The Bully's Nerd

Chapter Forty Five

Chapter Forty Five

(A/N: Listen to the song above as you read the chapter, especially when they begin dancing, it'll make sense as you go on. Onward with the chapter.)

     We could hear the music and chatter of people from outside the building. It truly was a scene to behold. My mom's investors and their families, some of the moms from the living quarters set up across California, and quite a bit of journalist looking to interview the woman who started it all. I smiled proudly at my mom, taking her hand in mine along with Katia. She had no idea how much she meant to us. She had no idea how much of a hero she was to us. We grew up learning to look fear in the face and say 'You don't make me weak'. We grew up knowing that she has built her entire foundation out of bricks that people have thrown at her. She has been the most strong and successful person in our eyes. She has worn her past with pride and never shied away from showing us that, just when a caterpillar thought the world was over, it turned into a butterfly.

      "Ready?" I asked her, my voice soft like one of a child. She nodded and kissed Katia and I's forehead. Once the limo stopped, everyone got out, leaving me, my sister, and my mom to get out last. We stepped out, the journalist rushing over at the sight of my mom. We plowed through the crowd, answering a few questions, till we reached my friends who patiently waited at the door. Walking in was probably the best part in all honesty. The room was dark, but a romantic type of dark, with twinkling bulb lights and gold decorations, gleaming and casting these beautiful shadows. People smiled and nodded at my mom in approval, others clapping in both gratitude and admiration. That right there was the most beautiful part.

      "Alright well, I have about ten minutes before my speech so I'm going to find my publicist before the poor woman loses her head," she smiled, walking away with Katia following after her. I turned around to face Jake who's intense eyes were already roaming my figure. I felt another blush creeping up my face but, even with that, I smiled sincerely. Cathy and Mateo had already taken their seats along with Jaqueline and Christian, leaving us alone, standing by the stage. Jake leaned in, his eyes flickering towards my lips, and I swear I felt my heart skip a beat. He had that effect on me. He made me want to be his everything and much more. That's when he kissed me, a senseless kiss. It was short and sweet, but he never failed to leave me breathless. We smiled at each other like fools and took our seats, for my mom had already begun to walk towards the microphone on stage.

      "Hello everyone, I am Julia Hernandez, but I assume you know that considering you know this..." she said, pausing when everyone laughed at her quirkiness. "Anyhow, first and foremost I'd like to thank all of my business partners and investors who have honestly made such a difference with these young women. You see, I started this about five years ago, not knowing where it was going to lead me. I was hurt. I was so hurt for so many reasons that I had lost myself and I was pretty young then. I didn't quite know what to do and even with that, I knew that sometimes it's better to think about someone besides yourself. It helps you know? It helps to know that even when you're in pain, you make someone a little less in pain. Of course, no one understands this unless you've experienced this first hand. I am a proud mom of two beautiful girls. Two girls who have taken over my heart and taken over my bank account as well.." she laughed, tears in her eyes. She wiped them away and continued. "Feeling lost, afraid, hurt. That's something we don't get to avoid. We can only deal with it and hope that someone is there to make it a little easier. That's what I'm trying to do because, with every young woman I see walk through my doors every week, I see just a little piece of brokenness behind their eyes. Me having seen that in my own daughters before, I know I want to help them. Because I hope we are strong women, we know strong women and we raise strong women. That's the only thing I can really hope for." She stated, a single tear running down her face. I didn't notice there were tears running down my face until I looked over at Katia who was covering her mouth with her hand. I stood up, took her hand and made my way on stage to hug my mom. She kissed our foreheads and held onto me a little bit longer as the applause erupted in the crowd.

      "You'll do great." my mom whispered in my ear as she let go and glanced at the microphone. I nodded and walked over, my heels now being the only sound heard throughout the room. I stopped in the middle and wiped my tears, laughing slightly and shaking my head.

      "Jesus mom didn't need to make me cry in front of everyone..." I chuckled, along with a couple of people in the room including my mother. "Well, most of the moms here know me, I am Lenne Diana Hernandez. You see, I wasn't really sure what I was going to say at first but, quite frankly, it's pretty obvious now. My mom has probably been my hero since like forever. When I was younger, I got to see someone take a little piece of her with every word. He tried to convince all three of us that we weren't anything without him and well that just wasn't true. She never caved or self-destructed. I think that's probably the most important and brave thing to me. This woman has taken so much, excuse my language, bullshit and in all honesty, I'm glad she did. I'm glad she's strong. I'm glad she's compassionate. I'm glad she's herself. That's because I can look forward to hopefully, one day, growing up enough to be just like her." I said softly into the microphone, looking over at my mom who had tears in her eyes as well as my friends and most of the people in the room. "Let's give it up to the woman, who in between the blows, took the time to make all this happen," I shouted, the crowd erupting into another round of applause and hoots. With that, I waved and walked off the stage, holding onto my dress. I hugged my mom once more and then made my way back to the table where Jake awaited with a proud look on his face. Jaqueline and Cathy were sniffling with Christian and Mateo holding them. I chuckled at their sensitivity and grabbed Jake's arm when I hear the band singing a slow song. I pulled him towards the dance floor where other couples were already dancing. He held onto my waist and pulled me in close so that his nose was against my forehead. I breathed in softly and his cologne invaded my sense, wrapping me up in bliss. We stayed like that for a bit, in silence.

      "Lenne, I love you. I know that sounds upfront and completely insane but, I swear to God I fall more in love with you every day. You have this light behind your eyes that I pray no one will take away from you. You could say something as simple as 'Hello' to me with that sweet little smile of yours and I will fucking dream of it for a whole week. You have such a beautiful and pure heart that you make nuns and popes look like sinners. Princess, you have become that song or melody or whatever that is just stuck in my head. I love you so much that I would claim and everybody would believe that I built the sun and the moon in my backyard just for you. Before I met you, I thought I knew what love was and what being completely wild for someone was about. You have this security about you that I just need you. Princess, I just need you and for fucks sake, I love you." he said softly, his breath fanning my face as the song slowly came to end. I didn't need to respond, but I did.

      "I love you too Jake Reece Asher," I whispered, kissing him softly, yet passionately on the lips.

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Hello, Peaches. I honestly teared up throughout the whole chapter cause like, I can't be the only one. Please tell me I wasn't the only one. Anyways, what did you guys think? Was the love confession good or like no? Also, if you are also in love with this song, just please comment a heart cause like, same. I legit learned how to play this song on the piano like forever ago and well, I still remember how. I truly do hope you enjoyed this chapter and all the emotions contained within it. But as most of you can guess, it's probably going to get more drama packed and heartbreaking from here. I love you guys and have a goodnight -Aime