Chapter 28

CHAPTER 28

I was angrier at myself than anything. Summer did not even break a sweat in taking me down and while I wanted to go back inside to redeem myself, the damage was already done.

Cholo came out the door with my backpack and laptop moments later, his face blank. He took my hand and led me to the parking lot. His silence scared me more than anything.

The drive that followed was one of the longest and worst I ever had. I expected him to snap at every traffic light that turned red but Cholo did not speak until we got past the exit.

“What happened back there?” he asked softly.

The disappointment in his voice made it worse. It would have been better if he had shouted as right now I had no idea what he was feeling. I could still remember everything that Mikayla said and I was still hurting on his behalf.

“She crossed the line, Cholo,” I replied, trying to even out my breathing. The panic was sinking in just now. “What she said was uncalled for.”

“Technically, there was nothing wrong with what she said,” he answered, gritting his teeth, and I realized he did not know that I had heard them talking that morning. “I am an illegitimate kid.”

“No one in the team even knows about that! Did you expect me to take all of that sitting down?”

“That’s just really how she is. I’m used to it.”

“Doesn’t mean you should be okay with how badly she’s treating you. I’m on your side here.”

“What you said to her was not okay either! That battle was not for you to fight. Please, Vinnie. I could have handled that on my own.”

I was about to tell him that I heard them talking that morning but my mind raced and I fumbled, unable to formulate coherent explanations.

“No. What she did was not okay. I’m not going to apologize for standing up for you.”

“What about the fact that she’s a brand rep, huh? What would become of this club once word gets around that we treated a brand rep like that? And god, after all the issues with your disciplinary case, what are they going to say about you?

You were doing so well, Vinnie, and you knew what was at stake. How could you throw all that work away?”

His words echoed, reminding me of everything Summer said earlier.

“Are we still talking about the event or is this about me being your ongoing project?”

Cholo gave me a frustrated look. “Are you kidding me?”

“Are you really just angry with me for talking to your cousin like that or did I fail some goal you hoped I would be hitting by now?”

“No, I’m angry because you are the last person I expected to look at me differently just because of what I am!”

“Tangina, Cholo, it’s not like I only choose to react when your family history comes up. No matter what name people call you, I am going to want to stand up and fight back because it was you who was involved.

If you find that problematic or unbecoming because whatever I did would reflect on you or cause a delay with your mission to straighten me out, then I’m sorry. Maybe next time I shouldn’t bother or care!”

Cholo clutched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white on the steering wheel. I leaned on the window and stared outside, breathing like I had just run a mile.

“There will always be something he’ll want to change. Is that something you can put up with?”

What if Summer was right? Cholo had always been too good for me and somewhere in my mind a nagging voice was saying that he did deserve better. It did not help that I had heard Miss Mikayla tell him that I was no good and that my irresponsibility was rubbing off on him.

I could not just shake this off. Soon enough, I would have to look at this realistically. Somewhere deep in my mind I was sure that I wanted to move ahead to the future with him but what I now feared was that he was not. Would he really want me to change? Even if I asked him, I was sure he would say what I wanted to hear but could I really fit into his world without bringing him down?

His frustrations seemed so much clearer to me now. He was under pressure from his extended family to make something big out of himself and somehow, a part of that depended on me.

I remembered the conditions of the club work. Now that I failed and got kicked out of the event, I was going to face the consequences. I had walked right into a trap and I was currently in a freefall.

Was I taking him down with me?

We came to a stop in front of my house. Exhausted, I barely got out a thank you as I moved to open the door latch but he pulled my other hand before I could get out.

“I have to go back,” he told me quietly.

“I know.”

“I don’t want you to get out of here without getting this resolved,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

“You shouldn’t be. You were right, that was your battle and I had no right to meddle,” I said, blinking back tears. I was more exhausted than anything as the seeds of doubt that miss Mikayla and Summer had scattered in my mind were blossoming into weeds, seeping into every crack. “You have to go back.”

“You do know I’d rather stay and fix this with you, right?”

“Cholo is obsessed with fixing stuff. What he can’t fix for himself, he tries to fix in others.”

“Of course,” I said weakly.

“Vinnie, please,” he pleaded, his grip on my hand getting tighter. I felt his sincerity and my stomach clenched at the thought of not being good enough for him. What good have I done in my life to deserve this?

“You’ll be late if you don’t leave now,” I answered, trying to smile. His eyes were fixed on mine, determined. “Text me when you get there. And don’t get drunk.”

“But Vinnie...” he said again, a little more exasperatedly and I cut him off with a quick kiss.

“Clock is ticking, tick tock,” I told him softly. “And believe me, Cholo. I know. But you’d be just as screwed as me if you turned up late. Gusto mo ‘yon?”

“I don’t care about Ate Mikayla. Not anymore. All I could think of right now is that I’m a jerk for yelling at you.”

“But you care about Ephemere,” I answered. “Your team is there, waiting for you and while I’m here, I’ll be rooting for you, too. Now go. Make us all proud.”

“I love you,” he answered.

I pulled him in for a longer, more heartfelt kiss and opened the car door while he was distracted.

“Okay,” I said, letting go and getting myself out of the car. “You have an event to launch!”

He shook his head and drove off. I entered the house feeling a little lighter but when I got inside my room, it all just sunk in. I got kicked out of Ephemere, Miss Co was going to flunk me because it was part of the agreement, and I was effectively delayed by one year.

My eyes caught my Seoul trip piggy bank and I started crying like a baby as I remembered my deal with dad.

I felt like the biggest failure in the world.