Chapter 21
Triana~
Tomorrow was the day, and my hands shook as I packed my one bag, leaving everything else to collect dust until the bank foreclosed on my home.
As much as I wanted to take all my favorite memories with me, it just wasn’t possible.
We needed to travel light just in case we were pulled over or anything like that.
With only one overnight bag, we could claim a weekend getaway or pitch a last-minute camping trip.
As for the other details, Kairo and I had spoken all week long, tweaking my plan here and there.
Instead of using my car, Kairo had suggested that we take his, knowing that if we got pulled over or anything of that nature, the police would run his plates to see that he was Alvin Booker’s son, limiting any possible hiccups.
He had also talked me out of emptying my bank accounts.
He had claimed that all my preemptive moves were a bit premature right now.
He felt as if those moves needed to be made once we got close enough to the border to matter.
He had also explained that the trip itself was not guaranteed, and if we needed to go our separate ways to save ourselves, then I’d still have something to come back to.
So, as I’d thought about it some more, instead of paying off my car and withdrawing all my money, I had made extra payments on both my car and my house, three months in advance. I’d also done the same with my utilities, leaving enough credit on all my bills to see me through those three months.
My only real regret was Tomasco. As much as I wanted to tell him goodbye, I knew my brother well enough to know that he’d never let me go without a fight, and that was just something that I couldn’t risk.
Not only would he flip out about me wanting to make my way to Mexico, but I couldn’t even imagine how he’d react to learning about Kairo.
So, all I could do was assure him that I was okay once we got into Mexico, and if I had to buy a million burner phones to keep him informed of my wellbeing, then that’s what I’d do.
After all, it was the least that I could do for him being such a great big brother all these years.
As for my parents, I was still angry enough to feel as if I didn’t owe them anything, and I figured that Tomasco could be the one to inform them that I was well, and that was even if they cared.
Right now, I wasn’t even sure if my absence would bother them at all.
With my father’s image his only concern, I could see him forcing himself not to care what happened to me, and that just fueled me more.
A knock on my door had me jumping, paranoia already dancing along my nerves. While I was still determined to go through with this, that didn’t mean that I wasn’t very aware of how dangerous this was. I knew the risk that I was taking, but quiet moves never accomplished anything.
I was halfway to the door when the knock sounded again, and when I finally swung it open, Sonia was standing on the other side, and that familiar pressure of impending tears hit the back of my eyes.
Even though I knew that Sonia would always be on my side, that didn’t mean that leaving her wasn’t going to hurt badly.
I was never going to see her again after tonight, and that was hitting me a lot harder than I’d been expecting.
“Hey, what’s up?” she greeted as I stepped back to let her inside. “Where’s the fire?”
Before I’d started packing, I had sent Sonia a text, asking her to come see me, letting her know that it was important and couldn’t wait.
I also hadn’t been worried that she wouldn’t show because Sonia had always been a solid friend, and fully aware of what I was going through with my parents, I knew that she’d come, which made me feel even more despondent over leaving her.
“I need to talk to you,” I told her. “There’s something that...that I need to tell you.”
Sonia’s blue eyes immediately widened. “Oh, God...you missed your period.”
My head reared back, and despite it all, I couldn’t help but choke out a laugh. “No!”
“Then what else could it be?” she asked, still wary that I might be pregnant.
“Well, it’s not that I’m pregnant,” I drawled out. “I only had sex with Kairo last week.”
“So, that doesn’t mean anything,” she argued.
“I’m also on birth control,” I reminded her. “For as magnificent as Kairo Booker might be, his swimmers would have to be pretty impressive to accomplish that feat.”
Accepting that, she asked, “So, then...what’s going on?”
I jerked my head towards the bedroom, gesturing her to follow me, and she automatically followed like I knew that she would. Sonia trusted me as much as I trusted her, so it’d never occur to her to feel cautious around me.
However, the second that she saw the bag on the bed and the toiletries next to it, she stopped in her tracks, the evidence spelling out a scenario that was as clear as day. I was packing, but not like I was moving into another house.
“What’s this?”
“I’m leaving,” I finally told her.
“You’re leaving?” she echoed. “Leaving where?”
My heart started pounding in my chest as I said the one word that I’d never be able to take back. “Mexico.”
“Oh, God,” she rushed out as she dropped on my bed. “Triana...”
“I can’t do it anymore, Sonia,” I told her as I pushed my bag to the side in order to sit down next to her. “I can’t.”
“Triana, you can’t...this is insane,” she stammered, her blue eyes filled with concern.
“It’s the only way that I can be happy,” I insisted. “If I stay here...what’s left for me here? Besides you and Tomasco, what else am I to do with my life?”
“You’re only twenty-four,” she quickly replied. “You...you have plenty of time to find your place here, Triana. You’re...you’re beautiful, smart, ambitious, and strong. You can do anything.”
“And this is what I’m choosing to do,” I told her. “Even if I move across the region to start over, it’ll still be the same thing. The same men, the same women, the same culture, the same expectations, the same everything. At least...in Mexico I have a chance at something more.”
Her eyes widened again. “So, let me get this straight...you’re leaving Rancher Hills because it’s filled with nothing but Hispanics to go to Mexico where there’s nothing but Hispanics? Do you realize how insane that sounds?”
“This isn’t about Mexico,” I said, trying to explain in a way that would make her understand.
“Then what’s it about?’
“It’s about what’s beyond Mexico, Sonia,” I answered. “From Mexico, I can go anywhere. I can head to South America, the Caribbean, Peru...I can even make my way to Australia or Italy.”
“All places that want nothing to do with Americans,” she pointed out. “Wherever you end up, you’ll be an illegal citizen, hiding from the world.”
“You don’t know that,” I automatically argued. “There are places that...that don’t mind Americans.”
Ignoring that, she said, “Triana, what you’re proposing is incredibly dangerous.”
“I know,” I bit out as I stood from the bed. “Don’t you think I know that? This isn’t...it’s not a whim, Sonia. I’ve been thinking about this for weeks.”
She stood up with me. “Ever since you met Kairo Booker?”
I let out a low sigh, not wanting her to blame him when this was all my idea. “This is all me, Sonia,” I assured her. “This is what I want.”
“And what about Kairo?” she asked. “Does he know about this?”
I nodded. “He’s going with me.”
That bit of news had her sitting back down again. “Are you...are you serious?”
“He tried to talk me out of it, but when he finally realized that I wasn’t going to change my mind, he agreed to go with me,” I informed her. “It’s not...it’s not ideal, but it’s the only way that we can be together.”
“Triana, this will ruin his father’s political career,” she said, her face full of incredulousness. “His family will never recover from something like this. If you love him, why would you ever put him in a position like this? What are you thinking?’
Ignoring the pang in my chest, I said, “I’m thinking that I want to be happy, Sonia.”
“Then leave without him,” she snapped. “Don’t take him down with you just because you don’t want to be alone as your life falls apart. Jesus Christ, Triana.”
“I thought you were always on my side,” I said, hurt that she wasn’t this time.
“I love you,” she stated fiercely. “I love you like we’re blood, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not going to tell you when you’re wrong, and this time, you’re wrong.”
“I’m not changing my mind,” I told her. “I’m doing this.”
When she didn’t say anything, I went back to quietly packing my bag, and it wasn’t until a few minutes later that she asked, “How will I know that you made it okay?”
Tears immediately sprung to my eyes as I turned to look at her. “I’m buying a burner phone, and I’ll call you as soon as I’m in Mexico.”
“And Tomasco?”
“I was...I was hoping that you’d keep him informed,” I stammered, my heart breaking.
“I’ll do whatever you need me to, Triana,” she said loyally, and that’s when the tears really started.