A Night with Gideon novel Chapter 3

Chapter 3

LYZZA’S feet felt sore when she reached their house because of the 4-inch high heels she wore. It was a requirement at her school for them to get used to it when they get to work on the field training in the future.

She arrived home past six o’clock in the evening. A Vesarius Airlines interview was coming up next week, and they just had an orientation. The orientation ended at five o’clock, and since it was rush hour for a commuter like her, she got stuck in traffic and got home late.

“Mommy!” Summer cheerfully greeted her as soon as she stood beside the rack just behind the door to put her shoes back.

She lowered her head and kissed Summer’s cheek. The little girl wrapped her little arms around her neck and kissed her on the cheek.

“How’s school, honey?” she asked gently, carrying her in her arms. She put her school bag on her cheap sofa in the living room.

Summer showed her stars at the back of her hand, up to her lower arm. “I’ve got eight stars, Mommy! Take a look. Uncle Cai gave me a treat as he promised,” she reported and giggled at the end of her statement.

Lyzza knew precisely what kind of treat her three-year-old daughter would ask from Caius. It was none other than a pack of gummy bears that had pink military stickers on them. If not gummy bears, Summer would request guns or an army uniform, all in the color pink. Lyzza knew that those things were personalized and costly. Caius would buy them from his classmate, who was good at drawing things.

And since Caius was notorious for spoiling her daughter, he wouldn’t care if his allowance was compromised just to buy Summer those things she wanted.

Lyzza looked at the gummy bears on the center table beside Summer’s pad of paper and pencil.

“Baby, didn’t I tell you to watch the sweets? Do you want to have tooth decay? Let me see your mouth,” she ordered and looked at her daughter’s teeth.

Summer obliged and raised her head heavenward. Lyzza puckered her lips and narrowed her eyes as if she was serious about looking at her daughter’s teeth.

“See what you did, kiddo? You already lost a tooth! Do you want to lose all of them, huh? If you eat too many sweets, the worms will go to your mouth and live there,” she warned.

Summer’s eyes widened, and she quickly covered her mouth. “Really?”

Lyzza quickly nodded at her. “And then, they will start eating your teeth one by one. When nothing is left, they will then eat your tongue.”

Lyzza burst into laughter as she saw her daughter’s eyes grow even bigger. Summer looked at the gummy bears at the center table and then looked heavenward, thinking thoroughly. Her lips twitched into a frown when she looked at her again.

“But . . . but I love gummy bears. They’re soft.” She was playing with her hands while reasoning out.

Lyzza wanted to pinch her daughter’s cheeks as she innocently oozed with cuteness. But she stopped herself from doing so. She wouldn’t want to give her daughter the impression that she might be just scaring her.

Sure, there was a part that would genuinely support her claim about her daughter losing all of her teeth because of her non-stop eating of sweet treats. However, her main concern was that it might cause her daughter illnesses. Moreso, she didn’t want to take this habit until she grew older and would develop obesity in the future.

“But I don’t want the worms to eat my teeth either. My classmates will tease me.” Summer held Lyzza’s cheeks. “Can I still eat gummy bears, Mommy? But only a few, and after that, I’ll brush my teeth. Is that okay?”

Summer batted her eyelashes and pouted her lips. She was trying to get to her head again. Lyzza didn’t have any choice but to nod.

Summe’’s smile became wider and gave her a loud smooch on her cheek.

“Why is that kiddo still playing cute in front of you?” Lyzza’s mother asked when she came out from the kitchen holding a spatula. She must be cooking something.

Summer got down on the floor and ran toward her grandma. She gently hugged her leg and made a cute gesture.

Lyzza just shook her head and laughed when her mother had no choice but to kiss her granddaughter’s head.

“How’s school, Lyzza?” her mother asked when Summer returned to her paper. Lyzza took a glance at her daughter, who was writing alphabet letters.

“It was fine, Mom. We’ll be in an interview for an internship next week. We had an orientation earlier for that. That’s why I came home late,” she answered.

“Yeah. Caius told me that earlier.” Caius was the one who fetched Summer from her school when Quincy announced to them about the orientation.

“Where’s Caius?” she asked as soon as she planted a soft kiss on her mother’s forehead. She even hugged her.

“He’s at the store. I asked him to close it for me in the meantime. I felt a little tired earlier, dear.”

Lyzza was on alert upon hearing her mother. “Is there anything that hurts in your body?” She moved a little away from her with her worried eyes. “I told you to—”

“I’m fine, dear,” her mother interrupted her sentence and laughed a little.

Her mother couldn’t blame her for having that kind of reaction. It must have been because of the fear she had been carrying since that day. Her mother that time shocked everyone when she collapsed to the ground and had a cardiac arrest at midnight. They didn’t have any money even to afford a bypass operation.

“Mom, you must tell Caius or me if you have been feeling unwell, okay?” Lyzza sighed in relief as soon as she saw her mother nod at her request.

“I’ll be the one to cook for tonight. You go ahead and rest,” she said and was about to pick the spatula from her mother’s hand, but the old woman quickly moved it away.

“No, I’ll do it, dear. I was boiling the meat for our dinner. It’s going to be quick. You should be the one to rest and change your clothes upstairs. You look so tired today.”

“I love your cooking, grandma!” Summer interrupted with a smile.

“Oh, you always love what I cook, baby!”

Summer nodded at that and gave her a wide grin while she was holding her pencil.

Lyzza’s mother just shook her head while laughing. After that, her mother went back to the kitchen. Lyzza decided to go upstairs after kissing Summer’s head.

She slammed her body against the bed where she and Summer would normally sleep. She just absentmindedly stared at the ceiling. Four years ago, they didn’t have a second floor. It was just a small bungalow house with a small kitchen area, living room, and bathroom.

Then that night happened . . . when she sold her body to a stranger. It wasn’t just her mother’s life that she saved but also the lives of her family members that she changed dramatically.

The light seeping through the glass wall of the hotel suite awakened Lyzza from her deep slumber. Her body felt so sore and jelly when she opened her eyes.

She felt as though she did heavy exercises all day without any stretching for their Physical Education subject at that moment. She also felt sore between her thighs.

She opened her mouth in disbelief when she realized where she was and what had happened last night. She forced herself to get up and almost cried at the stinging sensation in her private part.

No trace of the stranger who took her virginity last night could be seen in the spacious suite. However, she could still smell his natural scent lingering on the bed. The blood stain on the sheet was enough evidence for her to believe what happened last night was not just a dream.

She gave her virginity to the man who bought her for three million pesos. The thought of her mother and brother occupied her mind. They were still in the hospital. She immediately got off the bed and quickly went to the bathroom to clean herself.

She sobbed when the water ran down her sore, private part. The searing pain Lyzza felt down there was unbearable, but she still managed to hasten her move to get to the hospital quickly. She was afraid that something terrible might have happened to her mother.

There was a paper bag she saw on the couch, which had a few clothes and underwear inside. She quickly wore them and found the cheap shoulder bag she had brought with her last night.

She checked on her cheap phone and saw that she had a text message from Danielle.

‘Your mom is in the operating room. I paid for the down payment as Mama Lovie instructed.’

She sighed in relief after reading the text message that Danielle sent her around three o’clock in the morning. Seconds later, she read her second text message.

‘I have a great commission because of you. I hope to work with you again!’

‘Take the check. I know you just did what you had to. I need to leave early for an emergency meeting. Don’t leave yet. Wait for my driver to fetch you. We need to talk.’