𝑀𝐴𝐺𝑀𝐴 | 𝐉𝐀𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒

𝟐𝟔 | 𝐉𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐘

・𝐉𝐀𝐈𝐌𝐄・

𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐇𝐀𝐃 taken the news of their firing well.

Or, at least, they hid their disappointment well.

Milagro had pretty much brushed the loss aside. She seemed rather confident in the fact that Jaime could also get her a job from Jenny, which put all the pressure on him. Perfect.

Now, his belly full of fried rice and more brownies that Reina had brought home, he laid on his bed. His downtime playlist was playing at half volume from his phone, but Deportivo had no effect on the heavy weight that was pushing on his heart.

Though his door was closed, he could hear Reina, Milagro, and his mother talking. They were supposed to be teaching Reina more Spanish, but, as usual, it just turned into a conversation about the movie they had watched the night before.

He frowned as he stared at his phone. He had written out a text to send to Jenny, accepting her offer to come in. Just to remind her that he existed, so that it wouldn't be a surprise when he showed up.

Still, he couldn't bring himself to press 'Send.'

This was a great opportunity. Maybe he'd actually get a job that was related to his field—hell, anything was better than scraping gum and wiping windows. Then, hopefully, it would pay a little more, and he would make use of the last four expensive years.

But what if he didn't get the job? What if he totally messed up the interview, and then both him and Milagro were back to square one?

The song muffled as he pressed his phone against his chest and sighed. His eyes drifted over to his graduation cap, which was sitting on a pile of books. He had been so stupid to think that just a bachelor's degree would've been enough to secure a good job. He forgot how terrible the real world was.

He wished he could go back to just a year ago. In the middle of the semester, excited to graduate and totally oblivious to the horrible reality that was his family's financial situation. Unaware of Victoria Kord's clutches on his home. Ignorance really was bliss.

He slowly sat himself up. Maybe some fresh air would be beneficial for him. The warm breeze and thriving plants always managed to do a good job at calming his nerves.

For a moment, he wondered if he should invite Reina to sit with him. He quickly told himself no—she was having fun with the other two, and he would hate to spoil that.

So, when he passed the kitchen on the way to the front door, he sent over a smile. His smile became much more genuine when she replied with a grin.

To his surprise, his father was already sitting out in the front yard.

As Jaime approached him, his eyes darted toward the bottle of tequila that was on the small patio table. "You drinking?"

His father gestured to the nearly-empty glass he had in his hand. "Just one."

"Okay," Jaime chuckled as he took the empty seat.

"Don't tell your mother." His father smiled. "Can't sleep?"

He shook his head, whispering, "No."

"I'm not sleepy either," his father replied in Spanish.

Jaime stared out ahead of him. As much as he loved the sunsets, Palmera City after dark was beautiful, too. Each high-rise building glowed a different colour, and some had light beams shooting into the sky, just meeting the stars.

"I planted those nopales with la Nana, when you were a baby." His father nodded toward the flourishing plants potted right in front of them. "Look at them now. Like you and la Mili, grown and beautiful."