FAMILY

36| A New Capo Of Nevada

Since when was I this attached?

"The state is a mess and Nicolas is more than qualified to restore our claim." Hector added.

I hated all this business talk. What about family? Won't he miss us? He'll go there all by himself. He's isolated himself from us but what about Leonardo. They've never been apart for more than a day.

"You're sending him on a fucking suicide mission." Leonardo snapped at Hector.

Now I understood why he was so angry. His twin was moving away.

"Silas will accompany him for the first few months. If I believe that Nicolas will succeed, he'll succeed." Hector told him calmly.

He was clearly confident in Nicolas' skills. I truly had no idea, I just wanted him to be safe and surrounded by the people he loves.

"You only care about your dumb claim on Nevada instead of his safety." Leonardo accused him.

Hector snapped his head towards him and even Silas looked highly offended.

"Watch your mouth, kid!" Silas warned Leonardo who just scoffed.

"I understand that you're upset that Nico is moving away, but don't put that frustration out on me. I asked you if you wanted to join your twin, but you said no. Deal with the consequences." Hector replied simply.

Always levelheaded and never losing his cool. I still don't understand how he does it.

"Go have fun dying." Leonardo purposefully bumped into Nicolas who didn't even flinch.

He had gotten a whole lot stronger over the past year. 

I got up from my seat and pulled Nicolas in for a tight hug. He wasn't a hugging person anymore but I just wanted to say goodbye. He also didn't push me away and tightened his arms around me.

"Don't date any more guys, El, I don't ever want to see you cry like that again." He muttered against my forehead.

Daniel now felt like a lifetime ago. I don't know what my brothers did to him but Cecelia told me that he had to switch schools and that I won't have to deal with him.

"Please be safe and promise to come home often. I'll even give you my cake pops."

For the first time in a very long time, a honest smile stretched on his lips which made me cry more. He wiped my tears away and nodded.

"If you're willing to give up your cake pops, that must mean that you're being serious."

I nodded urgently and he chuckled.

"Of course, I'll come back home. Don't worry too much about it." He assured me.

Nicolas had changed. He was more mature and I didn't worry too much about his mission. He was strong and he'll have Silas by his side.

He'll be fine and I hope that he finds happiness there.

Because that's what he deserves.

///////////////

When Silas came back, I had successfully graduated high school. He missed the ceremony but Theo must've taken about a million pictures. He was like an overexcited mom beaming with pride when Amelia and I walked on the stage.

"You really did bullshit your way through the speech." Dahlia laughed as we sat in the restaurant.

I raised my hands in defence. The principal had forced me to give a speech because I was the valedictorian. I tried to make someone else do it but he insisted that I did it. So I just wrote some bullshit down but it resonated with a lot of people apparently.