Page 3 of Strelitzias in Spring

Throwing my body against the cushions, I let out a heavy sigh. “I slept with Devin,” I state matter-of-factly. “And I made out with Dylan before that.”

I chance a look at my mother and see her eyebrows raised to her hairline. “In the same day? Is this one of those ‘why choose’ things?”

I rear back. “Wait, what? No, of course not. How do you know what those are?”

“I’m forty-five, not dead. Start at the beginning.”

“I feel like I’m in an alternate universe.” I pause, shaking my head. “You know Dylan and I have always been close. A few weeks ago, we kissed; it felt… off. Just not right. I told him I wasn’t interested in anything more than friendship and that I didn’t want to risk our relationship for something that wouldn’t even work out.”

My mom nods. “Okay. How did he take that?”

I think back to our initial conversation. “He was fine with it. Or so it seemed. But that’s not where I messed up. If I just kissed Dylan, we could have worked through it without any major issues. But, when I was at Dad’s a few weeks ago, Devin came over, and we slept together.” I look away from my mother, too ashamed to see her face. My mother has zero tolerance or empathy for adultery, and I’m mortified that I put myself in this position.

Long moments of silence pass before my mom asks, “Are Devin and Marina still together?”

I shake my head. “No, or at least they weren’t. They were broken up when it happened, but I’m not stupid. I knew they’d get back together, but I was lonely and angry that I had to be at Dad’s house just to be ignored for the entire weekend. I knew it was wrong, knew I shouldn’t have done it, but I did.”

“You haven’t been to your dad’s in three weeks. What happened today to upset you?”

I look toward the ceiling and release a sigh. “We were at Ava and CeCe’s boyfriends’ house; Dylan and a couple of other people were there. We were supposed to have a movie night, but Devin came barging into the house, hurling accusations and insults at me, saying that I had told Marina about us. I had a feeling our night together would get out, but I didn’t perpetuate the rumors. I just told Ava and CeCe today.

“Devin and Dante, CeCe’s guy, ended up trading punches, and it was a bloody mess. Dylan admitted, in front of everyone, that he told Marina because she had a right to know what happened. H-he said such horrible things, Mom,” I say with a sob, burrowing my face in my hands.

“Shh. It’s okay, Serena,” my mom soothes, rubbing my back as though I’m an eight-year-old with a bellyache and not an eighteen-year-old harlot.

“I-I was the other woman, Mamá.”

“No,” she says sharply. “You made a bad judgment call,Muñeca; I won’t lie to you. But you are not the other woman if they were broken up. Should you have slept with that boy? Probably not, but only because he didn’t respect you or the gift you gave him.”

I’m about to respond when my phone vibrates in quick succession, signaling a phone call. Pulling it from my pocket, I check the caller ID and groan when I see my father’s contact information on the screen.

“Serena, do not answer—” I cut my mom off by swiping on the icon and bringing the phone to my ear.

“Hi, Dad.”

“Of all the selfish, irresponsible, reckless things you could have done, you did this? You slept with your sister’s boyfriend? How could you be so cruel, Serena? Your sister is a goddamn mess because of your actions. Have you no shame?”

“Dad—”

“It’s your mother; she poisoned you against your family, and that’s why you did this. After everything I’ve done for you. I provide for everything, including that hobbit hole your mother calls a house. I’m ashamed of you. You need to get over here now and make this right, or I’ll—”

My mom yanks the phone out of my hand, preventing me from hearing the rest of my dad’s tirade. “How dare you speak to my daughter this way, Stephen. Instead of asking her what happened, checking onyourdaughter to make sure she was safe and well, you verbally attacked her and accused me of poisoning her against you and your disgrace of a family. Your mother would be ashamed of you, Stephen Castillo.”

She pauses, listening to his response. Her face quickly morphs from disgust to outrage the longer she listens. “Contigo se confirma la teoría científica de que un humano puedo vivir sin cerebro.”You have confirmed the scientific theory that a human can live without a brain.“No, I will not put my daughter back on the phone to be subjected to your abuse. How—” My mother is cut off, her lips pinching together. “You and your wife are both assholes that can rot in hell,” she yells before hanging up.

I choke on my saliva, a mixture of laughter and tears momentarily halting my speech. “Did you just tell Dad he and Brandi can rot in hell?”

“Yes. You are not going there, Serena.”

I search her face. “What did he say?”

She just shakes her head. “It doesn’t matter what he said. He doesn’t provide for you, I do.Youprovide for yourself. You have a full-ride scholarship, and your housing is covered through the scholarship. I pay for this house; it’s just his stupid name on the mortgage. I will sell this place before I allow him to take one more damn thing from us.”

“Mamá,” I start, but she shakes her head.

“No, this is not up for discussion. You will not be subjected to his cruelty. You made a mistake, but you are not a bad person. You are his daughter. He seems to have forgotten that.” Handing my phone back, she grabs my shoulders and pulls me into her body. “I’m sorry that this happened to you and that you lost people in the process. But remember,Muñeca, if they were supposed to be in your life long-term, they wouldn’t have done this to you. Isn’t it better to find out their true character at your age than in ten, twenty years from now?”

I shrug against her body, sniffling. “I don’t care about Devin; he’s always been an asshole, and I was just lonely. But Dylan? I-it just hurts. He was my best friend, and now? It’s like I-I don’t even know him.”

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