12:22

twenty-one

Ronan

I throw her the bottle of pills, "You forgot to take these last night." I remind her, I watch as my sister rolls her eyes and opens it and swallows a pill, drinking a glass of water right after.

I notice that she's wearing a white tank and light pink cardigan over top and a mini skirt she wasn't wearing before, "You going somewhere?"

She smiles, shaking her head. "I invited someone over."

"Here?" I raise in eyebrow, she nods.

The doorbell rings, and I stop her from answering, opening the door instead.

I come face to face to someone who appears familiar, he shakes my hand.

"Nice to meet you." I greet, offering him a barely noticeable smile that isn't genuine at all because if he fucking does anything to my sister it's over for him.

Before he walks past me through the door, I notice that over his shoulder, I recognize Inez is sitting in a car about to start it again.

She leaves my driveway before I get to speak to her and I don't go after her.

Inez

After dropping Jackson off, I went straight back home. My mom was coming and it was the first time in a while since I'd been busy with everything.

I'd managed to clean most of the apartment yet Alisha had still been asleep and it was almost three pm.

I open the door to her room and lift the blanket off of her and she groans in response.

"Get up."

She yawns, "I am up." Her hair had been a mess from sleeping that long and she'd thrown up her arms to stretch them as she stood up.

"Why are you so like- put together." She squints an eye from barely have woken up, rubbing the other.

"My mom's coming over, you don't remember?" I pick up a cup from on top of her dresser.

I leave the room and wash it in the sink, putting it back where it was.

Knowing that she was coming, I cleaned everything I know how she is when one small thing is out of place.

The doorbell rings and I head to the door, opening it. She pulls me into a hug the second she walks in.

"¡Mamá! I missed you so much." I say as I help her with her bags as she walks into my bedroom.

"Yo también mija, ella es tu amiga sí?" She asks when Alisha comes out of the bathroom.

"Sí, estamos viviendo juntos por un año."

Alisha waves to my mom, confused since she doesn't understand what we're saying.

My mom hugs her out of nowhere and she looks like she can't breathe.

I almost laugh at her before my mom pulls away, smiling.

"Hi, ma'am." Alisha smiles back at her.

"Mija you don't need to call me ma'am! Just call me by my name, Rosá."

"Can I call you Rosa auntie? I know it sounds strange but I call like most of my parents' friends by their name and auntie and uncle-" She starts to ramble.

"Of course!" Why does my mother seem more excited to see my best friend than to see me?

A few hours pass by and I'm helping my mom make tamales, she started asking about work.

I missed spending time with her, usually at home my dad used to walk in drunk and they would fight, which were the memories that I had.

"Work has been, you know. Sometimes it's fine sometimes it's difficult."

"I hope you like it though, Inez. I know how angry your dad used to get when you brought up wanting to pursue fashion design."

I begin to wash a plate at the sink, "I know, and look how far I got not doing what he wanted me to do."

Putting it on the dish rack my mom begins to speak, "Inez."

"Mamá." I turn around to look at her.

"I'm proud of you." She wraps her arms around my shoulders and I bury my head into her neck. Tears begin to fall down my cheeks as I held her close.

"Are you okay?" She asks when I pull away, looking at my glossy eyes.

She wipes them using the pad of her thumb, "it's okay."

"Did he ever tell you where he went?" I ask her, referring to my father. She merely shook her head in response.

I always have hated my dad, with everything my mother and Maya had to put up with because of him.

The eighteen years I spent living under the same roof as him wasn't as nearly as difficult to what they've gone through.

Sometimes I think I can't even remember the good memories I had with him, the only times I've liked him was when I was under the age of eleven.

He had left, the only thing he kept behind was a note. It read  'I'm sorry.' A torn piece of parchment left on the kitchen table, we haven't seen him since.

Part of me is glad that he left but a small part of me wanted to meet him just once to ask him why he did what he did, why he had absolutely no explanation or reason?

-

I watch as Alisha absolutely devours the tamale she's eating.

"You like it?" I ask her, she nods.

"This is my second one." She says before beginning to eating it again.

"I'm just that good."

"I love your mom." She says as she directs her gaze to my mom watching something on tv.

"I love her too."

"No I literally wish she was my mom as well, how is she real?" Alisha finishes the tamale and drinks the glass of water in front of her.

I pick up my phone, no messages or calls. I'm beginning to think he's forgetting who I am.

"Why do you keep checking your phone?" Alisha's brows furrowed, she takes it from me. "This dude still hasn't responded to your texts?"

Maybe I might've texted him two weeks ago and he hasn't replied. I keep saying I don't care but I've been checking.

She hands the phone back to me, "Forget about him."

"Who?" My mom comes up behind us, shit.

"Um, well." I clear my throat.

"This is about a boy." She sits by us, I slap my palm over my forehead.

"God, mom. It's not that serious." I sighed.

"Por qué no me dijo? What happened?"

"We're just friends, Alisha tell her." I look at Alisha.

"No they're not." She says, getting up and sitting somewhere else.

"Tell me." My mom takes my hands into hers.

"I thought we... I don't know, and now he's ignoring me."

"When I was in high school I dated this guy who was just like this." She explains.

"Really?"

She nods, "Alisha is right, I think you should take a break from him." I watch as mom deletes his contact off my phone.

"Why'd you delete it?"

"So only he can call you first, that's how you'll know if he really wants this."

-

this chapter is short but i promise the ones after this one are more exciting :) i love you take care of yourselves.