Guilty
Mariana
When my best friend's mother called me, sounding almost desperate in search of news of her daughter, all I felt was a joy to see that at last Virginia's parents had understood that nothing was more important than family. It didn't matter if she was pregnant, if the baby's father was with her or not, as long as everyone was united, the other things would be faced.
So, even though I didn't want to get out of bed, I filled myself with willpower and asked them to meet me in front of my building, so that we would go together to the place where Virginia was now living.
" I imagined that our daughter was still at home, woman," Mr. Francisco said, in a displeased tone "She doesn't need to be living in the house of this rich and stuck"up asshole.”
From the moment we got into the cab, Virginia's father kept complaining about everything his daughter had done since she got pregnant, and his last sentence made me reach my limit, which was quite short.
" This rich asshole is the father of her child, Mr. Francisco. And, more importantly, he's the man your daughter loves, " I said, making my irritation clear. "And if you intend to say that kind of thing when you arrive in front of Virginia, I'll ask the cab to turn around because that's not what she needs right now!”
I realized that I had even held my breath when I said all that and sighed heavily as I finished speaking all those truths.
Virginia to excuse me, but I would not let anything bad get to her, even if that "bad" was her father.
After my ultimatum, there was a dead silence inside the car, and just a few minutes later, her father Francisco spoke again, this time in a tone of moderation much more appropriate for the moment.
" I thought you said my daughter was fine and the one who fell down the stairs was the other one " he had the nerve to say.
Before I could rebut his new comment, said this time in a mild tone, but as insulting as the previous one, Ms. Beth stared at him with a look of anger on her face, and I understood that she too was already at her limit.
" Our daughter's friend is right, Francisco " she pointed out "Just because Virginia hasn't fallen off a ladder doesn't mean she doesn't need to be quiet. If you intend to continue with these unpleasant things, then I'd rather go alone with Mariana.”
" Are you saying that if I no longer want to go where our daughter is, you will go anyway? " he asked, quite amazed by his wife's unusual attitude.
" I'm saying that I will stay by Virginia's side from now on, and you can do whatever you want, including going back to Atibaia alone " she gave the ultimatum.
I felt particularly happy that at last Virginia's mother was taking an attitude driven by her own will and not complying with her husband's wishes. It was that story: Better late than much later.
" I'll go with you " Francisco decided "Virginia is also my daughter and I care about her and my grandson.”
I almost clapped my hands when I heard his words, but I managed to contain myself, after all, it would seem an affront, considering the archaic mindset of Virginia's father and I preferred not to risk it, celebrating only internally.
We arrived at the building where Virginia was living with Murilo only a few minutes later, and we managed to go up soon after the doorman confirmed with Murilo our presence. And when I saw Virginia's face when she saw her parents in the living room of the apartment, I felt as happy as she surely was because I knew how important family was to my friend.
Murilo called me to follow him to the kitchen and prepared a cup of coffee for everyone, which I took to the living room, but I didn't stay there, I figured they needed privacy to talk better.
When I returned to the kitchen, Murilo seemed to be waiting for me and I could quickly imagine the reason for this, just by looking at the questioning expression on his face.
" Just ask what you want to know, " I said, smiling nonetheless.
" I want to understand what drove you to go back to São Paulo with that idiot Constantino, Mariana " He's not very pleased. "I'm sure of one thing, you wouldn't accept this ride just like that.”
Murilo was very perceptive, and I admired him for realizing something that no one else seemed to notice, not even Virginia, who had been my friend for years.
" And don't think about lying to me. I even understand you want to hide it from Virginia because she is pregnant and after what happened yesterday, also a little shaken " he anticipated "But you don't fool me, not even Constantino, pretending to be a good person.”
"Well... since you were so polite and convincing, I'll tell you what's going on.”
"Yes ... I'm waiting.”
Murilo leaned against the counter next to the crockery sink and crossed his arms in an indolent position as if he was ready to hear a long story, and I wasn't going to let him down.
" Ethan is blackmailing me," I said point"blank.
" I figured as much, Mariana " Murilo once again surprises me, positively "What I want to know is what he's hoping to accomplish by including you in his crazy obsession with me.”
I sighed resignedly, realizing that I really couldn't omit any details about what I now knew, even if the timing wasn't the best, as far as my friends were concerned.
" Ethan hates you because you took his college girlfriend and after using the girl, discarded her without any remorse," I said.
Ethan had told me this in great detail, but I didn't think it was necessary to go over it with Murilo, after all, he had lived through the situation and knew very well what had happened.
