No Other Choice
When Elena walked in through the front door of the small apartment she shared with her younger sister Ruby, she saw Ruby sitting on their small couch, Elena's friend Edward was sitting beside her and she had a worried look on her face. The moment Ruby saw Elena, her eyes lit up and she immediately got up from the couch.
"Ele!" she threw her arms around Elena's neck giving her a warm embrace, "you are all right," Ruby said with so much relief in her voice as she tightly held on to Elena.
Elena knew her sister was going to get worried if she wasn't able to reach her on the phone. She felt sorry for having to make her worry.
"Yes, I'm all right," Elena assured Ruby smiling at her. She looked at Ruby's face and saw that the worried look on her face was yet to go away. "Ruby I'm fine," Elena assured her again.
"Why didn't you come home last night? You've never stayed out before and your number wasn't going through," Ruby asked in a worried tone.
"I…. I….." Elena racked her brain for a good lie to come up with. She should have thought of this on her way here.
"I got a new job!" She blurted out.
Ruby's eyes shone with surprise, even Edward who had been sitting on the couch observing the siblings, stood up and walked over to them
"You really got a new job?" Ruby asked.
"Yup, I did," Elena said with pride. Even if she doesn't like her supposed new job, if it can make her sister smile, then she would do it.
"Does it pay better than your previous job?" Ruby asked with hope in her voice referring to Elena's job of waiting tables at a small restaurant not too far from their apartment.
"Yes, it does," She picked up the grocery bag that she had left at the door and handed it to Ruby, "I went grocery shopping." Ruby immediately grabbed the bag from Elena, "wow," she said as she looked into the bag and saw all the groceries that Elena had brought, happy that they were going to be eating a good home-cooked meal for the first time in a long while.
"A new job huh?" Edward asked Elena as Ruby carried the grocery bag to the kitchen.
Elena released her breath, she knew her male best friend wasn't just going to buy the story of her getting a job as the reason she didn't return home last night. She walked over to the couch and sat down and Edward came and sat down beside her.
One look at her face, and Edward knew all wasn't well with her, "what happened last night? Where were you?" Mike asked as he looked at the dark circles under her eyes. On her way back she had ditched the wig, she wore to steal the flash drive, and she had cleaned the heavy makeup on her face.
Elena was about to say something when Ruby came back into the living room holding an apple.
"Ruby, why don't you go inside and rest your head while I prepare something for us to eat?" Elena said to her sister.
"All right See you later Edward," Ruby said before leaving for their bedroom.
"Thank you for staying with her," Elena said to Edward after Ruby had left.
"I had to come down when she called me worried that you didn't come back last night and she couldn't reach you on the phone. Where were you Ele?"
Elena closed her eyes as everything that happened last night and this morning replayed in her head.
"I got into some sort of trouble that I had to sort out."
"What sort of trouble?" Edward asked her, his voice laced with concern.
Elena sighed as she went ahead to narrate everything that had happened the previous to Edward. By the time she was done, Edward's mouth was hanging open in shock.
"You got involved with Lorenzo Cruz the underboss of the mafia family?" Edward's eyes were almost popping out in shock as Elena nodded her head to let him know that she was serious.
"You know him?" Elena asked her friend who was still looking at her like she had suddenly grown two heads.
"Who doesn't know him? That guy is deadly!" Edward made sure to emphasize his last word so Elena could understand the gravity of what he was saying.
"Did you say he asked you to work for him?''
Elena nodded, it wasn't as if he gave her much of a choice, it was either that or she would be handed over to Carlos.
"You can't work for that man," Edward said.
"Why not?" Elena asked him, it was her turn to look at him like he had gone nuts. Didn't he hear the part where she told him that he was going to hand her over to Carlos if she doesn't work for him?
"That guy is dangerous, he is bad news Ele, you can't be associated with such a person. Being his personal assistant is going to expose you to so much danger."
"And you think I don't already know that? Do you think if I had a choice I would want to be near him? I don't have a choice Edward, it's either that or I would risk putting Ruby in danger."
"I think you're already putting Ruby in danger by agreeing to work for him, Ele you need to stay away from that guy and his business."
"Ed, I appreciate the fact that you're looking out for me and my sister, but this is something I have to do," Elena stood up and went into the kitchen to prepare something for them to eat.