Last Kiss Goodbye • Teenage Juice Ortiz

45 - Distraction

Edited

THE PAST

Before Juan could start filling his sports bag with clothes, the doorbell rang.

"I got it," June told him. "You keep getting your things together."

She gave him a quick kiss and left the small bedroom. He said nothing – it had been so long since he had said something that she couldn't remember his last words.

June opened the door and let Emilio in. They looked at each other for a moment, an awkward tension rising between them, before he walked past her in silence making his way to the living room. A second later he cursed so loud that June's heart skipped a beat.

She had followed him, as she entered the room she noticed that his attention was drawn towards the bloodbath that could be seen in the kitchen. Although the prospect made her feel sick, she knew what had to be done; "I'll clean it up. Can you stay with him until I'm done? I don't want him to see this again."

Although she hoped that Emilio would suggest that he would carry out that unpleasant work, he didn't, only muttering something inaudible before he headed for Juan's room.

June watched him leave until the door closed behind him, then she walked into the kitchen, avoiding the shards littering the ground. Some were drenched in blood and her stomach clenched as she imagined Camila slamming the pieces into her son's body – or maybe it was Mateo lashing back at his mother.

She gagged. Quickly she turned her face away from the mess and started to open and close the cabinets until she located a pile of towels. Wrapping one around her hand she lifted the broken dinnerware dumping them in the trash, her mind reeling at the thought of how only hours ago they had eaten dinner off of them. She then proceeded to scrub the kitchen counter and the sink, shivering as she remembered how Mateo had slammed his mother's head against the steel rim. Leaning against the spot that she had just cleaned, she gave herself a break. She couldn't rest for long – Juan would be wondering what took her so long and she knew he wouldn't want her to be cleaning up the mess. She however didn't want him to have do it after a few days, when he would come back.

Pulling herself together, she rinsed out the dish rag and continued cleaning until she heard Juan's bedroom door open. Quickly she threw the bloodstained towels in the trash can and went to the living room.

With a pale face, Juan focused on the ground. Emilio stood next to him, radiating so much despair that it might have been funny in other circumstances.

"You have a key, Juan?" she asked.

"I'll grab you one." Emilio opened a drawer in the hallway and handed her the key.

He was the first one to leave the house, followed by June. Juan was the last; he almost tripped over the threshold and his bag hit the door frame. Emilio grabbed his upper arm to keep him steady and shared a worried look with June.

"He hasn't said anything to me," he said softly. His eyes shot to Juan, but nothing gave them the impression that he had caught his words.

June sighed softly. "Let's get him out of here. That will help."

"He can come stay at my house," Emilio said. "It wouldn't be the first time he crashed after a fight."

June didn't object. Maybe he would feel more comfortable around his friend; those two had known each other for years. She knew that if something awful happened to her, she probably would want to have Jordy close too.