Valentin and Rojo | ✓

twenty-three (2nd draft)

Adriana

On plane rides, I usually sat next to my father. I'd rest my head on his shoulder while he talked to my mother or did whatever he needed to do. Not today. I couldn't even look at him. He ripped me away from the one person I've ever loved. Heartbroken couldn't even begin to describe it.

I sat at the back of the plane. Away from all of them. I glared out of the window the whole time. I didn't want to speak to any of them, excluding my mother. She was the only one who was happy for me. Not that it mattered anymore. I had tears running down my face. I didn't even bother to wipe them away. What was the point?

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my father walk towards me. I shifted my body more towards the window, watching the clouds below us.

"Princesa, please don't be upset with me." I nearly scoffed. I loved my father, but the fucking nerve he had.

"Please go away, I can't even look at you right now." I firmly said.

"I did what I did because I love you-"

"If you really do love me, you wouldn't have done it. You tore me away from the one person I love more than anything. You don't do that to someone you love. Especially not your own child."

"You loved him?" He sounded dumbfounded.

"Love, not loved," my voice cracked. Seriously, how was I not dehydrated from all the tears I was shedding?

"You're nineteen. You don't know what love is." I snapped my head towards him. Did he really just say that?

"You're treating me like I'm twelve years old. I'm an adult, not a baby." This time the tears I was shedding weren't from sadness, they were from anger.

"You're my baby-"

"I understand, but that doesn't mean you can choose how my life goes. You had no right to do that," I took a deep breath, trying not to get too overworked, "Dad, please go away."

He sighed and got up. He sat back down next to my mother. I laid my head back and tried to sleep. As I closed my eyes, I overheard them talking.

"You need to stop treating her like she's a little kid," my mother said to, I'm assuming, my father. "And you two," she scoffed, "she just got torn away from the person she loves, can't you see how fucking heartbroken she is? You two need to stop acting so goddamn childish." She said to my brothers.

"She was sent there to be protected and he took advantage of her!" Santiago whisper-shouted.

"Advantage? She's nineteen. When will any of you see her as an adult? You expect her to act mature, but you're here treating her like she's a little kid." My mother said sharply.

"¿Cómo estás bien con esto?" My father asked my mother in a hushed voice.
[how are you okay with this?]

"She was stuck in a house with people she barely knew while we were across the damn country. He made her happy when she had nothing to be happy about. They fell in love. You don't chose the person you fall in love with. You think I chose to fall in love with you? You pointed a gun at me when we first met!"

I peeked open one of my eyes and looked over at them. My mother looked so pissed. Mateo opened his mouth to say something, but she put her hand up. Indicating for him to shut up.

"I don't want to hear another word out of any your mouths," She got up out of her seat and walked over to me. She sat down next to me and I instantly rested my head on her shoulder.

"I miss him so much, Ama." I let out a shaky sigh. I bit my lip in attempt to try and not sob.

She held me and rubbed my back. "Shh. I know you do." She kissed my forehead and I just took deep breaths into her shoulder. "Oh, Xavier wanted me to give this to you." I saw her reach into her pocket. She pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to me.

I opened it up with my shaky hands and it was a drawing.

It was a drawing of me in front of a sunrise, at the bottom it said,

You're the light of my life. I'll always love you, baby. - X

Tears escaped my eyes and fell onto the paper, but there was a smile on my face. I clutched the paper and held it towards my chest. I breathed into the hoodie that smelled exactly like him. I closed my eyes and rested my head on my mom's shoulder.

"You really do love him, don't you?" My mother softly asked as she rubbed my back. I nodded against her shoulder and I soon fell asleep.

*

"Adri, wake up. We're here." My mother was gently shaking me.

I rubbed my eyes and felt the crust from my dried up tears. I wiped it off as best as I could and walked out the plane. The cold air immediately hitting my face. I missed this. Winter in New York was my favorite. It was snowing, but only a little bit. My father grabbed my luggage and I walked over to the car. Our driver was waiting for us.

"Ah, Ms. Valentín. How I've missed you." It was Derek, my favorite driver.

"I've missed you too and how many times do I have to tell you? You can call me Adriana."

"Alright, Adriana. How was California? Did the Rojo's treat you well?"

Xavier popped up in my mind. "They were lovely."

The rest of my family entered the car. I stared out the window and thought about how much I loved New York. The coldness was something I admired. It bothered a lot of people, but I've never been anything but appreciative.

We finally arrived at home. We walked into our building with the doorman greeting all of us. I gave him a faint smile and went up to our home. I would say house, but it was technically not a house. My family and I lived in a penthouse in Manhattan. Perks of having a lot of money, I guess.

I went up to my room and unintentionally slammed the door shut. I did not want to talk to anyone. I just wanted to be alone. I took the drawing out from my pocket and unfolded it. I taped it to my wall, right above my bed. I sighed happily seeing it and thinking about him. I laid down and covered myself up with my blankets. I stared out the window and started to fall asleep.

I hoped to dream of him.