Chapter Fifty

11.1K 293 189
                                    

The next two chapters are gonna be kinda fluffy. Hopefully, you guys enjoy it!
_______________________________

Alex Solace

   I got a court summons in the mail as I was unpacking.

   I'm not getting sued- thank fuck- but it was more so a reminder that the court date is coming up soon.

   Two weeks soon.

   Two weeks. There's no way it's been two months already.

   But you know what? I feel good. I don't feel scared at all. Nervous- of course- because it's court, but other than that I feel fine. I feel... Like everything's gonna be okay and I can finally take a fucking breath.

   Elias and I are supposed to be at school- but is it really a surprise to anyone that we're not? It shouldn't. Mateo's at school though, which means he's getting as much of an education that a 5-year-old can get.

   So now I'm driving to his job, feeling a bit nervous and sweaty. He told me he wasn't going to school because he just didn't feel like it, and because of that, it meant he had to work today. So I'm sort of surprising him on the job.

   I'm not nervous because of his dad- Antonio and Carmen love me- I'm  just nervous to see him.

   It feels like when we first started dating, How I was always so nervous to see him, touch him, look at him. He just... he makes my mind and stomach go crazy and he doesn't even realize it.

   Now that I look back on it, that whole talk about distance was bullshit on my part, because there I am now, running to him like a lost puppy. A puppy that misses its owner- I'm pathetic.

   Telling him everything.. it just lifted this hundred-pound weight off my shoulders. I feel so much freaking lighter, freer, happier, and less stiff. I feel like air can finally reach my lungs. And the fact that he still wants to be with me after hearing all of that? I feel.. like I'm capable of being loved.

   He knows that's why I was crying the first time we did things, and even though he was shaking with boiling-hot rage, he held me. He stroked my hair. Kissed my forehead. Shh'd down my cries of pain. And all in all... he's still here. We're still us.

   So yeah, safe to say the whole distance thing was probably in the moment because I was overwhelmed. Which is part of what I'm going to tell him. I also have to break some other news. Some good, some he'll whine over 'cause he's a clingy son of a bitch, but he'll be happy because it means I get to spend more time with him.

   I turn the corner and pull into the parking lot, feeling the corners of my lips turn up in a smile as I imagine his face in my head. His dimples, his hair, his smile, his hands- everything about him.

   My heart flips when I pick up the sub sandwiches I bought us, feeling excited to eat and spend time with my boyfriend.
_______________________________
Elias Salazar

   I wipe my rag across my forehead, tossing it over my shoulder and huffing out a laugh.

   Someone cut this bitches breaks. I've been working on this guy's car for as long as I've been working, looks like karma finally caught up to him. Someone finally had the balls to cut his breaks, the reason for his latest appearance.

   "What's the word, mijo?" Pa walks into the garage through his office, patting one of my coworkers, Miguelito, on the back. He's covered from head to toe in his winter uniform as he calls it. Two layers of black with a black workers jacket and beige overalls on top, paired with a beanie to cover his bald head.

          

   As much as I complain about coming to work sometimes, I love being here. The smell, the hard work, the long hours, the peace and quiet- or maybe I'm just desensitized to it. It's like my second home, especially since I've been doing this for as long as I can remember.

   I laugh teasingly, bringing my tongue to the roof of my mouth and nudging my head towards the car with a red jack underneath it. "It's Matt's car again. Look at what someone did to it."

   He rubs his hands together with excitement, ready to see the damage. He hates Matt just as much as I do, and while we can deny service, we're a small company and it'd ruin the reputation we've built if people hear that we're denying customers.

   "Damn," he draws out in a laugh, bringing his fist to his mouth and chuckling at the irony of karma biting this guy in the ass. "He pissed off the wrong one."

   He claps me on the back and brings his lips together, shaking his head in amusement, "That's all you, mijo. How's Alex? Haven't seen her or Mateo at the house other than when you guys went to the party. She doin' okay?"

   My chest puffs out as a wide smile perches itself on my lips, proud to talk about my girl and all her progress, all the trust she's given me. She finally told me what's been eating away at her poor heart, what's driven her away from me, and all the pain she went through. After she left my house that day I might have gone on a bit of a spree. I ran like a bat out of hell and went to a nearby park, screaming and punching trees like you wouldn't believe.

   In my defense, I was overwhelmed and didn't know what to do.

   The only reason I went back home was because I screamed so loud a lady thought I was a drug addict and threatened to call the cops. Angelica wasn't impressed when I asked her to clean my bloodied knuckles and refused to tell her the cause. I would've done it myself but my hands wouldn't stop shaking.

   But after I settled down, and- ironically enough- thanks to her ignoring me for a few days, it gave me time to process. To grasp everything. To just... understand what I heard and understand that she's still the same girl I met in the library all those months ago. She just needs a bit of extra care that I'll gladly show her for the rest of our lives.

   "She's good," I huff proudly, crossing my arms over my chest. "I don't know if I told you but they just moved into a new house. She's feeling good. She was feeling really down and just.. just really depressed for a while so that's why she wouldn't really come over. But uhh.. yeah. She's unpacking, going to school, work, all of it."

   "Jesus," he says disbelievingly. "She sounds just like your mother, doing all of it at such a young age. Where the hell are her parents? Did she move into a house by herself? What about Mateo?" My ears start to burn at his prying questions, ones that I don't know if I can answer.

   "Pa," I strain. "I don't know, it's a lot. I don't know if she wants me to say anything about it." I wring my wrists together and look at him sheepishly, wanting to be honest but also not knowing how she would feel about him knowing her business.

   He grunts in a very dad-like way, obvious displeasure seeping through the sound. His arms cross over his chest as he looks at me sternly, "You know I'm only asking because I care, mijo. I actually like her for you, I'd hate to see her in a bad situation and it hurts your relationship because she feels like it's a lot, you know?"

   Do I know? If only you knew, buddy.

   "I know, Pa," I nod.

   "Tell her to come around some more, okay?" His hand weighs heavy on my shoulder as he roughs me up. "I know Ma misses her and her little chef, huh?" He smirks at me, talking about Mateo as well.

Solace (completed) Where stories live. Discover now