Page 117 of Cemetery Boys

Yadriel turned to Julian, surprised. He looked completely at ease—happy, even—which threw him off entirely. Yadriel frowned and gave a small shake of his head. “I thought I was going to release you before midnight?” he said, confused.

“Yeah, we’ve still got time.” Julian shrugged. “I’d kind of like to check everything out, anyways.” His eyes drifted around the cemetery, alight with excitement and curiosity. “Go check in with your fam,” Julian told him with an encouraging nod. “I mean, this is your big night, right? You should enjoy it.”

Yadriel wanted to argue. For some reason, Julian’s nonchalance made him angry. “But—”

“I’ll go with you,” Maritza said to Julian. When Yadriel looked at her, feeling betrayed, she shrugged her shoulders. “I mean, someone needs to babysit him.”

Julian scowled and hissed between his teeth. “Tch.”

“And I already did my chores,” she pointed out.

Yadriel bit down on his lower lip. It was a nice offer, but he wanted to go with Julian. He wanted to show him around, to point out all the details and traditions of their holiday, to enjoy and experience them with Julian, while he still had the chance.

“Yadriel!”

Yadriel spun toward the church. His dad had spotted him, a relieved smile on his face as he craned his neck to see him over the sea of brujx.

“There you are! Come!” Yadriel’s heart sank as his dad waved him over. “We’ve been waiting for you to put the final touches on your mamá’s ofrenda!”

“One sec!” Yadriel turned back to Maritza.

Julian was already backing up, his attention caught by the dance circle that was forming. “Do what you gotta do,” he told Yadriel.

“Can you stash this for me in the old church?” Yadriel asked Maritza, reluctantly slipping his backpack off his shoulder.

She nodded and took it from him. “Sure.”

He turned to Julian. “I’ll make it quick.”

“Sure, sure, sure.” He was already blending into the crowd. “We’ve got time.”

But they didn’t.

Julian threw Yadriel a smile before disappearing into the crowd.

It took every bit of self-control Yadriel had left to not chase after him.

“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Maritza repeated with an encouraging smile. “We’ll meet you at the old church. Come find us when you’re done.”

“Thanks for covering for me,” Yadriel said to Maritza. “Seriously.”

“Yeah, well.” She sighed dramatically, her mood starting to warm back up. “You owe me. Like, big time.” Maritza hoisted the backpack higher on her shoulder. “I’ll go take care of this.” She turned and took off after Julian.

Yadriel went to his dad.

“You had me worried,” his dad told him as brujx filed by, shaking his hand.

“Yeah, sorry,” Yadriel replied, sidestepping the line of people. Luckily, his dad seemed to be in a good mood. He didn’t see his tío Catriz, but before he could ask where he was, Lita spotted him and gasped.

“You are not dressed!” she scolded.

Yadriel looked down at himself. The last thing he was worried about right now was his clothes. “What do you need me to do?” Yadriel asked his dad.

“I need you to get dressed!” Lita said before welcoming a family of brujx to the church.

His dad chuckled and gave a small shake of his head. “Go get changed,” he said before nodding toward the church. “I set aside the calavera you made for your mamá. Take it to her ofrenda, and then you and Maritza can go enjoy the party for a while. How does that sound?”

“That sounds great,” Yadriel said, not even finishing his sentence before he was off and running toward the house.