Her Name is Memory

03| icy eyes

CHAPTER 3

Time stood still the moment I saw your face
No promises needed to be said
As some things words cannot express

~Nathaniel's Lyric Journal

"¿QUIERES AYUDA MÁS?"

My cousin repeated his offer to help unpack more objects around the house.

I should have been grateful my cousins came this morning to talk and help unpack a little but it did not alleviate the hollow feeling that followed behind me like a shadow.

Family always put me in a better mood but seeing eight of them at once was...overwhelming. Mom was the oldest of six kids, resulting in a lot of cousins. Seeing some of them in my house, walking everywhere with my belongings made me feel claustrophobic.

Ricardo decided to stay for a while after the rest of them slowly started to leave. Only six months younger than me, he was one of my closest cousins, and we haven't seen each other in over a year before.

I shook my head.

"No es necesario. Come have a beer with me," I offered instead, leading him through the kitchen backdoors that led to the patio.

Ricardo's lawn chair creaked under his weight while I took the seat next to him. I opened the cooler I left and pulled out a Corona bottle for him.

He looked at the beer warily before taking it out of my hand.

"¿Estás seguro? Are you sure your Dad is okay with this?" Ricardo asked.

I shrugged, opening the beer and taking a casual sip.

"To be honest, he's not really around much because of work so he probably won't ever know we had a few beers," I responded bluntly, reminding me of the reality of my situation.

Ricardo nodded. "Neat," was all he said before taking a large gulp. "Has other family stopped by yet besides us?" He asked.

I shook my head. "Only you guys. Tía María's and Tío Jose's families went to Mexico and everyone has been working. It's just been you guys as of now. And David."

Ricardo's eyes widened at recognition. "Oh yeah. How is he?"

"El está bien. Do you guys speak a lot?" I asked curiously.

Ricardo shook his head. "We go to the same school and we talk but not a lot."

"He's super chill. He has been coming around a bit," I elaborated.

Ricardo nodded.

"He should hang out with us next time. So how does it feel to be back to the motherland after so long?"

"I think you mean wasteland," I muttered, rubbing my legs and swatting mosquitoes that were biting my legs. "All I see are confederate flags waving around. It's really hot here. There are stores that are not here in New York City. Have I mentioned it's hot as shit here?"

"It's Mayville, Alabama, Nate. What the hell did you expect?" He snorted, rolling his eyes.

"Fried chicken and southern hospitality."

Ricardo snickered. "Aw. City boy can't handle the South. City boy needs places to go and people to see with their New Yorker accents and their pizza and tall buildings."

I settled comfortably in the lawn chair. "I miss it a lot. I think I just find Alabama a little boring."

Looking at the backyard, trashy was not true. The person living here must've put a lot of effort into the backyard. Shrubs were lining the border of the yard with flowers that decorated with flowers and a fountain in the middle.