If You Love Me

Chapter 3: Hallowed

*Picture of Leo on the side. Hope you like the chapter!

Liliana smiled, walking towards Leonardo's motorcycle. Dawson seemed pretty cool, and she hadn't minded his presence even though she had gone to the docks to be alone; it was actually her spot. Leo knew that too, that's why he never came up to the platform, always waited for her at a distance. Liliana had come to the docks to unwind, needing time away from her family and friends. She had gotten into a heated argument with her papa that morning. It was the same old argument they'd been having for as long as she could remember. After high school she wanted to go to college, but her father wanted her to become an official member of the Gang and marry Antonio. She had gotten acceptance letters from college that morning and Castillo had thrown a fit, nearly tearing the letters to shreds telling her she couldn't leave. Usually she would have ridden it out, but she'd had enough, lashing out at him and telling him he couldn't dictate her life and she never wanted to be a part of the Gang.

Oh how she wished her mother were still alive, Liliana knew her mother would have supported her decision and also convinced Castillo, being the only one who could set him straight. Her mother had died giving birth to Letty. Castillo had despised Letty when she was born, blaming her for the death of his wife and the fact that she had been a girl and not a boy that he so desperately wanted.

Liliana shook her head, clearing away those thoughts as she neared Leo. Things had been a little bumpy between them after the kiss.

"Hey beautiful," he said as she came to a stop beside him. Liliana smiled, rolling her eyes.

"You okay?" he asked, searching her face for any emotion she so carefully hid. Liliana sighed.

"I got accepted to Yale and WSU, Castillo threw a fit this morning when he found out," she told him, anger flaring within her as she thought about the argument earlier.

"Woo-hoo, my little smarty pants," Leo celebrated which got a small smile out of Liliana. "And as far as Castillo goes, he will come around, you just need to talk to him, he loves you Lilli."

"Whatever, I don't even want to talk about this right now, I'm starving, let's go to Roberto's." she said changing the subject, like always, not wanting to talk. She grabbed the spare helmet and hopped onto the bike, holding onto Leo as he zoomed off.

Liliana got home late that night, stumbling in a little drunk, remnants of having a good time at Roberto's with Leo. She snuck inside through the back door and tip-toed up to the room she shared with Letty. Careful not to wake Letty, Liliana began to take off her jeans but stumbled, falling flat on her ass, causing Letty to wake up.

"Lil, is that you?" she asked sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "Jesus, it's two in the morning, we have school tomorrow" Letty said, glancing at the digital clock that read 2:10. She took off her covers and went over to Liliana who remained on the floor, too tired to get up. Letty smelled sweat and whiskey   off her older sister and scrunched up her nose.

"Have you been drinking Lilli?" she asked standing up in front of her sister.

"Just a little," Liliana replied giggling. Letty rolled her eyes and helped her sister up, supporting her to the bathroom. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up."

Liliana complied, and let Letty take her to the bathroom where she was stripped of her clothes and forced under the shower. The cold water hit her, knocking her into consciousness. Her muscles relaxed and she looked over to Letty who sat on the toilet with the lid on.

"I didn't know I'd drunk that much," Liliana told Letty. Her intentions weren't to get wasted or even drunk. But once she began, it was hard to stop; it numbed away all the bullshit she dealt with that day.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to Lil, you don't have to marry Antonio," Letty said. Liliana just closed her eyes, wishing that her life would be that easy.

That night she lay in bed, restless. She thought of Dawson, wondered what he was doing and if she was ever going to see him again. She thought of the way it just felt nice to meet him, she had never seen him around before so he had to be either from out of town or lived on the east end of town. His electric blue eyes clouded her mind and she drifted off to sleep.