CHOLA CLUB ( oscar diaz. )

CINCO

PARTE CINCO

it was starting to get the best of me. i had been back in freeridge for almost three weeks now, and i was starting to lose control of my head. all the awful memories i had tried so hard to suppress started coming back to me and it was all because of him. he was my weakness. every time i saw oscar's face it reminded me of that night. the night that changed my whole life. i had started going back to my old school for my senior year, and even the thought of going back there today made me feel sick. ever since our encounter at the santos house a few weeks ago, i've been avoiding him even though he made it incredibly difficult to.

i lay awake in my bed, unable to sleep for what seemed like forever. no matter how hard i tried i just couldn't stop replaying that night in my head. all i can picture is oscar's face when he saw what had happened. i have never seen him look so shocked, so unsure of what to do. but no matter what he kept his promise. he made sure i was taken care of. all these months i had spent wondering why. why he protected me for so long. why he went to jail for me, when he easily could've turned the blame on me instead. i was so determined to find out why he still kept his promise even after what happened. i knew that the events didn't have half the effect on oscar as they did on me. oscar was a gang leader, and i was just a broken teen girl who made the worst mistake of her life. i know i regret what i did because if i didn't it wouldn't still be haunting me. i would never have known that what i did that night would stay with me forever because i didn't even know what i was capable of.

after tossing and turning, my head swarming with thoughts, i finally fell asleep.

after school i found myself sat at my desk with piles of homework in front of me. surprisingly, i had hardly thought about oscar all day. avoiding him might prove to be a lot less difficult than i thought it would be. there was a loud knock on the door from down the call, followed seconds later by a loud bang.

"yesenia!" my brother called loudly. i stopped what i was doing, rushing to the living room to see my brother with oscar pushed up against the wall. oscar looked completely chill, and i knew he could easily break out of my older brother's grip if he wanted to. "i can't believe you didn't tell me you were still seeing this hijo de puta." diego said angrily, his fist clenched around the collar of oscar's black tank top.

"i'm not." i narrowed my eyes at oscar. diego was 7 years older than me, and he's all i have left after our parents were deported 4 years ago. he was extremely overprotective, but i knew exactly how to get around him, which is how i spent so long getting into trouble. "déjalo ir. i'll handle it." i told diego, and oscar rolled his eyes.

"suddenly you're all tough again mamita? you really haven't changed since that night when-." i immediately cut oscar off, terrified he would tell my brother everything that happened. i pushed diego out of the way and collided my fist into oscar's jaw. 

"shut up, pendejo." i yelled. i moved my lips close to his ear, whispering softly so that only he could hear. "he can't know. if you tell him, or anyone, te voy a matar. got it?"

"got it." oscar smirked, rubbing his jaw from where i punched him. diego frowned at me when i turned around, shaking his head at me. 

"d, can you leave us alone? i gotta discuss something with spooky for a sec." i asked, eyeing oscar carefully. diego sighed, agreeing as he wandered down the hall and into his room. once i was sure he was out of earshot, i pushed on oscar's chest so he was back up against the wall. "what are you doing back here? i told you to leave me alone."

"i came back here to warn you about your new neighbours, mi amor." he tilted his head to the side, rubbing his hands together and locking his eyes with mine.

"the crackheads? i already know, oscar. i've been invited to like, 8 cookouts in the past week." i scoffed, leaning against the doorframe with my hand on my hip. oscar gave me a puzzled look, shaking his head. 

he frowned at me, sighing loudly. "no, yesenia. the couple at the end of the street." 

"what are you talking about? what's so bad about a couple moving in?" i shook my head, still not getting his point.

he grabbed my wrist forcefully, pulling me out the front door. his grip on my arm was strong as he dragged me down the steps and out into the street. the sun was setting, casting a warm orange glow on oscar's skin. he stormed off in the direction of the house that sat on the very end of my street, and i had to jog to keep up with him. he stopped behind a bush, peering out at a middle-aged woman pulling boxes out of a beat-up honda civic. he pulled me in front of him and i could feel his hands moving from my arms to my hips as i squinted to try and get a better look at the woman who for some reason was so important to him. my stomach dropped as i realised exactly who she was. there was a lump in my throat that was impossible to swallow and i tried to speak but no words came out.

"not so tough anymore mami?" oscar whispered in my ear from behind me. his grip on my hips tightened as he pulled my body into his. "you need me, yesenia."

and i hated to admit it, but right now he was right.