Page 4 of Something Tangled Something True
“If you hadn’t come to your senses alone, we were going to drag your ass back to Rosa Ranch,” Mayte chimes in, and my head feels like it’s about to explode with new information and lack of sleep.
Yanet moves from the worn-out loveseat, taking Karmella’s place beside me as she gathers my hands in her lap. “Do you remember when you came to Fuego Fusion looking for a job?”
I bat away tears, choking on the ball of emotion stuck in my throat. “Of course. That day changed my life. Not only did I meet you and Karmella, but you gave me the opportunity to taste my dreams.”
“Mhmm, and a year later, when you showed up an hour earlier than you were supposed to?” Yanet’s brows are cinched, her eyes pleading for me to remember. As if I could ever forget. I’d arrived at the studio early, looking for an escape. Russ and I were having an argument about me moving in with him. I hadn’t wanted to at the time, but he eventually beat me down until I felt there was no other option.
When I got to the studio, I didn’t think anyone was there—the lights were off, and the front doorwas locked. I heard Yanet and her husband, John, screaming at each other. I was terrified he was going to hurt her, but before I could step in, the yelling stopped, replaced by a loud thump and the shattering of glass I heard in my nightmares for months afterward.
“I remember,” I whisper.
“You know, John wasn’t always like that either. He’s the one who helped me open the studio, worked tirelessly to figure out my permits and support my dreams. But when he shifted his focus to his own business and started making significantly more money than I ever could at the studio, that resentment changed him. It didn’t happen all at once.” She shakes her head. “It was a slow shift, so slow, I had time to acclimate to each change while constantly reminding myself of what a good man he had been at the beginning.” She squeezes my hands, hot tears spilling down my cheeks. “It wasn’t until he pushed me into that mirror and there was awitnessto his abuse that I was able to crawl my way out from under him andleave.”
Mayte crouches beside us, flattening her palms over mine and Yanet’s intertwined hands. “We love yousomuch, Lols,” she whispers, her voice a broken plea. “We can’t sit back and watch as we wait for Russ to do the same to you.”
A choked sob leaves my mouth as I crumple against Yanet, her arms shooting out to wrap around me. Mayte runs a soothing hand up and down my spine as I let the tears fall. They spill out of me, hot and fast, tainted with the pieces of my soul I might never get back and the fear of what’s to come.
The truck has been dead silent, save for Karmella and Yanet’s loud ass snoring for the past four hours.
When the tires meet gravel, I know we’ve arrived, and apprehension floods my system. It’s been years since I moved,leaving behind a life I’d thought I’d never want for myself, but now, the familiarity of this place has me wondering if I was wrong from the start.
There was a time when this was the place I’d felt most safe and loved, but then the boy I’d loved most had grown into a man. His grief too great to overcome the physical distance between us, forming an emotional valley that neither of us were equipped to handle. The thought alone has my heart beating a little faster and acid churning in my gut.
The girls stir in the backseat, and Mayte parks beyond the gate. We sit here in silence, taking in the acreage I grew up on.
My mood shifts, and a laugh bubbles out of me, with Mayte following suit, unable to contain herself.
Ewelina clamps a hand over her mouth, doing her best to hold it in, but Karmella’s cackle results in the entire truck breaking out in a fit of laughter.
We’re delirious, exhausted, and as the reality of what we've just done settles in, the laughter continues to grow.
“We did it.” I chuckle, watching myself from somewhere outside of my own body, as if I’m floating above, disconnected from the moment, the world around me moving in slow motion.
“We really did,” Mayte snorts between laughs, her eyes brimming with tears.
“You’re a runaway bride!” Karmella shouts, officially breaking the dam that is Ewelina’s mouth. She can’t help but keel over in her seat, nearly hyperventilating with laughter.
Our bodies are shaking the truck until the last laugh makes it past our lips.
We sigh into the leather seats, unable to move.
Nothing about this is truly funny.
But sometimes, if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry. And I’ve already shed enough tears for that man.
Chapter Three
GHOSTS OF THE PAST
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23
“My Rose”by Beyoncé plays on the radio as I pull down the dirt road, finally back at the ranch.
Usually, on a Wednesday evening, I’d be tending to the cattle and making sure the ranch hands have everything stocked for the remainder of the week. Instead, I’ve spent the last few days on an impromptu fishing trip with no cell service, drowning my sorrows in self-help books and tacky music. I couldn’t stand to be surrounded by my family as they talk about the wedding and try to show me photos of her, smiling, gorgeous, and happy.
Damn, maybe those self-help books aren’t as helpful as I’d hoped.
I steer my thoughts away from Lola and focus on the crunch of my tires over the gravel, but the sound is drowned out by the ringing of my phone.
