Not That Bad

TWENTY

Kaya hadn't seen Ximena and Santiago North since before she went on her vacation, and at the moment of her realization, it had been almost a month since she had come back home. Julian was still occupying her space, getting back on his feet, and trying to get over Alison. Ty had been dropping by daily to talk to his best friend or even hang out with each of them and watch a movie together.

The only reason that Kaya had noticed that she hadn't seen the pair was because Ty had made an offhand comment about Ximena coming into work that day with a large bruise that her sweater just barely covered and that she had been missing work and giving him, in his words, "half-assed explanations."

It made Kaya wonder if anything different was going on at home and if she should check it out. She knew that Ximena wouldn't ask for help and that Santiago would retreat into himself and hide either outside or in his room and that involving the police wouldn't help.

"I'll go visit her," Kaya said, standing and going for her jacket.

"Wait a minute," Julian piped up. "You don't know what's going on at Ximena's home. Or if she even is home. It might be dangerous."

"I'm still going," Kaya said, a thread of guilt spreading throughout her body. She was Ximena's mentor and she'd been so caught up in other people's problems that she hadn't checked up on the girl even once. She just knew that Ximena thought that Kaya had abandoned them.

"We'll go with you," Ty said, standing and pulling Julian up with him.

"If you go you have to stay in the car," Kaya said. "If Ximena's not home and one of her parents open the door, it'll be easier to explain my role. You'd just look suspicious."

Julian grumbled something under his breath and Kaya threw him a sharp glance that made him turn away, sheepish.

A knock on Kaya's door made them all pause. Kaya moved to open it and was shocked to see a sniffling Santiago, disheveled Ximena, and a police officer at her door.

It turns out that Ximena and Santiago had been left alone for weeks in their home and there was no trace of either of their parents. When school had started back in August, instead of placing her parents as emergency contacts on her forms Ximena put Kaya's name instead. And seeing as Kaya was the only one that had any sort of relationship with the two kids and that the kids didn't have any family, it was she that they looked to and it was she that the police saw fit to visit.

  Of course, the officer didn't expect to see Kaya and two grown men in her house, and he was guarded, but with Ximena explaining who the men were and their connection to each other, the officer calmed down.

Once the officer made sure that Ximena and Santiago were in safe hands, he told Kaya that he would follow up in the next week and that she should try to get some normalcy in their lives, like encouraging Ximena to attend school and having Santiago continue with soccer (it turned out that the officer's son was on the same team as Santiago). Sooner or later, a social worker would come and give more information as well as offer the two kids a choice in staying with Kaya or moving in with other family members.

Kaya didn't tell the man that she already knew what the kids would choose. Ximena was already eighteen, so she knew that the girl would love to be on her own as soon as possible and that, though she'd want Santiago to leave with her, he'd be better off staying with Kaya. Not only that, but Ximena was in her last year of high school and would be going to college soon. Even if she wanted to live on her own, there was no way she would want to be separated from her brother until she absolutely needed to be.

Thankful she had one more room left for someone to occupy (and hoping that her mother wasn't planning on visiting any time soon), Kaya ushered the two teenagers to the bedroom after the officer left and Ty went into Kaya's kitchen to use whatever she had in the fridge to make them all dinner. When she passed by Julian, he glanced at her kitchen before smirking and she flipped him off. Since he moved in, they've become sort-of friends. They were still wary around each other, but it was no longer tense when she hung out with him and Ty.

"We're not going to be here long," Ximena said, unpacking the few clothes they had while Santiago curled into a ball on the bed. 

Kaya leaned against the door, arms crossed with an eyebrow raised. "I thought that you were going to stay until you graduated."

Ximena rolled her eyes. "I only said that to get the officer off my back. Once I find a place me and Santi are out of here."

Kaya masked the hurt that she felt and sighed. "You know you can't do that," Kaya said. "Santiago won't be able to stay with you and with the way politics are now you shouldn't risk the two of you being without shelter and some kind of protection for long."

Ximena stayed quiet. "You didn't check up on us," she said softly. "You said that you would call when you got back."

Kaya walked to Ximena and hugged the younger girl. "I'm sorry," she said. "I have no excuses."

"You don't," Ximena said, her voice hardening. "You're like a big sister, you know? And I was waiting."

"I'm sorry," Kaya said. There was no way she was going to tell Ximena what had happened in the last few weeks. "I'll make it up to you two though," she continued. "Mario Kart night tomorrow and Ty's cooking? We could go to the movies, too."

Ximena wanted to smile, Kaya could see it. "Maybe," Ximena responded. Ximena looked back at her brother, who was snoring softly on the bed they were going to share. Kaya made the note to buy an air mattress so the siblings wouldn't be sharing a bed for long. "In the meantime, tell me why Julian's here when you can't stand his ass?"

Kaya laughed. "Watch your tongue," she said, giggling. "And ask him yourself."

The smell of chicken wafted into the room and Kaya heard Ximena's stomach grumble. In order not to embarrass the girl, she didn't mention it.

"But for now," Kaya said, "let's eat." She looked at Santiago. "And I'll make sure to save something for Santi. If we don't Ty and Julian will eat everything." She winked at Ximena and the girl gave her a small, hesitant smile.