THE LOYAL ONE

At the gym, Ruben is listening to music and doing an intense workout. Upon leaving the gym he ran into some guy who appeared to be frightened and running from someone. Both were knocked to the ground and dropped their duffel bags.

“ Hey man, are you OK?”, Ruben asked.

Still appearing to be frightened, the man swiftly grabs his duffle bag and ran off as Ruben watched him disappear. Ruben proceeds to his car and headed in the opposite direction. He pulled up to the front of the school where he intended on picking up his little sister, Jasmine. He spotted her on the other side of the street kissing some boy. Ruben angrily stormed from his car and grabbed Jasmine.

“What are you doing?“, Jasmine asked.

“ Who is this?“, he asked as he continue to pull her away.

“ He’s my boyfriend.”, she replied.

Ruben paused, looked at him and back at her.

“ You’re not allowed to have a boyfriend”, he said.

Ruben dragged her to the car as he continue to tell her boyfriend he can’t see her again. Later that night the family is gathered at the table for dinner.

“ How was your day at school Jasmine?“, their mom asked.

“ It was fine until he came.”, she snapped as she loaded her plate.

“ I caught her kissing some boy at her school.”, he countered.

The table set quietly for a brief moment as Jasmine gradually became infuriated. She then slapped the table and stood up from her seat.

“Just so you know, I really wish we weren’t related. I hate that you’re my brother.”, she yells as she stormed off.

Ruben’s mom gave him the darkest glare.

“You have better learn to let my daughter grow up and give her the space she needs. You’re not her father and you still live by my rules.” , she said, clearing Jasmine’s dishes.

The next day Ruben goes to the park to hang out with some friends. As one of his friends is explaining a story about his bad date, he realized it was time to pick Jasmine up from school. After saying his goodbyes he immediately got into his car and drove away. Ruben pulled in his usual parking space in the front of the school. All students started clearing out, however Jasmine was nowhere to be found. After noticing her disappearance, Ruben angrily drove home. He burst through the house door yelling for her to come to him.

“Ruben! Have you lost your mind?“, his mom yells.

“ Where’s Jasmine?”, he asked.

“ She’s obviously not here.”, she replied.

“ Then she has to be with that boy again.”, he snarled .

“ You better leave my daughter alone!”, she exclaimed.

Later that night, Ruben and his mom are eating dinner when there was a sudden hard knock at the door. Ruben rushed to the door only to find a note attached. The note read, “You have something of mine, so now I have something of yours”. He ran to the middle of the street to see if he can find the person that left the note. Upon returning to the porch, he noticed a little black notebook left next to the door. Ruben grabbed the notebook, searched through and found a page entitled RANSOM. The page had a list with names, addresses, and item names. He found his address with the name Chris and duffle bag. Confused by the discovery, he immediately ran to his room and retrieved his gym duffel bag. Inside there were random valuable merchandises, as well as $20,000. He had an instant flashback of him running into the frighten man while leaving the gym. Ruben informed his mom of the duffle bag and the little black notebook. After demanding that she should call the police, searched through the notebook, grabbed the duffle bag and headed towards the next target. Ruben approached the next location and found that there was also a note on their door. After realizing that he was too late, he proceeded to the next location. He continued to approach each address listed in the notebook until he made it to the final one. It was there that he noticed a man forcefully entering the house and returning with a suitcase. As the man got into his car and drove away, Ruben followed. He followed the car to its final destination, a low lit warehouse that appeared to be abandon. He parked his car and watched the man enter the warehouse guarded by two muscular men. Ruben sat in the car, thinking of a plan to get pass the guards. However, fueled by the thought of Jasmine being held captive, he grabbed the duffle bag and immediately encountered the guards. They briefly stare at him.

“Can we help you with something?”, one of the guards asked.

“I think I may have something that belongs here and I came for something in return.”, he answered.

“I think you’ve got the wrong place kid. You should just turn around and head home.”, the other guard replied.

As Ruben begin to further explain, the man he followed came to the door and informed the guards to let him enter. The man guided him through the warehouse until they’ve reached an office. In the office, there were three well dressed men; two standing along side of a desk and one sitting behind the desk.

“Got something for me?”, the man behind the desk asked.

Ruben opened the duffle bag to show what’s inside. He proceeded to explain how the bag ended up in his possession and for them to return his sister. The men laughed hysterically at his plead. He pleaded more.

“You must really love your sister. Why should we give her back?”, the man asked.

“Please sir, it was an honest mistake and she had nothing to do with it.”, he begged.

“Well according to her, anything is better than being with you.”

Ruben begin to beg as the men continue laughing.

“Relax kid, your sister is already home. Your mother called to tell me.”, the man said.

Puzzled by the remark, Ruben asked how. The man informed Ruben that he was his uncle visiting town. He also stated that Ruben’s mother told him about the relationship of her children and asked for help to show the true value of family. Without a word, Ruben ran to his car and rushed home. Walking through the door, he saw his mom and Jasmine sitting on the couch. He instantly grabbed her off the couch and gave her a tight hug while sobbing.

“Now that you know how much she means to you I want you to show her more respect.”, his mom snared.

Ruben repeatedly apologized and promised to be a better brother.

THE END