Dawn { a javier peña fanfiction }

Chapter Five - Dark Paradise

"And there's no remedy for memory,

your face is like a melody, it won't leave my head."

_____________________________

Javier was becoming well acquainted with the clock face of his watch. Days never seemed to pass by fast enough, impatience constantly welling in his gut, every fiber that constructed him desperate to see her again, again, again.

He did see her most days, after her coworker Diane dropped her back off at her house. He'd tried to secure himself as her ride to and from school, but she'd just rolled her eyes and told him that didn't make any sense. She was probably right, but that didn't stop a bout of disappointment from rising in his chest, alongside some strange tinge of jealousy toward her coworkers, who got to spend more time with her than he did.

It had nearly been a month since their initial talk, since she saw that photo of her in his wallet. They hadn't spoken about it since, but surely, she had to know now, that his feelings for her far surpassed solely being his friend, had morphed into something very different than what had existed when she was a kid. And yet, she hadn't given him any kind of indication that she felt the same, at least not beyond the little reactions she gifted him whenever he mustered the courage to touch her. But he didn't know if he could chalk that up to anything more than some ancient response, some innate thing that still lived inside of her from their decade apart. It's not like he could blame her, he'd been gone too long, had never told her how he actually felt before he left, plus it didn't matter, he was content to simply bask in her presence again. At least for now, he couldn't say he'd feel the same should some cabrón catch her eye.

He tried not to think about that, though, the possibility, the inevitably. She was surely— not even considering his drastic bias— the most beautiful woman in town, in every possible way. Someone would surely try to capture her attention if they weren't actively trying already.

He pushed the thought to the back of his mind, jaw ticking, fingers twitching to wrap around a cigarette. He had a little over two hours before she would be back home, and he'd been putting off fixing a crack in one of the stables for a couple weeks now. He couldn't put it off much longer, though. The overnight temperatures were about to drop significantly over the next month, and he didn't want cold air seeping into the stable.

He grabbed his keys from the guesthouse, marching across the field toward his truck when a low whistle stopped him in his tracks, his dad, wobbling toward the front porch of the house.

"¿Puedo tener un minuto?" he asked, head flicking toward the empty chairs.

Javier looked at his watch for the twentieth time that day, letting out a slow exhale as he turned around and met his dad on the porch, lowering himself onto the chair next to him as Chucho sat down with a grunt.

"What's up, pop?"

"Where you headed?" Chucho inquired, a knowing grin cracking his lips.

"The hardware store, dad. Gotta patch up that stall." he said, motioning vaguely in the direction of the stables.

Chucho let out a low hum, nodding slowly, eyes fixed across the property.

Javier knew he hadn't called him over to talk about the crack in the stable, so he just sat there, jiggling his knee, waiting for him to come out with it.

"How's it goin', with Mia?" Chucho finally asked, perceptive eyes drifting over to his son.

Javier felt his heart ache and pound at the mention of her name, his body leaning forward to rest his forearms against his knees.