Looking Beyond

Chapter 36: The Move

     Jacob moved to stop Savannah and Erik, but Brea stopped him. "She needs some time. I'll talk to her when we get back to the house tomorrow." Brea watched helplessly as the woman she considered a sister stormed off.

* * *

     Erik had barely put the car into park when Savannah exited the car and stormed towards the house. "Mami!" Erik called out after her. Savannah responded with muttering and the door slamming open. Erik continued to follow after her, finally catching up with her in the room she shared with Brea. She was angrily grabbing Brea's items from their shared closet. "Mami!" He grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. "What are you doing?"

     Her blue eyes turned icy. "I'm making a change." She looked down briefly. "Family never sticks around, so I might as well make this less painful for me."

     Erik took the clothes from her and placed them on Brea's bed. "Vannah-Girl, what are you talking about?"

     "Family. They're never around when you need them the most." Erik took her hand and rubbed it soothingly. "My dad died when I was a teenager. I needed him and he was gone!" Tears began to fall down her flustered face.

     "He was sick Mami..."

     "I know, but he still left!" She wiped her face. "Then there's my mom..." Her shoulders heaved. "She never saw me graduate! She'll never meet you!" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "She won't be there to give me advice when I have your babies...who will give me advice when we have kids? It's not like my aunt will be helpful – she couldn't even be there to help when my mom got really sick!"

     Erik's heart soared at her mention of wanting to bear his children, but he stamped his happiness aside in order to focus on Savannah's current anguish. "But what does this have to do with Brea?"

     Savannah gripped his hands tighter. "She's having a baby with Jacob! She won't have any time to hang out anymore! She won't want to spend time with me – she'll be focused on Jacob and the baby."

     Erik pulled her into a tight hug. "Shh...Mami...it'll be fine. She won't abandon you. Things will change, but she'll still be your sister."

     She clenched her fists against his chest. "Jacob stole her!"

     "He's not stealing her from you Mami. Think about how happy he's made her. I know you love seeing how happy she's been."

     Savannah nodded. "But I can't share a room with her anymore. It's...I just can't."

     "You can wait until tomorrow, when she and Jacob get back. We can talk about things then."

     She stiffened. "No. I'm doing this tonight." She replied, her resolve stronger. "You may be right, but based on my experiences, I'm not willing to take the risk." She took the pile of clothes off of Brea's bed and headed towards the door. "You can either help me, or stay out of my way."

     Erik sighed. "Mami..." He reluctantly took the clothes from his girlfriend. "I assume you're taking her stuff to Jacob's room?"

     Savannah nodded as she pulled out one of the drawers from Brea's dresser. "I need to worry about myself and my future." She waltzed past him with the drawer in her hands.

     Erik dropped the subject and continued to help her.

* * *

     Several hours later, Savannah looked around her room and admired her handiwork. "I think it looks alright, what about you, Papi?"