Balza1 Martin Balza English 12B Mr.

Florez March 26, 2010 A Cowards Confession

Never in my life did I feel so much cold as this lonely December night. The snow covering my cars windshield doesnt help much. My fingers feel numb so I turn up the cars heater. I am increasingly tired of hearing the same news again and again all week; the upcoming New Years Eve seems to be very important for everyone, but it lost all its meaning to me. 25 Degrees and 10 inches of snow right now in Philadelphia, just a day before we can all do the countdown to receive year 1990 with happiness, said the reporter. The only interesting info Ive heard so far tonight. My old Camry feels forced when barely reaching 30miles per hour. Lacking motivation I turn off the radio and continue to slowly advance through Lincoln Drive. I am about 45 minutes away from my apartment, it isnt the biggest or prettiest one, but its definitely the best one Ive had since I left New York. Thirst is attacking me again, so I take a halfway water bottle from the sports bag in the back seat. Returning my sight to the road I discover I am not on it anymore but on the sidewalk. As I rapidly try to return to the street I have to break at the sight of a teenager who seems to be

Balza2 injured and is plodding just in front of my car. My heartbeat is wild, I almost ran over someone. As I recover from my shock, I open the door and proceed to aid the boy who is shirtless in one of this citys coldest and snowy nights. I feel embarrassed so I approach him and ask Are you ok? The street is totally empty. The only thing I can hear is my old Camrys engine and the boys accelerated respiration. The boy finally manages to look at me. He says something my mind totally ignores as I am astonished by the looks of that poor boy. He is all beaten up; his face has a pale yellowish tone, his eyes are bloodshot, he has some blood on the corner of his lip, and he can barely hold himself standing up. At the sight of huge purple bruises on his arms and chest I gently grab him and lay him on the back seat of my shabby car throwing the filled sports bag to the cars floor. The dark haired boy remains there trying to recover his breathing pace. His green eyes remind me of those my grandfather used to have. He is about my height and has the my same pale white skin as I do. He reminds me a lot of my brother whom I havent seen in a long time. What happened to you?, I ask the injured boy as he holds his head making a facial expression to what seems to be a severe headache. You are crazy if you think you are getting anywhere in that state, let me take you home. Your parents must be crazy looking for you. He tries to sit up as he says, my father doesnt care about what happens to me, in fact, I barely see the boy moans so I quickly place him in the seat.

Balza3 Just stay still Ill take you home I say while closing the door and going quickly to the driver seat. So where do you live? About one hour away from here, but dont worry I was just going to the bus stop he states painfully. I start accelerating and reply, its 2am you are not going to find a bus at this hour plus look at yourself, you are not in condition to walk or take the bus. He sits up and says, Well I guess you can take me home... my address is 719 Catharine St. Do you know where that is? Sure I do. Dont worry just relax and you will be resting at home in a short while, I express. So what were you doing at this hour driving through Lincoln Dr?, the boy asks. I was heading home after a bad sales day for me. I reply, feeling the heaviness of a hard day in my eyes. At least you didnt get beaten up by some random guys in a house party he replies as he reaches for a bottle of water from the cooler. So what do you sell Mr.? I dont have any specific item, I state. Since I left New York I havent found a good job so I just sell what I believe could make a good income. Its boring you know, travelling to various companies to offer my products, but I dont really care. My life lost all its meaning a long time ago.

Balza4 Seems like we have something in common. I just dont know what to do with my life anymore. Thats why I decided to go to the party, which didnt end well as you can see, he says and finishes drinking the third bottle he has taken out of the cooler. But why has life lost its meaning to you? Do you mind telling me? Well after starting Ill tell you this may be a little shocking and boring, but we have like fifty more minutes so it seems like we have something to do now. It all started twenty years ago

***

New York, a city where everything could be found; from the poorest people living in the streets, to the richest men living in skyscrapers and mansions. My brother was one of the rich men, Im not sure if he still is but he was quite the millionaire at that time. I used to work at his company, an international delivery corporation. I had a lot of money too but I just spent everything on luxuries like cars, clothes, women, and many other things any person would dream of. He was married to a very beautiful women, by beautiful I mean the type you rarely see on the streets. She was stunning; her chocolate eyes seemed to look into your heart; her body, face, and personality, everything seemed perfect about her. My brother didnt seem to trust her and he was always working so he didnt have much time to be with her. They only saw each other at night after returning from work.

Balza5 One average day at work, my brother called me and asked me to do something very important. He told me he didnt have time to look over his wife and he didnt know what she did the entire day. He wanted to be sure if she was being loyal to him so he asked me to look over her. I agreed. At that moment I made a decision that changed the course of my life forever. I now had a mission to accomplish. I knew from the start this was going to be hard. My brothers wife and I had had our own little story when we were in high school. At that moment I thought those feeling had vanished; however, watching over her wasnt the best idea. After two days of seeing her do normal women stuff, she recognized me with my sunglasses and hat on. We ended up drinking a coffee together at my apartment. Life was good, everything seemed to be fine. I kept looking over my brothers wife for about 2 more weeks. He wanted to be sure she wasnt disloyal; I guess he could never think what was really happening. April 24th: At 11:48 A.M, she woke up and left to the mall. Just passed 12 M., she was at Macys looking at some clothes. At 1:35 P.M. she was having lunch with some high school friends at Wendys. At 2 P.M. she bought some diamond earrings and bracelets at Bonhams. She then left to a friends house and stayed there till 7 P.M when she returned home. And thats all your wife did today brother. I informed and looked smiling at the paper with all the made up facts I had written. Good he uttered, I think youll just have to do this for about one more week, she seems to be a loyal wife Dont worry brother I have everything well covered I said and laughed, he laughed too, despite the fact that I had been meeting with his wife everyday for the previous three weeks.

Balza6 The next day the first bad event in a series of unfortunate events happened. After spending the day with my lover she had some very important news for me. Baby, I think Im pregnant. She explained in an anxious tone. My period hasnt come since the last time we were together. In that moment I visualized my death. I hadnt told you, but Im a coward. When I heard that news, I couldnt think of anything else than my brother pointing his Desert Eagle at my face. My brother had no mercy, I was totally sure he wouldnt shake while emptying his weapon on me. I didnt say a thing. That day I took her home and then went to a bar to meditate. Neither of us said anything during the whole trip in the car. She seemed very worried; I would have been preoccupied if she hadnt been. We were both present when my brother killed some close friends when they didnt want to pay to him or just because he was angry in the moment. That night, life was meaningless to me. The first idea I had was escaping from New York, but I didnt. I had the perfect plan and it went just as I designed. The next day was the last I had as a detective, if you could say I was one. My brother asked me to meet him at his office. Brother, you have a reliable wife, I exclaimed. If you think she seems to be upset about something with you its not because shes with another man, its because you are so focused in your work and you dont pay enough attention to her. I recommend you surprise her. Buy her presents, flowers, chocolates I know something perfect, you should fill up your house with rose petals and scented candles; youll see how she will get in the mood.

Balza7 Seems like a nice idea brother, thanks a lot for helping me. Here, take your reward he said and handed me for grand dollars. Now; I guess Ill go and buy presents for my wife, see you later brother. He left the room walking rapidly and got into one of his ten Lamborghinis.

*** So, your brother had sex with his wife that night and thought he had created a baby that was actually yours? the boy asks with a tone of interest. Thats exactly what happened, although later on things got a little harsh and it all ended wrong so where was I? Oh! Yes, then ***

Five years passed since my brother had a son and everything seemed to be fine till one day. It was the kids 5th birthday and for some reason every single person in the party said to me that the kid looked so much like me. He has your brothers green eyes, and look at his hair as curly and brown as your brothers. Are you sure he isnt your brothers son? exclaimed a guest as he laughed and everyone laughed with him, including me. My brother laughed at the comments people made that day, but inside he had exploded from the anger. The next day I met with my brothers wife in the usual Starbucks in Central Park. She had messaged me by pager saying that she needed to speak with me urgently. When I arrived

Balza8 at Starbucks, she handed me her pager. I looked at the message that stated I already have Roberts DNA test results; Ill meet you at home in thirty minutes. She looked me in the eyes and said her husband was going to kill us, she begged me to flee and since I am a coward, I did.

***

Ten years have passed and since that day Ive been running from nothing. I explain. It all ended as it wasnt supposed to. I fled to Philadelphia and since then I have just received bad news. The first one was that my lover was found by my brother hanging from the ceilings fan dead, and the second one was that it turned out that Robert whom I thought was my son ended up actually being my brothers son after all. I ran for no reason and Jill killed herself for no reason. As I say this, I notice Im about 2 minutes away from the boys home In the end Im here for no reason, I dont have the courage to face my brother again. I start to slow down and stop the car in front of a mansion. Well seems we just arrived at your home. It was nice to tell this to someone since Ive never had a person to tell this to; by the way my name is Chris Larson, what is yours. I turn my face around to the boy; he is totally immobile, his eyes looking directly into mine but without blinking even one time. His face looks rigid. All of his body muscles appear to be totally tensed. Hey kid are you ok? I ask with concern. Robert Larson, he said my name is Robert Larson.