CROSS

Six

Several years ago,

Shiny plastic clips Penelope bought off a street vendor hours ago are pinned into her hair. Wild daises with white petals and a yellow core.

Her mocha coloured hair is clipped short, very short. Choppy and uneven.

Penelope loved her hair. It was long once, falling in waves to her lower back. She took care of it meticulously along with her nails and skin. Nothing was ever out of place with her.

Almost a year ago, Roman assumed her obsession with looking perfect picture was what young adults her age did. Now he realised it was more than that. It was part of her identity- something that made her Penelope Cross.

Roman eyes the roughly chopped edges and wondered how much she cried when she saw the strands falling at her feet. How much of herself did she lose in those long months she was tortured?

"Did he suffer much?" Penelope asks quietly. Her voice a tiny whisper reminding him that they've lost her outspoken and boisterous self.

Covered head to toe in all black, she stands before three tombstones. Black marble with their names inscribed in gold. One for their father, their mother and her twin brother Phillipe.

"No," he lied.

Phillipe died choking on his own blood but Roman isn't prepared to tell her that version of the story. The one where her twin was so desperate to find her, he stopped showing up to chemotherapy and stop taking his medication because these life saving treatment took too much of his time.

Time which he needed to find his sister.

"Hmmm," she hums so hauntingly, "I can't tell whether you're lying or not. You've gotten good at it." She pivots to face him, searching his features in hopes of finding the truth. "I guess it's a positive attribute for a Drug Lord." She comments when she finds no answer.

Penelope leaves a single carnation on each grave. She touches two fingers to her lips before tracing her fingers along the top of the tombstones. She doesn't cry or rather she can't cry because there's no tears left. They've withered, drained for this lifetime.

Wordlessly, Roman leads her back to the car and drives them home with an entourage leading and following. With Diego gone and his brutal take over of the Cartel, there's no telling who's an enemy and who's an ally.

He didn't trust anyone not until he's cemented his position as the Drug Lord. Both familiar and unfamiliar faves could take them at any given point.

When they pull up to the new family home on the tip of the Baja California Sur, Penelope turns to him.

"Will you check on Carmen?" She asks, "She won't see me, Arthur or Xavier." Her pupils shake with worry as Roman helps him down from the SUV. "I'm worried especially in the condition she's in."

"I'll check on her, I promise."

Roman leaves her in the main den where she busies herself with some fashion magazines. He watches her for a moment, ensuring that she's content enough that his supervision is no longer required. Besides, Arthur or Xavier will eventually appear to keep her company.