Eduardo's Dandelion.

61

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EDUARDO.

"What the fuck are you talking about?!" I screamed at her. Aviva! Where was she?! She has known about all of this! I was not here to explain everything to her! I turned to Benito, who quietly observed us.

"Where is Aviva?! Where is she?" I asked him, he sighed and took his sit like I was not speaking to him, "Eduardo," Mama started, "When we got here, we were shocked to see what happened! Aviva had sold almost all of the things you had in this house, she partied like you were not in jail and drank to a stupor, I honestly do not believe that she is even pregnant."

I felt my heart beat so fast, I thought it would jump out of my chest. What the fuck! What the fuck?! I turned back to her, "where is she? Where is Aviva?"

"When we came, she was disappointed, she treated us so badly, treated me with so much disrespect, I was scared honestly. I wondered why you would ever love somebody like that, I was thinking about you speaking to Benito on the phone about giving her all you had, and I was shocked."

"Mama," I started calmly, trying to keep my anger in check, "where is my woman?" I asked again dragging out all the words to make sure that she knew what I was saying.

"She left, she said she cannot deal with people like us, that girl is so mannerly! I cannot believe you got someone like her pregnant, I mean."

I suddenly turned to Javier who was not standing next to us, I pulled out his gun from his holster shocking him, he started at him but I pointed it straight into her head making Viola gasp.

"Eduardo! What the hell are you doing?" Benito screamed at me, but I did not care, I stared at her, the woman who raised me. She had been a cruel mean person but she was the only family I had, I had loved her, in my way but now? I understood what Jacob was saying.

This fantasy I lived in was over, I deluded myself into thinking that I was one of the strongest men in the world, that I was invincible, untouchable to anyone but now I understood that I had been weak for too long, just like my father said, never learnt anything from his cruelty.

"Put the gun down son," she said nonchalantly which shook me, all this while I realized that they were using me, all I them, the people I chose to be in my inner circle were using me, one way or another and I had been conditioned to believe that I was powerful when I was not. The pain I felt staring at the prior whom I called family was unimaginable, it was time to take action.

I pulled the head of the gun and shot Mama's foot earning a scream from Viola, Mama flinched and fell to the ground, my eyes were wide and I was ready to do anything to them. This was not my family! They only pretended to be! How could I have been so stupid to not see all of this? All of them?!

"Aviva spent day and night, trying to get me out of that prison and you propel want me to believe she suddenly left when you came?"

"Eduardo, are you crazy you just shot your grandmother?" Viola screamed and I suddenly turned to her with the gun in my hand, she jumped and stumbled back.

"I want to know where my woman is all I swear to the lord that if you serve I will end you all!" I screamed at her.

Viola was shaking, nobody would ever expect that I would direct my violence toward them, mama was bleeding badly on the ground, she looked like she was going pale.

"Brother drop the gun, we can talk about this, I..." I turned to Benito who was talking, "What did you do?" I asked again calmly but he already suspected that my calmness was fake.

"Aviva left, she did not want to br here anymore, you know Americans when they are in little trouble they run, list forget about her." he dismissed, making me madder. I heaved in disbelief. I glared at him pulled back the gun from Viola and pulled the trigger again, he fell to the ground and bled out of my ties. Viola screamed, Mama was visibly shaking.