New on the block

Step 3: Tell Her You Love Her

Monse's POV:
When Cesar comes back into the house I don't know if I should hug him or slap him. "Hey." He smiles and the idea of slapping him melts away. "I was gone for three hours." He laughs. "Still, I'm allowed to worry about you." I roll my eyes. "I'm fine, nothing happened." He smiles. "So can we talk about it?" I ask. "Yeah, can I just take a shower first?" He asks. I smile and nod. "So he's back?" My dad asks. "I don't know. He's already disappeared twice what's stopping him from doing it again?" I shrug. "He came back so he obviously has a reason to stay." My dad puts his hand on my shoulder and he goes back to his room. "I still have some of your clothes here." I tell Cesar when I walk in the room. "Thanks." He doesn't make eye contact. I pass him the clothes and he walks back into my bathroom. I sit on the bed and wait for him to get out. "Can we talk now?" I ask. "Yeah." He sits next to me on my bed. "What happens if I leave Freeridge?" He asks. I give him a confused look and he shifts so he's looking at me dead in the eyes. "I mean if I leave are we going to break up?" He asks. "No, we can figure out a way for me to visit-" He starts shaking his head so I stop talking. "If I leave I have to disappear completely. No contact, you can't even know where I leave to." He explains. "It sounds like you already know what's going to happen when you leave." I say. "No, I don't know, because I can't spend my life without you. I don't think I'd be able to have no contact with you." He says. "I don't think I could live with myself if you stayed for me and then something happened to you." I tell him sincerely. "I have others reasons to stay here." He pauses for a minute to think about it. "Like  my job at Dwayne's and my brother... he just needs some time to realize I handled it." Cesar says. "You're like top ten." He says jokingly. "Oh wow I'm surprised I even made the list." I laugh. "You know and there's Ruby and Jamal. I  can't just leave them." He says a little more seriously. "We all love you so if you need to go for you to be safe then you have to go." I hold both of his hands in mine and I kiss them. "We'll find you again... trust me I won't stop looking for you." I promise him. "I know, you're stubborn as hell." He laughs under his breath. "But if you stay and you get murdered..." I can't even finish my thought. "Hey, look at me. I'll be fine but I can't leave you." He says. "You remember that we're still broken up right?" I ask. "I know we are... for now. Even more of a reason for me to stay." He smirks.

Cesar's POV:
"I mean how are ever supposed to get back together if I'm not even here?" I ask. I hate when she stresses about me. "How are we ever supposed to get back together if you're dead?" She asks. She's so annoying. "I made my decision... at least for right now. I can't leave you so I'm staying here. After graduation we can get out of here or something." I tell her a little too seriously. "If anything happens to you-" "It won't." I cut her off. "But if it does?" I roll my eyes and I pull her in towards my chest. "I will be fine you big baby." I laugh but in the back of my mind I know I'm lying. It's not like I can make any promises. "You saw what my dad had to do just to protect me, I don't want you to have to live the same life that he's living." She says. "Trust me Monse we're getting out of here and we're gonna live a great life." There's a pit in my stomach because when I think about my future it feels so unclear. I know what I want though and no matter where my future goes I always see myself with Monse. "Do you still love me?" She asks. "Of course I do." I give her a confused look. "You said I was my mother's daughter ." She points out. "I was just pissed off. I never should've said that. Trust me, I regretted it the second I said it." I tell her. She doesn't say anything for a couple minutes and I start getting anxious. "Do you still love me?" I ask. "Of course I do. I've told you like a million times." She laughs. "I was kind of an ass." I remind her. "Yeah but I shouldn't have left like that. You're my best friend and even if we aren't together I'm here for you... always." She says. "If I'm ever that stupid again just punch me or something. I don't ever want to lose you again." I mumble. "You never lost me." She looks at my lips and then back to my eyes. "When you left I never thought I'd see you again. All I could think about was you." I tell her. "I don't think you could ever lose me... like really lose me." She admits. I know I shouldn't but I lean in and kiss her. "You sure?" She asks. "I think we've wasted enough time trying to stay apart." I tell her. She leans in and we kiss. It's intense and we try to make up for every second we spent apart. "God I miss you." I say as she kisses my neck. "You have no idea how much I've wanted to do this." She takes off her shirt quickly before she presses her lips on mine again. "Probably not as much as I have." I pull her on my lap and she smiles against my lips. God I missed this girl.