Falling Apart (GANG Series)

Chapter 24

Aria's POV

I leave my best friends to go look for Jacob. Maybe he got overwhelmed. I think about ways Jacob and I could go away for a little without it looking rude or suspicious. I slip through the crowded kitchen as family members scramble to get seconds, thirds, and so forth. I grip the zipper lining of Jacob's jacket close to me.

"Aria," my mother urgently speaks to me. Her and my aunt came out of their sister corner they go into at every family occasion. "We need to talk. Now."

I look back and forth between her and my aunt. My stomach plummets through the freshly polished hardwood. Staining it.

"Um," I feel dehydrated as I talk. "Okay. Where?"

"Come on." She pulls down the hallway into my grandmas room. My aunt shuts the door, blocking it so no one comes in. Why are they being so shady?

"Is everything okay?" My hands rest behind my back.

"Why didn't you tell me what happened? That you stayed at a hotel. The bet. That you broke up. Everything." I notice she doesn't mention that he's in gang so I'm safe there. I hope. "You're my daughter. I need to know these things. I mean, that man is here in my house after the awful thing he did to you. That you could even forgive-"

"Well I did. It may be fresh to you but that is in the past." My wounds are healing. "That is no ones concern but Jacob's and mine. And especially not your sisters place to tell you about my business." I glare at my aunt. "How could you talk about that? That was one of the most humiliating and heartbreaking experiences of my life. And you could just talk about that openly? In front of our family."

"She wanted me to know. You obviously weren't gonna tell me any time soon." My mom tries to defend her.

"And how does that matter? What if I never told you? It's my relationship. I'm not some baby that you need to protect." Like when I actually needed her but I don't go there. We're in a good place but with this audacity she has right now, it's really ticking me off.

"I know you're not. But you're still our baby. To me. To Samuel. Your grandparents. Your Tía. I just love you and it hurts me that you went through that. I mean living at a hotel, that must've been miserable. Baby, I'm not trying to get in your business. I know that you're grown up. I've known for a while but I'm still your mom. I still worry." I soften at her words. I feel bad now. I'm so use to my Aunts harsh words about him. "I still can't believe he did that to you. I mean how disgusting. How-"

"He didn't go through with it. That's all you need to know. You trust me, don't you?"

"Of course. But him, no. I certainly don't trust him. Or like him at all for the matter." Her honesty makes me frown. But I get it, if some guy tried to pull something like that with Mar, I would stick his penis in a blender with full power.

I turn to my aunt, chin tilted up. "I would like to talk to my mom. Just her."

She looks guilty. Sick almost. But she leaves us be.

"I know that you may never completely like him. But I need you to know that I got back together with him for a reason. It's not because I'm dumb or naïve. It may seem like it because of what you've heard from her, but he really does love me." I try to convince her.

"I believe you. But as much as I love that you are kind and open-hearted, you tend to let people back in your life that don't deserve it. And you get hurt most of the time. Is this boy really deserving of your forgiveness?"

"Yes." I immediately say. "Do I completely trust him again? No. But I know he will be able to get me to. I love him. So much. I really do. You have no idea. There aren't enough words that truly capture what I have with him. You don't know him the way that I do so I get that it's difficult for you to understand that he's not a bad person. He's actually pretty great, he just has to see it himself. Just like I was an innocent child that a lot of fucked up shit happened to, so was he. You cannot even begin to picture what he's gone through. So before you decide you hate him and nothing can change your mind, allow a sliver of your mind to give him a chance. Please." I beg of my mom. "He didn't do it. He almost did. I promise. It doesn't make it any better but we're trying. He's trying to be better in every way."