New on the block

Excuses

"I'm sorry hermano... but it had to be done let's get out of here." Oscar drags Cesar out of the bathroom. "I'm calling an ambulance." Cesar says. "Are you joking? Do you want to go to jail?" Oscar screams. "I'll call them from my burner phone and I'll toss it." Cesar calls 911 before his brother can say another word. He tells them as much information as he can before his brother smashes the phone. "Get in the damn car!" Oscar hisses. "Can I just go to Monse's?" Cesar asks and Oscar slams on the brakes. "You want to go to Monse's then get out of my car and walk there." Oscar says. "I just want her to know I took care of it." Cesar explains. "She can come over you're not leaving the house." Oscar says. "Ok." Cesar nods and Oscar starts driving again. An ambulance goes speeding by them as they pull into their house. "I'll go get her you go in your room and cover all the windows the Prophets are gonna be after your ass if they find out." Oscar says. Cesar runs to his room and does exactly what his brother told him to do. A few minutes later Monse walks in with a big hoody and jeans on. "I'm so glad you're ok!" Monse runs and hugs Cesar. "I did it." He mumbles. "Is he..." Monse asks. "I called an ambulance but I don't know." He shivers. "It'll be ok Cesar, Jamal said he's almost found the money. Even if he doesn't I have cash and I'll give you as much as you need." Monse tries to comfort him. "No Monse! I'm not safe unless if I stay here with my brother and with the Santos. All this is happening too fast, I think is better if we just stay low key until all this calms down." Cesar explains. "Ok, just promise me you'll try and stay safe." Monse begs. "I'll try but you come first, ok? If we're in danger I'll use everything I have to keep you safe." Cesar tells her. "And you come first to me, I'm telling my dad he'll keep you safe and he'll understand, he's done worse." Monse says. "If anyone tells your dad it should be me. I don't want him to hate me even more." Cesar says. "Ok and if Latrelle lives, you need to talk to him." Monse says. "I need to take a shower." Cesar says as he looks at his hands. "Come on." She walk him into the bathroom and helps him change out of his clothes. She turns on the water and helps him into the shower and decides to shower with him because he's still in shock. "You don't have to do this." He says as she washes some blood off his face. "I know, this is for me so I know you're ok." Monse gives him a sad smile. "Ok." Cesar agrees easily. "I'm allowed to take care of you, I love you." Monse says. "I love you too." Cesar looks at Monse in the eyes for the first time since he left her house. "All better." She smiles as he turn off the water. She grabs a towel and hands him one. "Can I borrow a shirt?" Monse asks. "Yeah of course." Cesar says. They both change and Monse looks at Cesar with pity. "I know you wouldn't have done it if you didn't have to." Monse says. "That's the thing, I tried so hard to get him to change his mind but he would've killed me." Cesar says with tears brimming his eyes. "He probably knew you didn't want to hurt him and he has no problem with it." Monse tries to make him feel better. "He didn't know that because I killed his friend. If he dies... I've killed two people." Cesar says. "And you did both in self defense and you didn't want to kill either one of them." Monse reasons with him. "That's how most of the Santos got started. Protected themselves or their family. It's never our fault." He sighs. "It wasn't your fault you tried how many of those other guys tried reasoning with people before they shot them?" Monse asks. "I don't know, none of them I guess." "Exactly so don't blame yourself or Latrelle, blame the Santos and the Prophets and my dad for not keeping the truce between them two; but you, you're the last person to blame. This was not your fault." Monse says and Cesar nods. "You're amazing. How did I get so lucky?" Cesar asks. "You're the one who's amazing, you put me before yourself, you-" Cesar cuts her off. "I don't want to hear that right now, I don't feel amazing especially if Latrelle died. He's our age, he had a future too. I keep thinking out how I was just defending myself but he was doing the same thing. In his mind I'm the bad guy, I'm the one who was trying to kill him if he shot me and he felt bad he would've been saying the same thing I'm saying right now." Cesar says. "But that's the difference between you two, he wouldn't have felt bad, he would've walked away without calling an ambulance. If you didn't shoot him you would be laying in a pool of blood right now." Monse explains. "We don't know that!" "We do, he rolled up on us, he threatened us, he beat me up and threw me in a closet." Monse reminds Cesar. "He probably felt threatened after your dad came back." Cesar tries to make excuses. Monse lifts up his sweat shirt and points a scar Latrelle left on her stomach. "This is what he did, what he does, and you protected yourself and me from that and worse." Monse says. Cesar puts a hand over the scar and then looks at Monse. "I know, and I'm sorry he did that but it doesn't change that he is a person." Cesar says. "You did nothing wrong. They lay down and Monse kisses Cesar.