“Gabe, I want you to get Miles to back off.”
No is his response, then he proceeds to eat the piece of food.
I take a bite of mine because I really am hungry. “I’m a grown woman,” I argue as I eat.
“With a tendency to get and attract attention, and it seems to cause trouble as well.”
I hate the reminder; I put my food down. “I’m sorry about the club, I really am.” I look away. “But it was just a bad night.” I sniffle. “There is no need for all the overprotectiveness. The security cameras, the tracking—it’s too much.”
“Veronica, look at me.” I turn to my brother. I can see he’s worried. “You will always be protected.” He pauses. “I know it may seem like we go overboard,” he admits.
“Overboard doesn’t begin to describe it. I don’t think the president's daughter has this much detail.”
“We all just want to keep you safe. There are things that you don’t know. There are dangers that you aren’t aware of.”
Wait, what? “What don’t I know? If it concerns me, I need to know?” Oh god, does he know about the photograph I received? The thought of my brothers seeing the photo of me is sending me into a full-blown panic. I can’t have a meltdown here in front of Gabe. I force the words out. “What don’t I know, Gabe?”
Gabe shakes his head and looks away. “Nothing, just the world is a fucked-up place.” His voice is flat, and I can tell he’s lying. “I just want to keep the women I love safe.” My heart breaks for him. My brother gave his love fully, only for his heart to be shattered in return—a feeling I also understand.
“What if I promise to take self-defense classes? With Nina?” I plead.
I can see he’s thinking about it. “That’s a good start; you also need to slow down on the partying and…”
“What?” I’m eager to know what else I need to do to get Miles and my family off my back.
“And you need to take better care of yourself.” He looks at my bowl; it’s almost empty. Shame washes over me. “I’m serious, Vee. We would all worry a lot less if you took better care of yourself. Especially Mom.” There it is again. The guilt.
“I promise I’ll take better care of myself.” I reach and give my brother a hug.
“I’ll talk to the family.”
I squeal in excitement. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
“Don’t make me regret it.” He pushes a container toward me. “Now let’s eat our flan.”
“Oh, I need to tell you some news. Your friend, Cam Villanueva, donated a property to Nina’s Hope.”
His hand stops halfway to his mouth. “He did what?”
“Yup. Andrew and I, well, mostly I, will be overseeing the project.”
“Which property is it?”
“It’s the vacant lot, 1838 Skyhills Drive.”
His eyebrows lift slightly. I can tell he’s in disbelief. “Well, I’m glad that land will be of some use to someone. I’ve tried to buy it from him a couple of times, and he’s always declined my offer. I guess it just needed to be the right…project.”
I can tell he’s not telling me everything. But I decide not to push. I’ve had plenty of wins for one day. But there’s a question that still lingers. Why did he hold on to it for so long? Maybe my brother knows. I’m about to ask Gabe questions, but his phone alarm goes off. That’s new. He looks at his phone, and all the color drains from his face.
“Is everything okay?”
He composes himself. “It will be. I have to take this.”
I take that as my cue to leave, but not before he embraces me. “I love you, Veronica. Remember that I only want the best for you.”
“I know.”
Miles
