CHAPTER THREE
ALEJANDRA
THAT’S IT! I’M DONE. I can’t take this anymore.
Not even the threat of jail will keep me from eliminating my cousins and Teresa from the face of this Earth. I love my family, but the past three days have been pure and utter Hell!
The smothering, the constant rotation of babysitters, the restriction of not lifting a finger for anything, the imprisonment in my own home…they don’t understand that I need to move, to work, to do something. I can’t just sit and relax because I’m going insane.
“Come on, Alej. Open wide,” Max croons, making airplane motions with the spoon, like I’m a baby, as he tries to force-feed me some damn applesauce.
I try not to wretch. That abomination people call a healthy snack is inches from my face.
“I’m going to vomit all over you,” I warn him, inching away.
But my escape attempts are pointless. Teresa’s body traps me, making me an easy target for Max and his antics.
“Alej,” he sighs in an over-dramatic show of patience. “Applesauce is great for you.” He sticks the spoon closer to my face. I jerk back, almost onto Teresa’s lap. The traitor laughs. “Come on. This applesauce is one-hundred percent natural and low in sugar. De-li-cious.” He makes fake savoring sounds. “It’s healthy, light in calories, loaded with vitamin C, and—”
“Then, you eat it.” I slap the blasted thing away.
“Hell no! Abuelita made this for you. I don’t eat t…this shit.” He makes a disgusted face.
“Then why the hell are you forcing it on me?”
“Because you’re the baby, and this is what babies eat.”
“You’re such an—”
“Plus, it’s high in fiber, so you’ll feel fuller,” he interrupts me. “Trust me, your hips will thank you.”
“You’re an ass!”
“Come on, Alej. Just eat it so we can leave this room,” Teresa pleads. “Abuelita won’t let you go back into hiding before you finish it. Since she’s gotten a taste for applesauce and proclaims all of its healing powers, she’s convinced it’s going to make the lump disappear faster.”
“No. I’m done!” I jump from the couch and make sure to stay as far away from that mush as I can.
“Alejandra Maria de la Rosa!” My grandmother’s voices booms through the house.
“Fuck,” I whisper under my breath.
“I heard that.” She walks into the room, hands on her hips, and eyes narrowed in displeasure. “You will eat that applesauce, and you will like it. Do. You. Understand. Me?”
“Please…” Without shame at the witnesses present, I throw myself at her feet imploringly. “Anything but that, Abuelita. That stuff is vile and will make me sick. That’s what happened last time.”
“Last time, you were so drunk, you thought it was a melted Jell-O shot,” Teresa points out.
“Really, Tere?” I exclaim, giving her a you-better-shut-the-hell-up glare. We don’t talk about those days.
Abuelita clears her throat. She looks down at me before offering me her hand to stand. “Basta, before I give you something to really cry about,” she commands, putting a stop to any more of my antics. “Fine. You want to leave without finishing the snack I made you? Okay.”
“Really?” My voice is filled with hope.
“Yes,” she answers. “But,” she raises her hand, stopping me from running out of the room, “I will let you leave, and by leave, I mean leave this house, if, and only if, you run an errand for me.”
“Anything,” I promise.
“You will run this errand alone,” she emphasizes when Teresa comes to stand at my side.
“Where is she going?” Teresa asks. “Why can’t I go with her?”
“Alone,” my grandmother decrees again, giving me a look. After she sees me visibly swallow, she turns to Teresa. “You, young lady, need to go help your mother out with the food she’s preparing for Maximiliano’s birthday party.”
“But that’s days away,” Tere protests. “I want—”
“Do you want some applesauce?” Abuelita questions, her eyebrow raised in attitude.
“N…no, ma’am,” Teresa sputters out. “Bye, Alej,” she gasps out before escaping, like the hounds of Hell are at her heels.
“Max, please leave.” Abuelita motions Max with a tilt of her head.
He picks up the rest of the applesauce and leaves the room.
“Now, as for you, mi niña.” She takes my hands in hers, but something in her tone makes the hair on the back of my neck rise. “I need you to run to The Meat Market and order one hundred and eighty pounds of chorizo for your abuelo’s party.”
My eyes widen at the amount of meat she’s asking for. “Don’t you think that’s excessive?”
“Do you want me to force-feed you my applesauce like I used to force medicine down your throat?” she counters.
“No!” I shudder thinking of the pinched noses, fished lips, and the medicine being shoved down our throats while our lives flashed before our eyes.
“Then go, order the amount of chorizo I’m telling you, and don’t question me. I’m still upset with you, young lady.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I reply, before giving her a peck on the cheek.
I take the stairs two-at-a-time and run to my room to get my purse. Without a second thought, I make my escape and head to The Meat Market. Whether one hundred and eighty pounds of chorizo is excessive or not, I’ll order it with a smile on my face because anything is better than having that apple slop being shoved down my throat.
ANTONIO
“Well, well, well…if it isn’t our pretty-boy doctor,” a familiar and dreadfully annoying voice draws out.
Well, shit, I should have known today was going too well to be true.
Maybe, if I pretend not to hear him, he’ll go away. It’s been three days since Alejandra was here. Three days since I was under her cousins’ death glares. Three days of peace. And now—
“Hey, doc! Wait up. Doc!” The stampede of heavy, clopping footsteps, announcing there’s more than one of them, get louder as they near me.
Instead of turning around and meeting them straight-on, I stop in the middle of the hallway and drop my head in resignation, praying whatever this is, it’s over and done with quick. I do have patients to see, after all, so the torture can’t last long.
Hands slap my back, none too gently, and shake me in greeting. Still, I refuse to acknowledge them. Maybe, just maybe, they’ll give up and leave me alone.
“Yo, doc. It seems like you’re trying to ignore us,” a second voice pipes up.
“You wouldn’t do that, would you?” a third voice mingles in.
“Maybe,” I mumble under my breath, before an involuntary whimper falls from my lips.
“If that’s the case, I’ll tell you right now, it won’t work,” the first voice announces.
Defeated, I look up. Five pairs of eyes, ranging from light to dark brown, stare back at me expectantly. Shit-eating grins sit on their faces, and one even cracks his knuckles.
I sigh.
“So, doc,” the one called Max—the first voice—throws his arm around my shoulder and pulls me up against his side. “We need to have a little chat, you and us. Luckily for us, we were able to find you while running Abuelita’s errand.” Why is he telling me this? “That’s J.C., my twin.” He points to his brother. “That’s Ricardo, Manuel, and Luis.” He indicates to each person as he introduces them.
“Do I have a choice?” Settling my chart under my arm, I allow him to lead me down the hallway with J.C. at my other side and the rest of them following us. Some battles are just not worth fighting.
“Not really,” Luis, who I recognize as the second voice, answers me.
“Can I ask what this is about?”
“This the room where you rest?” Max asks, ignoring my question.
I nod.
We enter, and they settle themselves—Manuel and Luis on the couch, Ricardo against the wall, J.C. at the doorway, as if keeping watch—not a comforting thought—and Max at my side.
“Doc, we couldn’t help but notice the way you looked at our baby cousin,” Max answers my previous question, jostling me with each word. “We were all just a bit concerned.” He squeezes me. “You see, we’re all men here, and we know how the male mind works.” His smile looks evil.
“Okay…” Here comes the “back-off or we’ll beat you to a pulp” warning. I expected this, yet I can’t control clenching my hands. I’m the type of person who if told he can’t do or have something, has to prove people wrong. Plus, a good fistfight will go a long way as a stress reliever.
“Relax, doc.” Luis grins from his seat. “We’re not here to beat you.”
“Then what are you here for?” Damn curiosity gets the better of me. If not a warning, then what?
“It’s interesting you should ask.” Ricardo—there’s the third voice I heard—looks down at my fists, an eyebrow raised in amusement. The fucker even chuckles. “Since you let us lead you to a secluded area so easily, I was afraid you had no balls, doc. It’s good to know you have some.”
The rest of the cousins chuckle at his little joke.
“Fuck you,” I snarl. Not a smart thing to do when outnumbered five to one, but they’re beyond irritating. “I’m smart enough to know when to choose my battles.”
“Good.” Max slaps my back with such force, I take an involuntary step forward.
“Can we get on with this so I can get back to my rounds?”
“Don’t rush us, doc. We just want to give you some advice. That takes time,” Max announces, surprising me because why the hell would I need advice from them?
Not that any advice from them would matter. At this point in my life, I can’t pursue Alejandra. Despite my body’s craving for her, she would never understand my new side job. Until I’m out of debt and can financially support my mother, I’ll be stock for The Meat Market.
“You don’t have to—”
“What the fuck?” J.C. exclaims. “Did you already make a move on Alej?” He steps toward me.
“What? No!” I tense, expecting a body slam or at least a fist by the look on his face.
Max stops him. “Seriously, J.C., I can’t fucking take you anywhere. Chill before you scare him away. Abuelita will have our asses, and I’ll make sure she knows it’s your fault.” J.C. jumps back at the threat and hold his hands up.
“What?” His words confuse me. What does their abuela have to do with them being here?
“Nothing!” Max answers, his tone ruffled. He returns his attention to me. “Now, where were we?” He holds his chin between his thumb and index finger, as if running our conversation through his mind. “Ah, yes.” He perks up. “We’re here—”
“I don’t need any advice.”
“Would you let me finish without interruption?” he grumbles. “You’re almost as bad as Alej. And, what do you mean, ‘You don’t need any advice?’”
“Exactly that.”
“Well, why?” Ricardo asks, sounding perplexed. “You saw Alej. You wanted her. What the hell did she do between then and now?” His tone rises with each word, alarmed.
“Nothing. I haven’t seen her since,” I respond.
“Why the hell wouldn’t you need advice from her cousins?” Manuel speaks up for the first time.
“Because I want nothing to do with her, that’s why. Now, get the fuck outta here before I call security.”
With that, I shrug Max away and head out of the room.
Behind me, one whispers, “Abuelita is going to be so pissed.”