The next morning, Rita left for the airport in company of Rodrigo who was sticking close to her, damning the consequences. He ushered her into the car, shutting the door while looking around. Ever since the incident, Rita could tell that he's been paranoid, on the way to loosing it.
"Hey, look at me", she whispered, gripping his hand.
He looked at her, keeping one eye on the road. He seemed to relax at her touch and smiled easily as the car journeyed towards the airport.
"I'm fine, you don't need to worry about me. As long as I have you, I know I'll be fine. I wouldn't want your mother to see you like this", she said.
"You just have a way with words. Okay, as long as you're okay, I'm okay", she smiled.
They soon got to the airport and as usual the plane was ready to leave. Rita couldn't imagine that few days ago, she was at this same airport, happy that she would finally be getting away only to have her happiness cut short by the shooting.
"I'm sorry for your ordeal ma'am", Chavez said, helping her up the ramp.
Rita smiled, giving him a small smile. Right out, all she wanted to do was sleep and forget about everything until she faced her family.
Soon, the plane was airborne, heading towards Spain. Rita looked out of the window, wishing she could be like the cloud, free and carefree like them.
********************
"Darling, we've arrived", a voice shook her awake.
Rita groggily woke up, rubbing her sleep filled eyes. She looked around her and discovered that indeed they had arrived. She rose up, almost falling back down from how tired she was. Rodrigo helped her out of the plane, carrying her bags with the other hand.
"Please take me to the private place, I'm not quite ready to see my parents yet", she said.
"Okay", he said, gripping her hands.
The drive to the private place was shorter than she expected. Rodrigo helped her out, leading her to her room. He placed her on the bed, removing her shoes. He stared at her as she slept peacefully. In his whole life, he had never loved someone as much as he loved Rita. She made him feel like himself, made him want to be a better version of himself. He kissed her, silently leaving the room.
He made his way downstairs, needing to make some calls. If he was to help Rita, he needed to be strong for her. He picked up his phone, dialling the first number he had in mind.
"Campbell speaking" he said with his gravely voice
"Yo man! What's up? You are at the crib or in Spain?",a voice said from the other end.
"No no... I'm not there, I'm in Spain working. Listen, I called you for a reason", Rodrigo said, making his way to the balcony.
He couldn't help Rita eavesdropping if she wasn't asleep. He needed this to be private as much as possible.
He related everything to the person he called, leaving his relationship with Rita aside. He couldn't trust anyone with that information yet. Not even his mother knew about it and he wanted to keep it that way.
"Okay, I'll look through what you've given me and get back to you soon", the voice said.
"Good", Rodrigo said, cutting the call as he headed back in.
When he got back in, Rita's phone was ringing. He was at a crossroad on whether to answer the call or not. The caller ID showed that it was Edmundo calling. Deciding to brave it, he picked it up, listening for a voice.
"Rita, where the hell have you been?", he screamed into the phone.
"Good day sir. This is Rodrigo, her personal guard. Miss Anderson is fine, she's asleep", Rodrigo said politely.
Even though he didn't deserve any ounce of politeness, it wouldn't do him any good if he was rude to the man.
"I see. And how do you have her phone", he said, quietly .
He was quiet, too quiet. Rodrigo decided to act smart. The man he was dealing with was a smart man and one small slip up could ruin him. He couldn't allow that to happen especially now that he was involved in helping Rita.
"She left it with me", he lied smoothly.
"Is that so? Boy, I'll advice you not to thread where you're not capable of. That's a warning", Edmundo said before cutting the call.
Rodrigo placed the phone on a nearby table, thinking over Edmundo's words. He wasn't a fool and he knew that there was more where that came from.
********************
The ride to her home felt quicker than she expected and she dreaded what her parents would say. Since she had arrived from Los Angeles, she refused to see her parents. She declined their calls and Edmundo's. The only person she responded to was her best friend, Theresa. Now that she was going home, she knew she'll be getting an earful especially from her mother.
They arrived soon. Rodrigo parked the car at the front door of the building, going round to open her door. She had forgotten all about the formalities, almost making the mistake of kissing him.
"Careful, we're in your parents lair", he whispered, escorting her in.
"I really don't care but I have to stay put for your sake", she said.
"I got some news about what we're looking for. I'll give you the gist when you resume work tomorrow" he said.
Rita nodded, her mood lifting a little knowing that there was a little headway in their quest. She made her way to the living room where she was sure her parents were seated. Through to her words, they were there, eagerly waiting for her arrival. When her mother saw her, she flew off her seat, tackling her in a hug.
"My God, I've never been so scared in my life before", she said leading her to a chair.
Who Rita didn't expect to see was Edmundo who sat there with a gloomy look. Rita walked towards her dad, giving him a peck. She completely ignored Edmundo, pretending like he wasn't seated there.
"Thank you Rodrigo, please keep the bags in my room", Rita called our to him.
"Yes ma'am", he said, a twinkle in his eyes.
He left to do as he was instructed. Rita watched him leave, her eyes following him until he was out of sight.
"So, tell me about everything", her mother said.
Rita recounted all that had taken place within the past forty eight hours. There was a look of horror on her parent's face especially her mother whose expression was one of disgust.
"We'll get them, don't worry", her father said, assuring her.
"Yes, we will", Rita said.