Angel stared at the doorway for a while before laying down in the bed and passing out. The alcohol and weed created a barrier to keep what had happened at bay while he slept a total of ten hours.
When he opened his eyes again he felt instantly sad, and sick for obvious reasons, but he wasn't sure why there was such intense heartache in his chest. Lazily, Angel showered and got dressed before heading downstairs to find EZ on the couch looking much worse than he did.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, adding, "You look like shit," with a grin on his face.
"Zara left, Angel," EZ said sternly. "She's taking a few days, needed space and you need to step up."
"Shit," he hissed, realizing why he felt so sullen. "The fight."
"Yeah," huffed, standing up. "They slept well, I gave them some oatmeal and yogurt at 8, they've been napping since 10."
"Wait," Angel urgently called after EZ as he moved toward the door. "Where you going?"
"Home, man," he stifled a yawn. "I'm fucking exhausted."
"I need your help," Angel didn't hesitate to admit it. "She left me, little brother, I can't do this."
EZ sucked his teeth. "This is your fucking problem, Angel. I took care of them for twelve hours and they're not even my kids. Zara was right, you gotta grow up."
"EZ," Angel whimpered as his brother stepped onto the porch, "Ezekiel."
"Good luck, Angel, you're gonna need it."
—
While Angel was in full panic mode, Zara was much calmer albeit still distraught over the state of her marriage. There were two sharp knocks before the hotel room door opened.
"Nestor," she sighed, standing to greet him. "I appreciate this."
He smiled, greeting her with a hug, as Emily walked into the room. Nestor placed her suitcase by the door and with a nod stepped back out.
"Hi," Zara said shyly.
"Zara," Emily sighed as she opened her arms for a hug. "Are you okay?"
"Uh," she chuckled. "I'm okay. I'm sorry it came to this, I don't know what EZ told you about this but it's not like I needed support and tricked you or something like that."
Emily smiled a bit. "Nestor mentioned you wanted to talk when he ran it by me. He said it was less personal, more business related, but EZ did tell me what happened last night. I'm happy to be here for both reasons."
"Thank you," Zara chuckled, clearly relieved.
"How are you?" Emily asked with genuine concern.
"Fucking tired," she whimpered. "Angel is MIA all the time, I'm trying to raise these kids and be a good wife to a husband who is never there. I'm trying to appease Bastian while also trying to undermine what I can and get as far away from him as possible," she shook her head. "Can I ask you something?"
Emily nodded. "Of course."
"How did you make the jump from Emily to Mrs. Galindo?" Zara knew her question was incredibly vague but she also knew Emily understood.
"It wasn't a jump," she said, remembering the moments she didn't even know were changing her until it was too late. "It was a series of small steps, lots of bullshit justifications and blind eyes."
"And now?" Zara prodded. "Do you regret it? Do you...like who you've become?"
Emily frowned but gave a firm answer. "Yes. I've become who I had to be for my son and my husband. I can see on your face it's not the same for you."
