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༛༛ ༛ ༛༺༻༛ ༛ ༛༛
AFTER A SUMMER FREE FROM THE WHITE WALLS OF LAS ENCINAS, it was time to return to reality. Time to go back.
I had spent most of my summer trying to figure out how to get Nano out of jail, visiting him in an attempt to stop him from losing faith. It was stressful, to say the least. So stressful that I started meditating and working out to help keep me focused and calm. There was lots to stress about.
No matter how hard we tried, Nano was losing faith. In his mind, he was going to rot in jail for life. He had given up any hope he would be free; he knew we wouldn't be able to afford his bail. He was heartbroken, everyone accusing him of murdering the girl he loved- Marina.
Marina. It was weird without her, and to say I missed her was an understatement. Of course, the weeks leading up to her death she was a real bitch. She became manipulative in a bid to survive and escape, not caring who she hurt in a bid to save herself. But when I first met her, she was lovely. A rebel, against the rich lifestyle she lived, yet secretly enjoying the luxuries. She wanted to leave, leave the town and the expectations. In one way she did escape, but not in the way she wanted. Her death was bittersweet, I guess.
Samuel was struggling just as much with her death. It was his girlfriend, his first, the one he said I love you too. And despite her betrayal, he really loved her and wanted her to be happy. He wanted her to stay, and a part of her wanted to, but who knew what she would have finally decided. We never got to find out... She never got to make that decision. Samuel and I had spent the summer hanging out, trying to figure out our game plan for when we went back to school. We knew it must have been one of the rich that killed Marina, but even the poorer students had motive. We were attempting to be amateur detectives, just trying to help our friend, his brother, and reveal the truth. But we didn't even know where to begin.
At the beginning of summer, we were expecting Christian to join us in our little mission to help Nano. But he was gone. Christian headed off into the sunset with his new girlfriend Carla, heading on a Croatian boat trip with her family or something. Despite the kiss we shared just as summer ended, Christian made his choice, leaving with Carla, and in turn showing me how he really felt. The whole time he had tried to convince me I wasn't the second choice, but from the way things had gone, it seemed like that was a lie. I had always been the second choice. And that revelation felt awful. A real kick in the teeth. I had tried to get in contact; message him, call him, anything, but he'd been very off the grid. This wasn't like Christian at all, but I guess he was caught up with the luxuries Carla could offer him. I had expected at least a goodbye before he left, and so did Samuel, but we got nothing. He didn't even visit Nano, he just got on the boat, not a word to any of us. I missed him. I really did, I mean I was really starting to like that stupid boy. I even shed a few tears, worrying and missing him. But I knew I shouldn't.
Carla messaged me an apology, which surprised me. She apologised for her running off with Christian, and said she had wished it had gone another way. We were becoming good friends before she left, and she had hoped that when she eventually came back to school, we would be fine. In truth, I wasn't sure. How could it be? How could I just pretend everything was fine? I could see already that going back to school would be hard. Not just between me and Carla, but between all of us. Guzman blamed Nano, and even Samuel, for the death of Marina. He was filled with hatred, and anger, and I had heard nothing from him all summer. He had been absent from social media, but rumour had it that he was out drinking, partying, just trying to distract himself from the pain of losing his sister. I figured he was probably angry with me too, but I had hoped not. I wanted to be there for him, wanted to help him like I promised I would. Yet I doubted Lucrecia would let me anywhere near him. Stupid Bitch. From what I'd seen, Lu had been by his side ever since summer started, leaving Nadia heartbroken; it was clear she'd really fallen for Guzman.
My parents had come back from their extended trip, and had spent most of the summer trying to talk me out of going back to school. Instead, they wanted me to be home schooled, or to move to another school. They even suggested we leave Madrid, and move elsewhere. My parents were understandably worried, and figured a fresh start would be good for me. But I wanted to stay. Stay and figure out the truth. Stay and be there for my friends. Or at least, whatever friends I had left. I had to face this, I couldn't run away from my problems.
It was obvious that when we'd go back to school, there would be a clear divide between the rich, and the poor. We had just spent the first year trying to break down those barriers, but Marina's death brought them back up again. I could already imagine the looks we were going to get, and I really wished summer could last a little bit longer.
