Last Kiss Goodbye • Teenage Juice Ortiz

28 - Made For Each Other

Edited

THE PAST

June was sitting on the couch. Absent-mindedly, her hand glided across the spot where Juan had been sitting only an hour ago. She had been left with a horrible feeling watching him leave, especially after he had been crying. A few weeks ago she never would have imagined that there was such a sensitive guy hidden underneath that tough exterior. Sure, sometimes she got the feeling that he tried to maintain a certain imagine around his friends, but for him to prove her right by breaking when he was with her... The memory of his wet cheeks and sad eyes created a lump in her throat. They hadn't talked much about their families, but if that asshole of a brother was really the only true family he had... then he really must have a hard life.

And now she was only going to make things harder.

Would Mateo even admit to him that he was a rapist? There was no way Beth could be wrong about him, right? She found it hard to believe, especially since those types of accusations, without proof could destroy someone. Juan deserved so much more than a brother who ought to belong in jail...

June turned her glance towards the front door opened when she heard the lock click. April pushed her mother's wheelchair inside, stopping it next to the couch, where their mother stood up carefully. June got up to support her and helped her sit back down in the more comfortable location. Taking a cushion, she handed it to her mother, so she could put it behind her back and was rewarded with a grateful smile in return.

"Can you two please go run a few errands for me?" her mother asked the twins. "June made a list this morning."

June took the paper from the table and gave it to her sister. From the doorway to the living room, she could see May looking curiously at them; the girls knew their mother wanted to be alone with their older sister for a while, but they didn't know why.

As the twins left the house, her mother grabbed her hand and squeezed softly. June hadn't told her much, only that something had happened that she needed to talk to Juan about. She wanted to be sure about what he had done with Rodey, before she talked to her mother about it. She hadn't wanted to create any suspicions or rumours.

"What is going on, sweetheart? Ever since your friends stopped by this morning, that beautiful smile left your face."

June sighed softly. "Remember how I told you that Rodey was my date for the prom? Jordy's cousin?"

Her mother nodded.

Turning her head away, she stared at her fingers. Except for Juan, she hadn't talked about it with anyone, her friends hadn't bothered to ask. She took a deep breath. "Well... umm, he thought that I was a boring date, so he took some sort of pill to make him have more fun, I guess..." she muttered. "But I didn't know that. So after a while when he wanted to get some air... I went with him. But once we got outside... he umm... pushed me against a wall and he started to kiss me. We were away from everyone else, so nobody saw and when I tried to push him away, he wouldn't let me. He, he covered my mouth with his hand and started kissing my neck while his hand... his hand slipped into my bra." She closed her eyes as the images shot through her head again, as she remembered the panic that had almost knocked her down.

"Oh June..." Her mother's voice was trembling. "Why didn't you tell me yesterday?"

"Because I just wanted to forget about it. I wanted to focus on other things. Better memories." Sighing, she raked a hand through her hair. "That was all that happened. Juan and Jordy noticed that we weren't inside so they came to find us and Juan pulled Rodey off of me. Then – then he brought me home." She swallowed with difficulty. "But when he left... he met up with his brother and I guess they went after Rodey, to make him pay. He had got a knife." She wiped her eyes. "And then – his brother stabbed Rodey. Three times."