CHAPTER TWO

SYMPHONY FOR PIANO Nº 5

" Hello " she greeted each one and when Tulio got in and took the wheel, sitting in the back seat with the boys, she turned to him. " You don't have to pick me up anymore. It was good of you to come by because I wanted to talk to you in person about this. I appreciate that, but there's no need for that.

" Put your seat belt on," he said, and looked at her in the rearview mirror. He looked a lot less injured, his eye was still swollen, and he had bruises on his neck, but he looked much better than the last time I had seen him lying on the hot asphalt. " It's no trouble at all, and it's the least I can do to thank you, Cloe. Sopapo, Gringo and Cannibal will always be there to pick you up if I can't.

He was serious, his friends were silent, and Cloe liked to hear her name in his mouth. What the hell was happening to her? His stateliness seemed to fill the car and she thought it best to keep quiet. As was normal, since she was taken to and from school every day, they knew where she lived, but Tulio didn't drop her off at her house, he took another, longer route and none of the occupants said anything. Just as she was about to ask him why he had changed the route, they came to another side of the community where she lived. The side she hardly frequented. 

" Sopapo must be because you like to hit and slap; Gringo, I think, is because you have a different accent, but Canibal, that one had me a little worried. " The four men laughed at her for almost a full minute, and it was Cannibal who answered her:

" It's okay, it's because of this, look " he showed her his fingers and the girl noticed that he was pulling the little hairs out of his fingers, in the corner and hurting them. The thumb of her right hand was nibbled and even reddened with irritation from the friction of a finger he had nibbled or that he had bitten. Less bad and even she laughed now that she understood his nickname. " I like to eat the skin I peel off, nothing more than that, you know? " She nodded and smiled at him. Crazy, she was even getting attached to the guys, Tulio's companions.

His friends got out and only the two of them remained in the car.

" Do you want to sit up front with me? " Tulio asked without looking at her. " Don't make me your chauffeur.

Cloe noticed that he was playing with her, and went down and sat down next to him. He was well dressed; he wore jeans and a white tank top that showed off his muscles and she just looked at him, put on her seatbelt and he walked away.

" Can I take you for ice cream? " he asked, and his voice was thick and low.

" Do you ever order? I imagined he would put a gun to my face and take me anywhere he wanted. " She was bold and brave. I didn't want the whole picking her up and taking her to school thing to continue. Tulio stopped the car and pulled over. He looked at her and Cloe felt her heart soar. Not because he looked still kind of scary. Now she could see perfectly well how hurt he had been. The eye that had hardly closed on the day of the beatings was still swollen shut, and a blue"green tint ran down almost to his chin. A deep cut on his neck contrasted with his pale skin, and with her hand still on the steering wheel, she saw that the knuckles were whitish from the force of his grip on the wheel and the bite of his teeth. His eyes were an icy blue and she was not about to show him fear.

" I'm not involved with drugs, Cloe. " It was what he said that surprised her. And once again it seemed that he pierced her soul with his deep gaze.

" I have no interest in your line of work, Tulio, I just want you to go your own way. 

A smile skewed his wounded lips and Cloe noticed that one of his front teeth was asymmetrical and overlapped the other, a defect that made him even more handsome. The half smile unsettled her. How could he be that handsome?

" I like the way my name sounds in your mouth," he spoke and looked at her lips, and it left her breathless. Yes, he moved her. And she thought the same, she liked how her name sounded in his mouth. " When I opened my eyes while the guys were beating me, I thought I had died and gone to heaven, you know? You looked like an angel standing there in the middle of the beating.

There you go. Now it was official. She was messing with him too! What the fuck would she do now? Before starting the car and leaving, Tulio still said

" Did you know that if you save someone, you are responsible for their life? My life belongs to you from now on. " She forgot how to breathe, clinging to the car seat, looking outside, remembering what Hanna had told her, that she had condemned them for having saved him. Yes, she was doomed. But what was worse was that she was happy about it, she was excited to know that that beautiful blueeyed guy was bound to her irretrievably.

" Take me home, please," she asked, when she found her voice again.

" Your wish is my command, pianist.

Cloe walked into the house as soon as the car stopped, not even saying goodbye to him. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and when she got into her room she called Hanna and told her that they really needed to talk.

Hanna arrived soon and Cloe poured it all out in her ears, pacing back and forth in the room.

" Oh my God, Cloe. " Hanna was sitting on her friend's bed and wringing her hands, worried. " Do you think you are in love with him?

" Does it sound cliché if I say I think I am? " Cloe stopped in the middle of the room and looked at her friend, confusion transfiguring her face. " I haven't stopped thinking about him for a minute since I saw him getting beaten, since he opened his eyes and looked at me. Help me, Hanna, I'm so lost.

" Sit here, honey " Hanna made her lie down, she lay down next to him and the two of them stared at the ceiling. " He told you himself that he is not a junkie and is not involved with drugs. That's already something positive. However, we know that he is Tulio! He's in Paco's gang. 

" So! You are not helping me at all by saying this, Hanna! " Cloe covered her face with both hands. 

" At the same time, we haven't decided who we are in love with, if you are in love at all. Let's give time to time and see what is his. At least Chris took a break after he heard what happened, right?

" At least that's it. I haven't even thought about that asshole these days. " Cloe had dated Chris for two weeks, just two weeks, and hated herself for it. She had given a chance to the guy who wouldn't leave her side. Cris didn't live in the community. And that was not why she had dumped him, but because he had been prejudiced when he referred to those who lived in the community as less fortunate. The way he had said it, feeling superior for not living in the community, was so terrible and had made her see him with different eyes. It only took two weeks for the girl to realize how prejudiced he was. Cris had told her that she was nice and beautiful, she could be more than a slumdweller, and this put an end to their new relationship. He wouldn't leave her side, unsatisfied with the ending, no matter how much Cloe rejected him.

They talked for a few more hours and Hanna said goodbye at the end of the afternoon, arranging to see each other at school the next day.

In the morning, who came to pick her up for class were not the friends and partners of Tulio, but he himself, Cloe was startled to see him there when he opened the car door to get in.

" Hello, pianist," he greeted her, and damned, the girl's heart started to race.

" Look, you decided to come yourself," she said as she sat down in front of him, feigning indifference. And as they went, she asked him. " Since you told me you are not a junkie, what is your role in the community, what do you do?

" Well, I don't know if I have a role here, I usually keep everything organized, you know what I mean?

" No. I help the residents of Deltame.

" I have been helping the residents of Deltame for years, I try to prevent Navarro's people or anyone else from doing anything to harm here...

" In other words, you are the leader of Paco's gang, which keeps Deltame free from attacks? " She interrupted him, so that he wouldn't beat around the bush. She needed him to say what he really did.

" Some use this, this name to refer to me. " That was his vague answer. Cloe felt his gaze on her from time to time and it gave her goosebumps. They arrived at the school and he left.

Cloe couldn't stop thinking about him, no matter how hard she tried.

On Saturday, leaving the house and going to the manicure in the upper block, she was thinking that she would stay until Monday without seeing Tulio and when Cris appeared as if sprouting from the ground in front of her, she closed her face.

" I don't want to talk, Cris, get out of my way. " He spoke firmly and tried to pass by her, but she held her wrist:

" Geez, baby girl, what did I do to make you not want to hear from me or take my calls?

" Take your hand off me! " she said in a broken voice. " I don't want to hang out with you or chat anymore, do you understand?

Cris seemed to see that she was really unyielding and would not go back with him. She let go of his wrist and asked:

" I just want a kiss and you can go.

" What? Are you crazy, didn't you hear what I said?

" I did, but I want at least one last kiss!

Cris wouldn't let her pass and the street was empty at the moment, he knew this, he smiled knowing that she would have nothing to do but kiss him. Cloe snorted a laugh that made him even more angry at being dismissed and mocked and he grabbed her wrist again, harder this time.

" Let me go, you snobbish bastard! " she shouted, and Cris squeezed a little harder.

As if a gale had hit the boy, he was up in the air. Cloe gasped uncomprehendingly, and there beside her was Tulio. Where had he come from? She barely had time to think and he fell on top of Cris. Each punch a sound of broken bones and Cloe noticed that she was screaming as her throat burned:

" Stop, you'll kill him! " But Tulio continued punching Cris' head and face, who was already unconscious by the second punch. Cloe jumped on top of Julius' back and only then managed to push him away. Tulio's eyes were red with anger, his knuckles too, from the blood he ripped from the boy on the ground. She looked at him muted and pale. 

 " My God, who is this man? Is he a monster?!"   She thought in amazement and coming out of her stupor, all she could think about was getting away from him and Cris falling like a rag. She walked quickly and Tulio reached her and held her gently by the shoulder.

" I'm sorry. " Just this word made her calm down and stop, how did he have this power over her? " Don't be mad at me, I couldn't help seeing the asshole insisting and harassing her. Excuse me?

Looking at him and not knowing what to do, it was a surprise to herself when she found herself asking:

" I'm confused, Tulio. Who are you?

" Who are you?

" Who are you really?

" I don't know how to tell you.

" Show me then.

" Show you?

" Yes, let me see what you do, who you are.

And that smile was back on his lips.

" Come with me. " He called her, and she took his outstretched hand and followed him to his car at the corner.

" Where are we going? " she asked, fully aware of her hand in his.

" To take care of a little problem that has come up.  I'll leave these headphones and my cell phone with you. Enjoy the music if you get scared, okay? Trust me! " That was all he answered, making her even more confused.

 Cloe took the headphones and his cell phone and put them on her lap.

They were almost out of the neighborhood when Tulio parked the car and got out quickly. Cloe didn't know those parts very well, but she knew that Jânio, the drug dealer in that area, didn't like unannounced visits. A bunch of people were crowding around and she heard a voice speaking Janio's name amidst the other voices. She froze and thought that the shooting was about to begin. With her heart pounding, she stayed inside the car.

" Come on, buddy, it's cool, man!"  She heard the voice of one of them, it wasn't that of Jânio and she could swear it was the guy who had talked to her the day of the fight, the one who had beaten up Tulio. Freezing and feeling an irrational fear, she knew that there would be a fight between the two gangs. The guys who had picked up Tulio outside her school were there! They were Navarro's gang, for God's sake!

Cloe could clearly see the fight happening in front of her. It was all very fast and this time Tulio was prepared and delivered unrestrained blows. Putting on her headphones and turning on his cell phone with clumsy hands, she took her time turning it on. She decided to muffle the screaming and thrashing to the sound " she could not believe it! " Beethoven!

Was this really happening or was she dreaming? As if in perfect synchronization, Beethoven's symphony was the soundtrack to the absurd fight that was unfolding in front of the car where she was sitting and, to her total amazement, Tulio, who had just been hit on the chin and his face turned to her with the impact, smiled and winked at her, and then plunged into the fight with more effort. 

Really, he was watching a fight and the symphony number five was playing in his ears?

Tulio had to be crazy. It would be funny if it wasn't tragic and she decided to close her eyes as she used to do when she watched horror movies and the monster appeared on the screen, scaring her. Better not even watch the fight. He had asked her to trust him, and she would blindly do so. May God have pity on her.