Chapter 21

"Homecoming" by Kanye West plays through Seb"s speakers in his car with Sophia and me as we make our way to see Christian. It is our weekly visit, but I am not in the mood. But I promised he could maintain a relationship with her, so I can't back out.

Despite Seb"s reluctance to see him, I asked him to give me a ride to the jail. Seb and Christian are not only cousins but were also best friends. After what happened, Seb couldn"t bring himself to forgive him. He didn"t care if they were family.

When we get to the prison, we go through all the security checks and finally reach the visiting room. Surprisingly, Chrisitan is already there with a guard, waiting for us.

As soon as Sophia"s sweet and bubbly gurgles echo through the room, Christian"s head whips around, his eyes lighting up with pure joy. His face breaks into a wide, almost ridiculous grin.

"Hey, sweet girl," Christian coos as he wraps his arms around her. You can tell by the way Sophia"s eyes sparkle with excitement whenever she sees her daddy.

I take my usual spot in front of Christian, and when I glance over to where Seb is standing a few feet away, Christian follows my gaze and becomes tense upon seeing Seb leaning against the wall. He turns back to me with a saddened expression.

"I"m sorry, but he"s not there yet," I explain to Christian, who nods in response. "Not everyone can be as forgiving as I am," I remind him with a sigh.

We spend the next few minutes talking about the recent moves of our mutual friends and family members. I must have been lost in my thoughts when Christian suddenly calls my name. "Reina, are you okay?" he asks, his voice laced with concern.

"Yeah, I am," I lie, forcing a smile.

"Liar," he calls me out with a grin. "Don"t forget I know when you"re lying."

"How? It"s been so long since we"ve been together."

His face sobers. "Just because we"re not together doesn"t mean those feelings we had go away. I still remember everything about you."

He clears his throat as the mood has shifted between us. I may have forgiven him, but I"m not ready to go down memory lane.

"So, how are you feeling?" he asks.

"I"m okay. My symptoms weren"t the same as when I had Sophia, but I"ve been managing," I reply.

Sophia ends up falling asleep in Christian"s arms. He runs his finger down her cheek and says, "He hurt you, didn"t he?" he asks, not looking at me.

"Hmm?" I ask.

He raises his gaze at me. "Donovan. He hurt you."

I look away, not wanting to involve him in my love life. When I don"t respond, he continues. "I get it. You don"t have to tell me, but I still want to be your friend, Sadie. I"m 100 percent lucid and feel everything, and I can sense your sadness."

When I look back up at him, his smile never wavers, and for the first time in a long time, I see the old Christian—the young boy who loved me with all his heart a long time ago. I give him a heartfelt smile. "His words did, but not intentionally. I"m sure we"ll figure it out eventually," I say.

He nods. "Just know that us guys speak without thinking, and a lot of times, it"s in the heat of the moment. Even though the words are spoken, it doesn"t mean they"re the truth."

"So, you"re saying that it"s like someone drunk saying things they don"t mean, but really, they did?" I challenge.

He chuckles. "Not really. When you love someone, like really love someone, hurting them feels like a way to escape their true feelings."

"Which is?" I ask.

"Regret for feeling the way he does."

What he says makes sense, and it"s something Donnie would do. He"s held in so much guilt from the moment he came back into my life, and the secrets and the pain that came along with it. I wish I could erase that pain from his heart and replace it with hope.

When it"s time to leave, Seb stands beside me as Christian leans down and kisses his daughter"s head while she sleeps. He hands her back to me, Seb beside me, his hand on my lower back.

"Seb," Christian says as he rises to his feet. I glance over his shoulder to see the guard approaching us.

"It"s good to see you, hermano," Christian says, but Seb just grunts, making Chrisitan smirk.

"I see you"re still stubborn as fuck."

"I see you"re as ugly as usual," Seb retorts, but his smirk grows into a wide smile

We say our goodbyes and leave the prison. I wait at the front entrance until Seb pulls the car up. He helps me buckle Sophia in her seat and opens the passenger door. The car ride home is quiet. I am lost in thought until Seb speaks.

"Reina, he doesn't regret you."

I turn to him, furrowing my brows. "What are you talking about?" I say over Bad Bunny"s and ROSALIA "La Noche de Anoche."

"D-boy." Seb quickly glances in my direction before his eyes return to the road. "He"s struggling, babe. He"s got a lot on his plate, and he wants to be a great father and the man you need him to be can take a toll on a brother."

I know he"s right, but it still hurts like hell knowing that Donnie is keeping a secret from me.

"He"s already a great father. I never wanted him to feel the way he does. I don"t want to be the reason he can"t experience a normal college life." I sigh and lean my head back. "Maybe it was a mistake to move here."

"Well, tough shit, because we ain"t all moving back." I lazily roll my head to look at him. "I"m serious, Riena. Do you know what a pain in the ass it was to move here? Plus, breaking our mothers' hearts?"

I laugh at him.

"Why are you laughing?" he asks incredulously.

"Because you"re so full of crap," I say, and he smiles. "Thank you," I tell him.

He smiles and nods and looks back to the road. "You hungry?"

"God, yes."

A deep chuckle escapes his chest.

We drive another ten minutes before we hit the city. We pull into the Burger World drive-through, and he rattles off our order.

"Why isn"t this line moving?" I grumble, my patience wearing thin. We"ve been stuck in the same spot for the last fifteen minutes without moving a single inch. We can't back up or drive around the car in front of us because part of the lot is closed off because of ongoing construction.

I squirm in my seat, desperately trying to find a position that eases the discomfort in my back. I strain my neck, peering out the window, hoping to see some movement in the line.

Nope. Nada.

I can"t see shit because of the big ass truck that looks like a monster truck that's blocking my view.

I"m tired, hungry, and need to use the bathroom. I turn to Seb, who is singing quietly along to "Mecánico" by Grupo Niche. Seb has always been old school when it comes to salsa music. Usually, I would sing along with him, but at this very moment, I want him to shut the hell up.

"Sebastian," I growl as I try to concentrate on staying calm before I murder my best friend.

"Oh, shit," Seb chuckles. "Sophia, your mom must be pissed off if she's using my full name," he says, grinning at me.

Sophia giggles and babbles in response.

I glare at him, and his shoulders start to shake with laughter. He keeps his one hand on the steering wheel, tapping his tattooed finger along with the beat of the song.

"Stop smiling, you asshat!" I growl, his lips stretching into a full grin.

"I"m sorry, Reina," he chuckles.

"No, you"re not," I snap, rubbing my belly.

He opens his mouth to speak, but something amazing happens.

The line begins to move.

"Finally!" I blurt with my hands in the air, startling Seb.

"Jesus, Reina," he mutters. "That was really fucking loud."

"Good. You deserve it," I retort with a bit of sass in my tone.

He laughs. "For what? Picking your ass up when you needed me? For getting you food?" he asks, clearly amused.

I don't respond when we finally arrive at the window to pay for our food.

A middle-aged female worker slides the window open and repeats our total. Seb pulls out his wallet from his pocket and hands her a crumpled twenty-dollar bill.

After she takes the money, she walks away for a few seconds and returns to the window, handing Seb our food in a brown paper bag.

Seb hands it over to me, and I check the bag, making sure that everything we ordered is there. I frown when I notice that one of the items is missing.

I grunt in annoyance, and Seb looks at me curiously. He asks, "What"s wrong?"

"Argh! The order is all wrong." I lean over Seb and notice the window is closed. "Hey!" I yell, hoping to get a worker"s attention at the same time Sophia mimics my outburst and starts giggling.

"Calamate, Reina," Seb scolds, reaching over and lightly tapping on the window. The lady opens the window. "Your total is $14.75," she says quickly without looking at us.

"We already paid," Seb tells her.

She turns to face us, her gum smacking loudly. "What"s the problem?" she says, leaning over the window, snapping her gum with an air of indifference.

Seb is about to respond, but I cut him off. "Our—"

"Our order is wrong. We got a cheeseburger instead of a double," I explain, holding out the single cheeseburger.

She takes the burger from me, opens it, and scrutinizes it, probably to make sure that I told the truth. "You"ll have to pull up to spot number two," she says, handing the burger back to me. "We"ll get you another burger, but it"ll take about ten to fifteen minutes."

My eyes widen. "Ten to fifteen minutes?" I repeat incredulously. "Are you serious?"

"Look," she says, leaning over. She glances behind us at the row of people waiting in their cars. She then turns to me and says, with a hint of irritation in her voice, "I have a whole row of people behind you waiting for their food. I don"t have time to sit here and argue with you." Appearing frustrated, she points to a spot in front of us. "Go wait, and someone will bring out your food," she firmly instructs us.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I spit. "It"s called fast food for a reason. If you had done your job right the first time and given us the right order, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

All I want is my damn burger!

"Excuse me?" She rears back and shakes her finger in the air. "I know you ain"t talking to me like that."

"Ah, yeah, I am." I glance around, pointing. "Do you see anyone else?"

"Reina," Seb warns, but I don"t stop.

She slams the window shut, returns moments later, and hands us a bag. "Here." She tosses it at Seb, which just gets my blood boiling.

"Oh, fuck no." I unbuckle my seat belt, but Seb grabs my wrist. "Stop it." He grits his teeth. "The hell is the matter with you? Your daughter is in the back seat." He doesn't wait for my response and turns to the woman, tosses the bag in her face, and tells her off. He rolls up his window and drives away.

I look behind me, and Sophia is smiling as if she finds the whole interaction hilarious. I blow her a kiss, and she catches it effortlessly and sends it back to me.

"I want my burger," I whine and turn back to face the front.

"Yeah, I don't think so. I don't want her to fucking spit in our food. I"m taking you to McDonalds," Seb says as he takes a right out for the parking lot.

I lean back with a pout. "I don"t want McDonalds."

"Well, tough shit. That"s all you"re getting."

***

Sebastian

We have just finished devouring our burgers from McDonald"s when flashing red and blue lights suddenly appear in the rearview mirror. I pull over to the side of the road.

I look over to see Sadie visibly nervous and glancing behind us. "What the hell, Seb?" she mutters. "Were you speeding?"

"No, I wasn't. Stay calm, everything will be okay."

I force a small smile before reaching over to turn off the music and roll down the window as cop one approaches my side of the door, and cop two stands beside Sadie's. Cop one takes his time, making us wait in silence, my anxiety rising with each passing moment.

"Good evening, folks. Can I see your license and registration?" Cop number one says, his tone curt and authoritative.

I comply, handing over my license and reaching toward the glove compartment for my registration when the cop interrupts me.

"Careful." His sharp and commanding voice causes me to freeze in my tracks.

Looking up at him, I feel the tension rising inside me. Since Sadie and Sophia are in the car, I remain calm and collected. "I"m getting my registration," I say.

The cop nods in response, and I breathe a sigh of relief internally as I continue to reach for my registration. Suddenly, I freeze as I catch sight of my firearm stashed in the compartment.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!

The cop"s demeanor shifts, his voice now laced with hostility as he demands, "Sir, slowly step out of the vehicle, now."

I nod and notice the officer"s hands resting on his own weapon.

As if Sophia could sense the tension, she begins to cry.

Sadie unbuckles her seatbelt and turns around to comfort her daughter. "Don"t move, ma"am," cop two commands.

Sadie freezes.

"I need to take care of my daughter. She"s clearly upset." Sadie explains over Sophia's cries.

"Please stay still," he repeats firmly.

Cop one swings open my door, catching me off guard. "Step out of the car," he repeats, and I do as he says by stepping out.

Cop number one instructs me to walk in front of my car and place my hands on its hood, and I feel the engine's heat on my hands as I do.

"I have the right to know why you pulled us over," I say. The officer steps behind me, kicks my legs open, and starts to pat me down, probably checking for any other weapons.

"What"s the gun for, sir?" the cop asked, his eyes never leaving my face.

"It"s for protection, officer," I respond calmly, keeping my cool.

The officer"s scrutinizing gaze bore into me. "Is it registered to you?" he inquires.

I nod. "Yes, it"s registered to me," I replied.

"To answer your question, we pulled you over because we received a call that this car was reported stolen, and you are holding a young woman and child at gunpoint."

I glance over my shoulder to look at the cop and ask him, "Are you serious?"

He responds with a stern nod and says, "Yes, I am serious."

I shake my head in disbelief. You"ve gotta be fucking kidding me. "That's bullshit. She's like a sister to me and this car is not stolen," I ground out, clenching my jaw tightly in an attempt to keep my anger in check.

"Then you wouldn"t mind coming down to the station," he says. "Put your hands behind your back," he orders, but before I can ask him what the fuck, I watch in horror as cop number two pulls Sadie out of the car.

"We didn't do anything," Sadie cries out and tries to free herself from his grip. Anger bubbling up inside me at the sight and sounds of Sophia's cries, my voice rises in protest. "What are you doing? She"s innocent!"

The cop ignores my plea, his focus solely on Sadie. Sadie's anger quickly turns to fear, and tears glisten in her eyes. She tries to reason with the officer, her voice trembling, "Please, we haven"t done anything," she pleads, her gaze shifting to Sophia, who's reaching out for her. Sophia"s face is bright red, and her cries are excruciating to hear, causing a knot to form in my stomach. "I need to take care of my daughter," she cries. "You're scaring her!"

"Reina, stop! Don't fight. Everything is going to be okay," I try to reassure her but can still hear her whimper, making my insides boil. The thought of anyone hurting her again has the beast inside me raging.

The police officer proceeded to firmly secure handcuffs around my wrists and escorted me to the back of the police car.