PROMISE ME (OSCAR DIAZ x OC)

Chapter Fifty-One (Oscar)

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

Oscar

"Alright, compa. That's the last box." Sad Eyez says as he carries it out of the front door and into the rental truck.

I close the trailer and look at the only place I ever knew as home. The place I had my first kiss with Alana in the back yard because she was terrified of anyone seeing us together.

The home I first told Alana that I love her and she stayed with me all night after promising to me that she'd always protect Cesar. That she'd look after him no matter what and by God almighty she has truly kept to her promise.

And as a million good memories swirl in my mind like bringing Mia home for the first time and her first steps to finding out that we were having another baby right here in this house... All the bad memories play over and over.

Dad going to prison.

Finding my mom dead in the living room and telling Cesar that Mommy was just really tired and had to go see a doctor when the ambulance came. He didn't realize that she was dead until a few years ago I told him she didn't die at the hospital. She died at home.

I never want to come back to this house. No matter how many good memories are in this house, I want to burn this damn place to the ground. Light up every bad memory and let it turn to ash. Let it fly away in the wind. Let all my pain from my whole life fade away into the earth.

Ruby walks up the sidewalk and daps up Sad Eyez before he turns to me and gives me a hug. I have never in my life hugged Jose, maybe when we were kids but this feels different. I thought me leaving suddenly would upset him but he looks at me with his hands on my shoulders and gives me a nod, his eyes full of tears.

"I'll meet you over in Brentwood?" He says choking back on his words.

I nod. "Yeah, I'll see you there."

"Alright," He smiles and gets into his car and heads out.

Ruby stares at the house and then exhales. "Can I... Can I stay here until the lease is up? Mami doesn't feel want anything happening over at her house and Vero doesn't feel safe at home anymore either."

"This house isn't all that safe anymore either, mano." I can't help but laugh and shake my head at his ignorance. "If this house was safe I wouldn't have had to rush home from work, call the realtor and beg for her to let us move in a day early. This place... These walls are haunted. Every inch. Every corner. There is nowhere to hide from the sins of this house."

"Just a few nights, Spooky. Please."

"Ruby, I said no." I deepen my voice at him hoping to get the message through his thick skull. "I have to go do a walkthrough of the house one last time to make sure I got everything. Not that I don't trust Jose but I just... I need to see it myself. Wait out here."

He sighs. "Can I... Can I help you move into the new house then? I can crash on the floor or get an air mattress for me and Vero. And I promise Vero won't be a problem at all."

"Fine." Alana isn't going to be happy about Vero staying in the house at all but if it means keeping Ruby safe then it'll have to do. It's a sacrifice she's going to have to make if she wants to continue having a better relationship with her brother.

"Oscar..." He breathes out. "Thank you. I never said it before but thank you for being the brother I needed when Mario left. You always looked after me even if I didn't appreciate it. Maybe we can run some errands again soon, like the old days?"

I laugh at the memory. "Oh yeah? So you can poorly cut limes and bitch about what Alana and I do in our spare time? By the way, we don't have much of that anymore."

"Eh," Ruby laughs. "Clearly you do if you're on baby number two."

"You know, it's kind of funny that we're going to have sons two weeks apart. I was never close with my cousins like that but I'm hoping that maybe our boys will close. I know Alana will want that more than anything."

"I want that too." Ruby says. "Do you guys have a name picked out yet?"

I shrug. "We're torn. I like Nico and Alana likes Adrian. And of course no one wants to go against Alana so they've all taken to calling him Adrian."

Ruby pauses for a moment. "I like Nico. I think that's the name you should go with. Maybe you should give him Ruben for a middle name." He adds a wink.

"Don't wink at me." I flip him off as I laugh and walk into the house.

Closing the front door and taking in how empty this place is. Seeing the dents in the carpet from where the couch had been for so long. Stains on the floor that have been there since my childhood days.

My gaze stuck on the spot where my mother had died on the floor. A small stain still where her blood had spilled from her arm and vomit that she had passed out into. I drop to my knees slowly just as I did that day I found her.

A tightness pulling at my heart and sorrow pooling in my stomach. I was a kid and I was forced to grow up so fast. I didn't have a choice. Not like Cesar did because I left him with Alana who... I forced to grow up the way I did. She might forgive me for that but I will never forgive myself for it.

The irony of this spot on the floor? This is where Mia had been sitting on a blanket playing with her toys when she got up and walked all by herself. Looking up at the corning by the ceiling and part of me wondered if maybe she saw my mom.

I try not to live in the anger and hatred for her anymore. She fucked up. But she was still my mother and she fought her own demons. Having to raise two kids while constantly being surrounded by temptation with drugs? The man she loved being hauled away and it was never Ray's fault either.

He had fallen victim to the wheel of fate. But I broke that wheel when it came to Cesar. I broke it for myself and my son? My son will never know that being a Santo is like. He will never feel unsafe in his home.

My son will never have to sleep with a gun in his nightstand and keeping guns all over the house for easy access and his own protection. He will never have a teardrop tattooed onto his face.

That cycle stops here.

I check my phone to see a text from Alana.

MI AMOR: I'm sitting on Rose's front porch with Mia and Cesar. Looking at our house... It's so beautiful here. Come home. We miss you.

Home...

That makes leaving this place easier. I go from room to room once more and lean against the counter and suck in a deep breath before texting Alana back.

ME: Ruby is coming with us. Be nice to Vero. They're both shaken up.

MI AMOR: I know, Ruby texted me. I love you, Oscar. Come home and bring my baby brother with you.

ME: On it.

I reach into my pocket and place the keys onto the counter. I hear tires outside skidding and the slam of breaks. My body freezes and before I can think of another action to take the sound of multiple pops fills my ears and I drop down to the ground.

I'm not hit.

I'm fine.

The tires squeal as the car pulls off, my next thought- Ruby. I run out the front door and he's sprawled out on the ground. Clutching his chest and gasping for air. Not this again... I flip him over to see if it's a through and through like before..

It's not.

"Mano! Mano, stay with me!" I hold him in my arms. "HELP! SOMEONE HELP! SOMEONE CALL 911!" Ruby wheezes as I'm screaming. "Ruby... Who did this? Tell me. Now."

Ruby shakes his head. Shutting his eyes and his body goes limp. Dying in my arms.