Page 6 of Contrition

Immediately, my face flamed and my hackles raised. My voice was cold and distant when I spoke next. It was always anytime he was brought up with no warning. “When?”

“A month ago.”

“A month?!Mamá! You should have told me. He still hasn’t even sent back the last round of divorce papers back, and it’s been two months.”

“About that…”

My teeth ground down in anger. “What?”

“There was also a piece of paper mixed in with the tickets. It just said ‘No.’”

That time, I really did growl, and I was sure my mother had pulled the phone away from her ear at the sound. I was likely minutes away from blowing a gasket—a trait fallen directly from mypapá—and I’m sure she would be hanging up any second due to it.

The anger was unbelievably valid though, and I refused for anyone else to tell me differently.

Zack couldn’t sign the divorce papers that he should have signedeight years agowhen he ruined everything and shattered every last innocent piece of my heart—but hecouldsend countless tickets and flights to my mother’s address for nearly two years now.

Yet, I never found an email, text message, or anything else from him.

A ghost, if not for the random tickets and gifts.

What a fucking joke.

At that exact moment, my laptop pinged with two notifications. I groaned as I sat up to reach for it. My eyes scanned the emails briefly, though my breath stilled as I held the phone to my ear.

No.

No, no, no, no.

“I have to go,Mamá.”

“What? What are you goi—” I clicked the red button and tossed my phone half haphazardly. I would end up paying for that later, I knew, but my eyes couldn’t help but scan the emails again and again.

To: Estrella Flores

From: Rockin’ Wild Talent Agency

Hi, Estrella!

We hope this email finds you well. While we sincerely apologize for this short notice account, one of our photographers assigned to Twisted Tours—anonymous due to privacy stipulations—has been fired from our agency, and we need you to step in their place. Since you are already in the state from our assignment with Neon Cherry, along with your gracious skill level, we thought it would be best to select you for the project. While I do recall you requesting to be taken off this tour months ago, we are slim on last-minute options. That said, with your freelance and open availability contract in mind, we will be redirecting your flight from your current location to one closer to the venue. I am also attaching a set list of the musicians/bands you will be following directly. As a heads up, this list is smaller than general for a weekend-long music festival, due to the high-prolific names, so you will have more free-time than usual. As always, all accommodations are paid for in full. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Dread filled every part of me as I read the set list next, attached in the form of a PDF with my name, headshot, and information that would be given to every band’s media manager, who were all CC’d in the email, as well. My heart beat so fast that I felt the pulse in my ears.

From Stars To Evolution

Neon Cherry

Obsidian Static

Fuck.

There weren’t enough curse words in the English or Spanish dialect right then.

I clicked on the second email, and my dread only settled in on itself.

To: Estrella Flores

From: MIDWESTERN AIRLINES

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