The Domino Effect.

Now let's talk about that Monday morning and not only the morning but for the entire day. Because that Monday would be the day that another Domino would start to fall, with a faster pace than all the rest. But we will talk about it later. That day we had a few classes and then we had the lunch break where we got together as a group and we were making plans on what we would do in the next couple of days.

-"Damn it, where are you guys? Long time no see David, what have you been up to?"-said Juan.

-"You know my man, the usual stuff, work, work and work. No big deal, I have gotten used to it.."-replied David with a calm voice.

-"Listen to me, we gotta do something for Sonia's birthday. Look at her, she is growing so fast but we gotta hurry to plan something, the birthday is in 3 weeks, we gotta plan something because the finals are very close and we won't have time later.."-said Juan with a glimpse of enthusiasm.

-"Damn, the finals…"-whispered David.

-"Are you serious Juan, for real you think we will tell Sonia what we are planning? Stop ruining everything man.."-said Rose while she was smirking.

-"Yo, I mean, I don't want to ruin any surprise at all, but now I understand, we are about to do something for her birthday.."-replied Juan while looking straight at Rose, as they usually debate about all.

-"Hey, it is okay, we can do something simple, not a big deal, I do not want anything. I am good with having you all by my side and it is all that I need.."- I replied.

-"You just focus on other things Sonia, let us do what we want to do.."-replied Jasmine while giving me a smile.

-"Juan, I have seen you hang out a lot with those science people, as much as I know you, there is something on your head and you want to get something out of it..what is it Juan, come on, be honest Juan, what is it?"-said Rose with a provocative voice.

We all were staring at Juan as he was trying to avoid this conversation. He has been trying for a while to avoid all the questions about him hanging out with the science team.

-"Where do I begin? Hm, okay I will answer honestly. Look, recently I have had a crush on one of the girls there. But the team loved me since the beginning as being part of that science project would help my resume. But in this case, I can kill two birds with one stone. Recently, I have started staying with them a lot just because of this fact. The science project is almost finished but I gotta make that girl mine, I do not care about our project as it is going to win anyways. But that girl has tricked. I find her interesting. We have gone on a couple of dates now…"

-"Couple of dates and we get to know now? Man, where do you find the time first of all and how in this world we have not noticed.."-replied Jacob, surprised.

-"Do not interrupt me bro, let me finish. It has been two dates actually. Remember this weekend I was on a trip to the lake. Yeah the person who filmed the video was her."

-"You told me you were with your brother, man…"-said Jacob.

-"Oh, did I? Sorry brother. But I am a cheeky latino. But this weekend was quite good, not gonna lie. So it has been 2 days actually we have gotten this close. I wanted to tell you in our messages group, but to be honest I have not had the time. Now you know.."

-"Little Juan has a crush on a girl…How lovely is it..Everyone applause please.."- said Rose while laughing sarcastically.

-"Oh, stop it. Our single queen of the world. What do you want for our queen? Do you want a little champagne to celebrate the occasion?-replied Juan laughing hard.

We continued listening to the back and forth conversation between Juan and Rose. They just need a trigger point and it all turns into a war between them both. We were laughing until the effect started taking place. That Domino effect I have been talking about for a while. What would go wrong on that unusual perfect Monday? It all starts with a ringtone. It starts with a phone call. A phone call with the name of my sister on it. At the moment we all were laughing, were having fun, it all would turn into a nightmare real quick. The first few words I would hear were:"Come home, our father is back". Those words would leave me shocked at first with the rest noticing my reaction. They were all asking what happened, what was wrong. And I would say just a few words:"He is back, my father is back.."

Everyone was shocked. They could not believe it. We probably thought that something bad had happened to him and I had been prepared for the worst of all. I had hopes of him being alive, but never would I think that I would get to know this way that he was alive and safe. After being shocked for a while, I became quite enthusiastic. My friends were telling me they would take me home. Jacob was the first one to say to go to his car and drive to my place. But I couldn't move. I was shaking. I could only hear David's voice telling me that everything will be better from now on. Little did I or he know that things would fall just like Domino after this phone call. The girls were cheering and told me to go home as soon as possible. So me, Jasmine and David went with Jacob while Rose and Juan followed us. We all left the last class without anyone knowing. All I remember is David and Jasmine telling me that everything will be great and they will be waiting for me outside as soon as I finish. My father was back. I could not believe what I heard. At the moment that everything was finally becoming more calm than ever, he was back. At that moment, I understood that things would never be as calm as they were in my life. After that moment, everything would be shattered into different pieces. And I would never recover after that specific moment.

We went near my place and we all parked. Everyone hugged me and advised me to stay calm as that was the greatest they have gotten all these months. Another disaster I would say. David was the one who walked me near my apartment. I remember him saying a couple of words and that was one of the only romantic moments I would have with David.

-"Remember what I said to you months ago. You need to be calm, listen to him and also hold yourself. I told you things would get better and he was not dead. I knew. Now it is time to make things right. You know you have my full support on everything you do. If you need anything, we would be here, outside waiting for you. Just let us know. I will stay here nearby and for everything you need I am just a few stairs away. You can do it. Now more than ever I love you."

And then he came closer and kissed me. It was such a magical moment. The moment that I had been waiting for so long. It was the moment I had dreamed for a while. All those emotions in just a few minutes for me was too much. I could hear Juan screaming at the other side. Finally, madre de dios, finally you did it, he said with a happy voice. But after that magical moment, something weird would happen. Three black cars parked near my house. Out of them came 10 people, 6 of them were bodyguards I think, but I could only notice one person. He looked like those mafia leaders in the movies. He was dressed all in a black costume, had black sunglasses and was smoking a cigar. His face had a big wound just like he was in a war or something. And they headed to my apartement. At that moment I got scared. I thought that something was off and my father was actually in danger. I started shaking and all my friends came running to me. They were shocked too.

-"What were those people..Why did they go into your apartment.."-said Rose shocked.

-"I know them, they bring the cars to us, he is a big business man in the area but he is mostly known because he owns the biggest cartel in the area. They are not police or deputies, they are criminals. His name is, wait a minute, his name is, to be exact his nickname is The Tiger. I have heard so many stories about him but never would I see him this close to me. The Tiger is the most insane criminal ever. I do not want to make you nervous, but I think your father is in big trouble..If you do not want to go in, you could stay here with us. If you feel in danger, better stay here with us.."-said Juan.

But I wanted to see my father no matter what. It did not matter to me that he was in danger, I wanted to see him face to face. I felt that this decision would not be the right one for me, but I had to, I had to go to see my father face to face no matter what the danger was. I know that my father would want me to step out of this, even my mother or my sister, or my friends, but I had gone through a lot because of my father's absence. I needed to see him. It was that emotional factor for me. I need to fill the void. I told my friends that I would go in and I saw that David was worried a lot. He did not like that I would go in. And he was right. He gave me another kiss and said that they will be waiting for me outside.

As I was walking through the stairs, I could notice different bodyguards in every corner. Everything looked as if I was in a mafia movie. When I got to my house door, I took a breath and went in. I was shocked. My father was there and I went to hug him without thinking twice. He gave me a warm hug and kissed me on the forehead. But as soon as I turned my face to the room, I could see my mother and my sister deeply worried and scared. And then on the other side of the room, I could see the Tiger with his 3 bodyguards. He was staring at me and said a few words.

-"How lovely, the family has gotten back together."

But I knew that was not a compliment. That was a warning. I knew we were in big trouble. My father's face could show it all that something was totally wrong.

-"Shall we go back to our conversation now?"-said The Tiger.-"We have to figure out how I am gonna be repaid because I am not here for family reunions. I am here for another thing. And you are wasting my time. Time is money for me just so you know. Right now I am losing money and I do not like losing. You know it, right?"-as he pointed straight at my father.

What I would hear next, would be the beginning of a long Domino effect that would ruin my life completely. At a faster pace, all the Domino would start falling. And this was the start of it. Face to face with the devil, you never win. Because the devil always has all the dirty ways that can win against you. And at that specific moment, I was face to face with the real evil. In his eyes was nothing but anger, revenge and hatred. I was in big, big trouble…