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“That’s not?—”

“I can’t believe what is coming out of your mouth.” She walked away but turned around. “What happened to the man that used to love his family so much that he would do anything to keep us safe?”

“You are taking my words and twisting them,” he shouted as she left. “I am keeping us safe.”

“No, dad, we hear you loud and clear,” Tomás said, looking hurt. “You’ve done nothing but hurt us these last few years and you can’t even see the damage you've done to us.”

“Tomás! You come back right now,” he yelled, as Tomas turned around following our mom. “I have sacrificed so much for you to be where you are now!”

“If you can’ t accept Romeo, then you definitely can’t accept me,” he said, before walking away.

“You did this, you little?—”

“No, you did this. If you don’t have them pull the article, I will go to another magazine with my own story of a father who would rather out his son to protect him. I will also let them know how you made us feel like we couldn’t be who were are without you having some say in it,” I said, opening my mouth to say something more.

“Come on, Romeo,” my mother said with a bag in her hand. “If you decide to not apologize, then don’t come around till you fix what you’ve ruined, and if you let them release anything about Ro or anything that will hurt him, don’t come back to me.”

“Maria Anna,” he said,and I turned away thinking this might do the trick.

My mother ushered me and Tomás out of the house. She dropped her bag on the driveway before pulling us in for a hug. It was the first time in a long time that I felt like I had a mother.

“I’m so sorry I failed you,” she said, holding onto us tighter. “I thought I was helping you succeed, and I should have said something. I’m so sorry I failed you.”

Tomás and I looked at each other like we couldn’t believe what was happening.

“It's ok, Mama,” he said, squeezing her.

“I’ll make sure he takes down whatever he sent, mijo, and while I don’t understand, I would love to meet them,” she said, laying her head on my chest. “You should be able to love whoever you want.”

Tomás and I looked at each other and while I wanted to tell him it was ok, he needed to come out on his own terms. What was important is that we had each other.

I took a deep breath, letting the tension wash away, feeling marginally better. I hoped the next visit I had to pay went as well as this.

34

Hunter

Ro climbed into bed, with a small smile on his face. He kissed Valencia on the head before wrapping his arms around her. My body sagged in exhaustion and relief because I didn’t know what the hell could’ve happened at Ro’s home.

The next morning, I woke up early, leaving them to sleep in because I needed to get up and move. I made some coffee and I put some bacon on a baking sheet, putting it in the oven. Uneasiness was making me feel anxious. How could I fix this?

“Hey.” Ro’s voice startled me.

“Hey,” I said, stirring my coffee.

“You're up early,” he said, grabbing a mug and pouring himself coffee.

“I was feeling restless,” I said, but I didn’t want to talk about me. “How did it go last night?”

“My mom took my side and told my dad if he wanted to come back to her, he needed to have the story pulled,” he smirked into his coffee, before taking a sip.

My eyebrows went up. Ro had talked about her before, and he said she was always distant.

“Wow,” I said, glad she finally pulled her head out of her ass.

“Yeah, even Tomás walked out with us. I think that will make him worry,” he said, looking proud.

I could see how much their support had helped him.

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