Page 82 of Dead Set on You
“I’m getting something, fam,” Doug says, his eyes still closed.
Thump, thump, thump.
“Tell us,” Lupe says, leaning in, almost as if she’s buying it.
Doug shimmies and shakes invisible maracas. “She’s a sassy one, this one.” I think he meansskeptical. “But I like a woman with a personality.”
“All right, I think we’ve heard enough …” Rafael leans over to blow out a candle.
Lupe grabs his arm and tugs him back. “Stay.”
“Hmmm. There’s more,” Doug mumbles. “She’s a tough one to read. Sassyandstubborn.”
“Are you sure you’re not talking about Lupe?” Rafael glares at his cousin, who digs her fingers into his arm. “Ah! Mierda!”
“No, no, fam. This is different.” Doug is oblivious to the bickering cousins. “There’s some strong energy keeping me from fully accessing her energy.” His face crinkles in confusion. “It’s almost like there’s another energy, something bigger and stronger. It’s shared between two people in this room.” Doug shakes his head. “It makes it tough for me to full access hers.”
“When you saysharedenergy, do you mean cousin-to-cousin stuff?” Lupe asks. Rafael tries to pull away, but she digs her fingers in. He winces and stays put.
Doug frowns. “Could be … but it’s almost like this energy is giving me romantic vibes. That’s not to say—different strokes for different folks, fam, so if you’re into—”
“No!” both Rafael and Lupe shout, startling Doug and me.
“Sorry, fam, didn’t mean to offend,” Doug says, turning back to the shrine. “It’s crazy. This energy is almost all-consuming in its intensity, and it goes way back. Like it’s built up over the years.”
He could be talking about Rafael and me. We’ve definitely shared plenty of all-consuming, intense feelings over the years. Nothing I would callromantic. Not even close.
The warmth and fullness I’ve felt these last few days, though, would disagree. My gaze gravitates to Rafael’s back, the T-shirt clinging to his lean muscles like a second skin. An answeringthrob in my chest convinces me that this is a symptom of my condition and not being fully myself these days.
As if he can feel my gaze, Rafael’s eyes drift to me. My stomach somersaults at the way he checks in—like to make sure I’m okay. I swallow past the embarrassment at having been caught staring and shoot him a thumbs-up.Everything is fine,it says. Totally and completely fine.
“Lots of good energy here, and that energy is strong enough to keep her here.” Doug’s eyes snap open. “In other words, don’t lose hope, fam, because she’s hanging on.”
Lupe drops her hand from Rafael’s arm. “Good! Did you hear that, primo?”
“When I can think past the pain,” Rafael says, rubbing his arm.
“All will be well, my man,” Doug offers, beginning to blow out the candles. He tosses them back into his backpack as he goes. “Sometimes, if you believe it’ll happen, it will.”
“I believe this was a mistake,” Rafael hisses in his cousin’s ear.
“Don’t be a cranky pendejo, Raffi,” Lupe chides. A vein throbs along the length of Rafael’s neck.
When he turns to me, his grin is apologetic. “I’m sorry for putting you through that. Lupe is going to pay for it,” he assures me.
I think of how she gets under his skin, and I shrug. “Lupe’s doing great.”
Rafael’s eyes widen. “Were you not here for the last ten minutes?”
“Technically, no.”
“That’s not what—”
“It’s cool that you’re talking to her, my man,” Doug says, appearing beside Rafael. Rafael tenses immediately. “Lean into that connection. That bond is special, and it can bring her back.”
I bite back another smile as Rafael’s jaw clenches. He spins around to face Doug, who is unbothered and unaware thatRafael has glided into level-seven someone-give-this-man-a-joint territory (which—not to judge a book by its cover—I’m convinced Doug would readily supply Rafael).
Doug holds up a card. “Here, call me anytime.”
