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Chapter 2

Fiugurikio POV

Today marks the sixth anniversary of our departure from El Cárcel de Los Muertos. Carlos is currently driving me back home to my apartment.

When we pulled up, I immediately got off of the car and ran towards my apartment building. Since we were both students, we lived pretty far from each other. I unlocked my apartment's front door and rushed inside, heading directly upstairs.

Just like the previous night, I heard my phone ringing. I ran into my room, opened the laptop on my desk, and checked who was calling.

It was Maria again. Oh man, I hope she hasn't cried herself to sleep yet. This sucks.

"Hello?" I spoke, picking up my phone from the side table.

"Nat, thank God! Listen, I'm really sorry to bother you, but I'm kind of freaking out, okay?"

"Oh, don't worry. What's wrong?" I said while sitting down on my bed.

"Well, Carlos told me that his dad didn't really want him to come over, but he did anyway. That's why he left yesterday. He was really torn up about it. And now he's missing. He doesn't even know where he could be," she explained anxiously through the phone.

"Woah, wait a minute, hold on. Carlos came over? To your place? Where are you?"

"Yeah, at his house. He's just here, I'm outside his bedroom window," she whispered to the phone. "Can you believe it?!"

"I mean, I thought he might come home, but I never thought he would willingly go somewhere with his dad!"

"Me neither," she agreed.

"Are you okay?" I asked worriedly.

"No, but I will be. Thank you for calling me back. I knew you would be able to calm me down," she said while sighing heavily. "Thank you so much!"

"Anytime, Maria. Just please try to stay calm and breathe with me," I instructed her before speaking again. "And, uhm, call Carlos back later. Maybe he knows where he can find him, okay?"

"I will. Thanks again, Nat. Bye."

After hanging up, I called Carlos back. I was waiting patiently by his window for him to answer the phone. I saw his shadow move in the dark as he walked to the door. When the door opened and he stepped outside, it was already quite dark. He looked around for a moment, making sure nobody could see him before closing the door behind himself.

He went to stand right beside me.

"Why are you standing here, dummy? Go inside! Get in before you catch a cold," I teased him playfully.

"You know me; I have no problem with getting hypothermia. Especially on your account," he grinned and wrapped his arms around my waist. "But I couldn't find any place to park. The streets are empty, so it wouldn't be safe anymore, you know? So I brought you home instead."

"Aww…"

"I missed you though…" he confessed, still hugging me. "I'm sorry for breaking up with you like that. I really meant it when I said that it would only be a temporary thing..."

"Don't worry about it. As you said, you needed to leave," I assured him and smiled. "Besides, you promised to call me tomorrow. Now, let's go to bed. You look tired."

"Alright," he agreed and gave me another kiss, this time more passionate than the last. We stayed locked together in our embrace for some time. After all that had happened yesterday, I finally felt like he wasn't alone anymore. For me at least. "Come on, let's go to sleep" he said softly and gently pushed me into the kitchen. I sat down at the table and waited for him to start cooking dinner.

"So... How was your day?" I said while watching him chop vegetables.

"It was fine. Nothing special. We're going to visit my grandparents in San Lorenzo next weekend. My brother invited us."

"Your family sounds nice. Does they live close by?"

"Actually yes. They live in a huge mansion near the town square. I haven't seen them in years…" he said while looking dreamily out of the big kitchen window towards the direction of San Lorenzo. "They are so old, they can barely remember me at this point. They used to take care of me during school, but now that I have graduated, they no longer give any attention to me."

"Carlos? Why are you talking like this?" I asked, concerned about him. "You know, they love you very much and want you to be happy, right?"

"Of course they love me. They just don't want me to follow their footsteps because there's no reason for me to. Plus, I love my life here and this is where it's supposed to end."

"Hey, stop talking like that, alright? They don't need to know what you decide on," I warned him quietly.

"I know… But… they deserve to know. I have been away for so long already, but I just keep coming back to my mother, to my sisters. Everything reminds me of him, but I know that I won't ever get a chance to experience everything he experienced because of me. All my family wants is a little boy that will fill the gap in his heart that I will never be able to fill. It hurts, Nat. Every single second that I spend with them, I feel like it's too soon to be leaving."

"If you really mean that, then… you should try and go. If that makes you happy, you shouldn't fight it. You've already made it clear, that you have nowhere else to go. Don'