Angels & Wolves | Book One

Chapter Eighteen

Rio's POV

"Why'd you really come back home, Rio?" Oz asked as he dipped her to the floor. The fifth song had came and gone, but they were still dancing. Not once had they stopped dancing. The question had caught Rio off guard and she almost stepped back, but she continued dancing. She was afraid if she answered, she would want to tell him the truth about by she left in the first place.

"Why'd you leave?" he asked instead.

"Oz..." sighed Rio. Should I tell him about Francisco? Will he understand why I couldn't go through with our date?

"I can't. I'm sorry. I have to go," said Rio. She ducked her eyes and dropped her hands from his shoulders. Stepping away from his arms, Rio rushed to the door, not even bothering to search for Alice Grace. She would just have to find another way to get home.

"Rio, wait—" Oz called after her, but before she heard what else he had to say, the door slammed shut behind her. Breathing became hard for her as she hurried to a safe enough spot where she could wallow in self-pity. Yanking off her ridiculous heels, Rio crouched on the sidewalk, ragged sobs raking through her body as the unwanted memories forced themselves to be seen.

Six and a half years earlier, a fourteen-year-old Rio foolishly fell in love with Francisco Dominguez, a boy two years her senior. Both her heart and her mind became enchanted with this exotic new feeling. She was drunk on the strange emotion and she was sure Francisco was too. She loved him with everything she had. And she was going to tell him.

She had it all planned out. When he came to pick her up for their date, she would tell him in the car. She planned on wearing her cutest clothes and styling her hair differently than her regular ponytail. She was ready to have the three fateful words out in the open. Rio bounced on her toes and peeked out the window for Francisco. Her father sat in the living room across from the doorway, reading the paper and keeping watch on his only child.

When Francisco's hand-me down car came rolling up her driveway, Rio almost squealed in excitement. With her hand on the doorknob, she waited for Francisco to knock. Rio threw the door open when Francisco finally knocked. She grinned at him and stepped onto the porch, into his warm embrace.

"Hey," she said, smiling up at his beautiful face.

"Hey," he replied. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah," said Rio, nodding her head.

"Be careful, sweetie," her father called, lifting his eyes from the newspaper positioned in front of him. "Call me if you need anything."

"I will, Dad!" she answered, pulling the door shut. She followed Francisco to his car and waited patiently for him to open the door for her. Disappointment clouded her thoughts when he opened his own door and left her waiting in the cold. Reluctantly, she opened her own door and buckled herself in.

"Where are we going?" Rio asked.

"Meet my parents."

"Oh," replied Rio. "Okay."

Rio had no idea if she was mentally prepared to meet his family. She knew he had a younger sister and that his best friend lived with him, but other than that, it was a new territory and she was nervous.

The whole ride to his house, Rio tried to make conversation with him, but all she got were one-syllable words. She was starting to get frustrated. A few minutes later, after driving through the city streets, Francisco pulled into his driveway and Rio felt all her dormant butterflies come back. He got out of the car, not waiting to see if she was following him up the cement path.