The Innocent ↝ ÉLITE ¹

NINE

CHAPTER NINE
Manuel and Esme

          A DAY FLEW by, then another one, followed by another and before Arlo knew it, nearly two weeks had gone by since Samuel's party.

She was currently helping Izzy into her blazer when the front door swung open, revealing her parents. "Kids!" Esme yelled. "We're home!"

Forgetting about her anger and resentment for a second at the fact that they had missed her concert, Izzy darted towards her mother and hugged her.

"Daddy!" Diego cheered as he pushed past Arlo and ran into the man's arms.

Manuel picked up his son and kissed him on the cheek as the small boy embraced him, his small arms wrapping around the man's neck. Arlo waited as her two siblings switched parents to embrace as she adjusted her own blazer before both of them turned to their eldest.

"Hey." Arlo greeted with a wave before Esme hugged her.

"Ah, Arlo! I missed you, honey!" The woman sighed, kissing the top of her head.

"You too." Arlo murmured into Esme's shoulder.

"Alright, Esme, let me hug my daughter." Manuel chuckled before Esme pulled away. "Oh, you've grown so much."

Arlo hugged her father, resting her head in his chest as she squeezed her eyes shut. It was then she realised just how much she missed her parents and as she held on to her father, she wasn't someone who had grown up more than she should have– she was a girl who just wanted her parents. Pulling herself together, Arlo pulled away from her dad.

"We gotta head to school or we'll be late." She said.

"Of course. Of course. We already called Julio from the car. I'll drive you guys there on my way to a meeting." Manuel informed.

"Have a good day at school!" Esme smiled. "See you in the afternoon. Love you!"

The siblings all filed into their father's car, Arlo in the passenger seat and the other two in the back. The car ride was mostly filled with Diego telling their father all about school and the movies he had watched since he last saw him. Izzy spoke every now and then, the memory of her concert starting to dawn on her while Arlo didn't utter a single word the entire ride.

The conversation was cut short when Manuel's phone started ringing and he immediately tapped the Bluetooth in his ear. Arlo glanced back at her brother to see sadness dawning on his face when he realised he couldn't finish his story and her hands balled into fists into her laps. The happiness of having them home had worn off.

She glanced at Izzy through the rear view mirror to see she had already put her headphones in, staring out the window, clearly not wanting to start a conversation with their dad. Arlo then looked to the man next to her to see he hadn't even noticed the suddenly drop of mood in his kids in the last twenty seconds. Typical.

Once Manuel had dropped Diego off and Izzy off at her part of the school, Arlo was the only one left in the car. He pulled up to the side and two sat there for a few moments before the girl took a hold of her backpack strap and put her other hand on the handle door.

"Thanks for the ride, dad. I'll see you at home." She smiled.

"Honey, wait." Manuel said just before she exited the car. "I spoke with Martín about your progress. He said you were doing well, but your last assignment– not so much."

The breath in Arlo's throat hitched. "Dad, can we do this later, please?"

"What happened?" He asked, ignoring her request.