Last Kiss Goodbye • Teenage Juice Ortiz

45 - Distraction

Juan however grabbed her hand, his fingers stiff. "I wanna stay with you June," he whispered.

His pleading tone made her lips tremble. "Okay. Emilio will bring us to my house." She looked up to Emilio. "Right?"

The way his shoulders tensed told her that he felt hurt, but he still nodded and walked towards his car – quicker than before.

Together with Juan, June sat down on the backseat and told Emilio where she lived. During the rest of the ride an awkward silence filled the car.

"Thank you for picking us up," June said softly as Emilio parked the car in front of her house. She laid a hand on his shoulder, but he turned away from her and opened the door. "I'm not leavin' yet."

June felt annoyance flash though her as Emilio followed Juan and her towards the front door. She however tried to shove her own feelings to the side – maybe Juan felt more comfortable when his friend was around.

Turning the key, she let the two boys in. Juan was still holding her hand, so tight that her fingers were hurting.

As they stepped into the living room, she found her mother watching a tv show. As soon as she noticed them, she paused the program.

A little awkwardly June looked at her mother. She had to tell her what happened, but she didn't want to do that when Juan was around.

"Why don't you take a shower?" June suggested, looking at Juan. "You're all tensed up, a hot shower will help you relax a bit."

"Are you – are you comin' with me?" he asked distracted.

June felt her cheeks glow. He spoke in a tone giving her the impression that he didn't realize what he was asking. Luckily Emilio was too gutted by the whole situation to make an obscene comment about it, although she did feel ashamed at the thought that her mother heard it too.

"I'll get you a towel," she answered, avoiding his question. Holding his hand, she led him upstairs and took a towel from the closet on the landing. "I uh – I think it's a little too early for us to be taking a shower together," she said with a blush.

He looked skittishly at her. "Yeah... you're probably right." His cheeks turned red too. "Sorry. I don't know why I said that. I – I just feel like I don't know anything anymore." Tears filled his eyes again and June wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight.

"I'll stay with you for the rest of the night," she promised. "And the next few days too. As long as you want."

His lips were quivering as he gave her a kiss and she could taste the salt of his tears. For a moment she thought that he wanted to say something, but in the end he only took the towel from her and disappeared into the bathroom.

June descended the stairs, hoping Emilio was gone by now. Unfortunately he wasn't; as she reached the floor she found him sitting on the couch, lost in his phone. Nervously she picked at the hem of her shirt, not knowing to who she should turn to. Eventually she sat down on the edge of her mother's bed and sighed softly.

As she was looking for words, her mother grabbed her hand and squeezed. "You don't have to talk about it if it's too soon, sweetheart. Emilio told me a little bit about a fight between Juan's mother and brother."

Gratefully she aimed her eyes at Emilio, but all she got in return was a cold glare. She swallowed.

"He's right," she said softly to her mother. "We were doing the dishes and Juan's mother had sent him away – she tried to convince me that he wasn't good enough for me. Mateo heard the conversation and got angry, and then she started to say the most horrible things you can imagine. Mateo lost it and slammed her head against the sink, and she grabbed one of the knives on the counter and stabbed him..." she told her. Her voice sounded distant, as if she was listening to someone else. "Juan came back in and he froze up when he saw the two fighting, I had to drag him away from the kitchen. The neighbors must have heard their screams and called the cops because they showed up and arrested Mateo, and took his mother to the hospital in an ambulance."