T H R E E

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We accept the love we thing we deserve
- Stephen Chbosky

M I F A M I L I A

- Alexia De La Rosa -

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EVERYONE was busy preparing for my 20th birthday. The house was filled with never-ending chatter, mainly from my mamá and tías who insisted on having everything look perfect.

After all, it was a special occasion and not just because of my birthday. If was a celebration to officially announce the link of the 2 familia's on this very night.

"Hija, come down and eat some breakfast- we wouldn't want you starving yourself," My mamá ushered, insisting on me to come down and stop moping around in my bedroom like a child.

"Coming mamá,"

Dodging the crowds of strangers that lingered around my house, carrying objects like flowers and cases of drink, I joined my family in the dining room only to be blessed with the delicious smells of breakfast.

"Feliz compleaños!" Everyone shouted, a warm feeling burning within me at the site of my familia.

"Gracias" I beamed, taking a seat on the left side of the dining table, pushing in my chair, the minute I sat down.

"How does it feel to finally be 20?" my papá asked me, his eyes shining with warmth and joy.

"Strange," I unsurely replied with a laugh, forgetting about any grudge I held against my papá.

I still hadn't fully accepted this marriage but I knew there wasn't any way of getting out of it. I had to take it head on and accept my fate- no matter how much I resented the very idea.

"How so?" He asked curiously, placing his fork down and observing me with a simple smile.

"If feels weird- not how it usually is every year. I have this jittery feeling inside of me and I can't quite shake it off." I explained.

"You're nervous," my mamá added with a sweet look as her eyes travelled over to my papá as they shared a content look.

"Nervous?" I questioned, with confusion.

"About getting married," She stated as if it were the most obvious explanation. She sat next to me and my papá, taking his hand into hers and smiling at him lovingly.

"I was the same. Trust me though, it'll get better," She reassured me, sending a wink my way.

"I hope so," I mumbled, eyes drifting down to my lap as I refused to look anywhere else.

Maria- our cook- brought all of the food in- including churros. My absolute favourite!

"Mhmm this is amazing," I moaned, eyes closing as the scent hit my nostrils and the sweetness of the treat hit my tastebuds.

"Only for you," She replied pinching my cheeks.

"Can I have one?" My hermano piped up, vision trained on the churro that my fingers were wrapped around tightly.

He reached out to take one and my faced dropped into a look of horror.

"Take one and I'll cut your hand off." I threatened and he slowly pulled away.

At my serious threat, my tíos and papá bellowed out with amused laughter.

"I was thinking, maybe you guys would like to go down to the shooting range for a bit?" Turning to my primos and hermanos, I awaited for their answers.

Nodding in agreement, we all finished off the scrumptious meal, indulging in the variety of foods.

I had seis primos. Antonio, Marcus, Pablo, Tony, Julian and Daniel.

Then there were my tres hermanos. Andrew, Rodriguez and Xavier. They were all so protective over me from the minute I was born. Due to their protectiveness, they trained me to fight. Teaching me things like how to use a gun and how to throw knives and so much more.

"Who's first," I asked looking around at my hermanos and primos, waiting patiently for one of them to pipe up.

"I'll go," Stepping forward, Marcus grinned confidently.

Marcus was the youngest boy in the family, we are also quite close in age. It also meant that we were close, considering the minor difference in age.

Adjusting the setting for the target, a smirk graced my lips, my arms crossing again my chest as I nodded at him to start.

He shot a bullet and it landed near the target but not close enough. Turn after turn they couldn't quite get a bullseye.

Feeling the stares of each of them, I stood up, pulling my personalised gun off from the rack as I stitched the safety setting off.

"Prepare to loose boys," It was never to bad to be confident, over confident? Yes. But I just knew I had this in the bag. To save myself from karma, I hadn't dared to tease any of them of my definite ability to hit a bullseye.

Bang.

"Bullseye," I stated cockily as each of them huffed in dismay.

"How did you get so fucking good Lex?" Julian groaned, double taking the bullet hole that remained on the target.

"Practise. And I had great teachers," Beaming at them all teasingly, I pointed at each of them.

"Well, we are good," Xavier grinned, a cocky smirk lingering on his lips.

"I'm going to miss this," I sadly smiled, my laughter soon disappearing.

Silence overtook everyone in the room. Looks were shared between them all earning them a curious glance from me.

"We aren't going to let this happen," Pablo stated.

"What?" I asked surprised, completely taken aback by his words.

"What are you planning?" I asked again, suspiciously.

"We want you to marry him because you want to marry him. Not because you are being forced," Toby explained, breaking the thick silence.

Remained quiet, my weight shifted from one foot to the other, head spinning at the newfound information.

"We're going to stall the wedding with a civil conversation with papá and Franco. We will ask them to at least let you and Damien get to know each other a little better before tying the knot," They explained.

"But what if I don't want to marry him in the end. Then what," I groaned in annoyance, placing my hands in front of my face as I rubbed my forehead in stress.

"Then we try harder. And if that doesn't work, we will come up with something- anything and take things from there," Julian replied, taking a seat on the metal table top.

"I love you all." Smiling at each of them, my arms hung up in the air, gesturing for them all to hug me.

At this moment I realised that even if I were marrying Damien and was going to be forced to leave this house and all of my loved ones, I knew that I'd never truly loose them- it's not like they'd let me get away anyways.

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Hope you enjoyed 💖

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