Aria's POV
I sat on the armchair, in the Alvarez apartment, watching Lydia feed oranges to Alex.
"A sweet slice of orange for my sweet papito." Lydia cooed, feeding him an orange slice and then wiping the corners of his mouth.
"Wow, glad to know you're capable of taking care of yourself." I joked, laughing at Alex
"Really, Mami? If you always do everything for him, he'll never be able to do anything for himself." Penelope complained
"I'm fine with that." Lydia said
"I'm fine with that." Alex agreed
"I'm not." I added, kicking my feet
"Come on, Lupita. Life has been torture for Papito since he has been imprisoned." Lydia insisted
"Grounded. Which reminds me, Aria, you're not supposed to be here. Alex is grounded from seeing friends." Penelope said
"But I'm not -" I started, thinking I was going to outsmart her.
"No girlfriends either." She pointed
"Why'd you say it like there were multiple?" I asked
She just gave me the "look".
"Alright, fine. I don't think I can watch anymore of whatever this is anyway." I sighed, picking up my stuff and gesturing to Alex and Lydia.
"That we can agree on." Penelope said, as I shut the door behind me.
I opened the door to Schneider's apartment, finding him whispering to himself about his Dad's upcoming visit.
"Is your dad really coming in town?" I asked
"I guess." He shrugged
"Well, should I call him Grandpa or something." I assumed
"No. He hates feeling like he's old. He doesn't like a lot of people. Especially me." He laughed
"I'm sure he loves you." I said, patting his shoulder
"In his own way. Hey, help me water my bonsais?" He asked
"Yeah, Okay." I laughed
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"Hello, what'd I miss?" I asked, walking back into the Alvarez apartment a couple of hours later
"Aria, this is my dad." Schneider nervously said, as he pointed to the man shaking hands with Penelope.
"Oh, Wow. It's really nice to meet you." I said, holding out my hand
"Ah. So you're the orphan my son took in?" He asked, smiling and shaking my hand.
"Well..uh..sure, I guess." I said, slowly dropping his hand, moving closer to Alex
"Encantada." Lydia greeted, holding out her hand for him to shake.
"Ah, una Española." He replied, shaking her hand
"Your Spanish is very good." She complimented
"Escobar was an old friend. Such a shame what happened." He said
Alex and I looked at each other, horrified.
Alex cleared his throat and held out his hand, "Hi, I'm Alex. Nice suit."
"Oh, thank you. A little boy like you made it for me." He replied
I grabbed the corner of Alex's jacket, to restrain myself from making a comment.
"He's also the orphan's girlfriend. Pretty dysfunctional don't you think?" I laughed, trying to be nice and let my adoptive grandad know about my life
"Not surprising. The less fortunate always seem to stick together." He laughed
I gripped Alex's jacket tighter, and he rubbed my shoulder.
"So this is what a typical unit looks like, huh?" He asked
Schneider rushed to turn off the light, and his dad nodded, "Much better"
"Looks like you two were about to check out our new, top-of-the-line laundry room." Schneider said to Lydia and Alex.
"I think I'll go with them." I said, fake smiling
"Run along now. And don't give me that rent late. And be home by curfew little Annie." Schneider said, opening the door for us
"Don't push it." I warned Schneider, who whispered a little apology and shut the door.
"Oh, what happened? Everything is so different." Lydia said, as we walked into the new laundry room.
"Yeah, they replaced the old machines that shook so hard they moved across the room." Alex noted
"Pero, that's how I knew the spin cycle was over." Lydia sighed
One of the dryers played a little jingle, making me smile, "Schneider programmed them to play different songs when they're done."
"Don't quit your day job, dryer." Lydia said
Lydia took one of the baskets and dumped it into the wash, "Okay, and where do I put the quarters?"
"You pay with your phone." Alex explained
Lydia looked at him, but threw her phone in the wash, "So dumb!"
"You'll got used to it, Abuelita." Alex reassured
"Ay, your mother never empties her pockets." Lydia said pulling out money, and then stuffing it in her bra
"Y qué es esto?" Lydia questioned, pulling out weed and a weed pin from Penelope's clothes pockets
"Uh... Looks like a pen set and some catnip." Alex lied
"Are you freaking serious." I asked
Lydia sniffed the bag, "Dios mío! It is las drogas."
"No! Why do you think that's drug stuff?" Alex lied, again.
"I gotta go, I'll see you later Lydia." I said rushing to the door, biting my lip to keep from hitting him
"Aria, Wait." Alex said, trying to stop me.
"Screw you Alex." I said, my words laced with venom
I turned around, and stormed down the hallway
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"Please let me in." I heard Alex ask from outside my room.
"Why?" I asked, sitting at my desk
"Please." He begged
"Alex, I....what's wrong?" I asked, opening the door and noticing Alex's tears.
"Can we please talk?" He asked, sniffing.
"Damn you and your puppy dog eyes." I said, letting him in.
"I'm sorry. The weed wasn't new, I swear. It was the old weed my mom found in my room." He said
"Alex, I can't go through another person I love being addicted to something so stupid." I admitted grabbing his hand, and leading him to sit next to me.
"I promise I'll never do it again, but seeing the way Abuelita looked at me when she realized it was mine, broke my heart. I feel like such a failure." He said wiping his eyes, trying to hide his tears.
"Alex, you're allowed to cry. I know how much Lydia means to you." I assured, holding his hand.
"You mean a lot to me too. A lot, a lot." He said
"Just don't do this stupid crap anymore, okay?" I asked, looking at him
"I promise." He said putting his head on my shoulder.
"I know sometimes I can be a bitch about this stuff, but I really care about you." I said
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Later that night, I sat with Schneider on the couch watching TV.
"Do you think of me as an orphan that you just have to deal with?" I asked
"What?" Schneider questioned, shocked.
"I mean, do I feel like a burden to you?" I explained
"What? No. And don't let my dad's word get to your head. When you left, I told him you weren't just an orphan, you're my daughter, kiddo." He said
"Promise?" I asked
"Kid, listen to me. You are one of the only people who's kept me sober. I would never think of you as an orphan." He swore
"Thanks, Schneider." I smiled, "Speaking of alcohol, what happened to the insensitive gift your dad gave you."
"Ah, I don't know. I think I threw it away." He said
"Alright, Im glad you weren't tempted. I'm gonna head to bed." I smiled, patting his shoulder
"Night, kid." He said
I smiled at him one last time, and turned to my room.
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Oop. Sorry I've been gone so long. I've been so busy with school, but now that I'm on break I have time to write. Also, I got Disney+ and I am binge watching all the Star Wats movies 😂