything else that would tell me about their home location, but I found none, which was fine because I could go to their company and ask to meet with Lorenzo Gonzalez or his son, Demetrio, or even Lorenzo's daughter, Dalila, but I was not sure if they worked there. I just hoped that I could find any of them.
After I finished my research, I went back to the motel, this time walking.
I wanted to buy a new phone, but I was too scared. Giovanni could reach me in any way and I didn't want to give out information about myself to any shop or store, just in case. The only thing that I was afraid of however, was what would happen if the Gonzalez's didn't give me their protection and help. There's a big chance that they would not do anything because they didn't know me and because they simply don't care about me, but I just hoped that everything Alberto told me about them, turn out to be true.
* * *