Page 144 of Explosive Prejudice

She smacked the back of my head.

“Don’t treat it so casually.” Her hand moved to my shoulder, giving me a slight squeeze. “Be proud, niño. Graduating high school is a big thing.” She then put the hair dryer aside and looked at me through the mirror with her soft eyes. “Your mother would have been very proud of you.”

The mention of my mom was a stab to the heart. After so many years with her gone, the pain wasn’t about longing but the acceptance she wasn’t here. But it wasn’t just pain but guilt that twisted my guts. After all, she was killed because of me. If I had just listened to my father, she’d still be alive. But I didn’t listen, and now, she was six feet under. But that was a secret.

My secret.

And I planned to keep it that way.

“You think so?” I asked Rosa, shifting my mind away from that darkness. “Because I’m not sure she’d be proud.” A part of me was relieved my mom wasn’t here to witness the things I’d done. No matter how much I tried to redeem my past, nothing would ever change the way I’d hurt others. I was a bully, and throughout my four years of high school, I’d ruined the lives of people whose names I didn’t even know.

Taking a section of my hair in her hand, Rosa began brushing it. “Why would you say that?”

“I’ve done bad things.”

“We all have. The question is, are you sorry about those things?”

I nodded.

“Will you repeat them?”

I shook my head. “No. At least, I hope not.” Camilo made me want to be a better person.

Her lips curled. “So, you are all good, niño. Because this here”—she patted my heart—“was good ever since you were a little boy.”

I’m sure as fuck going to miss her.

Moved by her affection, which I didn’t deserve, I broke our stare and coughed. It was hard to believe anyone saw any kindness in me. Especially someone as good as her.

“So, who is paying for this place?” Rosa asked, changing the subject while looking around.

“A guy.” I paused, then rethought my words. “A man would be more suitable.”

“You always knew how to charm hearts.”

“Can’t argue with that.” Although, I no longer cared about charming any heart other than Camilo’s.

“But you also always knew how to break them.” She chuckled to herself. “Like that cute boy you once brought with you.”

Confused, I turned to look at her. “What are you talking about?”

“The beautiful young man with aquarium eyes.”

I knew a lot of people with pretty eyes, but only one matched that description. “Are you talking about Jordan?”

“Yes, Jordan.”

What in the world made her bring him up? With Iván’s death and the hatching of my revenge plan, I had little to no time at all to think about Jordan. In fact, since the night he returned and found out about Camilo and me, I hadn’t heard back from him. It wasn’t that I didn’t care for him, but he simply wasn’t a priority with everything that was going on.

“You know, he’s been staying at the house for the last few weeks.”

“He what?” I jumped to my feet.

Jordan just became a priority.

“What exactly do you mean by that?”

Rosa took a step back, her expression confused. “Oh, for some reason, I thought you knew that he’d been living in the guest house.”

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