Wildcard [ÉLITE]

―i.

When Daniela's shoes touched the pavement outside Las Encinas, it felt like a homecoming. As if, finally, she'd woken up and discovered the past twenty-two months were only bad dream. But they weren't. They'd been the hardest months of her life. Nothing could make her forget that, not completely.

She stepped into the building, breathing in the familiar air, and taking in the familiar faces. Many of those faces were staring back. At the bottom of the stairs, Lucrecia looked up at her, and whispered, "You have got to be kidding." But she was also the first to greet Daniela, taking two steps to intercept her. Carla was on her heels, looking even more wide-eyed than usual. Both girls kissed the newcomer on the cheeks, one after another.

"Carla, Lucrecia, how good to see you!" Daniela exclaimed, following them down the last few steps.

"It's been so long," Carla said, her smile clearly straining at the limits of her composure.

Daniela looked at the blonde with a perfect smile. "Not nearly long enough."

Before Carla could respond, another familiar face turned the corner. If it were possible for someone to appear more surprised than either girl, Guzmán accomplished it. But his proceeding smile was genuine, if a little awkward. "Dani," he murmured.

Daniela smiled, though it didn't quite touch her eyes. "Hi."

As Guzmán approached, Lu actually took several steps away. Dani regarded this development with a raised eyebrow and notable interest, but her mouth stayed shut. Before Guzmán could say anything else, Valerio barreled down the stairs behind them. He was the only one who didn't look surprised to see Daniela amongst them. In fact, she'd been hinting at her impending return on social media for weeks. Clearly no one else had been paying attention, they had plenty of other things on their plates.

"V," she said, with a sigh. Daniela threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. The anxiety she'd had since walking through the door all but evaporated.

"I missed you," he whispered into her ear.

"Oh, Valerio, you should really stop playing with snakes." Lucrecia's tone dripped with honey but was underscored with something much sharper.

"Oh, Lucrecia," Dani said, imitating her tone, "He's your brother, not your boyfriend." To Daniela's surprise, Lu took a small step backwards and pressed her lips together. Daniela kept her comments to herself; there was something to say for small victories.

At the other end of the hall, a couple appeared, hand in hand. Daniela was the first to see them, and the others followed her gaze. They went so silent, it was if they'd all stopped breathing. Polo and Daniela made eye contact, and she raised a hand in a silent greeting.

"Oh god, she doesn't know," Lu whispered.

Dani turned toward her with narrowed eyes. "What don't I know?"

A long silence followed, as the others shared looks, debating what to say. Daniela considered restating the question, but before she could, Carla spoke up. "Polo killed Marina."

Dani's smile faltered, but only for a millisecond. If you hadn't been looking for it, you might not have noticed it at all. "That last time you spread rumors like that, my mother ended up in the hospital," Daniela reminded her. Carla had the audacity to seem taken aback. "So pardon me if I don't take your word for it."

Daniela didn't wait for anyone else's reaction. Instead she made her way down the hall, toward Polo and the blonde on his arm. He watched her the entire way, as if waiting for something. When Dani smiled, it took him a moment to form his face into a smile of his own. "Dani, wow. It's been..."