"Samantha"

"Wow, thank goodness it's Sunday and the mall closes early," Manu said when we met at the door of the store where I worked.

"Don't even mention it, Manu, my feet are killing me!" I replied, looking pained.

"And we don't have a ride today; Pablo's off," Manu warned me.

"Good for him. He's been really nice to us."

"Really. He's super nice. Would you like to share a taxi? I'm too tired to take the bus," Manu suggested, and I thanked God.

"I'll pay for the taxi, Manuzinha. I'm dead too." We walked out laughing.

When we walked through the door, we were surrounded by Rômulo. He had a cynical smile on his face. I hadn't noticed him there. He stopped in front of me and grabbed my arm.

"Come on, Samantha, I'll take you home and we can talk." “Rômulo,” he said, as if he were giving me an order.

“Rômulo, let me go. I have nothing to talk to you about,” I replied.

“Of course you do, my dear. Come on, the sooner you stop this drama, the sooner our lives will get back to normal,” Rômulo