Neighborhood Music

El Malo (Letty y Oscar)

Oscar was happy to see Letty's car in the driveway when he pulled up to the house. It had been three days since she'd left with Cesar, and he hadn't heard from either of them. He was starting to worry.

He walked into the house expecting to find her in the living room or the kitchen, but there was no sign of her, so he continued back to their bedroom. Pushing open the door, he saw her standing over a large suitcase, that she was chucking things in willy nilly.

"What the hell are you doing?" He asked, confused

Letty jumped, she hadn't heard him come in. Eying him carefully, she placed another stack of clothes in her bag.

"Packing." She finally responded

Oscar was dumbfounded, "Where are you going?"

Letty didn't stop moving, "My cousin Monica is agreeing to let me crash on her couch for a few weeks until I can get a place of my own."

"A place of your own?" Oscar repeated. "Letty, are you leaving me?"

She looked at him properly for the first time since he'd arrived. He genuinely looked surprised. Letty couldn't help but think about how ironic it was that he was so surprised she would leave, when he'd done everything to push her to it.

"What else am I supposed to do?" She asked

He blinked, "You're supposed to stay."

Shaking her head, she resumed her packing.

"Letty, this isn't funny." He told her

She laughed humorlessly, "It isn't. It's really sad. I feel like a fool."

"Why?" Oscar asked

She rolled her eyes, "I believed all these years, that one day you would grow up and let this life go. I thought losing your father would scare you off from this life, instead it pushed you toward it. I thought raising Cesar would settle you, but you just dragged him down with you. I thought prison would teach you that this shit isn't worth it, but you came out and went right back to doing your same old shit. I've told you a million times that I can't live like this."

"You didn't tell me you would leave" Oscar argued

Letty snorted, "Would it have made a difference?"

Oscar frowned, "Is this about Cesar getting disciplined?"

Letty ignored the question. Moving to their closet, she began pulling her clothes off of hangers and tossing them on the bed. Oscar watched, growing more and more frustrated with each passing second.

"Answer me." He demanded, smacking the wall

Letty sighed, and turned around. "Oscar. I don't have the energy for this anymore. I've fought for this, for us, for years now. Ten years. I'm tired now."

Oscar wasn't satisfied with that answer at all. For a moment he wondered if she was sleeping with someone else.

"You fuckin around on me?" He shouted, stalking closer

Letty once again ignored him, so Oscar snatched her makeup bag out of the suitcase and threw it against the mirror, cracking the glass. Letty didn't even flinch before she reached in her waist band and pulled out the 9mm she carried for emergencies. Cocking it, she aimed at Ocsar.

"Pick it up." She told him

His eyes went wide. "What the fuck is your problem"

"I don't have one, but you got me fucked up throwing my shit around, so pick it up." She told him calmly.

Oscar scowled, "What the fuck are you gonna do Puta? Shoot me?"

Raising an eyebrow, Letty placed her finger on the trigger. "You know I won't miss."

They played chicken for a while. Oscar was all mixed up and confused, he didn't want her to leave, he didn't know what he was doing or how they got here. Everything was fucked up.

Finally, he caved. Walking over to where her makeup bag lay, he bent down and picked it up, tossing it back into her suitcase and holding his hands up in surrender.

"Thank you." She told him. Sliding the safety back into place and stuffing the gun in the back of her jeans.

He looked at her like she had six heads.

"We need to talk." He said

Letty took her head. "I'm done talking Oscar."

"So you're just gonna walk out on my Ruca?" He asked

She could hear the pain in his voice. It was funny to her how he never seemed to notice the pain in hers.

"Oscar..." she sighed

But he wasn't done. "Dime que no me amas."

His voice was thick with tears, he hadn't cried in front of her in so long, she'd forgotten how heart breaking it was.

"Oscar, I'm not doing this." She told him sadly.

He nodded, "Ok. Then tell me. Say you don't love me."

She shook her head at him, "Monica is on her way, I need to get my things together."

"Dime!" He insisted, this time a little louder

She fought back tears of her own, "I don't love you." She breathed

Tears spilling onto his cheeks, he nodded. She placed the last of her clothes in the bag and zipped it, going to heave it off the bed. Oscar walked over and took it from her. Silently, he carried the large suitcase out to the driveway. Her cousin's car was already there waiting.

Letty didn't know what to make of what was happening. She felt like she was having an out of body experience. Oscar heaved the heavy back into the trunk before turning back to her. He pulled her into him for a crushing hug, and she could feel him trying not to shake as he sobbed. She was crying herself by then. Moments later he let her go. Pressing a kiss to her forehead, he backed away and looked at her.

"I'll always love you." He told her

She nodded.

Then she got into the front seat of her cousin's car, Oscar held the door for her, and closed it once she was inside. She watched sadly as he walked back into the house.

"Are you gonna be ok?" Monica asked her

Letty nodded, "I'm free."