"Like you have a better idea!"

Ruby sasses.

"I thought we'd take the honest approach and explain our sitch." They boys faked a laugh.

"Like honesty ever works!"

"Which is why we cam up with something better." Jasmine coughs, preparing her voice. "Hi Chivo! We're with the Freeridge High Band, reaching out to Band Buddy Alumni for donations!" Jasmine used her high pitch voice, while Monse and I smiled. "Once we're inisde is house, he'll tickle my instrument and release his spittle into my awaiting cup." My eyes widen, Val get your mind out of the gutter! Ohhhh i cant unsee that! Jamal and Ruby dropped the jaws, disgusted and shocked just like me.

"The lengths youll go to win!"

"We are really crossing lines here people!" Monse and Jasmine rolled their heads.

"Im not talking sex. I am talking sax!" I showed them the saxophone case.

"How do you even know he was in a band?" Jamal questions us. Jasmine chuckled as she pulled out an old year book, showing the page that Chivo was on.

"Because real leaders not only lead, but the follow leads and find yearbooks."

"Spoken like a true leader." Monse smiles.

"She knows whats up." I nodded.

"Oh so now the person you voted 'most annoying' is your new leader?" Monse and I chuckled from nervousness. He really called us out.

"Whatttt? Nooooo!" I sang looking at Jasmine.

"Hyperbole? Hyperbole." Monses voice cracks. "Jasmine is annoying when you look through the prism of patriarchy. Ive got new glasses, and Jasmines a strong woman who get shit done, so Jasmine, you're my leader."

"Yeah, what she said, cause Jasmine knows whats up. Girl power." I put my fist up.

"Feminists." Jamal whispers as he rolled his eyes. I squinted my eyes. Then Jamal and Jasmine started to argue. Ruby and I walked off.

"So that fight?" I chuckled softly. "Did you win?"

"Basically." He touched my bruised cheek.

"What are you getting into mi reina?"

"Just everything with Cuchillos and my dad, i- i just dont know." He kisses me. As he kissed me, every thought went away. It was much needed. "I needed that."

"I know." He whispers. He kissed me again. "Do you think my parents will be okay?"

"Why would you say that?" I faced him. He looks down.

"My dads been sleeping with me, the hospital bills, I just wanna know that they will be okay." I grabbed his hands.

"That mi amor, its called life. Everyone has their imperfections. It what adulting is. Your parents will be okay. I know that. And if you need anything, i mean it, Willy and I can help." I nodded. "Because you're family." We sat there, Ruby excuses himself To go talk with Abueltia. I then got a text message from Willy.

Willy: When you get home we need to talk.

I sense trouble. Great. I put my phone in my back pocket and headed with the girls. Jamal had left as he need to go to some shifts for work.

"Team Jamal is over." Ruby walks to us. "We need to join forces." The three of us smiled.

"Welcome." I smiled back. We sat on the curb, eating hotpockets, thinking ways to get the DNA.

"So for the 18th and final time...lets vote."

"I really got to go." Abueltia wobbles out of her car.

"What? Oh you cant leave." Ruby tells her. Abueltia backs up.

"Natures calling! And i really have to answer! Im going to Applebees." She turns away.

"No! Find a bush or a tree. But you cannot leave. We might need to bounce at a moment's notice." Abueltia scoffs and walks to the nearest bush. "Okay, show of hands, we have Jasmines sax...improv..." nobody said anything. "Swabbing his toothbrush?"

"Ugh." I said as I fell back.

"A loogie contest." Thats just nasty. "Oh is this even gonna work? Maybe we need to rethink this whole DNA plan. Val, you said your dad was close with Chivo, that he owed him."

"Yeah but I already used that card when we needed Cesar to stay."

"Why arent we just asking Chivo for info? He's a direct link to lil Ricky. Or maybe Monse was right. Maybe we should just take the honest approach."

"Oh so we can finally admit that you need me."

"You know that was hyperbole, right?"

"Yeah well, i accept your apology and appreciate that you acknowledge my value and finally see me, but its a bad idea. We already know where Chivos allegiance lies. So if we tell him the truth and he's still to Chico and lil Ricky and they both don't wanna be found, then we're not gonna find them."

"Going to the DNA." I said as I sat up.

"I vote for Jasmines sax."

"Yeah me too."

"Why not." I voted.

"Oh! Its time to get saxy bitches!" Jasmines sings. "Hey! Lets go!"

"I agree. Lets go." Abueltia said as she showed us the tube.

"Hold in is that Chivos spit?" Monse stops her.

"How'd you get that?"

"I was a guerrilla in La Guerra Sucia." You what now? That is something I didn't know about Abueltia. Just thinking about that, it scared me. She looks at the Chivos spit. "I can get a lot of a man."

"Did he tell you wheres Lil Ricky and Chico?" Ruby asked her.

"Expect that. Chivo doesn't know where they are or if they are even still alive." We all looked down. "So they might still be out there!" That is true. We're going to find them, and thats a promise. We all drove home.

"Monse is gonna stay over, wanna sleep over?" Jasmine asks as we all got out the car.

"Please?" Monse begs. It wasn't like a cry for help, it was more of a it would be fun.

"Yeah, I'll just pack some clothes." I waved as i crossed the street. I grabbed my keys, knowing what is gonna happen. I opened the door and went straight to the couch, waiting for Willy. He came out from his room, he stood in front of me, arms crossed.

"I got a call from school today, saying that you and another girl got into a fight." I looked down. I wasn't even ashamed of what I did. "Ooo you are so lucky that you didn't get punished, they let it slide since its the last day of school." I didnt say a word.

"She brought up dad, and proceeds to call me a Santos bitch." I told him. "So i hit her, what would you do?" Willy wasnt too happy with the answer i gave him. I stood up, trying to get away from the conversation.

"You're not going anywhere, sit." He says and I did. I didn't want to make him even more mad.

"She deserved what she got."

"Thats not your place. You could've simply walked away." If it was that easy. "Valeria, what is going on with you?"

"I dont know." I said softly.

"What am I gonna do with you?" He sighs. He sat on the coffee table. "You promised you'll change."

"With everything happening, knowing dad is still alive-" I paused. "its not an excuse." He placed his hands on mine. "She brought him up."

"I dont know if I should even ground you." I rubs his face. "You stood up for yourself but you could've done it differently."

"I wont do it again, I swear." He just sat there, quietly. He looks at my cheek. He was disappointed, i knew that he wasn't him.

"Im supposed to take care of you. You're not supposed to go down the road me and dad took. Sometimes I think to myself if Im doing an okay job taking care of you." He looks up. He was gonna cry. I went to hug him.

"You're doing what you can. Its me, not you." I whispered to him.

"Please dont turn out to be like us."

"I won't." I let go of the hug. We stood there. There was honk outside.

"Sad eyes." He points out to the window. "You want me to stay?" I shook my head.

"No, go. I was gonna go to Jasmines to sleep over." He looks at me, trying to figure me out. "Ill be okay."

"I thought-"

"She's growing on me." I gave him a small smile. He kissed my head as he walked out. I packed a bag and headed to Jasmines. Monse was already there, we changed into our pjs and got ready for bed.

"Uh you sure its cool that im staying over?" Monse tells Jasmine as she sets up the bed for us to sleep together.

"Girl how many times have got to say its fine?"

"Okay, you have a sleeping bag?"

"I can sleep on the chair." I said as I pointed to the one in the corner. She pats on the big bed she had.

"Both of yall get your bootys in bed." She pulls the covers. Monse and I looked at each other and gave in. The three of us fit perfectly. I had the edge, when Jasmine went to turn off the light, her boobs were close to my face.

"Uh Jasmine?" I stuttered.

"Dont flatter yourself." She turns the lamp off. We all laid still, awkwardly. "Thanks for having a my back, both of you." We looked at her. "I know that you're mad the guys but it was fun to feel like friends."

"We are friends." I said, looking up.

"Okay good." Jasmine sat up. "So I can be honest with you guys." Monse sighs and we sat up. "You're fun when you're not all in your head and shit." She looks at Monse. "And you, you always have peoples backs, even though you're going through stuff, like bad stuff. Thats what makes you good and its okay to let go of that anger sometimes."

"I am?"

"Really?" I said as I didn't know what to say.

"Yeah."

"Yeah Well i guess I really need to stop caring about things that I should care about." Monse says. I sat there, thinking. Why do I do that so much?

"But why?" I whispered.

"Because you're scared that people will leave you if they see that other side of you. You are scared to commit to stuff, and getting close to people. So many people left in your life and you just dont wanna be hurt like that again." A tear came down. "Its not your fault. You shouldnt care."

"Yeah but I do care. I care too much." Monse said, i felt the same way.

"Im just scared, i just wanna myself again. I hate disappointing everyone. I want to let everyone know that im okay." I sighed. "I just want everyone to be happy, my brother who was so disappointed in me today for fighting, my dad who is just an ass for not reaching out and hiding from his family and my mom who doesn't give two shits about me." They girls held my hands.

"Im totally spiraling right now either. about the fact that haven't reached out to Cesar knowing his dad is back and i dont know, maybe he really needs me and im just petty and..."

"You are not as tough as you seem. And you are as prefect as you seem either." She smiles. I chuckled.

"Oh im not? And you're not as annoying?" Monse jokes.

"Oh i know." We all laughed. "Listen, it's totes okay to care. and to care too much. And its okay to be scared. Just dont give yourselves away in the process."

"Too late." Monse said. We looked at her. Story time. "I um, i wrote my mom a letter."

"After all that shit?"

"Monse..." i sighed.

"Mm hmm." She nods.

"And?"

"And she never wrote me back." Me and Jasmine felt bad. "I dont know. Sometimes I wish I didn't know her. Then I wouldn't miss her so much. And I miss her. I really miss her." I looked at my hands. I wished i never met my mom, she wouldn't cause me so much pain and anger I have now. Maybe if I never met her, ill be okay. "I wish she was dead."

"Hey." Monse turns around but Jasmine grabs her. "Hey dont wish that. Dont ever wish that. I know what that is and..." Jasmine breaks down. "Just dont wish that okay? I know what you've been through is rough. For the both of you." I didnt say a word.

"So how about I just wish I never knew her?"

"But why? You miss her because you love her." Is that what you call love? I dont know. "And somewhere along the way, you felt that she loves you too right?" I tired to hold in my tears. Monse nods. "So why give away knowing that feeling? It may have been fleeting, but it was real. It happened."

"Screw her." I sniffed, giving Monse a hug. Jasmine also joined.

"You got us and you guys got me. Okay?" We nodded. I wiped Monses tears away. She saw me and wiped mine away. Jasmine hops out of bed. "Im gonna go check up on my dad." I kissed Monse forehead.

"Ill be back." I went to the bathroom. I closed the door behind me. I looked at myself in the mirror. I started to cry. Why didn't she want me? Did she at least love me? I pulled my phone, text the one person.

Princesa: I miss you. I want to be in your arms.

Amor: Im always here. Love you

I wiped my tears and headed to bed and joined Monse and Jasmine who just came back.

"Yall got some hairy legs." Jasmine told us, making me smile a little.

"Sorry."

"Yall better not be sleep kickers or imma kick you to the edge of the bed." We all smiled, it did lighten the mood.