La Santa | Oscar Diaz

La Santa - Chapter Seven

Lee stared at the house in front of her, swallowing. Her heart began to race when Cesar opened the front door, walking quickly toward her to wrap his arms around her frame. "I'm so sorry."

"Cesar." Oscar said, nodding at him so they could speak in private. "Let me talk to you for a second."

"I'll meet you inside." Cesar parted from Lee, smiling softly at her as she walked away. He stepped in front of his brother, sticking his hands in his pockets. "What's up mano?"

"Take a wild guess at who did this."

Cesar shrugged, "who?"

Oscar huffed, his shoulders falling. "Diablos."

Cesar's jaw dropped, "they're back? B-but.."

"Yeah." Oscar nodded, crossing his arms. "They found her mom with an upside cross burned into her forehead and the numbers 'six, six, six' cut into her arms."

"Damn." He mumbled, "that must've been hard for her to see."

"It was. Paramedics said she had been suffocated with a pillow."

"But I don't understand." Cesar shook his head, "how did they find out about her? Her house? Her mom? If they think she's Sabina then—"

Oscar sighed, pursing his lips. "Two Diablos came up to us when I took her for ice cream, she told the puto her name and he must've called their new leader. Word travels fast. This wasn't about Sabina though, this was about me. This shit was personal."

"So what are we gonna do?"

"I don't know." He shook his head, "I can't do a gang war right now."

Cesar watched him walk away, swallowing before following him into the house. What he saw felt foreign but familiar at the same time. Oscar had his arms wrapped around Lee, comforting her as she cried. "I'll give you guys some privacy." He mumbled, "come talk to me when you get a chance mano."

Oscar nodded at Cesar. "You're okay." His lips moved against her forehead. "You're safe here, okay?"

Lee nodded softly, sniffling as she clutched his black tank top. "I'm sorry." She parted, but he shook his head.

"Don't apologize." He smiled slightly, "you wanna go put your things away?"

"Yeah, uh.." she took in a deep breath, licking her lips. "Where am I staying?"

Oscar guided her to his room, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "You can stay in here, I'll kick it on the couch." She began to shake her head but he insisted as he took a few steps back into the living room to grab her backpack. He took a second to take in the familiar situation, his heart straining. He reminded himself repeatedly that she wasn't Sabina, she would never be. He set Lee's bag down on his bed, huffing. She looked up at him, her eyes began watering at his concerned face. "Hey." He wrapped his arms around her, kissing his teeth.

"Who could do something like that?" She sniffled, her voice breaking. "She was such a good person."

He sighed, running a hand through her hair. "There's bad people out there mama." He parted, looking down at her, "they don't care who they hurt."

She swallowed, wiping her tears as she nodded softly. "Thank you for letting me stay Oscar."

"Don't mention it." He grinned, pinching her chin for a moment before turning around. "I'll let you get settled, Cesar wanted to talk to me." He tried not to look back at her, it didn't feel right for her to be there but she wouldn't be safe without him.

"Hey." Cesar said, standing from his bed. "Shut the door." Oscar pushed it shut, crossing his arms as he waited for his little brother to begin. "Are you comfortable with this?"

He scoffed, "of course, why wouldn't I be?"

Cesar deadpanned, shaking his head. "Spooky, it's obvious she's not just some other girl. Think about it..." Oscar rolled his eyes, having to listen to his brothers reincarnation speech again wasn't something he wanted to do. "She's living here because of something that happened with her parent and she needs your protection. If her appearance wasn't enough, this should be it mano." He walked up to Oscar, setting his hands on his shoulders. "Sabina's giving you a chance to do it right."

"Do you hear yourself?"

Cesar ignored him, "so do it right, we're gonna fix this."

"How are we gonna fix?" Oscar shook his head, "we go to East Los and we're dead. Do you not understand that Lucifer, the OG and Dario, the gang leader died because of me?" Cesar sighed, pinching his lips together. "Their new leader wouldn't think twice about pulling the trigger, think about her mom. They killed her with a pillow Cesar!"

"I know but—"

"And she was innocent." Oscar stated, "now imagine what they would do to two Santos walking up into their hood."

"Right." Cesar muttered looking down at the floor. "It's dangerous for both of us to go." His eyes snapped to his brother when he spoke.

"That's why I have to go alone."