If the people you work with are shady enough to rape your daughter because you pissed them off, chances are that shit isn’t above board, and with any luck, Chief Valdez will find something to pin the fucker with. Then I won’t have to bring the subject up with Bibiana at all.
Luis falls asleep and I take a chance, slowly dropping onto the sofa and centering him on my chest. When he doesn’t stir, I sigh in relief and look down at the mop of dark brown hair on his head, pressing my lips to his temple.
I prop my feet on the coffee table and settle back in my seat, letting my eyes close as I listen to the steady inhale and exhale of his breaths.
I’m completely content to sit here until he wakes up. There isn’t anywhere else I’d rather be.
Fourteen
The shower is heaven. I haven’t been able to take one that wasn’t rushed in longer than I can remember. I almost feel guilty for taking my time and going through the motions of shaving my legs and deep conditioning my hair, something it desperately needed.
When Emilio showed up on my porch, I realized I like having him here. In a way, it helps. Sure, I’ve always had my mom but she never really stepped in for the parenting parts. If Luis was hungry, I fed him. If he needed a nap, I was the one to put him down. If he was having a rough day and insisted he be held twenty-four-seven, I was the one who held him. Mom helps me out if I can’t be there because of school, but if I’m home, the responsibility of caring for Luis falls directly on my shoulders. As it should. I’m not complaining.
But with Emilio around, there’s someone to help carry that load, even if all he does is play with him on the floor while I shower or make a something to eat. I never noticed how much easier it is to accomplish simple tasks without carrying a baby around with me while I did them.
I towel my hair dry and after checking in to make sure Emilio is doing okay with Luis, I turn on my laptop and check to see if any of my teachers emailed me back. I let them all know last night after I got off the phone with Mom that I wouldn’t be there. I came up with an excuse that Luis was sick and thankfully it doesn’t seem like any of them are disgruntled about it. They’re probably all married with kids of their own and while Luis isn’t actually sick, I couldn’t very well say, “My mom’s boyfriend is in custody and she’s refusing to leave his side so I don’t have childcare.” Well, I guess I could. But I don’t really want to air out all of our dirty laundry if I don’t have to.
Miguel’s in the hospital after the beating he took. He’s still under arrest. Handcuffed to his hospital bed according to Mom. But since he’s not actually in prison where she can’t see him, she’s adamant that he needs her and that she has to stay with him while he recovers. I’m not sure what she’s hoping for. He raped a teenage girl. Someone who happens to be the same age as her daughter. That she’s even speaking to the man is beyond me, but I can’t very well tell her all that over the phone.
This might be one of those things she needs to work out for herself, and with any luck, once Miguel is carted off to jail, she will. I don’t think the reality of the situation has hit her yet. She’s still trying to process everything and still clinging to the hope that this is all some horrible misunderstanding.
It isn’t. I’ve spoken to Allie on the phone a few times since Friday night and she’s confident he’s the one who attacked her. And after seeing his reaction to her with my own eyes, I believe her.
I download the assignments my teachers sent and get to work on playing catch up. Mom said she’d come home at least long enough for me to go to school tomorrow so with any luck I won’t fall too far behind only, I don’t know what will come next and I hate being unable to plan.
I spend the next hour catching up on my reading and assignments. There’s an exam in my economics class on Friday and I want to make sure I do well. With that finished, I head back downstairs and freeze at the sight of Luis fast asleep on Emilio’s chest.
Wow. I’d like to blame what I’m feeling right now on my hormones, but I have a feeling the sight of this arrogant playboy asleep with our son in his arms is something I’ll never get used to.
He must not have been too deeply asleep because the next second Emilio is cracking one eyelid open and smiling my way.
“Hey, momma.” His voice is rough with sleep. Why do those words make my toes curl? Visions of Rio from Good Girls comes to mind and I have to force myself to walk further into the room instead of standing there dumbstruck. Does Emilio have to be so hot? This would be so much easier if, I don’t know, he was average and said all the wrong things instead of unraveling me with his words and voice alone.
“How was your nap?”
His smile grows impossibly wider. “Fan-fucking-tastic. Isn’t that right, little man,” he whispers, and kisses the top of Luis's head. I swear my ovaries are on overload right now.
“How long has he been out?”
He cranes his neck toward the wall clock, his Adam's apple bobbing before saying, “Maybe twenty minutes.”
“His evening nap is usually an hour or two. Do you want me to go put him down in his crib so you can move?”
He shakes his head and beams at me. “Nah. We’re good.”
The sight of his smile tugs at my heartstrings. Emilio is more than I expected. “You’re pretty good at this dad stuff, huh?”
“Learning from the master,” he tells me and pats the space beside him.
I take the seat, leaning in to brush a lock of hair from Luis’s forehead.
“We made a great kid,” he whispers, and if it weren’t for the fact I’m sitting down right now, I would melt into a puddle of goo right here on the floor. “You did good, momma.”
A lump forms in my throat. “Thanks.”
Almost reverently, he rubs Luis back with one arm, his other thrown across the back of the sofa, and his fingers absently stroking my bare shoulder. I’m not sure if he even realizes he’s touching me, but I don’t bother to point it out.
“Can I come back tomorrow?” Emilio asks, his voice hesitant. “I know we said Wednesday and I know I wasn’t supposed to be here today but … I’ve missed so much already, and I swear the kid changes every day. I don’t want to miss out on even a second of his life that I don’t have to.”
