Page 85 of The Crush
“Hey!” he says, standing and moving to greet me with a hug. In the process, he gives my outfit made up entirely of Daniel’s clothes a quick once-over, but, to his credit, says nothing. “I didn’t realize you were coming to the cemetery with us.”
I keep forgetting it’s Día de Muertos, that I should be busy gathering up food and drink and gifts. I keep forgetting this is supposed to be a good day.
“I’m not,” I tell him, encouraged to see a flicker of disappointment across his face. “I came over because I need to know what happened last night. When Danny dropped you off?”
He frowns. “What do you mean?”
“Did something happen?” I ask again, unable to escape feeling like I’m trespassing as I warily listen to the sound of someone else banging around in the nearby kitchen.
“No, I don’t remember anything happening, but I think I slept most of the drive.” Eli turns his head, calling, “Gabe, come in here.”
A cabinet door slams particularly hard, startling me, but I am relieved when Gabe is the one who strides into view, even if he’s looking bad-tempered enough to fight a bull.
“Donot… Do not fucking yell at me right now,” he says sourly toward Eli. “My fucking head is gonna fucking split open. Where the fuck is the fucking Tylenol?”
He peers around the room as if the bottle might materialize, but notices me instead. He grins even as he winces. “Isa, you’re coming too? Wow, big weekend for family healing. If you’re wearing sweats, then so am I.”
“I’m not going,” I repeat, stepping forward and receiving another hug in welcome. “Hey, did anything happen last night when Danny dropped you off?”
“No?” He glances at Eli and then back to me, the shared confusion telling me that my father had apparently failed to mention Tadeo’s phone call to anyone. “Nothing happened apart from him keeping us from falling ass backward down the porch stairs.”
Massaging his temples, he heads back for the kitchen and I follow while he resumes his search for Tylenol with seemingly little method beyond checking cabinets at random.
“He helped you up the stairs?” I prod. “Did he come in the house?”
Gabe pulls back from a cabinet over the sink and thinks for a moment. “Uh, no. No, he got us inside, and then he left.”
“So he just dropped you off?” I walk over and open the correct narrow cabinet next to the stove. “Nothing else?”
“Ah!” Gabe exclaims, snatching the missing bottle from my hand. He pops a couple into his mouth and swallows them dry. “ThankChrist. Sorry, what’s this about? Why are you asking about last night?”
“I wanted to check to see if everything went okay?” I ask, increasingly wondering if this visit is a dead end. “I thought maybe…”
My words may be faltering, but I have Gabe’s full attention now. Along with Eli’s when he wanders in. “Why are you asking, Isa? Is something wrong?”
“Yeah.” I suddenly have an overwhelming urge to sob. “I think so.”
“What?” Gabe says, worry striking his face and voice. “Fuck, Isa, what’s happened?”
“Gabriel, Iknowthat’s you cursing. I can hear you from all the way down the—oh, mija!” My mom does a double take on her way to deal with Gabe, her face brightening when she sees me. “What a nice surprise. I didn’t know you were coming.”
She takes in my disheveled appearance, and I would swear before God that I actually see her have an all-out war with herself in no more time than it takes for her to unconsciously fix her already perfect hair.
“Do you… Are you going to change into something you have here or…”
Well, that could have been a lot worse, I think.
“No, I’m not here for Día de Muertos. I’m here because of Danny.”
“Oh?” Her face falls into a delicate frown. “Did you two have a fight? You know these things happen sometimes. Your papá and I—”
“No, we didn’t have a fight. Well, maybe we did. I mean, we’redefinitelygoing to,” I correct, not even sure why I feel compelled to explain those particular details. “I’m here because he didn’t come home last night. You didn’t know? Tadeo called earlier.”
“Dios mío, no,” my mom says, looking at the clock on the wall and seeing half the day already gone. “What are you saying? No one has heard from him?”
“Shit,” Gabe mutters, running a hand down his face, and it’s a true testament to how upset my mom is that she doesn’t seem to notice. “Did anyone check the roads?”
“No. I mean,yes. Sorry, he didn’t come home, but we know where he is now,” I quickly explain, watching my mom press a hand to her chest in relief. “He called earlier.”
