𝖇𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖐𝖙𝖍𝖗𝖔𝖚𝖌𝖍 | o.d.

Chapter Ten

AFTER THE FIRST night on the couch, Mari had decided to temporarily renounce the idea of a good night's sleep. Curled into the foetal position just to fit, she tossed and turned all night. She wished she could blame the lumpy cushions or the light that streamed in from the blinds, but every time she closed her eyes she saw Oscar and she knew that was the source of her problem.

Desperate for a distraction she threw herself into working, waking earlier and coming home much later. There were two silver linings to this newfound work ethic: the first, money. Though the guy that owned this place didn't care what happened to the store, or what hours she worked, he did believe in somewhat fair pay for fair work. She may still be earning only two cents above minimum wage, but he paid her for every hour that she worked. The way she was going at the moment, that was stacking up and soon enough she could start looking for a new, permanent, place to live.

The second thing was Ruben. Surprisingly, now that she was spending more time away from home, she was also spending more time with her father. They shared small talk over black coffee and toast in the mornings and late-night discussions after a long day of work. It was nice in a way that made Mari feel comfortable and safe.

School had started up again and it was, admittedly, a little quiet and a little lonely without Trey there. She killed time the same way she usually did, with trashy magazines and horoscopes, but this time she didn't creep onto Cesar's Instagram, yearning for just one glance at that gorgeous face. Mari feared her she wouldn't be able to recover if she were to do that to herself.

At least she had Mario. He had called her during his free period and for that, Mari was eternally grateful. She told him about what'd happened; about Oscar and Trey and Cesar and Monse. She told him how she begged Spooky to accept her heart and instead, he broke it.

She had imagined that she would feel better after talking about it, that she would feel lighter and that breathing would no longer be so hard. But none of that happened and it was just as bad as before, only now someone else knew about it. More than anything, she wished Mario were here. He would convince her that everything is going to turn out alright. She needed that reassurance right now because that light at the end of the tunnel was starting to dim.

"Hey," Trey called as he entered the store and made his way behind the counter.

Checking the clock, Mari realised how late in the afternoon it was already. It was seemingly harder to keep track of time lately; she was losing hours of her life in various states of disassociation. If she was being honest, it was starting to scare her.

"Hey," she offered a smile, but it was weak and if he looked hard enough he would see right through it. "How was school?"

At her question, Trey crinkled his nose. "When you say that, I feel like you're my mother, and that's definitely not how I want to think of you,"

Mari let out an almost genuine laugh. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry,"

Trey smiled and grabbed an empty box, heading into the aisles to sort the expired goods. Mari was about to return to her horoscope (she had been reading something about a fresh start for emotions and self-worth, and now more than ever she needed to believe things would change) when the doorbell buzzed and a pair of light giggles filled the air. Smiling, she set her magazine aside. She knew those voices.

"Monse," Mari called, grabbing their attention, "Olivia, what are you guys doing here?"

Mari was always happy to see Monse. They got along well and the younger girl seemed to appreciate having backup when Ruby was being, however accidentally, a little insensitive - something that was occurring more and more since Monse decided to stay friends with Cesar. Things weren't completely mended between them, any of them, but Mari was happy to see them try. It was more than she could say for her situation.