Trapped In Your Bleeding Heart (Riff x Reader)

Chapter Twenty One - Through The Window

"Hi, I'm here to review an application that was submitted a couple of days back. Do you know where that might be?"

The waitress at the counter pursed her lips in thought. "Oh, yeah! I remember someone telling me about that." She checked under the counter and pulled out a paper. "Is this you?" She asked.

The writing, in big letters, spelled 'ROSE BOOKER.'

"Yup! That's the one!"

She smiled. "It's been accepted... I like your dress, by the way." She peeked around me, and looked at Maria. "I like your dress, too! You guys match!"

Maria perked up. This was probably the first time a white worker had been kind to her. "Gracias– I– thank you!"

"You're welcome!" She said, typing something into the register. "Do you two work together or something?"

"Yes!" Maria answered quickly, rushing to stand next to me, and closer to the counter. "We clean the large clothing building near the Southside!"

"Oh! Is that the Balmain building? I've been meaning to check that out!"

"You should! It's lovely! It's very expensive, though."

"I see."

A genuine smile was rare to see on a white person's face when talking to a Puerto Rican. Maybe I had just led Maria to all the wrong places. The chatter continued, and my attention drifted to the windows. A gaggle of three white boys came across the street, and towards the diner. In a sudden rush, my head snapped back to the two girls. "So," I interjected, "when do I start?"

Both pairs of eyes shot to me. "Oh!" The worker said. "Wednesday! Come around seven, we'll get you your uniform then."

"Okay." I shot her a nervous smile.

I gripped onto Maria's skirt and tugged on it. She got my intention, but not my urgency, taking only one small step away from the counter "My name is Maria." She said. I grimaced.

"I'm Clarice." The waitress replied. "Do you have a number? We should go shopping sometime!"

Maria's mouth fell open before a tightly knit smile formed on her face. "I do! A phone number!" She exclaimed.

I looked back towards the window. The boys were almost to the door. I tugged on Maria's dress once more. "Mare, we should really get going–"

But she was preoccupied, scribbling our home number onto a small piece of paper. The bell above the entrance jingled. My eyes squeezed shut in distaste. If anything bad happened this time, we wouldn't have Riff to diffuse the situation. Wait. Why did he diffuse the situation that day? He was the leader of the Jets– shouldn't he have been a bit more... racist? "Looky Looky Tod, we got us a Rican gal!"

Todd? All of the Jets had odd names— nicknames. These guys didn't. Maria whipped around, cringing at the sight. Now she must have understood why I wanted to leave. "Let's go, Mare." I muttered, grabbing her hand and attempting to push through the three boys.

"Woah, woah. Slow down, will ya's?" One of the boys said.

"We barely even said anything!" Another chimed in.

The three tall men easily surrounded Maria and I. With the opportunity, I looked them over one by one, examining their clothes. "Buenas ropas." I muttered. "Not Jets."

Their clothes were much too expensive and clean to belong to the Jets. Not a speck of dust touched any one of the three, not to mention paint, or mud. "What did she say?" One of them asked, adjusting his cap.

From behind the counter, Clarice nervously cleared her throat. "Can I get you three anything?" She asked.

Their attention directed to her. An opening. I clutched Maria's arm and rushed out of the diner, not looking back, in fear of the men pursuing us. After taking shortcuts and detours to the Southside, however, we both figured it was safe. There wasn't a need to now, but we remained quiet for a considerable amount of time after we had escaped the three boys. I was the one to break the silence. "Sorry about that." I mumbled.

"For what? I had a great time!" She replied. "I made a friend! A white friend!"

I was shocked at her optimism, but quickly nodded in avid agreement. "Yes! It was Clarice, right? She was really nice!"

"She was nice! So nice!"

We walked up and up the stairs of our apartment building, until finally we reached our door. "Hey," Maria began, reaching out to me, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said earlier."

"I know, Mare, I know. We both said things we didn't mean. All is forgiven."

I unlocked the door and held it open for Maria. Waiting in the dining room, Bernardo and Anita sat over three closed pots. All of the lids had gathered condensation, indicating that the food was at least still hot. "Sorry we're later than usual." I said, kicking my shoes off and sitting at the table. Maria followed me and did the same.

"We don't mind waiting." Anita responded.

Maria shifted excitedly in her seat. "Rose got a Northside job! At a diner!" She exclaimed, squealing afterwards. "How exciting is that?!"

"Maravillosa! We're very happy for you, Rose." Bernardo chimed in.

. . .

Dinner was painful. Maria wasn't really happy that I got a different job. Bernardo and Anita were dancing around the fact that I did it in the first place to make more money. Everything was a sugar coated wreck. My mind danced circles around Riff. Did he mean what he did? Did the kiss mean the same to him as it did to me? What did it mean to me? Was he just bored, and wanted to occupy himself with something— or someone?

"Rose, would you like to join us for game night? Maria chose Candy Land." Anita said, gesturing towards the table.

I scraped the remaining food on my plate into the garbage. "I'll pass tonight. Candy Land can get intense, and I don't speak Spanish well enough to understand the ranting that ensues."

Bernardo chuckled. "Fair enough. You rest up, then. Get ready for your first day."

Giving the three a plastered smile, I backed into Maria and I's room, closing the door behind me. After today, I wasn't so sure about working in that diner. But I had no choice. After all, my family was depending on me.

Er— my roommates.

I shook my head to rid myself of the thought. Even if Maria and I fought like sisters, and Anita and I got along like old friends; even if Bernardo and I danced in our free time whenever we found ourselves home alone together. It didn't mean they were family. Surely they didn't think of me as family. So I couldn't allow myself to, either.

There was a knock at my window. I jolted in place, and my head shot to the sound. The sight earned a small gasp from my lips, and I rushed to the window, opening it as quickly as possible.

"Hiya, doll." Riff whispered.



Authors note: I'm so excited for the next chapter. So excited.