Don't Hide Your Love Away

14

The shot was loud. But it left as soon as it came.
However the amount of blood he was losing seconds after was haunting.
"Fuck!!"
People were screaming, and it wasn't long before there were sirens. Everyone was screaming.
"What the fuck?!"
-
It's been several weeks. They found his family and kept him alive due to their hope he'd actually live.
I was at school the first time I met his sisters. Lunchtime exactly- they looked just like him.
"You. Boy! Over here." These must have been Marianne and Andrea.
"Uh, yeah?" Ally and Daysha walked over with me to approach them.
"Are you friends with Javi? Dexter?" One questioned.
"Oh uh yeah! Is he ok?"
They deadpanned for a second.
"No he shot himself in the head. He may never wake up again. Anyways stay on track. We will need you as witness to him saying it was this Mr.Estrada."
Oh shit. This is getting extreme. Why the fuck me? I'm the one who heard it maybe that's why- of course that's why you idiot!
"He stole him and snuck him into a country all the way across the ocean. If you can't testify for my Javi then you never cared!" She whipped around and walked away, leaving the other twin.
"Here's our number, please give us a call." She said handing me a small paper before walking off.
"They're all so fiery." Ally pondered.
"Let's meet up after school?"
—
The minute I got out of that school I found Ally and Daysha. We were all on the same page- nervous as fuck. Dexters family? The goungest are so hard headed we are all nervous about the rest of them. There is no way they aren't all top dog rated people.
We sat in front of the girls, sipping from milkshakes.
""Do you want to see him?" Andrea spoke, her hands folded in her lap.
I nodded, looking at Ally and Daysha.
"We're driving. Come on."
We all got up and followed them to their yellow Jeep, and piled into the back.
"So... you were a dick to my baby brother? Shame on you."
"Mari... straight boys are dumb! And Javi can't talk to boys-"
"Wait... so he's like always been gay?" I asked, feeling the shame from everyone's what the fuck stares.
"Of course! He kissed his first boy at preschool, and always was obsessed with my male friends and boyfriends! Hes boy crazy!!" Marianne let out a small laugh, before remembering what's going on now and her face fell.
"We've searched over a decade for him, and we won't let him die now that we are with him."
"Yes, papas going to end Estrada. He took away his only son out of 18 kids. He's been very angry."
—-
We were going to discuss the legal stuff after the visit- they wanted to begin with seeing Dexter.
His room was big, a clear view of forest and scenery below his window. He had tubes up his nose and taped into his mouth, his eyes shut and completely black and blue. He had blood caked in different spots around his eyes nose and mouth. He had a part of his hair by his temple shaved, and bandaged. He kind of had an incomplete undercut now.
Fuck.
I grabbed his bed railing leaning my forehead down onto it.
"Fuck please wake up Dex."
"That might help, but directly talking to him is better. Somehow; as they word it; he's got brain activity. The bullet didn't kill him... but if he wakes up we will know the full damages. So there's hope he will wake up." Andrea explained, gently caressing Dexters hair.
"So how much did he say about Estrada? Anything at all?"  Marianne questioned, looking up from her phone.
Me and the girls shook our heads.
"No. He just said that he took him."
I thought about how his last thoughts of me were hate... I watched him die all while hating my guts.
"Jules.... You good?" Daysha whispered, poking me.
"Not really! He's basically dead and who knows if he'll ever care about me again god damn-"
"Enough! You are just dumb. Javi wouldnt stay around if he didn't care for you. Now our parents are stopping by with Lupita, Greg and the girls." Marianne flicked me in the back of the head just as the doors opened.
Three young girls ran in with two older versions of Marianne and Andrea, a carbon copy of Dexter but older, and a red headed male following behind.
"How is the baby?!" The older woman cried, her focus straight on Dexter.
"The same... his activity picked up earlier but you know that... nothing since then mama." Andrea said softly, looking at the distraught woman holding Dexs hand with a sad look.
"He's so much different than he was... so old yet so young still." Lupita brushed his hair back, flinching when the monitor started beeping quickly.
"Nurse!"
I looked at Dex, then at Marianne and Andrea who were just staring at him with teary eyes.
I noticed Daysha and Ally covering their mouths, and then finally- his dad was just standing beside him in silence, holding the railing of the bed.
The nurses rushed in and and quickly started giving him a shot.
"Mami! What is happening to Uncle Javi?!" One of the identical triplets asked,  holding onto Lupita and Greg.
Lupita wiped her eye, choking back a cry.
"Uncle is not well... and he might... might say goodbye any minute-"
"But we just got him back!"
"We are finally meeting him!"
"De- Javi is strong. Just pray that he gets better to help him. " ally said quietly, her eyes wet with tears.
The girls immediately started praying and I felt my heart wink a bit.  The nurses left once he was stable, but now everyone seemed on edge.
A knock on the door rattled before a man in a suit walked in.
"Hello, I am Connor Odell, head of the human trafficking department in the FBI, and I'm here to speak to the parents of Javier Rios." He set his bag down on the table.
"Yes we are them."
Marianne and Andrea ushered everyone outside while Lupita and Greg stayed to assist the parents.
"Mami just said they're investigating the school. It's shut down until further notice. And Estrada is being held without bail."
Woah already?!
My spirits raised just a little bit.
"How long is he in for?"
Andrea sighed.
"We'll until he is charged I suppose. But there is no telling how long it will take or if there's others, and it might have to be sentenced over in Spain."
Oh crap. Is Dexter going back?
"Will Dexter be... going back?"
The siblings stayed quiet, and glanced over at the girls who were playing on a tablet.
"Possibly.... If he wakes up, that would be for him to decide. But he would have to apply for citizenship- right now he was technically smuggled in. Not legal. Your school is also possibly where more things happen-"
Two policemen walked up to us, stopping Andrea.
"Excuse me, we need to ask some questions,l regarding the situation. Is now ok to go back to the station?" He was talking to Ally, Daysha, and I.
"Uh yeah."
—-
Once we got to the station we each went into different rooms with just a table and two chairs.
I sat down, waiting for someone to come in. And finally they did.
A tall man with dark hair and glasses came in, dressed in a suit.
"Hello, Julian. I'm Matthias Right, I'm on the investigative team, specialized in kidnapping and trafficking. I'd like to start off letting you know you aren't in trouble. But you possibly have valuable insight that would help. How long have you known Dexter?"
I thought back...
-
"Bye mom!" I hopped out of the backseat, waving goodbye to my mother.
She waved, and watched me run up to the school doors.
First day of fourth grade- I was almost 11. I smiled big and pushed the door open and ran inside- skidding to a stop. There was Ally and Daysha. My bestest friends.
"Hey! Dayday!! Ally!!" I ran up to them, hugging each of them.
"How was your trip Julie?! We haven't seen you all summer!"
I laughed.
"I missed you! And it was great- we took a plane!"
The hallways were clearing up, but I was too excited to not finish telling them what happened.
Finally when I finished, I asked if they did anything as we made it to the lockers.
"Actually yeah! We made a new friend- he's right there- hi Dexter!"
I looked behind me and made eye contact with a brown hair boy with bright green eyes, as he froze in place a few feet away from me.
We stared at each other before he held his bag tighter.
"Hello." He waved shyly at the girls, still staring at me.
"I'm Julian." I said, waving.
"I'm... Dexter..." he was quiet, but still gave me a smile.
"We're gonna be best friends!" I hugged him, realizing he seemed very shy.
"O-oh! A-awesome!" He hugged me back.
—-
"Almost eight years." I said quietly, wishing I could hug him again.
"And how was he around Estrada?"
—-
"Hey you ready for freshman year?!" I yelled, grabbing dexters hand and raising it.
"Show some joy." I teased when I noticed his flat expression.
"Why?"
"I hear Mr.Estrada let's people do whatever they want-"
"I'm sure it's a lie." He muttered, seeming very... aggressive.
Or that time...
We were sitting together at lunch, when I saw Mr.Estrada walking up behind Dexter.
He put a hand on his shoulder, gripping it. Dexter jumped in response.
"I need to speak with you."
"U-uh yes! I will be back Jules!"
——
"He was always jumpy. And Estrada would always want to speak to him in his office... like every day." Matthias nodded.
"Did he touch Dexter at all?"
I nodded.
"Actually like anytime he saw him. Now that I'm thinking about it he always was on Dexters case. But no one else. He never called anyone else down to the office-"
"How did he talk to him?"
I paused for a minute.
"He was very... he was more serious sounding. And ominous." Damn how did I never notice how creepy he was?!
——-
Ally POV
"Hello Ally. I am Riley Campbell. I'm with investigative services, do you need any water or crackers?"
I shook my head.
"So how did you meet Dexter?"
—
"Daysha! Look how high I'm going!" I yelled over to her as she played on the springy toy thing sticking out of the ground.
"You're so cool Ally!!" She grinned at me and waved.
I managed to wave back, and spotted our moms so I waved at them.
But then Daysha spotted something and ran off, so I drug my feet into the ground until I stopped and ran to follow her.
Before her was a boy our age. He had brown hair, big green eyes and he was nervously looking at us. A man with brown hair and brown eyes was watching him a bit away. Maybe his dad?
"Hello! I'm Daysha!"
"And I'm Ally!"
"I... I am... uh D-Dexter..." he sounded sad.
"Want to be our other best friend?!" Daysha squealed, grabbing his hand. I grabbed his other one.
"We like you already!"
He smiled. Glancing at us for a moment.
"I.. I like you too!"
—
"That's very sweet... was that man Estrada?"
I nodded.

Daysha
"It was." I looked at Anastasia , tears in my eyes.
She nodded, placing a hand on mine.
"It isn't your fault. He's lucky he met you actually. And we can't promise but I feel like this will legally head in a positive direction."
I nodded, letting my tears out.
"I want him to wake up!"
—-
I met with Ally and Julian after the talk.
"Hey." Everyone had red eyes.
"Julie... he will be ok." I said, rubbing his shoulder the second I saw him start tearing up.
"He is literally dying. I didn't even do anything when he told me about Estrada- maybe-"
"Hey. We can't turn back time."