HATE AT FIRST SIGHT ╰> riff, wss 2021

five

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When I come home, Bernardo sits at the kitchen table with a bottle of beer and a tensed expression. When I close the door quietly, he immediately rises to his feet.

"Where have you been?"

"With Gabriel" I half-lie. I mean, I've been with Gabriel too.

"And what were you doing before?" He asks, clearly angry. "I thought you were going to the shop?"

"I was" I exclaim.

"And what were you doing with that gringo, that jet-boy, that-"

"Just say it, Bernardo" I say, now angry too. "What do you really want to ask?"

"Do you have some kind of ... thing with him?" Bernardo asks disgusted.

"No!" I shout. I mean, it's the truth, right? Right?

"What were you two doing then?" He asks, still suspicious.

"He stole my purse" I say truthfully. His bad. It's not my task to save his white ass from Bernardos anger.

"This ... bastard!" Bernardo begins his tirade about Riff and I stand there, listening to his words, sometimes nodding. "No... no... walks anymore!"

My jaw droppes. "You can't do that, Bernardo! You can't lock me up in here!"

"I can!"

"I'm an adult!"

"No discussion!"

"Fine!" I shout. "Fine!"

As I walk towards my door to stay in there for as long as it takes to convince Bernardo he can't command over me, his now quiet and almost gentle voice stops me.

"I just ... don't want you to get hurt. Or, to get involved in ... you know what"

"I know" I say softly, turning around to face him. "But ... Bernardo ... I'm nineteen. And I can protect myself. You have to trust me, brother"

"I can't" he says, painfully. "Not with him"

"Bernardo-"

"He's a gangster. He is bad news. You know why he's around you? It's not about you. It's about me. He wants to annoy me, he wants us to fight. You can't trust me"

His words shouldn't hurt, but they do. And of course, it's the truth. He may be not the perfect brother, demanding, even frightening sometimes, but never a liar. He's always told me the truth. And even if I don't want it to be, it's the truth.

"I know" I say, after an a bit to long pause.

"Good" he says, taking a sip from his beer.

--

The next day, I'm on my way to the doc's.

Not to date him, but to tell him to stay away from me. To settle accounts with him. To make myself free from him. Forever.

When I walk down the street, I notice the ruins around me. Even more than before. When will it become hard to breathe?

"Camilla? Camilla Vasquez?" A familiar female voice asks.

I turn around and see Valentina, the owner of the doc's and doc's widowed wife. I know her a bit but Anita knows her even better. Even though in this neighbourhood, everybody knows everybody.

"What are you doing here?" She asks curiously. Normally, it's Anita who buys here. "Do you want to buy something?"

"Y- yes" I lie, bevause I don't want to tell her the whole story. "Is the shop open?"

"Of course" Valentina says and leads me into the shop.

I take a look around and walk towards a cupboard with some candy to act natural, while Valentina begins to speak, sorting some boxes on another cupboard.

"Crazy times, right? Everybody's acting strangely. Tony, my employee, wants to head into the ... the unknown to find a love" As her voice rises, her accent becomes stronger. "The boys are more aggressive, everyone of them, puerto rican or gringo, even Riff is acting strangely these days"

"How?" I ask curiously and could slap myself in the face for it. I'm not interested in his behaviour, I'm not interested in him.

"He's, y'know, 'thoughtful'. I've never seen him actually think before, but the past two days he was ... thoughtful. Like, actually, thoughtful. Your brother must've hit him very hard"

"Sure"

"... or it was armors arrow"

That's riddicolous. Absolutely riddicolous.

At this moment, the door opens and I tense up when five of the jets, including Riff, step into the shop. Valentina grimasses and hurries over to them.

My heart beats faster than it should and as my gaze meets Riffs, I tense up. He gives me a small smirk, he points at the door. Seemingly, He wants to leave the shop and the others and I also don't want an audience when I confront him.

I follow him out of the shop and we walk a few meters until we reach the next block. Then, he turnes around to me, still smirking. But before he's able to say something, I begin to speak, frowning and hands on my hips.

"Listen here, you little shit, I've come here to tell you to stay away from me, nothing more"

"So?" He says unimpressed, but his grin has disappered.

"So, stay away from me" I hiss. "I won't be a toy in your stupid gang conflict, I won't be your medium against my brother. Family over everything, that's what we do. And you can just ... just fuck off and leave me alone, do you understand?"

"Well, if that's your point of view" he says with an unreadable expression.

"It is" I say hardly.

"Then, why didn't you tell me that yesterday when I asked?"

"I've changed my mind" I answer harshly. "That's what people do, accept it. I've seen throught your game, Riff"

"Really?" He asks, taking a step towards me. I have to stop myself from taking a step back. Never show  weakness in a fight.

"Or was it Bernardo who changed your mind?"

"I-"

"What did he tell you?" He asks.

"The truth!" I exclaim.

The situation has become more uncomfortable. Riff is not flirty anymore and that, somehow, makes me more nervous than the version of him yesterday.

But before we are able to continue our fight, the jet boys run towards us, sending me angry looks, so I quickly disappear. More trouble? No thanks.

---

The night is dark and I can't sleep, mainly because of Riff. He is in my mind, I can see him through my inner eye. Somehow, he us entertaining enough for my brain to stay awake.

When I finally drift into a light sleep, someone knocks at my window. My eyelids fly open. That's surely Maria, we often climb to one anothers balcony, but it's after midnight! What could she possibly want?

Groaning frustrated, I stand up and walk towards the window. Opening it, I say: "What the hell do you want Maria, it's midni-" I fall silent

It isn't Maria.

It's Riff.