Becoming a Scott

Chapter 22

"You seem to missing from the house a lot these days." Isabela said from across the table. "Some people have begun to notice."

Christina sat up, "What do you mean?"

Isabela eyed her for a moment, as if she wasn't sure if she wanted to speak. "Nothing you should worry about right now. If I notice anything more, I'll let you know."

"Very ominous, Isabela, very ominous." She answered but decided not to press on. Christina had enough on her plate, she didn't need anything else. But, even as she drank from her coffee now, she felt the lack of sleep weigh heavily on her. The worst part was that she couldn't blame the jet lag anymore.

She had stayed up tossing turning in bed thinking about Thomas. What would a life with him look like? Would she always have to act like a kindhearted, innocent girl around him? Giving him kisses and hugs and waiting for him to ask questions since she knew he was incapable of answering any?

And what would happen when her grandmother died? Would she divorce him and be seen by the rest of the society as the crazy woman who had manipulated a man into marrying her within a week before leaving him? Or would she have to live in this house with him for who knew how long...

Somehow the idea of introducing him to her parents and sisters made her go sick. How could she face them after she had acted so recklessly for nothing but money?

"When is uncle Joel coming, I'm starving." Christina complained with a sigh.

"It seems he's running a bit late," Isabela shrugged. "If he's not down here soon I can make you something."

Christina shook her head, "I'll make breakfast, it's the least I can do to help out."

"I've seen your cooking skills... no."

"Good, cause I was only bluffing with that offer." Christina frowned and found herself looking down at her hand, "How often do you call back home?"

Isabela straightened her posture and thought about it a moment, "Maybe once a month, but usually my mother calls me. With how bad things are down there she doesn't have access to a consistent phone."

"Yeah, my mom usually had to go walk to the public phone in town whenever she wanted to talk to her family that lived on the other islands." Christina sighed, "I told her not to do the same for me, that she shouldn't walk so far just to talk to me, but she fought me on it."

"I bet she already misses you and is waiting to see when she can call."

"I wish she were here, I wish they were all here. Your family and mine shouldn't be living like that, not when other people have access to all of this." Christina pressed her cold hands to her face.

"My mother did come to visit me once, two years ago. We went to the city and she took lots of photos and bought lots of stuff to take back with her." Isabela's eyes started to water. "We'll see them soon, Christina, we'll see them."

She nodded slowly, "If I own all of this one day, Isabela, I'll help you. You can stay with me as long as you want, invite all of your family. I'll pay for your education you can go back to the islands if you want, you can travel abroad."

"That's a nice thought." Isabela spoke, her voice heavy. "If I own all of this one day, I'll give you enough money to make sure you wouldn't have to marry for wealth. You could be a single woman for the rest of your life or find someone you truly love."

Christina grinned sadly, "That's a nice thought too." The two women looked at each other, hoping that they would succeed and be happy with what life could afford to give them.

Ander appeared later on in the afternoon, dressed in a tux that reminded Christina of the first time she had met him. His hair was swept back and his cheeks were slightly flushed when he hoped out of the car and ran up to hold the passenger side open for her.

"You're late," Christina commented as she took his hand. "You told me five."

"And you decided to wait outside for me, like a lunatic." Ander added before letting her go and shutting the door gently.

He drove out of the neighborhood and merged onto the highway, making his way towards the city. "Should I be confused at to why Riley wasn't waiting beside you?"

Christina furrowed her brows, "Why?"

"I half expected her to find out you were coming out with me and insist that she come along." Now that Christina thought about it, she hadn't seen Riley all day. "So, are you excited to see the man of your dreams?" Ander asked to changed the subject.

"Thomas is far from the man of my dreams. Honestly, I don't think there is a man that'll make me feel that way."

"In love, you mean?" He watched the road as the sky grew darker. The city lights becoming more and more impossible to ignore.

She rested her head back on the seat and glared out the window. "No, I fell in love, still am in a certain sense..." her voice lingered as she suddenly remembered everything. It felt like years had passes since she had arrived on the mainland.

"So was I," Ander spoke from the driver's seat, "and still am."

"Vanessa, right?" She asked, fighting against the memories that were playing in her head.

Ander looked at her from the corner of his eyes, "I see old rumors still find a way to circulate. Yeah, Vanessa." He laughed, "You know, she also happens to be-"

"Irvin's sister," Christina finished. "He mentioned that to me several times."

"What about you?" Ander asked as Christina glanced over at him. "Who did you fall in love with?"

She let out an unsteady breath. "Luis, we started dating when we were in high school and throughout the first year of college. He had all these great ideas and was planning out what he had to do to become governor one day. And then I was granted an opportunity to leave and help my family..." Christina lowered her head, playing with the cloth of her dress. "Luis thought I was a traitor, he couldn't understand why I would turn my back on my people. He called me selfish and we got into this whole argument."

Ander responded after a moment, "He sounds very narrow minded."

"I can see his point, though." She let out a sad laugh, "I can't even bring myself to think what Luis would say if he knew what I was doing."

"You're just doing what you can."

Christina watched the stars, "Maybe the best thing I could've done was listen to him, but I'll never know. That option doesn't exist anymore."