On our way to the Starbucks on the outsides of El Paso, Marcus and Austin talked about some sport I couldn’t remember the name of. I sat in the passenger seat beside my best friend. She was quiet. I was quiet. We were both quiet and that didn’t happen most of the time.
“And on the final round, he punched him straight on the nose. I guess you know what happened then.” Marcus paused to let Austin answer.
“He broke his nose?” I heard Marcus chuckle. “That must’ve been gross.”
“It was.” I smiled to myself knowing my friends had gotten to know Austin during his time at the house.
Marcus wasn’t a guy with many friends. That blonde boy with blue eyes was a case that not even the FBI could solve. Many girls looked at him but he only had eyes for one girl in specific; Victoria. Victoria only had eyes for Leonardo but I guess you can’t make anyone change their mind.
Marcus was the best guy friend in the world. He understood girls considering he was raised by his mom and his grandma. He was very respectful and a very good listener. He had gotten to know Austin one day over a game of chess. They got on really well. And I was glad had Austin enjoyed being his friend as well.
“Alright Marcos! Leave poor Austin alone. He needs to breathe.” I chuckled at Victoria’s words but also at the fact that she called him Marcos. He hated the name considering it was the name of the father he knew.
“Don’t call me that. We’ve talked about this.” Victoria shrugged. I rolled my eyes and rested my head against the window.
The rest of the ride was quiet except for the sound of the radio playing Spanish songs. I’ll be honest. My body was in the car but my mind wandered to another place. I wondered how Austin was going to react when he saw his mom. What would he say to his friends? What if he got mad at them? Would they all be there?
“We’re almost there.” I snapped out of my daze and turned to look at Victoria. She kept her eyes on the road. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I was just thinking.” I shook my head and turned around to look at Austin and Marcus. Marcus was somewhat entertained with his seatbelt while Austin just stared out the window. “Austin?”
“Yeah?” He turned to look at me. I noticed his knee was bouncing again. I guess asking if he was okay was not going to help.
“Everything’s going to be okay.” He gave a small smile before looking away. I sighed. I didn’t like seeing him so nervous.
I turned around to look ahead of us. Victoria stopped at a red light behind a car. We all stayed silent. Silent as in funeral silence. The light switched to green and the cars in front of us moved. Victoria began driving again and I could see the big Starbucks Coffee sign. She turned around the corner and entered the parking lot. We looked for a parking spot when I noticed a woman with brown hair standing by a Range Rover with a tall blonde man with big arms, three other boys who looked tiny beside him and a blonde girl who didn’t seem too happy to be there.
“Park next to the Rover.” Victoria did as I told her and parked next to the Rover. She shut off the engine and in that moment, I felt my heart banging against my chest. “Calm down Calli.”
“Are you okay Cal?” I took a deep breath and turned to look at Austin.
“Yes. Let’s get you back home.” I faked a smile and got out of the car followed by my best friends and Austin. We all walked over to where Austin’s mom and friends stood. I felt a hand slip into mine and gripping it. “No one’s going to hurt you, Austin.”
“She will hurt me.” I looked at the blond standing with Austin’s mother. She wasn’t too happy to see Austin and his hand holding mine.
“She won’t. I promise.” I squeezed his hand as we finally stood in front of everyone. They all stared at me and Austin.
