Alejandro's POV: It was a beautiful and sunny day. I looked out my window and saw kids playing outside. I smiled to myself and was just happy. For the past few months I have been depressed. It's been three months since the purge and I can still remember everything that happened that day. That day I will remember my whole life. It's been hard especially for me because she wasn't here. She wasn't here by my side. I miss her so much. I miss her smile and her laugh. Her beautiful eyes and just her in general. She didn't deserve to go through that. Especially by her own family. If only she was here right now so we can enjoy today together. My family was having a BBQ because they missed me and they wanted to celebrate me and my friends because we survived the purge. They weren't in New Jersey when the purge happened so that is why I wasn't with them. I mean like I'm glad they are doing this for me and my friends I just wish she was here. The others were down stairs making TikToks and just having fun while I was upstairs getting ready. I just put on black pants and a blue hoodie on. I did my hair and put on black vans and my necklace that she gave me. I wanted to look good today because today was a special day. All my friends and family are here to celebrate and I wanted it to be a good day. Yes she isn't here with me, but I know she would want me to be happy. I was about to go down stairs when I heard my phone ring. I rolled my eyes because I know who it was. I checked the contact name and it read her number. It was Taylor calling me. She has been calling me 24/7 because she wants to get back together. Even though she is still with other guys from school. I didn't answer and just let it ring. Mom: Alejandro get down here. Your friends are waiting for you!! Ale: coming momma. I put my phone in my pocket and took a deep breath. I went out of my room and walked down the stairs. No one was inside the house so I kind of was confused on where they were. I heard laughing outside so I went to the back. Once I went to the backyard the smell of the food hit my nose. My dad was making chicken, carne asada and corn while my mom made the desert and salad. I smiled and I hugged my mom. Mom: what is this for?
Ale: just because I missed you. Mom: I missed you to Alejandro. You know...she would have been proud of you. Ale: why would she? All I've been doing is just being depressed and mad. Mom: yes, but she would be proud of you because you never lost faith. Yes you have been depressed, but you still took care of what you had to do. You took care of me and your dad and brother even though you were depressed. If she was here right now she would have been so proud of you. She loves you Alejandro and she always will. My mom hugged me tighter and kissed my head. I smiled and kissed her cheek. She was right. She would have been proud of me. I just miss her so much. I let go of my mom and walked to my friends. They were all huddled around and were making TikToks and laughing. I saw Kairi and nano doing a TikTok together. I just love it when my friends and my brother get along.
M: hey ale. Ale: hey guys. Nano: Alejandro mattia was making fun of me!!! M: no I wasn't!! Ale: what did he say? Nano: he told me I look like a toe!! Ale: he isn't wrong. I fist bumped mattia and nano got mad. He came up to me and hit me in the stomach. It didn't hurt, but I just acted like it did so he didn't get sad. Ale: wow nano your getting really strong. Nano: yay!! See if you mess with me your going to get beat up!! M: I like to see you try little man. Mattia grabbed nano and ran with him. All of us laughed and just were having fun. After a couple of minutes my mom said the food was ready. We set up the table and got our food. We all got chairs, but I think my dad got one more on accident. Once we were done we all sat down and were about to eat. R: so how have you been ale? Ale: I've been good. It's been really hard, but I'm trying to get through it. S: you know we are here for you. If you need to talk to anyone you can talk to us. Ale: thank you. A: she's happy I just know it. K: she wouldn't want any of us to be sad. She would want us to be happy. Alv: I miss her, but I know she is in a better place now. Ale: I know. I just miss her. M: I know you do and we all do. One day we will see her again. Right after mattia said that I heard my moms phone ding and it was a number. I didn't recognized the number so I kind of got a little scared. She looked at the text and smiled wide. She looked so excited for some reason. Why was she excited? What made her so happy?
Mom: hold on guys don't eat yet. Ale: why?
A: is there something wrong Mrs. rozario?
Mom: nothing is wrong I just have a surprise. Stay here and just...please don't eat yet. I'll be back. After that she got up and left. What was happening? Why did she have a surprise for us? What was the surprise? K: what's going on? Ale: I don't know. Dad do you know?
Dad: yes, but I can't tell you guys. Alv: okay now I am getting scared. Dad: guys don't worry. I think you guys will love the surprise.
I heard my mom talking to someone. They were laughing and just talking. It sounded like she was talking to a lady. Maybe she invited a neighbor? Who knows, but I'm kind of getting worried. My mom came back with a big smile on her face. No one was with her so maybe they left. Mom: I need all of you to come outside in the front. M: why? Dad: because your surprise is here. Mom: it just got shipped today. A: should we go? S: I don't know.
Ale: I guess we should. Mom: well come on guys!! My mom ran out of the house. I laughed because she looked so excited. We all went outside in the front. In the driveway there was a black truck parked inside. The windows were tinted so you couldn't see anything. There was a lady standing next to my mom. She had like some kind of doctor or nurse uniform on. Why was she here? Who was she? Ale: umm what's going on? Who is she? Dad: this is Mrs. Flores. K: is she our surprise?
Alv: kind of weird. Mom: no she isn't the surprise! R: then who is she? Mom: do you want me to explain or do you want to?
Mrs.F: it's okay I'll do it. Mom: okay.
Mrs.F: hi guys. My name is Mrs. Flores, but you can call me Melanie. I am from a foster home for people who don't have a home or got taken out of there home. I help kids get adopted to a family that wants them. I also am a doctor and a therapist, but my full time job is at the foster home. I'm here because Alejandro's parents have a surprise for you guys. Ale: dad what is she talking about?
Dad: well you see ale...you have been depressed for so long now that me and your mom thought it was a good idea to do something for you and nano. Ale: like what?
Mom: we decided that we are going to adopt a child. Ale: what?!? Nano: cool!! Ale: so I get to have another sibling? Dad: well yes, but not exactly. Mom: we are going to be there legal guardians. Nano: so I get to have two siblings?!? Dad: well the other one isn't your sibling, but if it makes you happy then yes.
Nano: yes!!! Mrs.F: so...do you guys want to meet them? Dad: bring them right out.
Mrs.F: okay, but first let me tell you guys a little back story on her. Ale: it's a girl?
Mom: well we decided to get a girl since I'm the only one here. Maybe you guys will get along.
Nano: hopefully. Dad: continue. Mrs.F: so this girl has been through a lot. She has been in and out of homes for the last three months. Every time she would get adopted they would bring her back the same day. We don't really know what happened to her family because they didn't tell us anything. Once she came to us she would not talk, but she would just freak out. She wouldn't let anyone touch or even do anything to her. She was so scared and she would try to leave. I tried talking to the people that would adopt her to see what was wrong, but they would just tell me she was crazy and she doesn't belong to any family and that she needed help. It hurt her so much that she just gave up. She would always hide and we would literally have to look for her, it would always take us 5 hours. Once we would find her she would fight us and would scream her lungs off. That was when I decided to take her somewhere else. I took her to a place we're they would help her, but it was going to take time. After a couple of days she would let people be around her, but still wouldn't let them touch her. The process through it all was hell especially for her. We literally took her to two different doctors and they would help, but they would mistreat her. It hurt me seeing them do that to her, but they needed to if she was going to get better. After a while she was coming around and started talking. She still kind of doesn't let people touch her, but she made progress. A: omg that's so sad. R: she went through that. It's like what happened with-Ale: Don't. Just please don't bring that up. R:sorry. Ale: it's fine.
Mrs.F: after they let her go she came back to the foster home. She was still mute, but she would kind of say something here and there. After a couple of days no one wanted to adopt her, but one day your parents came in and were looking for a girl to bring home. Once I told them about her they wanted to meet her.
Mom: once we got to see her I fell in love with her. She didn't talk much, but she was sweet and was kind. Dad: she was perfect. So we decided that we were going to bring her home, but it was going to take some time for them to get her ready and for them to approve us to take her home. Mom: that's why we decided to have a BBQ so that way she can meet all of you. Ale: so where is she?
Dad: she's in the car. Nano: can we meet her?
Mom: of course you can. Mrs.F: before I bring her out here are some of her clothes and here is her medicine. K: why does she have medicine? Mrs.F: it's because she has depression and anxiety. Also the medicine is for helping her with her panic attacks. K: oh okay. Mrs.F: okay so are you guys ready?
Dad: I guess so. Mrs.F: great!! Let me get her out of the car. After that she went to go get her out of the car. I wonder who she is? Or what she looks like. I kind of hope nothing changes with my family. Even though now we have someone new. Hopefully we get along. I mean I know nano is going to love her because he likes anyone, but I just hope me and her get along. I saw Mrs. Flores coming back with the girl. I couldn't see who she was because she was behind Mrs. Flores. I was getting nervous because what if she doesn't like me? I guess we are just going to have to find out. Mrs.F: she is a little shy so don't worry. Mom: it's okay. I know that she will get along with the boys and the others. Mrs.F: great. Well guys...meet your new friend. She moved out of the way and now I can see who she was. We made eye contact and I started crying. She looked shocked and she couldn't speak. I saw her crying and saw every feature she had. She looked like herself except she had a lot of bruises and cuts and scars on her face. I didn't know what to do except just stand there and cry.
Alv: omg...it cant be. R: it is. It's her!!
S: ITS NADIA!!! After Sandra said her name I smiled and ran to her. I tried grabbing her, but I forgot that she didn't like to be touched. I was scared because if I touch her she would probably have a panic attack. My smile went down and I looked at my feet because I was kind of sad. I felt someone grab my hand gently and I looked up. N: it's okay...you don't have to be scared of hurting me. Once she said that I smiled and started crying again. I picked her up and spun her up in the air. I heard her laugh and I felt like I was complete. I put her back down and grabbed her face and kissed her. I smiled through the kiss. We both pulled away and smiled at each other. Ale: I missed you.
N: I missed you to. Mom: wait hold on...you guys know each other? Dad: since when?
Ale: oh yeah I forgot to tell you guys. Mom, dad this is Nadia...she's my girlfriend. It felt good to say that. I can finally say she is mine. I can finally be with her. Mom: so this is Nadia?!?
N: you told your parents about me? Ale: yeah I did. Dad: he hasn't stopped talking about you. He is literally obsessed with you. N: I didn't know that. Well I guess I have an obsessed boyfriend. We all laughed and my mom came and hugged Nadia. I can tell Nadia felt weird, but after she felt like she belonged. Then my dad came and hugged her and I felt better. After they were done hugging I came next to Nadia and held onto her hand. I looked down at her and kissed her head. She smiled and kissed my cheek. She looked at the others and they were crying and she started to cry again. N: please just come and hug me already!! All of them ran and hugged her. Somehow it ended up as a group hug. All of us were crying and we happy that we were reunited. After a couple of minutes we all pulled away and wiped our tears. A: I missed you so much!! N: I missed all of you guys.
S: what the hell happened? We thought you were dead!! N: it's kind of a long story. I'll tell you guys soon. K: bestie I'm so glad your here!! I have so much tea to tell you!! Oh girl I can't wait to tell you, maybe tomorrow we can go shopping!!!! N: your so weird, but I fucking love you!! K: who doesn't? M: ME!! K: shut up you big ugly ass dinosaur. M: relax Olaf looking ass bitch. N: I really missed this. We all laughed while mattia and Kairi were still going at it. After a couple of minutes they finally stopped fighting and were laughing at what just happened. While we were talking nano came up to us and was standing behind me. Ale: what's up nano? Nano: who is she?
Ale: she is my girlfriend. She's the one that mom and dad are taking care of. She's going to be living with us. Nano: is she nice? Ale: oh no she is really mean. She doesn't even like kids!! N: shut up!! Don't listen to your stupid brother. He doesn't know anything. Nano: I know. He always bullies me. N: well he isn't going to bully you anymore because I'm here. I'll protect you from anything. Nano: I like her!! Nano ran and went to Nadia. He was by her side hugging her. She smiled and bent down to hug him back. She picked him up and he was in her arms just smiling. They both were laughing for no reason, but I was happy to see that he liked her. While she was carrying him he brought her face close to his and kissed her cheek. She laughed and looked at me with a big smile on her face. Ale: hey she's my girlfriend!! Not yours!! Nano: she likes me more!! He kept kissing her cheek and I can tell she was enjoying it. I looked at her with a mad face and took nano out of her arms. I started running after nano trying to hit him for kissing her. Alv: your going to have to deal with that your whole life. N: I don't mind. At least I have someone to show me attention when Alejandro doesn't. Ale: I heard that!!
N: I love you!! Ale: mhmm. Mom: come on guys let's go eat before the food gets cold. We all went to the backyard and sat at the table. The only person who wasn't sitting was Nadia because she was getting her food. I got up from my seat and went to go and help her. Ale: do you need help? N: umm yeah I actually do.
I was helping her get her food and her drink. I wanted to tell her something, but I didn't want her to get mad. I had a lot of questions to tell her, but I didn't want to overwhelm her.
Ale: so...was all that Melanie said was true?
N: yeah...yeah it was true. Ale: what happened? N: a lot happened after the purge. It's a really long story, but I'll tell you guys soon. Ale: okay. Just know that I'm here for you. I love you. N: I love you more.
Ale: not possible. N: it could be. Ale: I don't think so. N: maybe because nano loves me so much and I love him. Ale: okay fine you win. N: thank you. Once she was done she kissed me. We both walked back to the table and started eating. I was so happy that I get to spend this day with the people I love. I'm so happy that I get to spend my whole life with them and my girlfriend. God is good.
End of POV.
I'm so glad that I'm alive. I happy that I get to be here with my friends and my boyfriend. Now I get to have a home and real family. I'm blessed to have them in my life and I hope it stays that way. A: so what happened?
N: where do I start...well there was a lot that happened. I basically died that day. When we were at the hospital I was still alive when they were doing my surgery, but I passed out and they put me on some type of sleeping gas so I wouldn't wake up. While they were doing the surgery I was loosing a lot and so the doctor couldn't get any donations. When he was almost done I guess I just drifted away and I died. I wasn't moving or anything I was just dead. The weird thing was that once I died I saw a bright light. I thought it was the ones in the room, but they got brighter and brighter. I was awake, but I was somewhere else. It was completely white and I wasn't in my old clothes anymore. I was wearing a white shirt with white jeans and a white jacket. The place I was in was kind of weird. No one was there except for me and this one guy. I walked up to the guy and told him where was I. He didn't look at me, but he told me I was in a special place. He said that I would like this place and that I could help others that needed help. I was confused on what he meant, but I told him that I needed to go back. He said that if I really wanted to go back that I can, but to make sure that was what I wanted. I told him that I needed to go back and he said yes. With just two snaps of his fingers I started to wake up and I was in the operating room. My heart monitor started beeping again and the nurse called the doctor. Once he came in the room he checked if I was fine and told me that you guys left the hospital. He said that he needed to do the surgery so I can live so I let him. After that I spent a couple of days in the hospital, but someone from child services came and told me that I needed to go with them. I refused because I thought you guys were coming back. When I found out that the doctor called child services to come and get me I wasn't really mad. I knew I needed to go with them, but I didn't want to. They put me in a foster home and I stayed there for three months until they put me in some type of hospital so I can get help. After I came back no one wanted to adopt me and if they did they would send me back the same day. I was starting to loose hope until your parents came in and told me that they were going to adopt me. I didn't know they were your parents until now. So...basically my life got harder, but now that I'm with you guys hopefully my life will get better. Mom: omg Nadia I didn't know you want through that. N: there's more about what happened before the hospital, but I don't want to talk about it. Dad: well now that you are out of there you can finally relax and have some fun. N: thank you so much for doing this. Seriously you guys didn't have to do this.
Mom: don't be silly. We wanted to do this for a long time now. The thing we didn't know was that you knew Alejandro and that you were his girlfriend, but I'm glad that we picked you and that you got to be reunited with him and your friends. Nano: I'm happy that she's here because she will kick Alejandro's butt for bullying me. Plus I get to have another sibling!! Ale: yeah and if you hit on her your dead.
Nano: don't be mad that your girlfriend loves me more. Ale: she does not. Nano: she does so!! Ale: does not!! Nano: does so!!
Ale: does not!! Nano: does so!! Dad: your going to have to deal with that a lot. N: I don't mind. I actually like it. We all started laughing and had a good time. I was happy that I was out of my dark place. I know that I'm still going to have my bad days, but at least I have people to help me. I get to finally have a family. A real and loving family. I get to have amazing friends and an amazing boyfriend. I even get to have a little brother. Even though Alejandro's parents aren't my parents I feel like they are. I get to have an amazing family and I couldn't ask for more. For once in my life I get to finally be happy. I finally get to have fun and just be myself. I'm finally free and I can finally breathe. I know all the memories are going to be with me my whole life, but I don't care. The only thing I care about was my family. That's the only thing I care about. I'm always going to protect them no matter what. I know that next years purge will be worse and I'm ready for it. I'm not scared anymore as I use to be. So whatever you have bring it on. Because I'll fight for what I love. And what I love is right here with me. So you can break me down, but you can never kill me. Because I will never let anything happen to my family.
The End.
