STORY OF THE CHUBBY

STORY OF THE CHUBBY 7

‘Yaaaas!’ I screamed, when I scored a third goal in foosball, as Raul groaned and slumped in a blue bean bag on the floor. ‘And that’s how you play foosball!’ I said, flopping next to him in a green bean bag.

‘How do you do that?’ he asked, putting an arm over his eyes. ‘Three games and I barely won any!’ He adds referring to the second game where we had tied.

I laugh and shrug as I stretch my legs in front of him, tired from all the standing, ‘Give it up already, Raul. I’ll always be better than you in foosball!’

He grunted. Somebody was a sore loser.

I closed my eyes, trying to calm my nerves now that I didn’t have any game to distract me. I’d arrived here at about two and we’d been playing video games, pool and now foosball, occasionally talking about school and stuff.

The whole of yesterday night and this morning, I had been really thinking about telling some people about Alex. I wouldn’t admit it to him but Chris had really made me see that not all people are cruel and insensitive. He was different and treated Alex so nicely that I couldn’t get annoyed at him if he annoyed me.

So it got me thinking about Sammy and Raul. They were the only people I was really close to and I knew had kind hearts and all. In the last three years or so I had been the only friend Alex had. With the exception of Riley, a girl who had been in Alex’s former school who’d check up on her once in a while and they’d talk on the phone at least once a week, Alex had no other friends.

She didn’t complain or even talk about it but I see how much happier she has been the past week and I can’t help but give the credit to Chris. Who would have thought, huh?

I let out a heavy sigh as I attempted to calm my racing heart. Inside I prayed that Raul would take it well.

‘Something on your mind, Hastings?’ He asked beside me. I opened my eyes to find him looking at me, his golden brown eyes filled with concern.

I gave him a small smile before sitting up, wiping my sweaty palms on my jeans. Well, get on with it already, Cecilia! He sensed that I was about to say something important so he also sat up.

I took in a deep breath before saying, ‘I’m in love with you, Raul.’

His eyes looked as if they were about to come out of his head and I counted three seconds before I started to laugh. What? I was nervous and the tension was almost killing me!

‘I’m kidding. I’m kidding, Valdez! But the look on your face…’ I said, laughing. He visibly relaxed and expelled deeply before chuckling, slapping the back of my head.

‘Idiot!’

After I’d recovered from my laughing fit, I took out my phone and opened my gallery, pulling up a picture of Alex. Do it for Chris, I thought to myself before looking up at him.

‘I know I told you that other time I had problems at home…’ I started after a while. He nodded his expression grim. ‘I didn't lie, but then I didn’t really tell you everything. I didn’t tell you everything because…I was trying to protect someone,’ I said, softly as I looked down at the picture of Alex, sitting on the swing sets in the park. It was a month ago. She had on a pink sweatshirt with Patrick the star on it, blue shorts, blue converses and my black beanie on her head. She had her face turned upwards at the sun, her eyes closed and her smile wide. She looked so beautiful then, the sun shining on her pale skin…like an angel. I handed the phone to Raul who took it and looked at the photo. He looked confused but smiled a bit.

‘Who…?’

‘My big sister,’ I cut him off and I just I smiled a bit as I felt a sense of de ja vu. He reacted the same way as Chris had when I’d introduced her to him. Raul’s head snapped up to look at me, his eyes bulged wide.

‘Her name’s Alex…well I call her Alex. Her full name is Alexandra Nicole,’ I said, smiling sadly. ‘She has Down’s syndrome, so she might not look like my big sister so much.’

He had gone back to look at the picture and I watched as the shock began to leave his body slowly. I gulped, tensing up, waiting for his reaction. Did I make a mistake?

He shook his head, almost as if to clear his head, before looking up at me, then back at the photo. Clearing his throat, he looked up at me, smiled and said, ‘She’s beautiful. When can I meet her?’

I let out the breath I didn’t think I was holding and felt tears starting to well up in my eyes. I let out a short laugh before he leaned towards me and hugged me. I didn’t even know why I was crying, really. Maybe it was relief? Happiness? Maybe.

God, if I didn’t see Raul as my brother, I’d probably really be in love with him. I hugged him back and turned my face into his neck.

‘I understand, Cece,’ he murmured softly, pulling back to cup my face, giving me a smile. I nodded, smiling back at him, before hugging him back.

After my embarrassing breakdown, I told him everything. Well, I didn’t put in that I felt like a neglected kid, but I told him that my parents focused a lot on Alex and I understood. I told him about her leukemia. I told him about Alex and how awesome she was. I also told him about Chris and how he found out (To which he said, ‘Edwards, huh? Who would have thought?’ And I said, ‘That’s what I said!’).  I made him promise not to tell anyone to which he gave me his word.

‘I’m really glad I punched you in the face, Raul,’ I’d said, trying to lift the mood. He laughed and pulled me up to my feet when he’d stood and we went to play ‘Call of duty’.

Later that evening, Cassidy (as was tradition) came in for dinner. She was a really sweet girl and I get why Raul would like her. She was a my height and about forty pounds lighter, with a kind of dirty blonde hair and a really intense pair of electric blue eyes. Like seriously though, I usually had a hard time making eye contact with her because I always felt like she was staring into my soul. I always wonder how Raul does it really.

The Valdez Sunday family dinner was always lively and loud. His father, Antonio or simply Tony, a chubby looking forty three year old man always told stories from his childhood and youthful days and sometimes Inez, his wife would interject and say his lying or exaggerating and then they’d say a few words between them in Spanish before continuing. She was four years younger than him but looked ten years younger really. They’d known each other for almost thirty years and been married twenty years but looked as in love as they probably were in the beginning.

Raul’s sisters were something else. They were fraternal twins and for thirteen year olds, they were really sweet (Even though Raul said they were like wolves in sheep’s clothing when there were no guests). They all had the same dark hair and tanned skin. While Raul and his mother had golden eyes, the rest had warm brown eyes.

You could say I envied them for their wonderful family as they never seemed to have any problems. You could say I envied them because of the love that seemed to just flow out of them whenever I was at these dinners with them. But even if I did and it sometimes made my heart yearn for this, it wouldn’t get me anywhere. So I simply swallowed the lump that always seemed to form and enjoyed the moment.

Between that emotional confessional to dinner with his family and his girlfriend, by the time I got home, I was exhausted! Saying it had been an interesting weekend would be putting it lightly. The rest of my family hadn’t arrived so I decided I’d just sleep. After a quick shower I put on my pyjamas and fell asleep immediately I slipped into bed. Later, I vaguely heard them arrive but I was too tired and before I made sense of anything, I was already back asleep.

A/N: Hello :)
Here's a rather weird update... hehe. Vote and comment what you think about it!
Starting Uni this tomorrow (and I'm so not ready) so...I'll try to update often.. :)
Thanks for the comments and votes and reads:)
Asante:)