Treat You Better

Chapter Twenty-one: How to Kidnap your Primos.

Chapter Twenty-one: How to Kidnap your Primos.

Angelo let me sleep till it was time for dinner. It was dreamless and perfect, and I felt refreshed.

I slid the back of my hand against the dark sheets that covered Angelo's bed as I slowly woke up. The ceiling was really just fancy woodwork, and I spent about five minutes watching the ceiling fan slowly spin round and round above me before deciding it was best to get out of bed.

Angelo had left me a note saying he'd gone down for dinner but didn't want to wake me because he knew how had it was for me to get sleep the past few days. I still would have preferred to be woken up, but I didn't mind much.

It was dark outside and the windows at the head of the bed were shut to keep out the cold air. Favoring my arm, I slid down to the floor to walk around barefoot, the fireplace in the sitting area was the only source of light.

Angelo's bed was on an elevated platform on one side of the room, so I had to step down into the fancy living room and cross the entire space to get to the bathroom. There, I washed my face and brushed out my hair so I could pile up the curls in a high bun.

Or at least try. With only one arm, it was hard to do things like this, so I just ended up with a crappy updo. Anything but hair in my face was good right now.

The hallway was so quiet and I walked past the many doors hoping no one would suddenly pop out. The only door I could recognize (and that was Pedro's brown door), remained closed like the others. Everyone must have been at dinner already.

It was pretty easy to find the dining room and its huge double doors and I took a deep anxious breath as I stepped into the room.

The giant mahogany table had about six people or so around it but my attention immediately went to the only woman standing, placing a plate in front of a young girl with short, choppy black hair.

She was speaking in rapid spanish, trying to get the girl to eat from a plate piled high with food. Yep, that was definitely Tía Mónica.

"Mama, no" The girl groaned, "I'm not even that skinny, jeez."

"Elena, come tú..." Tía Mónica did a double take in my direction before gasping in delight and shifting all the attention on the table to me.
"¡Dios mío! Is that her!?"

Angelo raised his head from his plate with a mouthful. "Hmm?"

"Hola, Tía Mónica." I greeted, turning my attention back to the older woman, only to gasp in surprise when I realized she had stepped around the table and was barreling towards me with outstretched arms.

"Tía, wait-!" Angelo said but she'd already wrapped me up in her embrace.

"Welcome, querida!" Mónica squealed, careful not to cause my arm pain but still deliver a heart warming hug. "It is so great to have you here!"

I was stunned to say the least, at how openly affectionate she was and how her warmth made me feel so nostalgic that the breath was knocked out of me.

Angelo caught my gaze from across the room, and through my blurry eyes he almost looked panicked.

Tía Mónica released her arms and stepped back to look up at me, her being a head shorter than I was.
She looked a bit surprised to see me blinking back tears but she was probably used to having emotional wrecks around her all the time because she smiled warmly and held my cheeks in her hands.

"I will take very good care of you, Violet. You are welcome here." She said and this time I hugged her with my one good arm, surprising both of us.

"How cute," Someone drawled from the table in a voice too deep to be Angelo's. Jeez, there were other people in the room too. I released Angelo's "tía" and faced the rest of the family.