Seeds of Tomorrow

36

Though Victor was glad to be out of Bingo, he was feeling apprehensive about taking his SUV back from Raquel.

"Ready to go repo a car?" Rocco asked eagerly, "Maybe sock up that sancho?"

Damn, his cousin took after their grandmother with his love for drama. Victor was praying for anything but that but knew Raquel wasn't going to take him essentially repossessing the car well.

"If anyone gets violent, remember I'm a minor," he continued, playfully punching the air, "I will get less time."

Victor massaged his temples, "The dude is like 5'3, grandma could take him."

Rocco bust out laughing, "Bro, Grandma be fighting way outside her weight class. That old lady could take down a fucking bear."

Lissette nodded, "Oh absolutely. She may look sweet and unassuming but she's a tough cookie."

"We talking about the same Grandma 'cause she don't even look sweet. She look like a straight chola," Rocco cackled.

"Just because she draws her eyebrows on doesn't make her a chola," Lissette told her brother, craning her head so she could look at him from the front seat.

Yawning, Rocco linked his fingers behind his head, "You know what I always wondered, and maybe I'm gonna ask her one of these days, why does she shave her eyebrows but not her facial hair?"

Lissette laughed so hard that tears streamed down her cheeks, "Seriously."

Victor felt himself becoming annoyed with his cousins, he was tired, still sick from the prior night, and dreading the possibility of confrontation. A million different scenarios ran through his head, what if the dude tried to fight him? Victor wasn't afraid to fight back and defend himself but he was afraid of jail and how that would affect his chances in split custody.
Worse yet, what if the dude was armed and shot him? What if Sergio saw the entire thing?

And then there was the guilt. He felt fucking guilty about doing something that could hurt Raquel, like taking his vehicle back. She didn't even know about the eviction yet. Why did he feel so guilty about standing up for himself when she didn't feel guilt over the fact she'd single-handedly ripped apart their son's family and sense of stability?

His palms felt clammy as he pulled up alongside the front yard of the house. The house he'd damn near broken his body to purchase. Literally. He'd thrown his back out before his twenty-first birthday and had been worried he would be unable to work. Victor had muddled through the pain, began seeing a chiropractor as well as a physical therapist, and was good enough. Not nearly where his back health had once been, but well enough to work. He'd risked his body to provide for her and she had given hers to someone else.

"I feel like we should have ski masks," Rocco declared as Victor unbuckled his seatbelt.

"We aren't stealing anything, we are just taking back what's ours. Or his, I should say," Lissette corrected him.

With a deep breath, Victor stepped out of his car and made his way to the front door. Neither Raquel nor her man, whatever his name was, hadn't done any yard work. The once tidy little lawn was overgrown with dandelions and tall grass, and Sergio's toys were scattered about.

Even though it was after nine pm, nearly ten, the lights were on inside. Victor could hear the sound of the television and Sergio whooping playfully.

Another deep breath.

He raised his hand and pounded on the door, police-style. The boyfriend answered, dressed in nothing but a pair of grey basketball shorts, his rat-like face contorting in anger as his dark eyes met Victor's.