Page 20 of Storm

I love them. I love them. I love them. I chant over and over again in my head while hurrying downstairs to break up the impending physical altercation I’m sure is about to erupt if Loren’s shouting doesn’t die out within the next five seconds.

“Youcouldstop them,” I snap at my papá as I storm past where he’s laid out in his chair with the remote resting on his belly.

I’m sure he just shrugged at me, but he does say, “Asi son los hombres, Miri.”That’s how men are, my ASS.

“Thoseboysare going to break something, most likely their heads. Where’s that going to get you? Just another bill to pile up, the way I see it.”

I don’t wait for his response because I know it was a low blow and I can hear Damián’s crying growing to a level where it’ll take him ages to calm down.

My feet freeze as soon as I’m through the door. All I can do is reach out and snag my youngest brother as he attempts to barrel past me, ready to attack Loren like a rabid dog. Wrapping my arm around his waist, I pull him into my body, but my voice is locked up tight as I eye the disaster of the kitchen, spotless only a few hours before.

“Lemme at him,hermana!” a wiggling Damián screeches, but I hold tight.

Spinning him around, I grab his shoulders and wait for him to focus on me with teary eyes. “You need to take a minute and calm down. Go in the living room and look through a book or color,anything, but leave.”

In my peripheral vision, I see Loren trying to sneak out the back door, so I whip my head toward him, making him freeze in place. My eyes fall to my two eldest brothers sitting at the table, eating filled the brim bowls of cereal. The muffled sound of a basketball bouncing in the driveway lets me know César is outside.

“They’d have worked it out, you know,” Ale says unhelpfully. “You baby him too much.”

Like a predator, I turn my head slowly toward him and narrow my eyes. Opening my mouth to spear him with the million things running through my head, I snap it shut instead.

Dropping my arms in defeat, I let Damián flee. “I’m not doing this again. You’re all so fucking ungrateful.”

“Miri,” Cristián mutters, clearly hurt. I refuse to feel guilty that I’ve hurt his feelings, so I just grab my bag from the floor where someone has shoved it off the chair. Opening the top, I drop my phone inside, then zip it up with more force than necessary. Then walk past them toward the back door.

“Where you goin’?” Ale asks through a mouthful of soggy, sugary cereal.

“Home.” It’s all I can muster before I walk out. I wave quickly at César, who pauses to give me a head nod before going back to practicing his jump shots, as if he doesn’t give a shit what’s going on around him.

I suppose that’s just what happens when you’re basically the middle child. I don’t count myself in the numbers. There are five boys: Cristián, Alejandro, César, Lorenzo, and Damián. They’re a unit. Then there’s me. Miriam Delgado. Eldest sister and caretaker of not just five brothers, but one father, and a fucking nightmare of a cat.

Thankfully, there were no delays in getting a ticket for a bus ride home, especially considering that I blew my emergency on that damn pizza I never got a chance to partake in.

Staring out the window and seeing all the snow piles alongside the highway and tire tracks leading into a field periodically tell me the snowstorm we got over the weekend sent a good amount of people into the ditch. Winter is by far my favorite season, but I can’t help feeling as though the first big snow of the season was tainted by selfish men who gave me an experience I’ll never forget, then made me feel like a whore.

The ache between my legs will be a reminder for another few days, I’m sure, but after that? I’m putting them in my past as a mistake I can learn from.

Trudging my heavy feet to my apartment, I’ve never been more relieved to crawl into my own bed. Unfortunately, before I even have the opportunity to enjoy my solitude by turning the key to unlock the door of my home, deep male voices reach my ears from the other side of the door. Susanna’s boyfriends are visiting.

With a sigh, I push the door open.

“Miriam!God, I’ve missed you. Tell them I’m not stupid,” Theo, Susu’s burly boyfriend, begs before I’m even two steps into our apartment. While he’s my biggest foe of the group, I secretly like him the most.

Instead of giving in, I curl my lip into a smirk. “I’d never. You’re a goddamn idiot. Whatever you just said is wrong,pendejo. Now, fuck right off. I want to see my girl.”

“I can’t tell if you’re a bitch or if you love me,” Theo complains, causing Susanna and Chester, her second boyfriend, to chuckle.

Leaning down, I press a kiss to her cheek. “How you feeling, my friend? When did they let you out of the hospital?”

“Yesterday, late morning.”

“Too soon, if you ask me,” Chester adds. I glance at him and I find myself agreeing. Susanna looks like she’s standing onDeath’s doorstep. He then asks her, “You need anything to drink, baby girl?”

I glance at Theo and pretend to gag as I shove a finger down my throat. His grin is wide, but he’s clearly just as stressed as Chester.

“Where’s Vance?” I ask.

“At his parents’ for the evening,” Susanna tells me. There’s a hint of displeasure in her voice, but I can’t help but be proud of her for using her words. It wasn’t that long ago that we only communicated through text or hand motions.

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