CHAPTER 1

DEBT BURDEN

"PAY YOUR DEBTS! Assholes, pay your debts."

"Stop hiding in there!"

"If you can't pay, give us a COLLATERAL!"

"OPEN THE DOOR AND PAY YOUR DEBTS!"

"PAY YOUR DEBTS!."

"PAY YOUR DEBT…

The front door was being banged and kicked with men screaming out their lungs. It was 12 am, midnight. He was just trying to sleep, no one was letting him. The banging had been going on for 3 hours, the men did not seem to go away. He covered his ears, pulling the blanket over his head. Tears began streaming down his face, he could not fully understand why the men knocked on their door every single night.

"Daddy." He cried out. "Tell them to go away."

Where was his Dad? He had not seen his Dad for a very long time. His Dad had promised never to leave him, his Dad had always been the one to tuck him into bed. To read him a story, to teach him how to write songs and play the piano. 

He missed his Dad.

"Nid?"

"Nid?"

"Nid?"

He pushed the cover aside when he heard the voice and glanced over at his bedroom door. His Mother was standing there in a pink nightwear, her hair tossed around and messy. She looked pale and her nightwear looked like she had worn them for ages.

"Nid, are you alright? I will stay with you tonight, no one will hurt you." His Mother said, walking towards him.

He watched her walk towards him, hot tears were gushing out of his eyes. Even though he tried to control them, they just kept pouring. He missed his Dad, his perfect life, that was filled with no troubles and peace. 

"Mommy." He yelled, jumping off his bed and throwing himself at her. 

She caught him in her hands and carried him to the bed. Sitting on the bed, she gently placed him on it but he hugged her neck. Refusing to let her go. 

"You said Daddy was going to come home to us. You said Daddy was on a business trip, it's been 30 days. I haven't seen him and those men knock on our door every night." 

Lilith hugged her son back, she could feel his hot tears on her neck as he cried. A tear trickled down her face, slowly rolling down her cheeks.

"Nid, Daddy will come back soon. Try to sleep, the men will leave soon."

"That's what you said yesterday and the day before." Leonid stated. "If Daddy was  men wouldn't do this to us."

"Nid, we are alright. Those men are shooting a movie." Lilith lied.

Leonid pulled away from the hug. "I am not dumb, you're lying. Everyone hates me, all of my friends dumped me. No one wants to play with me because I owe a huge debt, we became poor. Our house became empty after the men came in and they still keep on knocking at our door. Everything is not alright, stop pretending! I'm no longer Leonid Vanderbilt, I have become someone else."

"Where is Daddy?" He questioned almost immediately.

Lilith took a deep breath, "Daddy went on a business trip like I told you."

Leonid shook his head. "You're lying again."

There was silence between them, Lilith raised her hand to her face. Tears filled her eyes and she had no urge to control them. She began sobbing, making Leonid suspicious.

"Is Daddy dead?" He blurted out.

Lilith's head shot up, she glanced at Leonid who was staring back at her. His reaction told her he was serious with his question.

"Who told you that Nid? Daddy is not dead."

"Only a dead man abandons his family." Leonid argued.

"He did not abandon…"

"He is not coming back, is he?"

Lilith's eyes fell, she knew she had to tell him the truth or it would be late. The silence was killing him, he never knew his Dad was going to leave him. His Dad was not this kind of a person.

"Is he?" He questioned again.

"He is not coming back Nid, he abandoned us." Lilith answered.

Leonid eyes widened, "Why did he abandon us? Did I upset him? Was it because I didn't play the piano like he asked me to?"

Lilith placed her hand on his shoulder. "No, it was not your fault Nid. Your Father took a huge loan from a well known loan center and fled. He left us to repay the debt, however the money is too much and the interest is adding up."

Leonid felt like he had been shot, his Father, the man who he had loved the most, abandoned them and left a huge burden on their necks. He knew the loan was only a burden to him, his Mother had no work and she was not medically stable to have a job. She had a medical condition for lack of concentration. She won't be able to work anywhere and people were going to use that against her.

He could not believe his Dad knew all these and left the debt for him to take care of. He hugged his Mother more tightly than ever.

"I wish he was dead." He muttered, his eyes getting dark in hatred.

"Don't say that, he is still your Daddy." 

"The day he stepped his foot out of the house to run away. He is no longer my father." Leonid said.

A crash was heard at the door, Leonid flinched but quickly regained his composure. He pulled away from the hug and shielded his Mother's body with his. In an attempt to protect her.

His father was not here and his responsibility was to protect his Mother and make sure no harm came to her. He was going to do what his father had left behind.

"Nid." Lilith called, pulling his arm. "They can't get in, come over, let's sleep. I would read you a bedtime story."

"PAY YOUR DEBTS, MONSTER!" The voice shot out loud.

Leonid glanced back, glaring at the direction the voice had come from. This time the voice was coming from the kitchen door. 

"I cannot sleep, the noise is too much and…"

"You just act like you don't hear it, pretend like you can't hear what they say." Lilith muttered, smiling.

Her mood had switched and she had totally forgotten about everything and was smiling like nothing had happened. Leonid glanced at her, he climbed up the bed with her and wrapped his hand over her.

'I would protect you Mommy, far away from monsters like my father.'

Lilith rubbed his head, Leonid waited until she was fast asleep before climbing out of bed. He stood in front of the mirror looking at his long hair, his Daddy had always wanted him to keep that hair. His Daddy had always brushed the hair for him, he now hated the hair.

He took scissors from the drawers, looking at his reflection in the mirror. He took the scissors up and chopped the hair until it was at shoulder length. He threw away the scissors, went down on his knees and wept.