Anna's POV
We trailed behind the old woman as she entered her home. The smell of freshly picked flowers and incense seeped into my nose as we walked through the living room. There was an old man watching Clint Eastwood westerns on the couch with a cigarette in his mouth and a beer can in his hand.
We walked past him and he didn't bat an eyelash in our direction.
"Is he dead?" Katie whispered.
"Shush." I whispered to her. We followed the elderly lady to her kitchen where she had us sit at a small dining table. The smell of incense left my nose and ground beef entered.
"Poor babies, I'm making tacos. Y'all stay to eat okay. Y'all want water?" she asked.
"Yes thank you ma'am." I answered.
"Don't call me ma'am pretty, you can call me Abuela." she corrected me and smiled. Katie and I spun to each other as the light bulb in our heads flicked on at the same time. We recognized that name and there was only one person's grandmother that made us call her that. Couldn't be.
I signaled to Katie to look around the house and she nodded. We both discreetly took mental pictures of the home and tried to connect the dots of our memory to our current situation.
"Where were you girls heading?" Abuela asked. Panic began to set in Katie's eyes because we never rehearsed that prior. Dev on the other hand extinguished the fire that ignited in our minds.
"We were going to a friend's house that just broke her hip." Dev said. Katie choked on her water which made Dev gave her a death stare.
"Oh my God, that's so unfortunate. Were you there when she was injured?" she asked as she pointed to me. I tightened my eyebrows then I looked at her and realized her eyes stuck on the bandages on my hand.
"Oh! Yeah yeah, I don't like to talk about it. It brings back the memories." I lied. Dev gave me a subtle nod while Katie gulped her water just to keep her mouth full.
"I get it sweetie. Is someone coming to meet you girls?" she asked. That was another crack in our plan we overlooked, how we were going to exit.
"A friend is on his way." Dev said confidently. It was just uncertainty after uncertainty in a situation where Dev thrived. I didn't question what she said because I realized she was the most prepared out of us all.
"I wanna pee!" Katie blurted out.
"The one downstairs is no good, so use upstairs. Third door on the right." Abuela told her.
In between our conversation I asked questions that may have given us answers but to no avail. Halfway through our meal I remembered Katie had not been back yet so I texted her.
Krazy K🤪
Me: Bitch wtf! U living here now?
K: Girrrlllllll I think I found what we're looking 4.
Me: OMG, take pics n come bck. Hurry!
K: okay idiot.
"Abuela, these tacos taste immaculate." Dev said as she complemented the elderly lady in an attempt to distract her from Katie's long absence.
"Gracias hermosa. Do you girls want desert? I can whip up cookies really quickly." Abuela exclaimed.
"Oh I'm so sorry Abuela but our friend is almost here to pick us up and the time we spent being lost and eating at your wonderful home, we should be back home by now so our parents are expecting us anytime soon." Dev explained and even threw in a somber look.
"Aww okay. You three are always welcomed here, mi casa es su casa." she said. Katie returned to the kitchen but not in time eat so Abuela packed her food in a to go plate. Abuela led us through the path in which we came, passed the old man on the couch and to the gallery.
"I have a granddaughter around your age but I haven't seen her since she moved closer to the city." Abuela lamented.
"Really? What's her name?" I asked.
"Taylor." she said.
I unconsciously stopped in my tracks and my heart beat increased. The moment I looked forward to for so long finally buzzed in my ear like a mosquito in a dark room. I tried to swat away what I heard but the silence around me rang like an alarm the morning after a drunk night out.
I felt my body jerk forward and I slowly returned to the present. Dev hooked her arm into mine and pulled me out the house and to Cooper's car that was parked in front the house. I hadn't noticed when he arrived. Dev guided me in the back seat and came in after me.
"Goodbye Abuela, thank you for your hospitality." Dev shouted and waved from the back seat. Cooper drove off and made the block only to end up by my vehicle but I hadn't recuperated from the visit just yet. We thanked Coop, got in my jeep and sat in silence or shock for a bit until Katie broke it.
"What. The. Flying. Fuck? Anna I'm so sorry by the way that someone who you considered your friend would seek to destroy your relationship like that but FUCK her." she said aggressively.
"Show me." I muttered.
"Huh?" Katie questioned.
"What pictures you took! Oh fuck Katie stay focused." I raised my voice. She and Dev seemed startled and I didn't mean it but I was on the edge of bursting into tears or screams. Katie quickly scrolled through her phone and showed me pictures that hung in the Mendez' home like trophies of a proud parent.
I saw pics of Taylor at every stage of life, she was surrounded by other children in some of the pictures but mostly a girl that looked a little older than her.
"Is that her sister?" Dev asked as she and Katie also looked at the pictures.
"She doesn't have a sister." I mumbled. I turned on my car and sped off to drop the girls off. My confusion stirred long enough and turned into anger not only at Taylor but at the situation with Eva. The absolute love of my life was uncertain about us, my mother was away and my father was gone forever.
Loneliness began to etch itself into my skin, flesh and bones. I closed my eye in an attempt to stop the loneliness from leaking out my eyes and even though I was successful it slipped down my throat and stuck. It stayed there in silent protest because anytime loneliness creeps around, it must exit through your eyes and I tried my best to prevent that.
Eventually I opened my eyes and found myself parked in front of a familiar house, Eva's. I got out, knocked on her door and was let in by her father who told me Eva was in her room. I knocked on her door impatiently and she shouted "Oh damn it Jess, just come in!!".
I opened the door, stood in the doorway for a few minutes with my head down then walked in and shut it behind me. Eva sat up on her bed, pushed her laptop aside and opened her arms, inviting me into her sanctuary. With each step I made closer to her, loneliness began to made it's way to release out my head through my eyes which made it harder to hold back. Eva was the only person that comforted any pain I endured, internal and external and I needed her more than she thought.
I finally got to the bed and stood there not knowing what to do. She reached up and pulled me onto her on the bed and I immediately allowed loneliness to have it's way and exit through my eyes. I snuggled into her neck while she put her hand under my shirt and rubbed my back.
"Eva please never leave me. I need you more than you'll ever know whether you believe it or not. I need you baby." I sobbed into her neck.
YOU ARE READING
First Forever (GirlxGirl)
RomanceAnna Shumate has a crush on Eva Cudmore but recently it's becoming harder to hide it. Join her as she tries to resist the irresistible. #AnnaShumate #Evanna #EvaCudmore