Tortured Souls -Oscar Diaz 2-

Chapter 14

"Hey," Sofia walked back and forth in her living room. "Ruby, if you could please answer your phone. It's been eight hours." Ruby had left with his friends while she slept. Leaving her a cryptic text about fixing things. It caused a wave of fear to take over. Oscar was gone, but she couldn't afford to lose Ruby as well. "Please, just come home." With that, she hung up the phone. Whatever Ruby and his friends were doing right now couldn't be good. If she left an over-revealing voicemail, then it could incriminate him later. "Shit." She had no idea who to call. All of this stress couldn't be good for her.

"Mija," her Abuelita rushed into the room. "Mija, take a seat."

"I can't," Sofia brushed her off. "How can I sit when Ruby is out there? He's trying to fix this mess because of me."

"Hey," she grabbed her arm. "You're going to overwhelm yourself. Think of the baby." Sofia rolled her eyes but took a seat on the couch anyway. "Everything is going to be fine."

"How can you say that," Sofia stared at her. "Oscar is probably-" she couldn't say it. Even with the truth staring her in the face. Three days was too long for him not to respond. He would have called. He promised her he would come back. He lied. "And now Ruby and his friends-"

"I know," Abuelita grabbed her hand. She couldn't think of what Ruby and his friends were doing right now. Her focus had to remain on Sofia. "But you need to try and remain calm. Stressing like this isn't a good thing." Sofia hated that she was right. But how was she supposed to be calm when Oscar and Ruby were missing? How was she supposed to go on knowing they were suffering? "I know that seems hard right now-"

"Try impossible." Her Abuelita sighed, shaking her head as she sat down beside her. "I should have told him." That was Sofia's biggest regret. That and not trying to stop him harder. Why didn't she do more? "It was selfish. I was scared he would be mad at me or worried. I didn't want to tell him. I made that choice, and now he will never know."

"I know, Mija," and she did. "But you can't take back that choice now. You have to move forward, one step at a time."

"How," Sofia's lip quivered. "I don't even know for sure. Ruby won't tell me anything anymore, and now he could be gone." She couldn't lose Ruby too. "I should call him again."

"No," she grabbed her hands. "Sofia, you can't keep doing this on a loop. You need to get out of the house."

"I don't want to get out of the house," she argued.

"I don't care," was her response. "You need to think of the other life in you." If Sofia had the inner strength, she would roll her eyes again. "Go outside and get some air. At least in the backyard."

"Okay," there was no use arguing with Abuelita. She would win in the end. Sofia pushed up from the couch and made her way through the house to the backyard. All she wanted to do right now was curl up in a ball and sleep. But her mind wouldn't shut off. All she could do was imagine every possible situation Oscar could have been in. What if he was being held captive? Or bleeding out on the street? What if he really was dead?

She tried to get the image out of her head, but it wouldn't leave her mind. Three days without him, and she was already falling apart. They have gone longer amounts of time without speaking, but this was different. Sofia was never worried about their past time apart because she knew one thing. They weren't going anywhere. Oscar was a few streets away. But now he wasn't. This was the first time she feared never seeing him again. And that terrified her.

"Ana," the twins called seeing her outside. "Come play with us."

"Hi," Sofia sat down on the ground. "What are you guys playing?"

"Tag," Louisa smiled at her. "Come play."

"Oh, I think I might be a little tired," Sofia pushed the hair out of her younger sister's face. "I haven't been sleeping well."

"We noticed," Geny's voice spoke. Sofia looked away from the twins and towards her mother. The woman was leaning against the doorframe. "You look unwell, Mija. What's going on?"

"Nothing," she didn't want to worry her mother any more than she already had. "I'm fine."

"Sofia," Geny stepped out of the house. "I know my kids, and I know when something is bothering them." Sofia wanted to argue but didn't have the energy. "What's going on, darling?" Geny placed a hand on her shoulder. "Talk to me, Mija. Please." Sofia glanced at her, feeling her emotions start to take over again. "Is it Oscar? I haven't seen him in a while."

"Yeah," her voice cracked. "He um," Sofia blinked a few times. "He got himself into a little bit of trouble." That was the easy way of explaining it. Sofia couldn't tell her mother the entire story. "But that was three days ago. Cesar can't find him." She played with the hem of the shirt she was wearing. It was Oscar's. One of his many black T-shirts. "He thinks he might be, um," she still couldn't say it. She couldn't say he was dead.

Geny's entire body slumped. There were a few things she imagined bothering Sofia, that wasn't one of them. She thought they had broken up, not that he might be dead. "Oh, Sofia."

"Ruby's looking for him," that wasn't a full lie. It just wasn't the entire truth. "Cause he's a great brother."

Geny rubbed her shoulder, not having any idea how to comfort her. "I'm sure he's fine. It's Oscar."

"Yeah." Oscar wasn't invincible, and eventually everything would catch up with him. Sofia knew that the Santos were dangerous, but she never imagined this. "There's one more thing." This part seemed almost harder to say. Geny was looking at her in a way she never had before. As if her heart was breaking. Sofia didn't know how to tell her mother that she was pregnant. She would not be happy with her. But nothing mattered now that Oscar was gone. Geny opened her mouth to question her, but Sofia spoke first. "I'm pregnant."

Geny's mouth closed instantly, and her hands tensed around Sofia's body. There was a long silence, almost too long. She began to fear Geny would hate her, and that caused her to worry more. "Sofia," Geny finally whispered. "Mija, wow."

"Now Oscar's gone," Sofia felt a tear roll down her cheek. "And I have no idea what to do." All she wanted was for Oscar to be here right now. "And I gave up the grant for him, but he's gone."

Geny turned her body, forcing Sofia to look at her. "You don't need to know." She placed a hand on her daughter's cheek. There was no anger in Geny's eyes. Only love. "You'll never really know. But you're going to do just fine, love. Oscar would want that for you." Sofia nodded, more tears falling down her face. "For now, we'll take it one step at a time. I promise you I will be by your side every step of the way." Geny felt herself start to cry, but she wanted to hold herself together. "I love you, Sofia. You're going to get through this." She wanted to believe her. "And you may be a little broken right now. I'm so sorry about Oscar. You're going to be okay. I will make sure every broken piece of you is fixed. I promise you that."

"Mama," Sofia stared at her.

"I love you," Geny repeated sadly. "You're going to be okay." For the first time, Sofia believed her. She was going to be okay, just not right now. And that was okay.