Page 78 of Taming Liberty

Once Julia and I are alone, she turns and walks to one of two chairs on the porch and plops down. I sit down in the other.

“So,” she says, bringing her feet up to rest on the edge of the chair and hugging her knees. “Have you gone mute?”

I let out a nervous laugh and rub the back of my neck. “Sorry, it’s just been a while.”

“If you can call ten years a while, then sure.” She gives me a pinched smile. “I’m sorry about Sam. I promise it isn’t just you he’s cold to.”

I wave away the apology. “It’s fine, really. I get it.”

“You should.” She huffs out a laugh. “I’m eighty percent sure he gets that from you. Or I guess your papá is where you both get it from. He may be the spitting image of his father, but his attitude is all Reyes.”

I chuckle, but it’s stilted. I’m surprised she brought up Dario so easily.

“He does look a hell of a lot like Dario,” I cautiously agree. With the way my mind rejects saying my brother’s name out loud, you’d think he was the equivalent to Bloody Mary.

She gives me another one of those pinched smiles. I’m not sure which of us is more uncomfortable.

“He’s why you’re here, huh?” Julia looks away from me, her eyes glistening with tears while she stares out at the road. “Just tell me… Is he dead?”

My lungs seize for a moment, then I slowly blow out a breath. “No… As far as I’m aware, he’s in the same state he was in before.”

She turns back to me, and I watch relief sag her face. “You haven’t seen him?”

I shake my head. “Not yet.”

“If you aren’t here for him, what are you doing in Spain?”

I frown. “It’s Mamá.”

Julia places a hand to her chest as her eyes widen. “Oh my God.”

“She isn’t dead,” I say before Julia assumes it. “She’s sick, though. She doesn’t have a lot of time.”

“Shit, Angel, I’m so sorry…”

I break away from her gaze when I see the pity on her face. “Thank you.”

We’re quiet for a minute, an awkwardness formed by too many years’ worth of unsaid words filling the space between us.

Julia and I didn’t get along while Dario was healthy, and that didn’t change after the accident. I had nothing to give her back when it happened, and she probably would’ve rejected it even if I’d offered my help. It wasn’t until my family forced her away, abandoning her son in the process, that I reached out.

I remember a night, ten years ago, when we sat in her apartment, neither of us knowing what to say, just like right now. Finally, we had something in common. Neither of us were welcome in my family.

Shame congested the air until we were bathing in it. I hated myself then, the wounds of my mistakes still fresh, and still, I couldn’t force out a direct ‘I’m sorry.’ Neither could she. Though the words went unsaid, I could feel her silent apology in the tears that streamed down her face. I wish I would’ve told her she didn’t need to apologize to anyone. Not even Dario. Certainly not me.

“You know Sam doesn’t even remember them,” Julia says.

I stay silent for a few moments in case she isn’t finished.

She scrubs her face when tears fall then flings her hands into her lap and swings her head toward me. “Do you realize how fucking unfair that is?” She stabs a finger at the door. “Look at that kid and tell me he isn’t Dario’s son. He looksjustlike him.”

I nod. “I know.”

She crosses her arms over her chest and leans back into her chair. “They’ve punished my son for my mistakes… He hasn’t seen his dad since he was five years old.” Another tear leaks, and she swipes it away.

I look down at my lap, unsure of what to say. I agree with her, and I hate it too. I love my mother, and I like to believe my father is responsible for this, but I wonder how much of a fight she put up.

But then, of course, I know my father isn’t solely responsible. None of this would’ve happened if I hadn’t driven like an idiot one night.

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