CHAPTER 25
As usual Angel hadn’t gotten much sleep. He was up early and walked over to Sofia’s room, careful that he didn’t wake Alex. He needed to get to the bottom of this whole Eric thing and he didn’t want Alex there riling Sofia up to the point where’d she say something absurd like she had last night.
He’d known Eric too long and trusted him completely. There had to be more to the story. This wasn’t a conversation he was looking forward to. He wouldn’t even know where to start but he had to do it fast before Alex was up.
He knocked softly on Sofia’s half opened door before peeking in. To his surprise she was already up and on her computer. She minimized the screen she was on when he walked in.
To his relief he didn’t have to think of something to say. She spoke first. “Are you mad at me?”
Angel lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know.”
She stood up and closed the door behind Angel. The expression on her face reminded him of when they were kids. Little Sofi had always been handled with care. It’s what they were taught for as long as he could remember. And it stuck real well. No one messed with little Sofi. Not then. Not now. Angel sat on her bed and she took a seat back at her desk.
“Look, what happened last night was my fault. I take complete responsibility.” She spoke in a hushed voice and her eyes seemed to plead. “Angel, he gave me a new year’s hug and I kissed him.”
Angel stared at her. “Why?”
She looked at him then away. “I like him. I always have.”
This was not what Angel had wanted to hear. He shook his head. Eric was like family and Sofia was, well, his baby sister, damn it. He stood up, not sure what to say.
“No.”
“No, what?” Sofia stood up in front of him.
“You can’t.”
“Why not? Jesus, you guys act like I’m a baby. I’ll be seventeen this year. Sarah’s age when she started dating you.”
Angel’s jaw locked. “That’s different.”
“How?”
“It just is, Sof.”
Angel tried to walk around Sofia to leave. This conversation was over. Alex was right. Eric would just have to stay away. But Sofia didn’t let him by her. She put her hand on his chest and looked him straight in the eye.
“You and Alex are going to have to face it sooner or later. I’m not a little girl anymore.”
Angel wasn’t used to her being so dauntless and he didn’t like it. “Dad won’t have it either.”
“I’ll handle daddy, Angel. Just promise me you won’t be mad at Eric. It really wasn’t his fault.”
Angel nodded and she let him by. That hadn’t gone exactly as planned but he was relieved he wouldn’t have to be mad at Eric. Alex was a different story. The image of Eric kissing his baby sister would be branded into his hard head for a while. But he’d have to get over it eventually. Unless he wanted Sofi reminding him over and over that she was the one who initiated the kiss. Angel shuddered just thinking about it.
He didn’t want too much time to go by and make things weird when he finally talked to Eric. Not only that, the conversation he had with Sofia had left him uneasy. He needed to get a few things straight with Eric. He planned on calling him later that day but Eric beat him to it. His phone rang just as he walked into the restaurant.
“Hey, Eric, what’s up?”
There was silence for a brief moment and Angel smiled. He knew his cheery hello would throw Eric.
“Hey… how’s everything?”
“You mean with Alex?” Angel chuckled. “That’s gonna be the same for a while. But Sofia told me what happened. And it’s cool. I’m sorry Alex went off on you like that, man.”
Eric cleared his throat. “Nah, it’s all good. I know it could’ve been a lot worse.”
Angel laughed. “Yeah, you got out of there in one piece.”
“No shit. I had to change my pants when I got home, though.”
“Ha! Romero said you would.”
“Yeah , I’m sure that ass had a lot to say.”
It was actually a surprise Romero didn’t say too much that night. The party was pretty much a wash after that whole mess. Alex was too wound up to relax and so they just started cleaning up and everyone took off.
Angel lowered his voice when he walked by Alex who was sitting in one of the booths looking over the restaurant mail from the week before. He was in charge of it while his parents were gone and of course he was just now getting to it.
“Listen, I guess it’s not unheard of for a little sister to have a crush on her older brothers’ friend right?”
He paused but Eric didn’t say a word. Angel wasn’t sure how to get the rest out without sounding awkward. He never imagined having to have this discussion but here he was. Awkward or not he was getting it out.
“You can’t… let anything like that happen again… alright?” That was a little lame but he’d gotten to the point and he felt satisfied.
“Angel, she’s almost seventeen.”
Angel stopped in his tracks and actually looked at his phone. “Are you shitting me?”
“I hear what you’re saying,” Eric added quickly. “And yeah, you got it, man. But C’mon, how long do you think you can keep her from dating anyone?”
Angel was walking again but could feel the agitation set in. He got that his sister was almost seventeen, but you couldn’t measure maturity with a number. Sofi was different. “Don’t worry about that. Just promise me you won’t give into any of her...silliness will you?”
He heard Eric exhale loudly. “Yeah, yeah, you have my word.”
“Thank you.” Was that too much to ask for? But Angel couldn’t help thinking this was another conversation that hadn’t exactly gone his way. This year already sucked and it had just gotten started.
*
When Sarah had gotten back from Arizona she made Valerie promise not to mention to Alex that she was back. So, when he called her New Year’s day to invite her over for his party Sarah felt bad that Valerie turned him down.
She’d offered to stay home, she wasn’t feeling up to partying anyway but Valerie was actually kind of pissed about Alex asking her at the last minute. She said he insisted he planned it at the last minute but she told him she wasn’t canceling the plans she’d already made.
“No one plans a New Year’s party last minute,” She fumed. “He must think I’m pretty stupid.”
Sarah knew her stay in California was only for a short while. Her mother had called her on her birthday and told her she’d spoken to her lawyer and things were looking even better.
Things between her and Angel were completely hopeless. Sydney had called her on the day after her birthday and confessed he’d driven out to see Angel just before Christmas. He hadn’t told her sooner because he didn’t want to make the holidays any harder for her than they already were. But he told her of Angel’s refusal to even try to hear her side of it.
At first she was hurt, but since then, anger had set in. She was sure Dana had something, if not everything, to do with Angel’s unwavering frame of mind.
She’d see Sofia soon enough when she showed up for track after school, but in the mean time she only needed to take three classes. She made sure they were all scheduled at the end of the day. Her plan was simple. Move quickly from class to class, and keep her head low. The last thing she wanted was to run into Angel and Dana.
It was only a matter of time before she’d see him. She knew this, but she wanted to prolong it as much as possible.
The second she walked into her physics class she realized her planning was all for nothing. Angel was sitting in the back of the class and their eyes locked. For a moment she was frozen. She gathered her thoughts enough to know if she sat in the front she wouldn’t have to look at him. Not surprisingly most of the front seats were empty and she sat down in the closest one to her.
She’d barely sat down when, Kim, a girl she knew from the track team leaned over.
“Oh my God, I thought you moved back to Arizona.”
Sarah turned to see a face full of braces smiling big at her. She realized then she hadn’t noticed who else was in the class. The only one she’d seen was Angel. Everyone else was a complete blur. Her breathing was going back to normal and she forced a smile.
“Change of plans. I’ll be here a little longer.”
The class started and she tried to concentrate on what the teacher was lecturing. She hardly heard a word. All she kept thinking of was Angel’s expression when he saw her. She was trying to put a finger on it. He wasn’t angry but he certainly wasn’t pleased.
When class was over as much as she told herself to not look back but she couldn’t resist. She glanced back to where he’d been sitting but he was gone. He apparently wasn’t planning on even speaking to her. She bit her lip. Though she felt it coming she forced it away. She was done crying for Angel Moreno.
The rest of the day was fairly painless. When she showed up to track practice Coach Rudy was overjoyed to hear she was trying out for the team. He said it was a mere formality, she was already in.
No one was happier to see her though than Sofia. And Sarah had gotten a little choked up when she’d hugged her so hard she thought she’d never let go. Sarah explained briefly that she would be around for a little longer but told her she had every intention of going back to Arizona as soon as her circumstances changed.
The next couple of days were even worse. Angel didn’t show up to her physics class and by the end of the third day his name wasn’t being called during roll call. He’d obviously changed his schedule. It was a slap in the face but she sucked it up. At least she didn’t have to deal with seeing him in class every day.
Sydney was getting increasingly annoyed with Angel’s continued inflexibility. That weekend she told Sydney about Angel changing his schedule and to her surprise she broke down and sobbed. Sydney was livid.
“Fuck him, Lynni, he’s an asshole.”
Could she have been that off about Angel? It amazed her now that somewhere in her warped mind she’d actually thought Syd and Angel could be friends someday.
“I’m just waiting for my mom to be out so I can come home,” she sniffed. “It’s all I want.”
“Don’t put your life on hold though, Lynn. It may be a while. Enjoy yourself, go out. Seriously, have fun.”
Sarah couldn’t even imagine having fun. She could barely concentrate on just getting through the day without having some kind of emotional breakdown.
*
Things took a turn on Monday during practice. As if her emotional turmoil wasn’t enough she now had to deal with physical pain. During a routine warm up run Sarah stepped in a hole and went down hard. She felt her ankle crunch and knew it was bad. Sofia was immediately by her side, but she barely managed to stand.
Coach Rudy came over as soon as he was aware.
“Don’t try to walk on it, Sarah. You’ll make it worse. We have to get ice on this fast.”
Before Sarah knew what was happening she was in his arms and he was carrying her toward the gym. Sarah put her arms around his neck for support. Some of the kids snickered as they walked past them. She felt a little uncomfortable until she moved her foot the wrong way and the stabbing pain in her ankle made her forget everything. She squeezed her eyes shut and grimaced, willing the pain to go away.
When the coach was satisfied they’d iced it enough he carried her to his car and gave her a ride home. Sarah was a little surprised he’d called practice early on her account but was glad she was going home.
Coach Rudy seemed really concerned about Sarah’s ankle. He gave her some paperwork he had in his office on proper care of a sprained ankle and talked about the do’s and don’ts on the way home. Then the subject turned to what Sarah had dreaded.
“So, when will you know for sure how long you’ll be here? I mean, can we count on you for the whole season?”
Sarah had always been very vague about her situation but he never pried. She had a feeling he sensed it was a sore subject. But she felt bad that he was so enthused about her being on the team and she couldn’t give him a concrete answer. She didn’t want him to think she wasn’t taking the team seriously.
“My mom’s in jail,” She stared out the window afraid to see his expression. Aside from her family and Sydney, Angel was the only person she’d ever told.
“Hmm, I see,” he said. “So, you’re waiting to see when she’ll be out?”
His demeanor surprised her. She thought maybe he’d be uncomfortable and change the subject or something but she may as well say her mom was at the mall. She turned to look at him.
“Yeah, we won’t know anything for a few weeks. So, I really can’t say,” She glanced down at her hands. “I do want to be on the team, though.”
She really did. Since her mom had made her promise to stay in California it was one of the things she’d focused on to stay positive. Running was her passion and she planned on using it as therapy.
“Oh, I know you do. I can see it when you’re running.” He pulled into her driveway and turned the car off. “There’s a skill for everything. A lot of people think in track you just run, but it’s not just about running. It’s about knowing when to turn the wheels on and when to save them. You have it, Sarah. I saw it the first time I saw you relay.”
He was smiling at her with genuine pride. Like a big brother. It made her feel good. Her coach back home had said the same thing. She smiled back at him. “Thanks.”
“Hey.” He waited until she was looking at him again. His expression had changed, he was concerned coach again. “I have a brother that’s been in and out of jail, Sarah. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. It took me a while to understand that but what he’s done does not reflect on the person that I am.”
Sarah thought about it. She’d never been ashamed of her mom, but the thought of anyone speaking badly about her enraged her. The less people knew the less ammunition they had against her.
Sarah nodded. “I know. But some people just wouldn’t get it. I don’t even get it.” She turned and made herself as comfortable as she could without moving her ankle. “All I know is she took money from her boss, for years. She offered to pay it back. I didn’t even know you could go to jail for that kind of stuff. You would think because she was a single mom, they could’ve just made her pay it back and given her probation or something.”
Coach Rudy listened quietly without interrupting. He also turned his back against the car door and made himself a little more comfortable.
Sarah told him how she’d planned all along to move back to Arizona and finish high school at her old school. Then she told him about seeing her mom in jail and why she was back in La Jolla after all.
The coach never once appeared to be sympathizing or judging. But he did hang on her every word. He waited until she was completely done then he took a deep breath and smiled again.
“I didn’t think I could have any more respect for you than I already did. You’re very mature and strong for your age. A lot of girls your age would’ve taken something like this as the end of their life. But you’ve handled it with such grace. I would’ve never guessed you had all this going on.”
Sarah’s lips went up in a half smile. “You know, this is the first time I’ve talked about my mom since she’s been in jail without crying. It feels good.”
“That’s ‘cause it’s almost over,” Coach Rudy said. “You’re almost there, Sarah. And you’re doing a great job. Just one thing, next time you go see your mom. Tell someone. I’m sure you didn’t think it was a big deal but if something had happened to you. It would’ve been a whole twenty four hours before anyone would’ve even noticed.”
Sarah made a mental note. She felt really good after her talk with the coach. She soaked her ankle in warm water while she talked to Sydney that evening. To her surprise he wasn’t as moved as she was about her conversation with the coach.
“Isn’t that the one Angel called a pervert?”
Just hearing his name was enough to bring her spirits down and she frowned. “Yes, but he also calls you my boyfriend. So, what’s your point?”
“I’m just saying that’s kind of weird that he’d take you home isn’t it?”
“What was he supposed to do? I couldn’t walk,” Sarah tried moving her ankle a little and immediately regretted it.
“Uh, hello, he could’ve had you call someone to pick you up.”
“Why? When he could just do it himself and it was faster?” Sarah couldn’t believe Sydney was actually thinking like this.
“Maybe because he had a team full of kids waiting to practice?”
Sarah didn’t respond to that. She was getting annoyed.
“Look Lynni, I don’t know, but most of the times when there are rumors like that about teachers, or coaches, there’s some truth to them. Maybe some stuff gets added in for a little more flavor but if you dig deep, the rumors started from something valid.”
There was no way. Coach Rudy had never been anything but nice and encouraging to her. The people that started those rumors were idiots as far as she was concerned. Syd made her promise she’d be careful but she knew she had nothing to worry about. Coach Rudy was not a pervert.