Distant Lands

I lay on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. How am I going to face Diego and Angela after last night? I made a total fool of myself. Well, at least I have only one more night left at this Hotel.

I need to check out early tomorrow morning. I’ll just say goodbye to them if I happen to see them. After that, we’ll never have to see each other ever again. I hear my phone ring, and I reach into my bag.

“Hello?”

“Hello, my daughter, it’s your mom and me just checking to see how you’re doing,” My parents say in Spanish, putting me on speaker.

“Hi, I’m doing good. I’m having fun,” I say.

“That’s great. When do you come home?” My mom asks.

“Next week, I’ll let you know when I’m on my way,” I say.

“Liz, please be very careful,” My mom says. In the background, I can hear my brother Dan saying he wants to talk to me. “Okay, okay,” my mom tells him.

“Liz, your brothers want to talk to you. Take care; we love you,” Both of my parents say. “Okay, I love you too, bye,” I say. My mom hands my brother the phone, and I can tell he sounds bothered.

“What the hell Liz? Nate told us you got drunk out of your mind,” he says angrily.

Damn you, Nate.

“I told you not to do anything stupid!” I could hear Isaac yell in the background. I’m growing annoyed and totally confused. What is the big deal?

“And if I did? So what? I’m fine, Dan!” I yell.

“Liz! Liz, please listen to me carefully. Please leave that Hotel right now. Don’t ask questions. I can’t explain everything to you right now, but please, just leave,” he says. I hear the desperation in Dan’s voice, and it’s making me feel uneasy. I get up from the bed.

“What the hell is going on, Dan?” I ask.

“What did I just say? Don’t ask questions, just do it. I already told Nate to arrange for a taxi to pick you guys up,” he says. I don’t know what the hell is going on, but I trust my brothers.

“Okay, fine,” I say. My brother Dan sighs.

“Okay, hurry, and be careful, bye,” he says.

“Okay, bye,” I say and hang up. I quickly go and stash all my clothes in my suitcase. I go over to the restroom and gather my toiletries. I hear the doorknob move.

“Nate, is that you?” I ask. I go to the door and open it. Diego is standing outside the door. He has a grim look on his face.

“Diego? Are you okay?” I ask. Diego peers inside the room and notices my packed luggage on the bed.

“Are you leaving? I thought you had one more night?” he asks.

“Something came up, so I decided to leave today,” I say. Diego looks very serious like something is bothering him. He looks down to the ground, then up at me.

“I thought you said you came here alone?” he asks. I’m confused by this sudden question.

“Yes, I did come here alone,” I say.

“Then who was that guy that came out of your room last night?” he asks.

“Oh, that was Nate. He’s my friend. He’s the friend that was meeting me here,” I say, feeling a bit uncomfortable. He reaches out and tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear, making me feel more uncomfortable.

“I hope he’s just your friend. Liz, I told you that this place brought us together,” he says. Okay, now he’s starting to creep me out. I give an uncomfortable laugh.

“Listen, Diego, I’m so sorry if I came on to you at the party. I didn’t mean to give you the wrong idea. I enjoyed my stay here, and I’ll definitely come back. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to finish packing. Goodbye, Diego,” I say, slowly closing the door. Diego gives me an angry smile. Alarm bells go off in my head. I try to slam the door shut, but Diego pushes the door open forcefully, pushing me back.

“What the hell!?” I yell. I’m taken aback by the sudden change in Diego’s demeanor. This is not the Diego I first met when I arrived here. I step back, creating distance between us. He stands in front of the door.

“What the hell is going on?” I ask.

“Why didn’t you tell me who you were, Liz?” he asks. Am I losing my damn mind?

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I say.

“Don’t lie!” he yells, walking towards me in a threatening way. Okay, okay. I need to calm down and deescalate whatever is happening here. I calmly go over to the small dining table by the window and sit down.

“Diego, I came here as a tourist. I’m happy I met you and Angela; I had so much fun. I wouldn’t lie to you. I don’t know what is happening right now,” I say in a calm voice. He walks toward me and sits on the chair in front of me. He stares at me, trying to figure out if I’m lying or being honest with him.

“Elizabeth Andrade. Daughter of Edgar Andrade and Eliza Verano. Tell me, Elizabeth, how much do you know about your family’s history?” he asks. I stared at him with a bewildered look on my face. “Not much. My parents always change the subject when I ask. I know only of my grandmother that lives in the countryside. I was planning on visiting her. How do you know my parents’ names?” I ask.

“You mean Esperanza? She’s not your grandmother; she’s your mother’s aunt,” he says.

“Okay,” I say, confused. Okay, If you say so, weirdo. He stays silent for a minute, just looking at me.

“Don’t worry, Liz. I’m going to take you to meet your grandfather. He will explain everything to you,” he says.

“Maybe you have the wrong person Diego,” I say. He gets up and gets closer to the window, and he peers out the window.

“Liz, when you walked into my Hotel, your face reminded me of my grandmother when she was young. I never met her, but I’ve seen her in many photos,” he says. He goes over to the minibar and takes out two glasses.

“My grandfather blames my grandmother’s death on something that happened in the past. He swore revenge. Till this day, he speaks about what happened, and...well, he will explain it to you when we go visit him,” he says while looking through the bottles of liquor.

Like hell, I’m going to let this psycho take me anywhere. While he’s distracted, I take this as my opportunity to escape. I quickly get up and run out of the room.

“Liz!” I hear him yelling after me; I run into the hallway and find the nearest exit, pushing open the fire escape door. I feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins, and I run like hell down the stairs, breathing hard. I’ve never run so fast in my entire life.

I could hear the echo of Diego’s footsteps on the concrete stairs, following behind me, getting closer. I listen to him say something but can’t understand what he says. I finally reach the ground floor and push open the door that leads to the outside of the building. I step out and collide with two guys, who grab my arms.

“Hey! What the hell!? Let go!” I yell and fight like hell. Diego comes out of the door, out of breath.

“Liz, don’t make this harder than it has to be,” he says.

“Screw you! Let me go! Help! Help!” I scream out, but nobody comes to help. Nobody is around; we’re in the back of the Hotel, in an alley. I see a black car coming our way, and I know this is not good. The car stops in front of us, and the man in the front seat gets out and opens the door for us.

I plant my feet on the ground and let my weight drop to the floor. The guys drag and carry me into the car. I sit in the middle, between one of the guys and Diego. Both of them were holding my arms.

I angrily try to pull my arms away from them, and I try to kick the seats in front of me. Diego struggles to hold on to me. I’m not going to make this easy for them. I’m going to keep fighting all the way, to wherever they’re taking me.

“Liz! Let me show you something; look!” Diego yells. He takes out his phone and shows me a picture. He shows me a photo of Nate tied to a chair, blindfolded. My heart grows cold.

“Don’t hurt him! Let him go!” I yell.