Page 47 of Chula
“I don’t get this shit,” I snap at the computer sitting in front of me. Luna doesn’t look up, just continues what she’s working on, but she does answer me.
“What is it?”
“Numbers, Chula. I fucking hate numbers,” I tell her. Now she laughs a little and closes her laptop, walking over to sit next tome. She grabs the laptop off the table and pulls it into her lap to look at it.
“What don’t you get? This is all correct.”
“It is?”
“Yeah. You’re doing everything right, Marco. Cut yourself a little slack,” she says, passing back the laptop. I drop it onto the other side of me and grab her before she can walk away, and pull her into my lap. I press a kiss to the side of her head and just hold her in my arms. This is where I like her. I want her next to me all the fucking time. I want to hold her and know that she’s here.
“We have work to do,” she reminds me.
“We’re taking a break,” I tell her as I run my lips along her neck. Just then, her phone rings, and mine dings with a message. I groan, but I let her up to answer it as I grab my own and check the messages.
When I open it, I don’t like what I see. It’s a picture of me and Luna walking down the street. The number is blocked, of course it is. I’m not sure who the hell would be taking pictures of us or what the fuck it means, but I delete it and listen to her talking on the phone. In seconds, she’s screaming. I shove to my feet and move toward her when I see the smile on her face.
“We get to see him, Marco! We get to go see Davey!” She throws her arms around my neck, and I lift her off the ground, pressing kisses to the side of her neck.
“That’s good news, Chula. Very good news,” I tell her. I know this eases a little stress, but I also know that it’ll cause more when she has to leave him.
“Will you go with me?” she asks when she pulls back to look at me.
“Yeah, I’ll go. You didn’t even have to ask.”
“I love you. God, I love you, Marco.”
“I love you too.” She kisses me now, her lips soft against mine. But as quick as she kisses me, she pulls back and squeals once more.
“I have a little saved. Can we go shopping? I want to get him something from us,” she tells me.
“Of course we can. You want to go now?”
“If you don’t mind. We can see him at three.” I look at my phone to see what time it is and nod my head. Luna rushes through the apartment, grabbing her shoes and sweatshirt and pulling them on quickly. I grab my hoodie and slip it on while I wait by the door. She grabs her things and we leave, climbing in my car.
“I can’t believe we get to see him. It’s been weeks,” she rambles on, and all I can do is smile. I’m happy for her, but I also know I’m going to have to be there for her, too. She’s not going to take leaving him well. It’s going to rip her apart one more time, and I’ll be there to pick up the pieces.
We drive to the store, and she buys a few little things for him and packs them up in a bag before we head toward the address theygave us. When we pull up, I raise my eyebrows. This wasn’t what I was expecting to find. It’s too … nice.
“He’s living here?” she asks more to herself than to me.
“Looks that way.”
“Fuck, Marco. We’ve never lived in anything this nice before,” she says as she looks down at the bag in her hand.
“Don’t you fucking do that. Don’t you doubt what you got for him.”
“Look where he’s living! How the hell could I not?”
“Because it came from you, Chula. Not some rich people. You, his sister.” I see the tears in her eyes, and I reach over, gripping her chin in my hand so that she’s forced to look at me. “You are the best sister he could ever ask for. Don’t doubt that just because of material things.” Luna nods her head before I lean over and peck a quick kiss on her lips.
We both climb out, and I grab her hand, leading her up the steps and raising my hand to knock. It doesn’t take long for a woman to answer the door.
“You must be Luna,” she says, smiling brightly.
“I am. This is Marco,” she introduces me. The woman smiles and introduces herself as Mary, and invites us in. We follow her through the room until Luna spots Davey.
“Davey,” she calls softly, sobs clogging her throat. Her brother turns his head to see her, and the biggest smile I’ve ever seencrosses his face. He climbs off the floor where he was sitting and rushes toward her. He throws his arms around her, and she drops to the floor on her knees, crying and holding her little brother. The sight would bring tears to anyone’s eyes. In fact, it does. Mary rests her hand on her chest as she takes them in.
