There were a lot of things to get around. Kenzo arrived at Natalie's apartment in a pick-up truck he had rented from one of his friends. When he saw Natalie slumped in a mess just outside her door with bloodshot eyes, he walked over to her and laughed at her.
"Damn! I told you to move in sooner," he said.
Natalie cried even harder. "Please don't remind me." She told him, standing up.
Some of her clothes were scattered on the floor. Her bags were halfway opened with the contents spilling out from the inside. She had some baskets full of clothes and fabrics too, her bedsheets, towels were all over the place along with some of the furniture she had bought online, such as her dresser, her nightstand, even the small coffee table her mother had brought her on her birthday a couple of years ago.
She looked around and placed both of her hands on her waist. "I don't even know where to start." She said, still crying.
"Don't worry, I'll help." Kenzo said.
Slowly, Kenzo started on the furniture first, carrying them one by one to the first floor of the building and to his car. The effort was exhausting because Natalie's space was on the fifth floor and the elevator broke down.
Natalie followed after Kenzo, trailing behind him while carrying a few of her bags. Some people who lived in the building eyed them when they passed by. Most of them were close to Natalie, but she didn't have the energy to entertain them or even answer their questions.
Being kicked out of her own apartment just because she wasn't able to pay the rent on time was already embarrassing. She didn't want to make it even worse. It took almost three hours until everything was already settled in the pick-up truck. Natalie and Kenzo stood outside, leaning against the truck with so much sweat and catching their breath.
"Are you sure you didn't forget anything?" Kenzo asked as he wiped the sweat on his face with a towel.
"Yeah." She nodded.
"You ready to leave?" He asked.
"Yeah." She simply answered.
Natalie took one last glance at the building.
So long…. She thought. She was not coming back anymore. She would just tell her friend Daisy later, who was currently on vacation, that she had moved out. Daisy could have her place to herself if she wanted because she had money to pay for it.
Natalie got inside the truck and sat next to Kenzo. Kenzo started the engine and they drove to his apartment in silence.
Getting there and unpacking all her stuff also took a good amount of effort, so Kenzo hired two men to help them. By the time they finished and everything was well organized inside Natalie's owned space in Kenzo's villa, it was already evening.
Kenzo took her to dinner, went to a nearby restaurant and after dinner, they got back to the apartment. Natalie's room had its own living room and Natalie slumped down on the couch, feeling so tired and spent.
When Kenzo found her, she was already asleep and snoring loudly. He decided to just let her be and got a blanket to cover her.
"Sleep well," he said and left for his room, lying there until he fell asleep too.
In the morning, Kenzo woke up first. He decided to cook for them since it was Sunday and there was not much to do.
Natalie woke up to the smell of good food. She rushed to Kenzo's room and found him serving the food on the table.
"Good morning," Kenzo greeted, "Have some breakfast."
Natalie felt like Kenzo had done so much for her already. She felt ashamed for receiving this kind of kindness and treatment from him.
"Why are you doing this?" She had to ask, so suddenly.
"Doing what?" Kenzo asked back, confused.
Natalie shrugged her shoulders, "Everything."
"You mean helping you?"
"Yeah. I want to know why?"
A grin crossed Kenzo's face, "Because you're my sister."
"I'm not your sister." She snobed him and looked at the other side.
"Whether it's by blood or not, we have become a family now. And families always help each other." Kenzo smiled while looking at her.
Natalie smiled back. There must be some kind of reason, but for now, she had to believe that reason. She was already grateful enough for everything he had done for her.
When breakfast was done, Kenzo asked her a favor.
"Can you help me buy some groceries at the market?" Kenzo asked.
Natalie figured out it would bore her just staying in the house alone, so she agreed to come with him.
They went to the market downtown and bought what they needed. Kenzo was paying at the counter and Natalie told him she had to head out first because there was something she needed to buy across the street.
When she crossed the street at some shop, a man bumped into her. The man complained, but when their eyes met, they both gasped in surprise.
"It's you!" The man exclaimed.
"What are the odds!" The man was the loan shark who had harassed her yesterday, and Natalie's instinct told her to run. But the man had managed to grab her arms fast and pulled her behind the shop where there weren't a lot of people.
"Did you bring my money?" The man asked, holding her aggressively in her arms.
"I didn't come here to pay you. Let me go!" Natalie yelled and struggled to get free.
But the man held her arms tighter.
"If that's the case, then you should pay me for something else." The man grinned deviously.
"What are you going to do?" Natalie could feel the fear rising in her skin.
The man held out a small knife from his bag and held it to Natalie's face. Natalie's eyes widened, and she stood frozen in fear.
"No! No!" She yelled.
"Let me have a slice of your finger. Then I consider everything paid." The man laughed and pulled her arm against the wall, while holding her body with the other.
Natalie struggled so hard to get free, but the man was stronger. "No, please. No! Help!"
"You gave me no choice, miss."
The knife was so close to her finger now, she could already feel its sharpness.
"No, no. Please…" She begged and struggled so hard. But the knife had cut through the skin and blood dripped down on her palm.
"Help! Please help me!" Natalie screamed.
Then, suddenly, a tremendous force hit the man on the face and he was knocked down on the ground. The knife went flying away onto the pavement and landed on the hard surface. Natalie's focus cleared and she saw Kenzo beating up the man on the ground.
"Kenzo stop!" She shouted at him, "You're killing him!"
The man was covered with blood. Having no strength to fight back, he just placed his elbows in front of his face for defense because Kenzo kept hitting him.
Natalie pulled Kenzo and made him stop. He was furious.
"What was he going to do to you?" He asked her.
"It's my fault. I borrowed money from him, but I wasn't able to pay it. That's why he's coming after me."
"How much was it?"
"What?"
"How much did you borrow from him?" The tone of his voice was harsh and cold.
"Five hundred dollars, plus interest."
"How much was the interest!" he yelled and made Natalie flinch.
"He doubled it. I had already paid him half the amount. Now, I have to pay him the other half."
Kenzo nodded and pulled out his wallet. Facing the man, he took out loads of cash and threw it to him.
"That's more than five hundred dollars! Take that and don't bother her again!" The man took the cash in a hurry and ran off.
Kenzo looked at Natalie, "Such a small amount and you can't pay for it?"
"Yes, because I have other debts to pay." She bowed her head because of shyness.
"It's not worth it. You risk your life for that small amount. He almost hurt you!"
Natalie felt offended, "That's because I wasn't living a comfortable life like you! I didn't ask you to pay for it. Why did you do it? I could pay for it myself!"
"Then you'll get yourself killed!"
"He can't kill me."
"You don't know that!"
They were both arguing so loudly now.
Natalie took a moment to catch her breath and calm down, "Look, I really appreciate your help, but you don't have to do it. I only moved into your apartment because I didn't have a choice, but I will move out as soon as I can find another cheap place to stay. I'm just struggling a little for now, but I'm working on it. So please don't act as if you care too much about my life!"
"Just keep your mouth shut. From now on, you are not paying anything anymore. I'm paying all your bills."
"You're not listening to me, Kenzo!"
"Just get in the car and tell me where else you borrowed money from."
"Kenzo, stop it!"
"Then pay me later! If you feel indebted to me, then pay me all you want. It doesn't matter when, I don't care. As long as I know you're safe."