Diablo:No.
Taya:No matter. She’s a bitch. Like Mom. Gotta go. When u gonna send the money?
Diablo:In 2 hrs. Will text u. Take care.
He knew he wouldn’t hear from her again for quite a while. If people knew what she did to him, they’d think he was crazy for still talking to her, but she was his sister… his blood. As the images of his past started to creep from the dark corners of his mind, he willed them back. He didn’t want the memories at that moment. What he wanted was to have dinner with Fallon, but he knew she wasn’t ready for that.
Glancing at the clock, he decided to cut out early so he could wire the money to Taya.
A couple of hours later, he was clicking the remote absentmindedly as he stretched out on his bed, a towel wrapped around his waist. He settled on a station showing an infomercial on power smoothies, a blender mixing a container of green liquid.
A knock on his door snapped him out of his lethargy. Pulling up from the bed, he shuffled to the door and opened it. Maria stood there, her eyelids puffy and red.
“Can I come in? I really need a friend,” she said between sniffles.
Diablo nodded, stepping aside to let her in. Comfortable in his room, she went over to the bed and sat down, running her hands over the green blanket covering it. He went back to his spot on the bed, pushed up the pillows, and leaned back against the headboard.
“What’s going on?” he asked as he scanned her mascara-streaked face.
“I just found out that my brother’s got liver cancer real bad. He’s had it for a while and no one even told me.” She covered her face with her hands.
“That fucking sucks.” Diablo tugged her to him and she clung to him. “I didn’t know you had a brother.” He really didn’t know anything about her, Lucy, or any of the club girls. They never talked about family or their backstory with the brothers. He suspected the other women knew each other’s business, but the club girls were always jovial, sexy, and playful around the men.
“Yeah. Him and me were real close when we were kids. He ran away from home when I was twelve. I didn’t hear from him for years. Three years ago he found me, just like that, and we went back to being close. I can’t believe I’m gonna lose him.”
Wetness marked his chest as he lay there silently, listening to Maria’s heart break in a thousand sobs. He didn’t know what to say. It sucked that she was losing her brother, but he was a man of few words, so he just massaged her shoulder.
As the last orange and pink rays before twilight beckoned the stars, Maria pulled away and sat up straight. He handed her a box of tissues from the nightstand and she took several, blowing her nose and wiping her black-stained cheeks. “I’m sure I look a mess,” she said. He smiled. “Sorry for invading your space. I know how you guys hate an emotional woman.”
“No need to apologize. You needed a shoulder to lean on. We’re friends.”
“You can be so sweet. I wonder if your brothers know there’s a big teddy bear behind the mean exterior.” She giggled and poked him, then scooted closer to him. “You wanna fool around?”
Smiling, he shook his head. “Why don’t you freshen up and go downstairs for a bit. Being with people sometimes helps.”
“Are you coming down later?”
“Nah. I got some stuff on my mind.”
“Did you want me to bring some dinner up to you?”
He shook his head. She stood up and went to his bathroom. When she came out, she went over to him and brushed his lips with hers. “You sure you want me to go?”
Pushing back a bit, he said, “You should go see your brother. Where does he live?”
“Wichita. I don’t have the money.”
“I’ll pay for it.”
“I couldn’t ask you to do that.”
“You’re not. I’m offering.”
“I’ll think about it. I don’t want to run into my mom or sisters. I didn’t leave under the best circumstances. I got some shit going on with my family.”
“We all do,” he said in a low voice. “Just let me know.”
“I will.” She reached out and lightly tugged his beard. “You know, if things were different, like you were just a regular guy and I was a regular woman, would you be interested in me? I mean, would you date me… pursue me?”
