After having that long talk with mom, I spent the rest of the afternoon with Tori, Ale, Marcus and Austin. We had a great time playing chess and watching a movie. Austin seemed to be comfortable around everyone. He was smiling most of the time. Ale invited him to a game of chess which he agreed to.
“Alright kids, time for dinner! Ale, shower now.” Austin, Ale and I looked up to see my mom by the hall. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest. We all groaned and stood up from the couch. “Do you mind sleeping on the couch Austin?”
“Of course not.” I smiled at my mom and turned to look at Ale. She moved a horse which made Austin hold his head between his hands. My sister looked up from the board. “You can’t do that.” .
“Uh, yes I can.” I chuckled at my sister’s as a matter of fact tone. She was ten but she had the sass.
“Alejandra, let’s go.” My mom clapped her hands. My little sister frowned but grabbed her backpack before looking at Austin. She pointed her index finger at him.
“Don’t. Play.” Austin chuckled at her tone and nodded. Ale held her head high and walked to the hall to go upstairs with mom. The living room went silent. Austin sat on the floor staring at the game board. I sat on the couch thinking about what to say.
“How do you feel?” I slipped down from the couch, sitting next to him on the floor.
“I’m okay.” I nodded. He looked up at me.
“Don’t mind me asking but do you want to go home?” He looked down at his lap in thought.
“I miss my mom and my friends but I don’t know what’s going to happen with Jessica.” I nodded. “I have to think about it.”
“What happened between you two?” I shifted in my spot. I was curious to know but I was okay if he didn’t talk.
“We started dating after I started homeschooling. Before my mom dropped me out of school, I asked her out and we went to the movies. We kissed that day and we’ve been dating since.” He paused. “She was very nice and sweet. I don’t know what happened. She went crazy and started getting all possessive and jealous. I don’t know why I like her.”
“Maybe you thought you liked her.” He shrugged.
“I don’t know.” I chuckled and noticed a smile creeping on his face.
“Can I see your wound?” He shrugged again and put his head down. I stared at his wound and noticed it was clean. Mom must’ve cleaned it.
“What is it?” I kept quiet.
Carefully I ran my finger along it. It should’ve looked disgusting but it didn’t. My mom did a good job cleaning it. It looked like something out of a movie. It seemed like it magically healed while he was here. It looked stitched but it wasn’t. I kept my hands on it as I ran my finger along it one more time. It was starting to scar.
“The scars will reveal that we’ve been more than strong.” I felt a certain déjà vu right after I said those words. My dad used to say them every time I was sad. I lived by those words after he left. It was probably the only thing I wanted to remember about him.
“What?” Austin raised his head to look at me. He was obviously confused.
“You have to go back.” He shook his head. “You have to. You have a life back there.”
“You think I do?” I nodded and reached out my hand to grab his.
“You have an amazing life back there. You live with your mom but you still look like a big family. You have amazing friends. And your Mahomies are missing you more than ever. You’re missing out on everything you had.” I paused trying to get some reaction from Austin but he didn’t do or say anything. “Look, I won’t make you go back but I want to let your family know how you’re doing.”
“Are you going to call them?” He stared back at me with a soft look on his face. I didn’t want him to be mad at me.
“If you want.” He inhaled some air and let it out.
“Call them.” My eyes widened in surprise. I thought I had to make sure what I heard was true but he was serious. He might’ve wanted to go back home.
I headed upstairs and grabbed the phone numbers from my desk. Heading back downstairs I grabbed the house phone and stepped into the living room. Looking at Austin I couldn’t help but notice how worried he looked.
“It’s going to be okay Austin.” He nodded without looking at me. I took a deep breath and decided to call. I dialed the number and held the phone close to my ear. It rang three times before it was answered.
“Rocco Valdes speaking?”
“Hi, my name is Calli. I heard you’ve been looking for Austin?”
“Do you wish to speak with Michele?”
“Uh, sure.”
I heard some talking on the other side of the line followed by a gasp.
“Hello?”
“Is this Michele?”
“Yes. Rocco said you were calling about Austin?”
“Yes. Actually, Austin has been staying with me and my family. I found him in our basement about a month ago.”
“Thank goodness. What’s your name sweetie?”
“Calli.”
“Is he okay?”
“He’s fine. He has a few bruises and a wound on the side of his head. He thinks he hit his head but I’m certain that he didn’t.”
“Is he with you right now?”
“Yes. Do you want to speak with him?”
“Yes please.”
“Austin?” I pulled the phone away from my ear and looked at Austin. “Do you want to talk with your mom?”
“Sure.” I handed him the phone while sitting on the couch.
“Mom? Yes, it’s me. Yes. Calli’s been looking after me. I was walking down the sidewalk when everything went black. No. Mom I’m okay. Jessica? Mom I don’t remember. I don’t know. I don’t want to. Sure.”
“She wants to talk with you.” He handed me the phone and I took it.
“Michele?”
“Hello Calli. Do you think we can meet up on Saturday?”
“Austin too?”
“Yes please. I’ll be bringing Dave and Alex with me.”
“Sure. Do you have a place in mind?”
“Where do you live?”
“In El Paso.”
“There’s a Starbuck on the outsides of El Paso. Is it okay if we meet there?”
“Sure. That’s okay.”
“I’ll be there at one. You’ll find us easily. Dave is very tall.”
“Alright we’ll see you Saturday.”
“Thank you so much Calli.”
“No problem.”
After hanging up I sat on the floor beside Austin. He sat there in silence staring at the TV ahead of us.
“Are you okay?” He turned to look at me.
“Are you trying to get rid of me?” My eyes widened at his words. “Sorry Calli! It wasn’t supposed to come out that way.”
“It’s okay Austin.” I gave him a warm smile and stood up offering my hand for him to take. “Let’s set the table.”
He took my hand and stood up. He held it more than expected and stared at me. I stared back but bouncing my foot up and down as I tried to predict what he was going to do. Was he going to kiss me again? He stepped closer and I shut my eyes as he leant closer. His lips pressed themselves against my forehead for a second before he pulled away and looked at me.
“Thanks for everything Calli.”
