Page 63 of Friendly Skies
Gabriella shrugged. “That cow? Please. When is she going to find someone who wants to put a ring on it?” With a simpering smile, Gabriella snuggled up against Andrés’ side. “Tía Rosa was more than happy to let me have it.”
Luis shook his head. “No,” he said again and squared his shoulders, and Darius felt the shift in his entire being. “You’re going to give the ring back.” He looked at Andrés. “And you’re going to use the money I’ve given you to get her a different one.”
“And if I—”
“If you don’t?” Luis glanced at Gabriella, then back at Andrés. He lowered his voice. “There’s no statute of limitations on sexual assault of a minor. Give the ring back so Marissa can have it, or I tell the family what you did and then go to the police.” Hegrinned, and Darius thought he’d seen warmer expressions on sharks. “You may have learned a few things in jail, but it’s gonna be nothing compared to what you’ll learn if you go to prison for this.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” Andrés said at the same time Gabriella gave out a little squeak of protest.
Luis ignored her. “You cost me years with this man,” he said as he held up his and Darius’ joined hands, “because of what you did. Years of being afraid of who I was and who I wanted to be with, worrying that he’d be disgusted by what I’d done. Whatyoudid.”
“Your family won’t believe you,” Andrés said. “They love me.”
“I. Don’t. Care. You leave me and Darius alone, or I go to the police. It’s that simple.”
“What is going on?”
Gabriella’s voice had risen to almost a shriek, which stilled the voices in the backyard, but Darius didn’t think Luis noticed. His entire focus was on Andrés, standing strong in front of the man who had damaged him so badly.
“What’s going on is that your fiancé raped me,” Luis said without looking away from Andrés. “On the night of Marissa’s quinceañera, he drugged me and then raped me in the bathroom.”
The backyard had gone completely silent. Even the birds had stopped singing, and Darius held his breath, waiting for what was going to happen next. He was so proud of Luis for standing up to Andrés, he thought his heart was going to burst.
“Mijo?” Rosa was the first to break the silence as she slowly walked over to Luis. She reached out to him as if she thought he might break. “Is this why you’ve been so angry with him?”
“Partly. He’s also asked me for money over and over again.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Luis finally turned to his mother, and his eyes filled with tears. “I didn’t think you’d believe me,” he whispered.
Darius wanted to wrap Luis in his arms, but he conceded the moment to Rosa, who pulled Luis to her and told him she loved him.
“I think you both need to leave.”
The deep voice came from behind Darius, and he turned to see Roberto, Luis’ father, stepping forward.
So many things happened at once that Darius couldn’t follow all of it. Gabriella told Andrés they were done, she was disgusted with him, and never wanted to see him again. Andrés took a step toward Luis, fists clenched, but both Darius and Roberto stepped in front of him. Roberto repeated his statement, amending it to just Andrés leaving. Gabriella’s parents swept her up in their arms as she broke down crying, and her father told Andrés to leave, using far more colorful language than Roberto had. In the background, Rosa and Luis were still huddled together, and Darius overheard her ask again why he hadn’t told her the truth.
Luis picked his head up and looked at Darius as he spoke. “The night of Marissa’s party was the first time Darius and I kissed, the first time I realized what I felt for him, and my head was all messed up by realizing I was gay, and the X and what Andrés…I didn’t want to believe it myself. I was blindsided by how much I loved Darius and didn’t know what to do with those feelings, so I tried to stuff all of it away. I’m sorry it cost us so much time, Dar.”
“Chico,” Darius said and went to him. “You don’t have to apologize to me. I didn’t do much better, even without all the shit going on for you. I love you, and I will keep telling you that for the rest of our lives.”
Sniffling, Luis nodded, then looked at his mother. “I tried telling you Andrés was dealing. I tried telling you he was bad news, but you—”
“Didn’t believe you. I am so sorry, mijo. I should have listened better.” She hugged him and then held out a hand for Darius. When he took it, she pulled him in as well. “I am so happy he had you all these years.”
There were more tears, more embraces. Gabriella returned the ring to Rosa and apologized to Marissa for what she’d said. Marissa laughed and told Gabriella she’d always been a spoiled brat, so she’d learned not to take anything Gabriella said to heart back when they were five. The two of them ended up laughing in a corner of the yard like Darius remembered them doing when they were kids and thick as thieves.
Someone turned on the music again, and conversation and laughter resumed in the backyard. Rosa left Luis’ side to take care of something in the kitchen, and Darius pulled Luis into his arms, feeling something settle inside him.
“How are you doing, chico?” he asked.
Luis let out a huge breath and snuggled deeper into Darius’ arms. “I’m not sure. I think okay?”
Kissing Luis’ temple, Darius hummed. “Better than I’d have expected, then.”
With a laugh, Luis turned in Darius’ arms and kissed him. “I had no idea what I was doing, cariño, no idea whatsoever.”
