Blue is a 21 year old car thief. His life was going as normal. He'd drink a small slushy from the gas station and wait. Wait to see the perfect car roll into the parking lot. The fateful day in November was like no other. Well, that was until Blue e...
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author's note: i usually don't give song recommendations for the chapter... but i wrote this to no sense by justin bieber and mount everest by labrinth. the two have different vibes but they both work for this chapter, so listen if you'd like. okay, enjoy :)
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"Blue." I shook his hand, taking note of the uneasy feeling that rushed over me.
"I've heard so much about you." He gave a charming smile, bright teeth flashing white. He reminded me of the "too good to be true" love interests from the telenovela's the old woman in the apartment next to mine used to play. I'd watch with her when she cooked me dinner, without a clue of what they were saying. She said having no captions would, "help me learn."
"Good things I hope." I gave a tight-lipped smile, letting a subtle breath of air pass through my lips.
"Of course! I've got to get back to dinner but I thought I'd introduce myself. Here's my number if you ever need anything." Antonio handed me a small piece of paper, a number written neatly. "We're family after all."
With that he turned away, the friendly smile still plastered on his face. I watched him leave closely, my eyes trained on him as he sat next to the girl I had seen before. She looked happy to have him back, and from what I could see it wasn't hard to tell why. The family didn't seem to like her much. Was it because she was poor? So was I, but they seemed pretty okay with me. But to be fair, I'm not marrying Santiago.
I shook my head and gained my footing, heading back to the table. Santiago was already looking at me as I approached.
"You alright?" He spoke quietly for only me to hear, helping me slip back into my chair.
"Mhm, Milo's asleep."
"Then why do you look like that?" Santiago said the words disapprovingly, sliding his finger under my chin. He brought it up so we were at eye level.
I brought up the slip of paper, "I met your cousin, Antonio. He's...." My words trailed off as I failed to come up with something fitting.
Santiago's expression went blank, his eyes moving from mine to the piece of paper. He gently took it from my fingers, bringing it just above one of the candles on the table. The bottom of the paper caught fire, spreading quickly like ink in water. He let it go just as the fire reached his fingers, the paper now nothing but ash. "He's crazy."
The rest of dinner went relatively well, but it wasn't hard to see how Santiago's mood was affected. It also wasn't hard to see how he was slightly more protective than he was before. He kept his hand in the dip of my waist like I would slip away if he let me go. I usually wouldn't mind, but the prospect of his family watching us made me anxious.
Santiago made a show of dodging them, a wide smile on his face. I laughed, turning away from him to hide my expression. The night had chilled even further and the moon was casting a bright white sheen over the courtyard.
The drive was calm and mellow, cool air hitting my face through the sunroof. The warmth of the car heaters and Santiago's hand on my thigh created the perfect temperature. I felt free and somehow brand new, like something had shifted.
The house was dark when we arrived except for the living room where we found Luciano and Qiang. The two talked to us for a few minutes, laughing at the family updates. They gave us more details on their night with Milo. Somewhere in the night, he brought them the book about dinosaurs so he could run around the living room like one of the prehistoric animals. The two left soon after, leaving Santiago and I in silence. I breathed out deeply, letting the weight of the day go.
Finally, I felt relaxed in the company of Santiago and Santiago only. "I liked that, doing something new. Being around people."
I spoke the words carefully, processing them myself. It had been so long since I'd been around people. Most of the time I was by myself, at night, in the morning, during the day. And I didn't mind it. But I couldn't help but notice what I was missing once I had it. Milo and Santiago changed everything. These last few days made me realize something. Something that made me terrified. I was falling for Santiago.
"Are you not around people often?" He spoke, his raspy voice a pleasant break from the house's empty silence.
"Mhm." I paused, finally making direct eye contact. "I've always been pretty alone."
I cringed at the admission, I hated talking about the less than positive aspects of myself. Santiago slipped his hand into mine, it felt like he was telling me to continue. I didn't know if I wanted to, vulnerability was never my strong suit.
"After my brother went to prison, I was pretty much on my own after that. I resented him for what he did, but hey. I turned out okay." I blinked some tears away, my throat felt so tight I questioned if I could breathe.
"I just want you to know that I will never leave you and Milo. I don't want that to be a fear for you." Santiago moved his hand onto my face. He always handled me with an unmistakable gentleness. A gentleness I didn't usually receive from others. I was supposed to be strong, society expected me to be. But truthfully I was only strong because it was the only way to survive.
His words made something in me click, leading me to make a choice. A choice that would inevitably change my life. I kissed him.
author's note: hi loves! we reached 7k views and i'm so surprised. i appreciate y'all so much and i think... you'll really like the next chapter. i'm already writing it lmao so don't worry on the wait. it'll probably be out today. also keep commenting and telling me your thoughts! i love it. <3
