farewell (18+)

30. Dealings

The time to go back home arrived in a flash. The last two days had gone by smoothly. Max kept his shit together, Vlad seemed to shape up, and I was able to enjoy some quality time with my family and friends. I was at the dinner table, having breakfast with grandpa and Wil. Vlad sat at the far side, helping Darya with some complicated math stuff. Rodrigo was upstairs packing. Max came from behind me, giving me a sweet, lingering kiss and a pretty daisy, which he probably had picked from my grandmother's garden. She trailed right behind him.

"You're so cute together." She sat with grandpa.

"I can be a pretty good boyfriend when I want to." Max sat by my other side, and I fed him a piece of cheese bun.

"You're an amazing boyfriend... Safe for some slips."

"Ouch."

I laughed. "But nobody is perfect, and I love you just the way you are."

"Aw... I love you too, gorgeous." He leaned in and kissed me.

"Aw... You're so disgusting together," Wil said.

"Are you ready to leave?" Max asked me.

"Almost finished."

He came closer and whispered in my ear. "I can't wait to get home and fuck you hard on the balcony."

I gulped, feeling goosebumps spread over my skin. He couldn't be serious... Right?

"Let me brush my teeth." I got up and went to get ready. I needed to get home.

We all finished our businesses and said our goodbyes to my family, heading downtown to hit the road. We stopped at a small convenience store. Wil was inside, getting cigarettes and snacks, while Rodrigo got souvenirs for his parents. Vlad had excused himself for a moment as soon as we pulled over, and was still nowhere to be seen.

"Where the hell is Vlad?" Rodrigo came out of the store. "We have to go."

"He's not answering his phone," I said.

"I'll look for him at the square." Max pecked my lips.

"Thank you, baby."

"I'll check the other stores," Rodrigo said.

"Okay. I'll go this side; you check the other."

We let Wil know about our plans and went looking for Vlad. He wasn't in any of the buildings, and we double-checked. His slowing us down wasn't exactly news; he'd never been the most responsible guy. I decided to go check with Max, while Rodrigo stayed to wait for Wil. Even with the sizeable extent of the square and the vast quantity of trees and plants, it was taking too long for Max to find him. There was something wrong.

Being the anxious person that I was, I started to think about all the things that might have gone wrong. Max could have gotten lost looking for him on the narrow labyrinths of streets that surrounded downtown; they could have gotten hurt, robbed, arrested for disturbing the peace. God knows what kind of trouble those two might get into.

To my ultimate relief, I found them at the far corner of the square, immersed in a heated argument. They were arguing. They had taken so long to come back, getting me worried sick because they were bickering over some petty stuff. I was going to kill them.

"Hey! What the hell is taking you so long?" I asked.

They simply ignored me, probably too carried away.

"How can you do this to Anna?" Max yelled at Vlad. "After everything you put her through!"

"Oh! You think you're so much better than me? You really gonna judge me after what you just told me?"