Him & I

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Beep...Beep...Beep...is what I hear when I open my eyes. I feel weight on my hand. Looking over I see my brother, Mateo, sitting there holding my hand. "Mateo." I say. He stands up and kisses my forehead and says "Hey G. How you feeling?" I look at him and say "I'm sore." I tell him. "Well, mom's gone to get the doctor but after the doctor sees you, we need to talk." he tells me and I just nod. Mom comes back in with the doctor. "How are you feeling, Luisa?" she asks. "I'm sore." I tell her. "That's normal for the fall you took. You will be sore for at least a couple of weeks but now that you're awake and seem to be okay, we will be keeping you for a few days and then you should be okay to be released." she tells me and I nod my understanding.

As soon as the doctor leaves, Mateo looks at me and says "Now, we need to talk. Mom and I talked about things while you were out and we are moving you to LA with us." he says. "What?" I ask. "You don't get a say in this, G. If you stay out here the next time we come out will be for your funeral and I won't let that happen. You're moving to LA with us. Your things are already in a small U-Haul, hooked up to the car, ready to go." he says and I just nod, looking down at my hands. I feel the tears start to fall and Mateo just pulls me to him and holds me. When I get myself together, I ask, "What happened?" Mom looks at me and says "We got a call that we needed to come out here. What do you remember?" she asks. I think for a minute and say "Paul. He was cheating on me. I confronted him and we argued. He hit me and shoved me down the stairs." I tell them. I look at Mateo and say "I don't want him near me." He looks at me and says "I've already told them he's not allowed in here. Still have me as your emergency contact, huh?" he asks. "Yeah." I say. "Good, G. Means I can keep him out." he tells me.

A few days later, I am being released and the three of us are in the car making the trek from Georgia to California. It takes us two days to make the drive, but we made it. Only stopping to stretch so that I don't get stiff, Mom and Mateo taking turns driving. Pulling into Mom's driveway, we get out and Mateo takes my duffle bag out of the back seat and says "We'll unload the rest in the morning." I nod and we head inside. Ordering Pizza, we sit in the living room to eat. I look at my food and think about how I got here. How I went from the strong willed, confident person to a woman who let her boyfriend beat the hell out of her and didn't fight back? Mom and Mateo seem to know what was going through my mind before Mom says "Don't do that. Nothing you can change by living in the past. Concentrate on getting better and moving forward.

A couple of weeks later, I have barely left the house but am feeling better physically. Mateo comes in and says "Get dressed. We're going to a party." I look at him and he says "You heard me. Get up and get dressed, GG. You're getting out there and meeting some new people." he tells me. I get up and head to my room. Putting on a pair of skinny jeans, my heeled boots with a dark green racerback top, I do my hair in light curls and do a light smokey eye with soft red lips. Walking out to the living room, Mom and Mateo look at me and smile. "Now there's the GG I remember." he says before we head out to his Impala.

Pulling up to the party, we get out of the car and he tells me "Relax and have fun. But don't go too far." he tells me and I nod. We head over to the table to get drinks and he takes me around and introduces me to his group of friends. "Good to meet you guys." I say and we all talk until my cup is empty. "I'm going for another drink." I tell Mateo and he nods.

Walking up to the keg, I refill my cup when a guy walks up. He's tall, athletic build, well fitting Dickie's, head full of luscious dark hair and a tight black t-shirt. "So are you, like, Mateo's girl or something?" he asks as he refills his cup. "More like the or something." I tell him and he looks at me for clarification. "I'm his sister." I say and he nods. "What's your name?" he asks. "GG." I tell him. "Ghost." he says. "Nice to meet you, Ghost." I say. I look up and see my brother watching me. "I better head back. Nice meeting you Ghost." I say. "Ditto, GG." he says before I walk away, him watching me the entire way.