Page 1 of Storm

CHAPTER 1

MIRIAM

“Miri, papá misses you. It’s been tough since you left.”

Sighing into the phone, I pinch the bridge of my nose. My roommate, Susanna Walston, has been in the hospital for a few days now, and I just don’t have the energy to deal with my family as well.

“Ale…” I trail off, not hiding my frustration. “I have to work.” My second oldest brother, Alejandro, is trying to convince me to come home earlier than I planned, and I justcan’twith him right now.

He groans in disappointment; the sound sending a surge of guilt to slam into me. “But hermana,” he complains. “You know none of us know how to make this shit. Papá isn’t doing so well since you moved. What are we supposed to do?”

“I’m twenty-four years old, Ale. It’s not my job to raise you and the boys anymore.” I’m so tired as I tell him the same thing I always say, then side eye the man sitting next to me in the hallway outside of Susanna’s room. He’s pretending not to listen, but I know he is.

Captain Kevin Cooper.

Since the moment I showed up, this man has had me on edge. We haven’t had an opportunity to talk much, but when hedoes speak to me, I freaking stand up and listen. Of course, the moment we step out of the room to give Susanna and her guys a moment alone, that’s when my brother calls.

I stayed at home for years after I legally became an adult, but I just couldn’t do it anymore. When mom left shortly after I turned thirteen, she left the burden of raising all my younger brothers on my shoulders. They expected everything from me, and maybe it’s selfish, but I’m exhausted.

Staring at my worn sneakers, I dig the tip of my foot into the ground as a way to distract myself from the guilt always eating away at me. “Ale?” I ask after he’s been quiet for too long.

“Hermana!” my youngest brother, Damián, says. “You coming home? I miss you so much, and I’m soooo hungry. Papá cooks like shit!”

“Dios mío!Language, Damián!” I hiss out, flicking my eyes to the older man next to me again. I shiver when my eyes lock with his. He’s fucking staring at me without trying to hide it. “Uhh…” I trail off as my train of thought stops. “I, umm… I have to work, honey.”

“Youalwayswork. What are we supposed to do, Miri? There’s stuff in the stinkin’ fridge that I don’t even knowhowlong it’s been there. Plus, I got in trouble at school, and César freakin’ told papá, so now I’m grounded. And the cat keeps shitting in my closet!” Damián is breathing heavily into the phone by the time he’s done ranting, and I close my eyes in frustration.

“Put—” I’m cut off just before I ask him to hand the phone back to Alejandro when the oldest of my brothers grabs the phone and starts with his personal brand of pretend empathy.

Cristián is only two years younger than me, but he’s the one who’s normally been on my side from day one. Heknowswhat I’m trying to do with my life because I’ve spent countless nightswhispering my dreams for a better future in the dark. “Miri. I know you’re busy, but you need to come home.”

“I’ve told all of you for the last three months I can’t come home for the holidays this year. I don’t have seniority at work. The other caretakers already asked for vacation, so I’m on the schedule. Please, Cristián, don’t make me feel bad about this. I’m using my days off to be here right now.” I told my brother a short version of what happened to my roommate, and I thought he would have some understanding. Apparently, I was wrong.

“No offense, but this is bullshit. You’ve been gone for two years and what do you have to show for it? You’re working your ass off, wiping the asses of old people, just so you can take a few classes a semester. I thought you were supposed to be a nurse by now.”

My shoulders stiffen at his accusation, and I stare at the closed door to Susanna’s hospital room. I’m not sure he’s ever been this cold with his words before. “Wow.”

Cristián sighs, and I can hear the rest of my brothers hollering at him on the other end of the phone. “Lo siento, Miri. That was?—”

Ignoring his apology, I cut him off. “Nope. I don’t want to hear it. That was mean and uncalled for. I’ll come home this weekend for a few days. I can’t change my schedule for later. It’s already set. We can celebrate early. Tell me what you all want to eat while I’m there. I’ll just grab food on my way.” If they want to guilt me into taking time out of my schedule to make them a damn meal, then I’ll fucking make them one.

“Miri,” he whines into the phone, but I’m just fucking done. His words were cruel. “I didn’t mean?—”

Turning my back to the man hovering next to me, I hiss into the phone. “I’m workingtwojobs, Cristián.Two fucking jobs!Plus going to school full time. You can fuck right off for makingme feel bad for not being done with afour-yearprogram in two. But I’ll be there this weekend to make you dinner. Happy?”

My phone is plucked from my hand, causing me to whirl around and stare up at Captain Cooper as he puts my phone to his ear. Staring at me, his voice is cold as he says, “Your sister will be home in a few days. She needs to go now.” Then he hangs up and holds it out to me.

I blink up at him, shocked by the size of his balls to actually take a woman’s phone away from her. “Why did you do that?”

“They weren’t listening,” he states simply with a half shrug.

Scowling, I snatch my phone and shove it in my bag. Murmuring more to myself, I let my disgust with my brothers slip free. “They never listen, fucking little shits.”

He turns to face me, resting his shoulder on the wall. “You’re leaving?”

Hesitating for a brief moment, I nod once slowly. I hate that he’s probably judging me for abandoning my friend, but I admit, “I have to.”

“But you’re not going home. You’re going to your family?” he asks, but he already knows the answer. The asshole listened to my entire conversation. “How did you plan on getting home to begin with?”

---