31. Cisco
Cisco
H is past was being brought to light, pulled from the deepest crevices he long ago buried.
That moment in his life had nearly ruined him, and all because he had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The cops took one look at him, pegged him for a druggie, and falsely accused him of something he had no part in.
There’s no innocent until proven guilty for brown men in the justice system.
It is always a fight for innocence when people in power see you as guilty.
At that time, his family didn’t have money to afford fancy lawyers.
He was appointed one who didn't seem particularly interested in him or his case.
If it weren’t for his entire family scraping together every last penny to afford a semi-decent lawyer, he’d be left rotting in prison.
It was because of this lawyer that Cisco had a solid alibi with various witnesses.
He had been at the library that night, working on a group project.
The true perpetrator was his roommate, a guy named Matthias, who sold drugs around campus for extra money.
He was paranoid the cops were onto him and would blame him for the student’s overdose, so he planted all his supplies in Cisco’s car.
Matthias was a wealthy white kid, son to a wealthy white family. Last he heard of the case, Matthias only received a pretty steep fine and community service.
Even years after the trial, Cisco faced backlash from it.
Always having to explain what happened and how he hadn’t been involved.
Nothing he said mattered though; people already made their minds up when they heard about his situation.
He had missed out on many jobs. So, the moment he started to make money as an artist, he put in effort to wipe everything from that part of his life completely away. And it had worked.
Until Archie.
It all made sense now. The denied building.
The cancelled clients. It was all Archie’s pathetic attempt to isolate Marisol and have her all to himself.
Anger like he had never experienced before coursed through his body.
It was one thing for someone to try and fuck up his life, but another thing entirely for a person to try to control Marisol’s as well.
Marisol, the woman who loved him. And the woman he loved more than anything.
His body acted of its own accord. He cocked his fist back before his mind could process the fallout this would cause. The moment his fist collided with Archie’s nose, Cisco had to admit he felt a lot better. Archie lost his balance, his arms pinwheeling before he fell down on his ass.
Someone screamed. Maybe multiple people.
“Call the fucking police!” Archie hissed, getting back up. His expression could have obliterated Cisco on the spot. The deep-seated hatred in his eyes made Archie look crazed. That was only cemented when Archie lunged for him .
“Cisco!” Marisol screamed.
He didn’t have time to acknowledge her though because Archie came at him swinging. It was clear the man had never been in a fight in his entire life because his swings were wild and unhinged. Still, one managed to connect with Cisco’s jaw. It didn’t hurt as much as it pissed him off even more.
But Archie wasn’t stopping, and Cisco wasn’t just going to stand there and let the man throw punches at him.
No, fuck that shit. Someone needed to put this spoiled dick in his place, and Cisco was just pissed enough to do that.
All his inhibitions went out the window seeing his smug face.
He’d regret this later, but he didn’t have the ability to do so now.
Cisco wailed on him again, hitting the bastard in his stomach. Archie keeled over, gasping for breath. It was the distraction he needed to tackle him to the floor before Archie could come for him again.
“What the hell is going on here?!” a loud voice boomed behind him. It sounded like Travis, but he couldn’t be certain. The room was bathed in blue and red lights, and he didn’t hear the cops until it was too late.
Someone grabbed his arms, pulling him back. Cisco’s body was in fight-or-flight mode, and he tried to jerk out of the grasp until he saw another person charging for him. A man in uniform.
A fucking cop.
He remembered vaguely Archie had called out for someone to call the police, but he hadn’t expected someone to make the call, much less them getting here so quickly. The second officer stopped before he reached Cisco and leaned down to help Archie up.
His murderous expression did little to ease Cisco’s nerves that this would end in any other way than him being booked. He pointed a finger at Cisco and yelled, “I’m fucking pressing charges. Get him out of here now!”
“No!” Marisol cried.
At that moment, Cisco’s heart broke. Not for himself, but for his girl. He knew how hard it was for her to be around her mother, especially when her mother was disappointed in her. Now Marisol would have to deal with this.
Cisco didn’t regret punching Archie. The bastard deserved it. But he did regret the look of pure terror and confusion written across Marisol’s face.
He hated being the one to have caused that.
“What is going on?!” Travis yelled again, his pale face flushed red. “I demand answers!”
Luciana hurried to her husband’s side, tears in her eyes.
Cisco wasn’t convinced they weren’t for show though.
There seemed to be a wicked delight aimed at him when Luciana looked his way.
“Cisco attacked Archie. I told you, honey, he isn’t any good for our daughter!
He’s embarrassed us in front of our friends and family on your special day. We can’t allow this.”
“That’s not the whole story, and you know it,” Marisol cried. Instead of running toward her mother, she ran to Cisco. The second cop tried to grab for her, but Marisol easily avoided his grasp.
“I’m so sorry, Cisco. I’m so, so sorry. I’ll fix this. I promise,” she said, tears streaming down her face. He had only ever seen her cry this hard once before, when Snowball ran away. It had pained him then, and it pained him even more now, knowing he was the reason for it.
“Don’t worry about me, Princesa.” But even as he said it, he knew it was stupid. If the roles were reversed, he’d be nothing but worried about his girl. “I’ll be fine.”
“This is all my fault?—”
“Absolutely not.” Cisco’s voice came out firmer than he meant it to. When he spoke again, he tried to be gentler. “Don’t for one second blame yourself for this. Archie had it coming, and I would do it again. I’ll be fine.”
The cop holding him cuffed him, reading his Miranda rights, but Cisco was barely paying attention to any of it. His gaze was locked on Marisol’s. Her devastation was palpable, and he wanted to yell at someone to comfort her since he couldn’t be the one to do it.
Luckily, someone did come up. Lola wrapped her arms around Marisol, murmuring something into her ear.
Marisol didn’t appear to be listening. She was crying too hard to take anything else in.
He wanted to reassure her one more time before dealing with the shit he was about to go through, but he didn’t get the time.
The officer turned him around and pushed him forward.
Every eye in the room was on him. He saw the judgment being passed on him, and as much as he wanted to say it didn’t affect him, it fucking cut him deep.
Each penetrating gaze made him question his own worth.
Maybe he was the monster these people tried to make him out to be.
But if being the monster meant punching bastards like Archie for a woman he loved, then he’d be her monster.
Their eyes followed him outside, where the cop opened the door to the back of the squad car and pushed him in. The last thing he saw before being driven away was Marisol’s broken face before he couldn’t make out her features anymore.