Page 86 of The Crush
“Where is he?” she asks, voice still urgent and already reaching for her purse on the counter. “Was there an accident?”
“He’s—”
“Is he at the hospital? Who is his doctor? I want to speak with them.”
“No. He’s not—”
“Driving so late at night. It’s not safe. I told your brothers they should have made him sleep over. Should have all been—”
“Mamá,” Gabe nearly shouts, making her head snap up from digging in her purse for her keys. “Listento Isa.”
She looks at him, then at me, still clearly anxious but seemingly chastened before crossing back to me and putting a cool hand on the side of my face. “I’m sorry. Will you tell me what happened?”
“I don’t know,” I explain, clasping her hand in mine and giving it a squeeze before it falls between us. “He’s at the DEA office.”
“The DEA office?” Her strong voice wavers, her focus temporarily moving to the floor as she thinks. “He can’t be thinking of going back?”
“I don’t know,” I say again, my voice cracking before I clear it and continue. “I thought maybe something happened when he dropped Gabe and Eli off. I don’t understand why else he would suddenly decide…” Out of the corner of my eye, I see Gabe shift in his stance against the wall, his arms crossed and a pained look on his face. “Gabe?”
“I think I asked him about it,” he says, his normally amiable voice full of regret. “I think I might have asked him about it.”
My stomach sinks. “Asked him about what?”
“I asked him if…” He hesitates, looking from me to our mom to Eli. “I asked him if when he went away, he got to be who he wanted.”
Silence settles, my mom turning from her youngest child to her youngest son. “Why would you ask that?”
“Why do you think?” Gabe’s head is bent, eyes downcast, his hands holding so tight to his arms that anyone smaller might break. When he looks up, his eyes are glassy with unshed tears. “I’msosorry if I—”
We all hear the sound of the back door opening, and my heart rate accelerates at the thud of two pairs of boots being loudly kicked off in the back entranceway.
“Muñequita.”
I slowly pivot to face my father, and to my shock, he lookselatedto see me, a wide smile on his face as he stands in the kitchen doorway with Aarón behind him. My eldest brother seems slightly less sure what to make of my sudden reappearance, studying me before he looks away. In the overhead light, I catch the glint of a new, small scar beneath his left eye.
Bet he’sthrilledabout that.
“How nice to have everyone home, hm, Eva?” my father says, not seeming to be particularly concerned that no one else is matching his joyous mood as he crosses the room. “Told you it would all—”
“She’s not staying,” my mom interjects, shifting slightly to stand in his path. “She’s here because of Danny. He went back to the DEA this morning.”
My father’s expression changes to a sneering satisfaction. “Did he? Well…good riddance.”
“Don’t,” I say, my anger flaring. “Don’t talk about him like—”
“I will talk about him however I want to,” my father snaps, cutting me off, and that quickly, we might as well be back in that parking lot again. He stares at me, jaw clenched before he takes a deep breath to steady himself. “Let’s not get into this now, all right? What matters is that you’re home.”
“No,” I reply, calmly. “I’m not.”
Without saying anything else, I turn back to Gabe and Eli, giving them each another quick hug before I kiss my mom on the cheek and whisper that I’ll call her later.
“Stop,” my dad orders from behind me, but I don’t. I don’t even slow my steps until his hand lands on my upper arm. “Youstopthis.”
“No.” I jerk my arm free with more force than he had used to hold it. “You told me not to come home. Well, guess what? Now I’m not.”
“Oh,yes, you are,” he says, ignoring my mom who has stepped up to his side. “He’s not good for you. The type of man he is… You need to stay away from him.”
“The type of man he is?” I repeat. “Which part of him issowrong? What would it take for you? What would it take foranyoneto actually be enough for you?”
