Where we left off (omb s4)

Recovering

Monse POV

As Jasmine and Ruby leave the room, I slowly walk towards Cesar. It's obvious he doesn't have enough strength to talk, so I do it for him.

"Cesar...I've missed you like crazy..I know about all the gangs and the bullshit- I know you probably think I'm mad- or that Im a bundle of anger but over the past three years- I've grown, Cesar"

He looks me up and down, clearly enjoying the view. I smile and blush while carefully sitting on the side of the hospital bed. He grabs my hand and I let him.

"I know you can't talk well right now, so why don't I do the talking?" I ask. He nods.

"We haven't talked in three years, but I'm really glad neither of us forgot about each other...we technically never broke up and I'm-im just-" I start to choke over my words. Tears start to stream down my face. Cesar looks at me with water in his eyes and squeezes my hand.

"I still love you" I say. He brought his hand around me signaling for me to lay on his chest. I can feel him hurt at the pressure but his hand stays there and so do I.

"i-i-i- love you more" Cesar whispers. We smile at each other for what seemed for hours. I tell him about May-Field, I talk to him about the gangs here, and how I won't ever give up on him. Then, I hear a knock on the door and I quickly get up from Cesar's bed. Jamal, Jasmine and Ruby walk in with troubled faces. Then, Oscar walks in.

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Cesar's POV:

As soon as I see Oscar, the gang moves out of the room. Monse gives me a sympathetic look and mouthed "you can do this". I smile. Oscar seems nervous, he walks towards me. As I see the detailed of his no longer tattooed face the memories of when he left came flooding back..

MEMORIES:

"what if someone takes your power?" I ask angrily at Spooky.

"Let them..you taught me that the real power is all up here" He pointed to his head and walked away.

I follow him into his room.

"Spooky are you crazy??! You're going to leave the Santos without a leader?? where are you going?" I demand.

"Cesar, I've been seeing a woman for a while now- Lina is her name. I'm heading down Bakersfield, I talked to dad and he can get me a job there. I'm done with the bullshit, hermano"

"so..you're leaving me?"

"come with me, Cesar. It's safe."

"You know I can't"

"Monse has a future, and you can have one too if you come with me, brother"

"I cant believe you..." I storm into my bedroom as I cry softly. I hear Oscar swear in both English and Spanish quietly. I hear the scribbles of a pen to a piece of paper, I hear the main door open and close. Just like that, the only family I had left.

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"hermano...." Oscar says softly. I have tears in my eyes, but Oscar is full on crying now. I cant muster enough energy to speak, so I sit there.

"I'm sorry i left.." he says, looking into my eyes. "I needed to get away, I have a kid now, and-"

"and- I want you to come live with me. We live only 30 minutes away from here, so you can still be with monse and your friends. Everyone thinks you're dead, and if you aren't...anyone will kill you. I need to protect you. I- love you and I'm sorry for not making it seem like I do"

It's so hard to stay mad at Oscar, he knows how to say the words you want to hear. I nod as we do our special fist pump. He leaves the room and informs the gang.

I hear muffled voices and then doctors come into my room. They check my stats and if everything is okay, they think ill be out of here in a week. I just need to recover from my surgery. Jamal, Ruby, Jasmine and Monse all come in together. They share stories and laugh. I cant help but smile. I'm so glad that the core5 is back together, and better than ever.