Page 6 of Scoreless Nights

“Like I said,” Cruz grabbed my keys from my hand and pushed the button on the trunk. He grabbed a few bags before finishing his thought. “You can leave tomorrow.”

I nodded, and gave up. Our parents were expecting to see us together, so for one night, I would stay and let them have their way. Cruz didn’t want any part of their craziness either, he never had, so one night was good for both of us.

Grabbing a few more bags from my car, I followed him to the elevator. He hit the number twelve once and we rode the lift up in an awkward silence. There were only two doors on the twelfth floor, and he took me to the one farthest away.

“No one lives there,” he pointed to the first door. “But they have been showing it to possible buyers so you may hear them coming in and out a lot.”

“I’ll be gone in the morning,” I reminded him.

Cruz just scoffed and shook his head as he unlocked the door. He carried my luggage across the big condo and down a short hall on the left side of the living area. “This is where you can stay. My room is across the living room, on the other side. There is no food here because I don’t cook. I’m gonna get that run in. Tell Gloria you’re fine so my dad doesn’t threaten to come down here.”

Then he was gone, back out the front door, leaving me to take stock of where I was. The room was amazing, even if there wasn’t much besides a bed and a desk. But the space looked clean and Zen, with a window that faced the ocean. It would be perfect for one night, and with Cruz all the way across the apartment, I doubt I’d even see him before I left the next day.

I sent my mom a quick text letting her know I was here. She questioned my timeline, but I assured her I’d read the GPS wrong, and was safe at Cruz’s. I also added that I was exhausted, and she spared me another phone call for the night.

Before Cruz got back, I wanted to be showered and in bed, so I rushed to get some things from my bag, and found the bathroom across from my room. For a second bathroom, the shower was amazing. Two shower heads, a massager, and a warmer that kept the room toasty until I could get dressed again.

I snuck back to my room afterward and peeled the covers back on the bed. The quilt was a sage green, with matching sheets, which I could tell were brand new. I tried to picture Cruz putting them on by himself and it made me glad I stayed at least one night so that effort didn’t go to waste.

Just as I was starting to fall asleep, the door slammed and I could hear Cruz toss his keys onto the kitchen counter. His footsteps made their way across the tile and I heard his bedroom door close soon after. I let out a deep breath and relaxed back into my pillow.

Admittedly, as awkward as it was seeing Cruz again, I was thankful to be somewhere safe and comfortable for the night. In the morning, I would quietly sneak out and head to Angel’s, who had reminded me during my whole drive that I was welcome to stay with her and Jackie. At least she seemed to genuinely want me around. Cruz had always been stand-offish with me, barely saying a few words.

Growing up, he only stayed with us a week at a time, and I usually ended up hiding in my room as much as I could. As I closed my eyes again, I thought back to when we were kids and he had come back to see his dad for the first time since our parents got married.

“Lillian,” my mom yelled up the stairs. “Come down here and eat with us. We are having a family dinner.”

I rolled my eyes to myself and set my drawing aside. I pulled on a hoodie to cover my body and hide my insecurities, then made my way down to the dining room.

Cruz was quietly sitting in the spot I usually sat in, and I snarled at him, letting him know that was my seat. He chose to shrug and smirk, but didn’t move, and before I could open my mouth to tell him that he was in my spot, Ivan came in with bowls of my mom’s leek and potato soup,with a huge smile on his face.

“I love having us all together. Lillian, maybe you can help me convince him to move up here full time.”

I shook my head, but stayed quiet, as I took the seat I wanted Cruz to move to. He was eyeing me with humor in his eyes, feeling like he won since I chose to sit down. But really, I just hated being around him. He was a good looking boy who spoke two languages, and got praised for how well he did at soccer. I was an insecure, rat-looking girl with hardly any friends, and overprotective parents.

“Mamá me necesita, tú sabes,”Cruz spoke to Ivan.

“English!” Ivan commanded, making Cruz roll his eyes. He didn’t repeat himself, but I knew he said something about his mom.

Cruz’s mom,Mariana, ran a Cuban restaurant in Miami that he helped with sometimes. Ivan thought highly ofMarianaeven though their marriage didn’t work out, and often told us how much he loved Cruz getting experience by helping her at the restaurant. It was the main reason I knew Ivan would never really fight to have Cruz come live with us.

Ivan and Mom carried the dinner conversation on their own. Cruz ate the entire bowl of soup, and then had seconds, sitting quietly until he was excused. I could barely eat, but had to do the dishes before I was allowed to go back to my room.

When I did, Cruz was in his room on the phone. I could hear him speaking to someone he called Deon about how it was torture being around “Lily,” which he called me instead Lillian, to get under my skin. Tears formed in my eyes and I didn’t stick around to hear anything else.

He stayed a whole week, and not once did he say a single word directly to me. It set the tone for all his trips, and even though I wasn’t much better than he was, I blamed our dislike for one another on him.

ChapterFour

Cruz

Once I realized the crazy girl in the parking lot was Lillian, I moved on autopilot. She tried leaving, and I should have let her, but I knew there would be hell to pay if I did, so I just rushed her up to her room.

Then I ran for almost an hour, trying to get rid of the anxiety she gave me.

I knew as kids, I wasn’t always fair to her. She didn’t ask her mom and my dad to get married, and I didn’t really resent her for their decisions. But Dad tried making us a big happy family, and that wasn’t how my life really worked. I was an only child, whose dad took a job twelve hours away when he was ten, and shit was never the same.

As an adult, I knew my dad had done the right thing. He was able to provide for me more than he would have had he not taken that job and moved. But as a kid, I was resentful, and I hated that Lillian got to have my dad in her life while I only got to see him two times a year.

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