Un Encuentro Casual

[My POV.]

I froze as that chilling voice called out to me. I tried to shake it off and keep walking but I felt his hand on mine as he pulled me back, making me face him. He hadn changed at all, he still had pure eyes that confused everyone but that smirk was the real him. He walked closer to me, still not letting my hand go.

Me: ”¿Qué quieres Sebastián? ”

Sebastián: ”Ouch, why so hostile? ”

I yanked my hand away and turned to leave. He walked up behind me and whispered in my ear as his hands rested on my hips.

Sebastián: ”Didn you miss me? ”

Me: ”Not at all. ”

I walked away and I didn have to turn back to see a smirk on his face. He was the last person on the planet that I wanted to see. I took a few deep breaths before walking up to the VIP section. I sat next to Yadiel, trying to act normal. I smiled at him as he put his hand on my knee. I put my hand over his and scoot closer to him. Suddenly, he held my hand as he stood up. I quickly stood up too and heard him introduce his cousins. But as I turned to see them, my heart stopped. ~No, this can be happening!~ I instantly recognized Héctor as my old classmate. He seemed to have known we were dating as he awkwardly smiled at me and extended his hand. And Sebastián stood there with his smug expression as his hands were in his pockets. I tried to act casual and said hi to them both. But the others seemed to have noticed my tension and hesitation.

William: ”Marisol, are you okay? ”

Me: ”Ah, yeah. Sorry, I was just surprised. Héctor, I haven seen you in years. How have you been? ”

Héctor: ”Good, everything has been going well. ”

Miguel: ”You all know each other? ”

Me: ”Héctor and I were in the same grade and classes for 3 years. I just didn realize you all were cousins. ”

Héctor furrowed his brows as he looked at me.

Héctor: ”You don remember? I introduced you to Yadiel our junior year. ”

I stayed quiet, trying to remember.

Yadiel: ”That was over 10 years ago. We only said hi to each other that one time. Its normal for her not to remember. ”

Santiago: ”What a small world. Who would have guessed you all would end up meeting again like this. ”

We all smiled at each other awkwardly before Yadiel told us all to sit down. My heart was beating so fast and so loud, I couldn focus on the conversation they were having. I was feeling overwhelmed and suddenly felt Yadiel put his hand over mine. I looked up at him as he smiled at me gently.

Yadiel: ”¿Estás bien? ”

Me: ”Yeah, I guess Im just not used to this anymore. ”

Yadiel: ”Do you wanna leave? ”

Me: ”No, Im fine. Besides, I don want to ruin the mood. Everyone else is having fun. ”

Yadiel: ”Are you sure? ”

I nodded as I smiled at him as normally as I could.

Yadiel: ”Hm… I don know. ”

I leaned in closer to him and whispered in his ear.

Me: ”I mean, we could leave and have our own little celebration. ”

I pulled away to see his flirty smile. He put his hand on my cheek and leaned in for a quick kiss. The club was already packed and the others had already begun drinking. I was feeling suffocated in the VIP section with Héctor and Sebastián. I pulled Yadiel closer to me and asked him to dance. He smiled shyly and nodded. We stood up and heard the others as they began to tease us.

William: ”Oh~! Yadiel! Show her your killer moves! ”

Yahir: ”Wait, I don think Ive ever seen Yadiel dance. Shouldn we all go? ”

Miguel: ”Ey, why go make them nervous? ”

Santiago: ”They probably want privacy from us. ”

William: ”They should at least dance one song before we go join them. ”

The others agreed and we headed down to the dance floor. I led him towards the other side of the club. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he placed his hands on my hips. We began dancing slowly as he smiled at me. The song changed and I felt less anxious so I was able to dance more freely. Yadiel was able to adjust to the music and follow my lead. But as the third song was ending, the others found us on the dancefloor. To me, it was obvious Sebastián was trying to instigate something as he asked if he could dance with me. I felt Yadiels hand tighten around mine but he looked at me and asked what I wanted to do. Memories flashed in my mind and I was growing angry seeing Sebastiáns face. But I smiled and turned to Yadiel.

Me: ”You won mind? ”

Yadiel had a flicker of jealousy in his eyes but he smiled gently.

Yadiel: ”I trust you. ”

I grabbed his face and kissed him in front of the others as if we were alone. I could feel eyes piercing through me but I didn care. I pulled away and whispered in his ear.

Me: ”Its only you. ”

I pulled away completely as he nodded and let me go. I turned over to Sebastián and accepted his hand. He pulled me in for a slow dance as the music had slowed down. Some of the others had found partners to dance with. William and Yadiel stood by the dancefloor just watching. Sebastián leaned in closer and I could feel his warm breath on my skin.

Sebastián: ”Do you really like Yadiel? ”

Me: ”Its none of your business. ”

Sebastián: ”Hes my cousin and I care about him. ”

Me: ”Im sure you do. ”

Sebastián: ”Did you really not know that we were all related? ”

Me: ”Why are you asking? ”

Sebastián: ”Its hard to believe this is all a coincidence. ”

Me: ”Well it is. ”

Sebastián: ”Marisol… ”

The song ended and I pulled away quickly. I smiled at him sarcastically and thanked him for the dance before walking over to Yadiel. I quickly grabbed his hand and pulled him closer to me.

Me: ”I didn want to be rude. ”

Yadiel turned to face me with his cute smile and nodded.

Yadiel: ”Did you have fun? ”

I shook my head and he laughed. He was about to say something when Yahir came up to us.

Yahir: ”Is it okay if I ask you to dance too, Marisol? ”

I looked over at Yadiel and he said it was up to me.

Me: ”Are you sure? ”

Yadiel nodded and said he didn really mind. I looked over at Yahir and took his hand. We walked a few feet and started dancing.

Yahir: ”Can I ask you something? ”

Me: ”Sure. ”

Yahir: ”Did something happen with Sebastián? ”

I tried to play it off but my heart was beating fast as I feared Sebastián had said something or would in order to start a fight with Yadiel.

Yahir: ”Obviously you don have to tell me but… Im worried about Yadi. ”

I looked up at him as he stared at me with a pleading expression. I debated what to say as we danced.

Me: ”Yahir… If you had to choose - ”

Yahir: ”Yadi. To be honest, weve noticed the hostility Sebastián has towards Yadi. None of us know why though. ”

I nodded and smiled up at him.

Me: ”Im serious about Yadiel. Thats all I can tell you. ”

He smiled back at me and nodded.

Yahir: ”Thats all we need to know. Thank you for this dance. ”

Me: ”Thank you. ”

He gently kissed my hand and walked me back to Yadiel.

Yahir: ”Yadi, thanks for this celebration. ”

Yadiel: ”Of course, you all deserve it. ”

They smiled at each other and Yahir went back to join the others. I turned to Yadiel after seeing the club would be closing soon.

Me: ”Can we leave? ”

He looked at me surprised and worried.

Yadiel: ”Are you okay? ”

Me: ”Yeah, Im just not used to staying up anymore. ”

I smiled at him, trying to hide my growing anxiety. He studied my face for a few seconds before nodding. We walked over to the others to say goodbye when Sebastián spoke up.

Sebastián: ”Not everyone has shared a dance with Marisol though. ”

William: ”Thats not funny Sebastián. ”

Santiago: ”The club is about to close anyway, we should all get going. ”

Miguel: ”Lets hit up the taco truck by the shop. ”

Yahir: ”Yeah, Juan José, do you wanna go? ”

Juan José: ”Who exactly is going? ”

William, Santiago, Yahir, and Miguel said they were going and they looked over at Héctor and Sebastián to wait for their response. Héctor adjusted his glasses awkwardly before shaking his head.

Héctor: ”Sorry, we should head home. ”

Sebastián: ”Are you going? ”

Sebastián was staring at Yadiel with a distinct expression. Yadiel turned to face me but I shook my head.

Yadiel: ”No, Im going to take her home. ”

Sebastián nodded but I noticed his smile as he turned away. ~Im reeling you in and you think its the other way around you **ing bastard.~ The others nodded and looked back at Juan José.

Miguel: ”So, what about you? ”

Juan José looked at them for a moment before shaking his head too.

Juan José: ”Sorry, I should go to sleep soon. ”

Miguel: ”Why? We
e on vacation? ”

Juan José: ”From work, not from school. ”

Yahir: ”Alright, fine. Well do something fun later and you can join us then. Deal? ”

Juan José: ”Well see. ”

The others laughed as Juan José kept a straight face. We all said goodbye and Yadiel and I headed to my apartment. We were quiet on the way over but halfway there, he grabbed my hand and squeezed it. He didn say anything but I knew what he wanted to ask.

Me: ”Yadiel… ”

Yadiel: ”You don have to explain anything. ”

Me: ”Im not ready to tell you what exactly happened between your cousins and my family yet. ”

He turned to me surprised before focusing on the road again.

Yadiel: ”Both of them? ”

Me: ”Yeah… ”

We stayed quiet until we finally reached my apartment. He put the truck in park and I turned my body to face him. He did the same as he continued to hold my hand. I placed my other hand over his and hesitated. ~Nows my chance… I can let him get away from me again…~

Me: ”Yadiel… This isn easy for me to say… ”

He looked at me as his expression changed into that of a worried one. He furrowed his brows and I could see his breathing accelerate.

Yadiel: ”Ma- Marisol - ”

Me: ”Im not ready to tell you the whole story yet… But Im sure you heard the rumors that must have spread about me junior year… ”

He looked away and nodded softly.

Me: ”Im sorry… I just need a few days… I honestly didn know they were your cousins… ”

He looked up at me again.

Yadiel: ”Marisol, but why - ”

Me: ”Seeing them tonight… Knowing theyve both been doing well while I still live with that trauma… I thought I had made peace with it and let it go but… They don deserve – Yadiel, please… Just give me a few days - ”

Yadiel: ”Marisol… Within those few days, what do you plan to do? Why can I help you? ”

Me: ”They
e your family… I can let you. ”

Yadiel: ”But, what do you plan to do? ”

Me: ”Revenge. ”

Yadiel: ”Marisol - ”

I removed my hands and stared him in the eye. My heart was racing with adrenaline but my mind was filled with anger. Yadiel looked hurt but I had to stand my ground and pay them back.

Me: ”Do you still trust me? ”

He studied my face with a pleading expression.

Yadiel: ”I want to - ”

Me: ”So you don anymore? ”

Yadiel: ”I didn say that. Im just worried about you… If my cousins had something to do with that incident then so did Isaura - ”

I felt my heart sink as I realized that everything was making sense and all the players were known. ~So shes the crazy ex he mentioned that almost got him killed…~

Me: ”Isaura Torres? Of course… ”

Yadiel: ”Marisol, please - ”

Me: ”Ask Héctor about what happened… Better yet, ask him why he kept everything a secret. ”

Yadiel: ”What do you mean? ”

Me: ”Héctor knows what happened all those years ago. He was there. ”

Yadiels eyes grew wide and a flash of anger flickered through them.

Yadiel: ”What? N- no… ”

Me: ”Confront Héctor and see if one day you can forgive me. ”

I grabbed my bag and opened the door to get off his truck. Yadiel quickly jumped out and tried to hold me back.

Yadiel: ”Marisol, please! ”

Me: ”Yadiel… I just need time… I can put you in the middle and I don want to betray you either. Please… ”

He carefully reached for my face. I couldn help but place my hand over his as he cupped my cheek.

Me: ”This isn what I had planned for tonight. Im sorry. ”

I kissed the palm of his hand before letting go and walking up to my apartment. ~Don look back, Marisol. Not until they know just how much they destroyed you.~

[Yadiels POV.]

Despite Marisol saying she was fine, I couldn help but feel her anxiety but I didn want to make her feel worse. I kept my hand on her knee as hers rested on top of mine. I wanted her to feel comfortable and safe. I offered to take her home but she declined and instead became more flirty. She asked me to dance and somehow I understood that she just didn want to be there, although I wasn entirely sure why. She had changed completely once Héctor and Sebastián had joined us. Once we started dancing, she seemed to loosen up again. Her smile was more relaxed and genuine. This was the first time we were dancing together and I quickly became entranced by her. I had forgotten that she had been struggling as she was now smiling flirtatiously and dancing seductively against me. But soon the others came over to us and Sebastián unexpectedly asked Marisol to dance. I held her hand tightly, not wanting her to accept but I said it was up to her to decide. She decided to accept his invitation but before leaving, she kissed me passionately and said I was the only one. But something about the way she looked at Sebastián wasn sitting right. It was a look I hadn seen before so I wasn sure what she was thinking. The others and I walked over to the bar to let the crowd dance but I kept my focus on Marisol and Sebastián. ~What are they talking about?~ I felt someone nudge my arm and I finally turned away.

William: ”Why are they dancing together? ”

Me: ”No se… ”

Santiago: ”¿De que estaran hablando? ”

William: ”Somethings fishy… ”

The good thing about the club was that the songs were usually cut short and Marisol quickly pulled away from Sebastián and made her way back to me. She seemed to be worried about my feelings towards them dancing together. I tried to play it off and asked if she had had fun. She tried to be silly but I could see a hint of truth when she shook her head. The anxiety had returned to her eyes. Before I could say anything, Yahir invited her to dance too. She accepted once again and left with Yahir.

Miguel: ”Yadi… Do you know whats going on with Sebastián and Marisol? ”

I looked at him confused.

Me: ”What are you talking about? ”

Miguel: ”After you guys left to come dance, Sebastián was trying to follow you all but Héctor stopped him. It seems like they argued. ”

I turned to William but he wasn there anymore.

Me: ”William didn tell me this. ”

Miguel: ”Well, we were taking shots but I spilled mine… I don know who else noticed. ”

Before I could ask anything else, Yahir and Marisol came back and she asked to leave. By that point, I also wanted to leave but there was something off about her again. She gave me an excuse as to why she wanted to leave but it was becoming obvious that the suspicions I was having were true. I agreed and we went to say goodbye to the others. They wanted to go out to eat but I just wanted to take Marisol home. Héctor looked a little flustered as he declined to go and Juan José rejected the invitation also. We headed out and said goodbye to each other before going our separate ways. On our way to her apartment, she revealed that something had indeed happened between her and Sebastián but the more shocking part was when she said Héctor had been there that day. I tried to hold her back, but I couldn really blame her for needing space. I was related to the people that had hurt her. But I just couldn condone her seeking revenge. I didn want her to get hurt. Whatever happened involved people I was close to so that gave me conflicting feelings about who to trust and side with. But as I watched her walk away, it was becoming clear that Héctor was the first person I needed to talk to. ~I should get him alone.~ I recalled how he had behaved when he first found out I was seeing Marisol. ~He was definitely holding something back.~ I made sure she went into her apartment before heading back home. As soon as I walked in, Héctor was already there, waiting for me.

Me: ”¿Qué haces aquí? ”

Héctor stood up and looked at me with a sad yet pleading expression.

Héctor: ”Yadiel… Is everything alright? ”

I was about to tell him the truth when I remembered what Marisol had said. I clenched my fist as I tried to keep myself from lashing out. I took a deep breath and looked at him.

Me: ”Why did you keep everything a secret? Why didn you say anything sooner? ”

Héctor: ”Yadiel – What, what are you -? ”

I couldn hold back anymore.

Me: ”You were there! Viste todo lo que pasó, ¡y no hiciste nada! ”

Héctors eyes grew wide as they teared up. He opened his mouth to speak but didn say anything. I had to ask him again.

Me: ”All these years… ”

Suddenly we heard the door open but I wasn going to stop.

Me: ”For 10 years, you kept it a secret. You kept everything that happened that day a secret for over 10 years! How could you do that to her?! ”

I felt someone put their hand on my shoulder.

William: ”Yadi… Is that true? ”

I nodded and let out a few tears of my own.

Me: ”After what she went through… After I struggled to accept that Id never see her again… You just kept it all to yourself. ”

Héctor: ”I – Im sorry… I should have told you sooner… ”

William: ”What happened to family first? After everything weve done for you and Sebastián, this is a betrayal to us Héctor. ”

Héctor: ”I – I know… But I was young and stupid and I was only thinking of protecting Sebastián. The rest of us were minors, we were scared… Sebastián couldve gotten blamed and arrested so he promised to take the fall if we were ever questioned but they closed her case as an accident… Now, I realize it was likely done to protect Isaura. ”

Me: ”You still could have told me. ”

Héctor: ”Sebastián made me promise to not say anything even after the case was closed. ”

William: ”But did Sebastián hurt her in any way? ”

Héctor stayed quiet but shook his head slightly.

Me: ”Then why keep it a secret? Was he protecting Isaura? ”

Héctor: ”We thought we had to since she was unpredictable. ”

William: ”Vaya escusa. ”

Me: ”I think theres someone else you both should be worried about. ”

Héctor looked up at us and wiped his face.

Héctor: ”Im really sorry - ”

Me: ”Please leave… I can … I can look at you right now. ”

Héctor: ”E- entiendo. Perdón Yadiel. ”

He quickly walked past us and we heard the door close. I finally exhaled as William patted my shoulder.

William: ”¿Estás bien? ”

Me: ”I don know… Marisol said she needed a few days apart… I don know what exactly shes planning to do… Im worried about her… I don know what to do though… I still don know the whole story. ”

William: ”Im sorry Yadi… I don know how to help. ”

Me: ”Its fine… Wheres Santiago? ”

William: ”With Yahir and Miguel… I knew something was wrong so I rushed over. ”

Me: ”Thanks… ”

William: ”Of course. ¿Quieres algo de tomar o de comer? ”

I shook my head and headed toward my room. I felt exhausted and I just wanted to lay down. I changed into some sweats and checked my phone but there was nothing from Marisol. ~What was I expecting?~ I replayed the conversations I had with her and Héctor and was trying to piece it all together. ~So, Isaura attacked Marisol when – Was Marisol going to confess to Sebastián? But why was Héctor there?~ I was giving myself a headache trying to solve it without all the pieces. I had trouble sleeping the rest of the night and kept fighting the urge to call Marisol. I still didn know what to say to comfort her or help her. I didn know what I could say or do to ease my own pain and heartbreak. I got frustrated and got out of bed. I went out for a run and didn stop until I almost passed out. I went back home and found William cooking breakfast half asleep.

Me: ”¿Qué haces? ”

William: ”Tienes que comer algo. ”

Me: ”Im not hungry. ”

William: ”Yadi, it wasn a question. Im almost done, go shower. ”

I nodded and took a quick shower. We ate quietly and I got up to clean while William finished his coffee. We heard the door open and I assumed it was Santiago coming home. I was drying my hands when I heard William get up.

William: ”¿Qué carajo quieres tú? ”

Sebastián: ”Y esto? ”

I walked out to calm William down even though my blood was boiling.

Me: ”What are you doing here? ”

Sebastián: ”Am I no longer welcome? ”

Me: ”Depends. What do you want? ”

Sebastián: ”Héctor told me what happened last night. I came to clear some things up. ”

Me: ”I don care what your excuses are. ”

Sebastián: ”I didn come here to give excuses, I came to give my side of the story - ”

Me: ”I don care. ”

Sebastián scoffed as he crossed his arms.

Sebastián: ”So, you
e only going to take Marisols word for it? ”

Me: ”Whatever happened back then is between you all. Im not taking sides. ”

Sebastián: ”Tal parece que sí. ”

Me: ”Think whatever you want. ”

Sebastián: ”So, you
e also not mad that she was on her way to confess to me? ”

Me: ”Just because she had a crush on you back then doesn mean she still likes you. Especially since all you did was hurt her. ”

Sebastián: ”I tried to save her! ”

Me: ”Yeah, Im sure you did. ”

Sebastián: ”I liked her too! ”

I glared at him, unsure if he was telling the truth or just trying to manipulate me.

William: ”¡Basta de mentiras! ”

Sebastián: ”No es mentira… La quería a ella… Decidí romper con Isaura cuando la conocí. ”

Me: ”¿Cuando la conociste? ”

Sebastián: ”Desde que entró a la escuela… Como no iba a conocerla si siempre estaba con Héctor… Era tan callada y pura… En el último año, me dijeron que ella ya tenía años de quererme y le dije a Isaura que ya no quería nada con ella y empezó a ir a la escuela todos los días para pedirme otra oportunidad. No me esperaba que intentaría lastimar a Marisol… Lo siento Yadiel. ”

My fists hurt from having them tightly clenched as I heard his version of events. I couldn believe what he was saying. Ever since he became interested in dating, he seemed to have a specific type that Marisol didn quite fit into in terms of looks. Even though I had always considered Sebastián a kind and down-to-earth kind of guy, he did come off as shallow when it came to his girlfriends. He liked women that were incredibly thin, light-complected, with light brown hair, and colored eyes. Marisol had always been curvy, was lightly tanned, and had deep brown eyes and dark brown hair.

Me: ”Why would you find her attractive when she wasn your type at all? ”

Sebastián: ”Exactly… She wasn my type which is what made her more interesting… I was curious to know her and understand why she attracted me so much… I asked her to dance last night to see if there were any feelings left. ”

Me: ”Were there? ”

My heart beat faster as I waited for his response. His face the entire time had a look of remorse but there was also a hint of arrogance.

Sebastián: ”I think you know the answer. ”

Me: ”No, I don . ”

Sebastián: ”Are you still seeing her? Or did she ask for space? ”

Me: ”Its not because she still has feelings for you. ”

Sebastián: ”Yadiel, being in denial won do you any good. ”

William: ”Sebastián, what are you getting at? ”

Sebastián: ”Im going to pursue her. ”

William: ”What?! Sebastián! ”

Me: ”Dejalo. ”

William: ”Yadi? Are you seriously going to let him go after Marisol? ”

Me: ”Yeah. Shes free to choose whoever she wants. ”

I walked past Sebastián and locked myself up in my room. ~Theres no way hes telling the truth… Is he? Has he already talked to Marisol? Is Isaura involved in this somehow? Marisol… I don know if Im helping you or hurting you by standing still like this…~ I heard the door slam and waited a few seconds before going back out. William looked over at me worried.

William: ”Yadi… What are you thinking? ”

Me: ”I think hes lying about liking her but I don know why… Im worried… What if Isaura has something planned and Sebastián is helping her somehow? ”

William: ”Theres still something I don understand though, why was Héctor there that day? Was he there to help Sebastián get away from Isaura? ”

Me: ”I don know… That could be the reason. ”

William: ”We need to keep an eye on both of them. ”

I nodded but I wasn sure what to expect. I kept saying that I didn care or that it didn matter anymore, but I needed to know what exactly happened. It seemed like William was thinking the same thing as me and suggested we try inviting them to dinner to apologize and let them come clean about their roles that day. We were going to wait to invite them when Santiago called and said the others wanted to have a carne asada at our place.

Me: ”Fuck. ”

William: ”Should I tell him -? ”

Me: ”No, its fine. Maybe if we
e all together, things won escalate. ”

He nodded and told Santiago to tell the others to bring whatever they wanted. He hung up and said he was going to shower to go to the store and get some groceries for tonight. I agreed and went to see what I could get started with. I made a list of ingredients we needed and gave it to William as he headed out. The others said they would arrive around 5 PM to get started on the carne asada. I got started on the charro beans since that would take the longest to cook, then went to clean up the patio area. We had a decent-sized patio balcony so the inside wouldn get too crowded once everyone got there. I tried to keep myself busy with cleaning and setting up the table for when the others got there. After about an hour and a half, I heard the door open. I went to see if William needed help and saw Juan José coming in right behind him.

Me: ”Falta mucho? ”

Juan José: ”Yo voy Yadi. ”

I nodded and went back into the kitchen to help put away all the groceries. Juan José came back in with the beers and set them on the table.

Juan José: ”¿Qué más necesitan? ”

Me: ”Right now, nothing. Its still early. ”

He nodded and went over to the couch to sit down. He was quietly scrolling through his phone when I went over to sit down next to him.

Me: ”¿Qué ves? ”

Juan José: ”Nada. ”

He put his phone down and adjusted himself in his seat.

Juan José: ”¿Cuándo llegan los otros? ”

Me: ”They said 5 but I think theyll be here soon. ”

Sure enough, by around 3 PM, the others arrived and got started lighting the grill. The only ones missing were Héctor and Sebastián and I assumed it was because they felt a bit awkward about our arguments. But surprisingly Héctor showed up after the others kept calling him to come over. We were surprised to see him come alone as he and Sebastián were almost as inseparable as William and I or Yahir and Miguel.

Miguel: ”Wheres Sebastián? ”

Héctor: ”Ah, he wanted to stay home. ”

Miguel: ”Is he okay? ”

Héctor: ”Yeah, Im sure its nothing serious. ”

Santiago: ”Does he feel sick or what? ”

Héctor: ”He didn say, he just said he didn have the energy to get up. ”

Santiago: ”Maybe its just exhaustion, its a good thing we
e on vacation. Well let him rest. Come on Héctor, help me with the meat, please. ”

Héctor awkwardly walked over to help Santiago as he avoided making eye contact with me and William. The others didn really seem to notice that something had happened and we preferred that way. We were able to enjoy a nice meal as we talked and joked around. The others were drinking a lot and before we knew it, we had run out of beers. It was around 10:30 PM by that point but their energy was still high.

Yahir: ” We should at least do some shots. Yadi, do you guys have any tequila? ”

Me: ”No, Ill go buy some. Yall are too drunk. ”

Others: ”Thanks Yadi! ”

I laughed to myself and headed out to the store to get a few bottles of different liquors. As I was coming back, I saw Sebastián pull in and run up to my apartment. I rushed up behind him. He threw open my door and yelled out for me. I heard William tell him I wasn there. I stayed at the front door to listen in.

Sebastián: ”How long ago did he leave? ”

William: ”Why? Whats going on? ”

Sebastián: ”Theres something I need to tell him. ”

William: ”What? Whats going on Sebastián? ”

Sebastián: ”I need to talk to Yadiel. ”

I heard him coming towards the door before William called him back.

William: ”He should be back in a bit. Come eat first. ”

Sebastián: ”Im fine. ”

Héctor: ”You went to see Marisol, didn you? ”

By that point, I couldn just stand there and listen. I went through the door as Sebastián turned to leave and Héctor angrily confronted him.

Héctor: ”You slept with her, didn you?! ”