𝐅𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐑| 𝐋.𝐂.

12: The satellite launch

"Okay." I say.

"I promise you this is the best view in the house." He finally says.

"Thank you." Leo nods at him as Eric walks off.

"Listen, I gotta go to the bathroom. Stay in this area. Anywhere else is restricted. I'll be right back." Jason says and I nod as he walks off.

"Dick." I mutter, crossing my arms.

"Good luck in there." Leo softly says, then looking back at me and I let out a laugh, shaking my head.

||

"In nineteen sixty two, seven years before the first man walked on the moon, president Kennedy said, we set sail on this new sea because there is knowledge to be gained." Eric says into the mic on the podium.

"Hey. You okay?" Leo whispers to me.

I turn to him and he gives me soft eyes. I simply nod at him and focus my attention back on Eric.

"However, more than fifty years later, our very own Dr. Stacy Ramirez, inspired us to set sail on this vast ocean once again. Without her work, the satellite would not exist." Eric says and my chest starts to feel funny.

"I can't take this pity." I whisper, looking at Leo.

"Everyone loved your mother. He was really glad you came." Leo whispers back, talking about Eric.

"Look, it's nice that they made her into a symbol, but it's got nothing to do with me." I snap at him.

"So, at this time, when our newest satellite is ready to launch, let us all honor this brave woman who gave her life so that our country's space program could continue to progress." Eric says, looking up at the huge screen above him.

My breathing gets shaky as I look to see a photo of my beautiful mother.

"Stacy, if you were here with us today, I'm sure you would be as excited as I am, right after you told me how boring my speech was." Eric says and everyone let's out a light laugh.

"My god." I breathe, looking up at the ceiling as I close my eyes for a brief moment.

"And one more thing. Today, we are honored to have Dr. Ramirez's daughter here with us. Ladies and gentlemen, Ms. Valerie Ramirez." Eric announces and I look to see everyone clapping for me.

"Please, no." I mutter, picking at my polished nails.

"A toast to you and to our new satellite. Good luck to us all. Thank you." Eric says as everyone raises their glass.

"I can't take this anymore. I'm done." I say to Leo as I turn on my heels.

||

"Hi." Leo says, sitting next to me.

"I'm surprise you didn't follow me." I scoff.

"I thought I would give you some space." He says and I nod, staring at the tv.

Leo then slips his hand into mine that's resting on my leg and rubs over my knuckles with the pad of his thumb.

I look up at him and then lean my head on his shoulder as a single tear rolls down my cheek.

"One, two, three, liftoff!" I hear the reporter announce and I bury my face in my hands for a few minutes.

"So, is it over?" I ask, my hand still covering my face.

"I think so. Everything seemed to go pretty well." Leo says and I slowly pick my head up to the screen.

"This time, you wanted to say." I state, looking at him.

"I can't even imagine what it was like for you to be here today. Sorry for not seeing that before." He says, looking me in the eye.

"It's okay. I'm fine, really." I nod at him.

"You know, I'm also sorry being kind of an asshole to you."

"Kind of?" I scoff, raising my eyebrows at him.

"Okay, I was a really big asshole." He corrects himself.

"Huge." I say and we laugh.

"I was just scared, I think." He trails off.

"Scared of what?" I ask, turning to him.

"I don't know. Since the first moment I saw you, I kinda knew." He trails off, keeping his gaze on me.

"Knew what?" I say and he leans closer to me.

He kisses me a few times and we then get interrupted by our Louie's going off.

"Jason's waiting for us outside." Leo says.

"Where was he?" I ask.

"Probably got stuck in a toilet or something." He says, shutting off his Louie.

"Make sense." I say, laughing.

"C'mon." He says as he gets up, holding his hand out for me.

I grin up at him as I take it and we walk out with Max and Emma joining us.

||

"Hey, listen to this." Leo says as he puts his headphones on me and I shut my book that's on my lap.

"Woah." I say as Leo jumps over the couch, taking a seat next to me.

"It's just him on the piano." He says.

"I thought he only played guitar." I say, squinting my eyes at him.

"That was Prince, baby. He could play anything." Leo grimaces.

"Here." I say, flipping one of the headphone pads to him.

He takes the left one and I take the right one and we both listen together.

"NASA confirms communication with the satellite has been cut off." I hear the reporter say and Leo and I look at each other, letting go his headphones.

"Don't change the channel." Leo says to Becca who has the remote in her hand.

"Who cares about a missing satellite?" Becca says.

"That satellite was launched in honor of Valerie's mom." Leo says as his calming eyes only focus on me.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean that." She says.

"It's okay, Becca." I nod at her as the reporter continues with the information.

I anxiously pull my hands into the sleeves of Leo's hoodie that he gave me when we returned to the Clubhouse.

"Hey, everything is gonna be fine, okay?" Leo mutters to me as he wraps an arm around me.

I nod as we lean back and I curl up to him, leaning my head on his chest.

I sure hope so, Leo.