Chapter 33
Triana~
I couldn’t lie and say that I didn’t feel heartbroken over Kairo, because I did.
However, it wasn’t only him that I was heartbroken over.
My parents were officially done with me, and if it’d been just me that this was affecting, I could deal with it, but it wasn’t.
Tomasco had chosen my side, and he was ready to disown our parents in a move of solidarity.
My family was being torn apart, and though my brother blamed my parents for all of it, that still didn’t make me feel any better.
This wasn’t anything that I had ever wanted for us, and it hurt; all of it hurt.
“Why don’t we move to Hillrom?” Tomasco suggested. “It’s close enough to Morning Peaks and Flower Realms that the scenery should be different enough to forget this damn town.”
Sonia grinned. “I’m so down.”
“You guys are crazy,” I said, though I was smiling.
“We can sell our houses, then roommate until we can buy something in Hillrom,” Tomasco went on. “We can do it.”
Currently, we were all at my place, a movie playing on the television in the background, and only two slices of pizza left in the box on the coffee table.
Ever since I’d gotten back home, Tomasco and Sonia hadn’t left my side.
Tomasco was boycotting our parents, and Sonia wasn’t shy about telling her parents that she needed time off to be with me, and knowing their daughter the way that they did, they’d been wise enough not to fight her on it.
“While I appreciate you guys willing to move all the way to Hillrom, it’s only been a couple of days,” I told them. “How about we give it a bit before you guys disrupt your entire lives to up and leave with me?”
“I’m already looking for other jobs, so I don’t need to give it a bit,” Tomasco retorted. “Even if you don’t want to leave, I’m done with Mom and Dad.”
“Tomasco-”
“Triana, I can forgive them for being arrogant assholes, but I can’t forgive how they did nothing when you got arrested,” he said.
“My mind can’t comprehend how two parents can just leave their child in their darkest hour, and there is nothing that they can do to erase how I view them now.
I...if they can do that to you, then there’s nothing stopping them from doing it to me, and I’m not about to waste any of my energy on people who don’t love us unconditionally like they’re supposed to. ”
“As for me, I’m fine with leaving just to get a job that pays me a fair wage,” Sonia said, shrugging like it really was no big deal to her.
Before I could say anything to any of that, my phone rang, and when I grabbed it off the coffee table, I saw Benicio Cortez’s name flashing across the screen, and my heart immediately sank to my feet.
Why in the hell would he be calling me? Had he found out about Kairo?
I mean, we hadn’t exactly parted ways as friends, and so I couldn’t imagine why he’d be calling me.
Yeah, we had exchanged numbers in case he’d had any further questions, but I hadn’t really expected him to call me.
“It’s Benicio Cortez,” I said as I reached for the phone.
“Well, answer it,” Tomasco urged, nudging my knee.
I let out a deep breath before I answered. “Hello?”
“Ms. Medina, this is Benicio Cortez,” he said. “How are you this evening?”
“I’m...I’m good,” I stammered. “Is...is everything okay?”
“Yes, of course,” he lied like the politician that he was. “I’m calling because I just got off the phone with Miguel Domingo, and he wanted to assure me that the two guards who accosted you have been dealt with.”
“Oh...uhm, that’s good,” I muttered, not really knowing what to say.
“He also wanted to extend his apologies again, and...well, he presented me with an offer that he wanted me to speak to you about,” he went on, and my stomach immediately dropped to my toes.
“An offer?”
“The story of your capture is making rather loud headlines, and he’s in damage control mode,” he explained. “He needs to minimize the ripple effect that this has cause, which is understandable.”
“So, what’s this offer that he wants you to speak to me about?”
With that question, Tomasco and Sonia leaned in closer, trying to ear hustle as much as they could. It’d be comical if it wasn’t for the fact that my life was barely hanging on by a thread, and I was fairly certain that it was unraveling as we speak.
“He is offering you a chance at Mexican residency,” he announced, flooring me with shock. “He was questioning why you were so close to the border when you live in Masterson County, Ms. Medina.”
“What...what did you tell him?”
“I explained that you were simply exploring our great region, and whether he believed me or not, he still extended the residency offer,” he answered. “My guess is that it’s a PR stunt, Ms. Medina. If he offers you such a privilege, then he ends up looking like the good guy.”
“Is that...is that even allowed?” I asked. “I mean, wouldn’t I have to submit a petition to move out of the RNA?”
“Normally, you would,” he said. “However, given the public interest in your story, it wouldn’t behoove us to deny or drown your request in all that legal red tape.”
Now, while this sounded like all of my dreams were coming true, it was actually a trap, and I almost wanted to cry with how unfair this entire situation was.
If I took Miguel Domingo up on his offer, then it’d be a slap in the face of all that Benicio Cortez had done for me.
The world would wonder why I’d take Mexico up on their offer after being unjustly arrested by them.
It would announce to the world that I’d rather live in a country with corrupt officials than live in Rancher Hills, and I could only imagine the public scrutiny that would bring to the entirety of the RNA.
After all, Benicio Cortez didn’t seem like a man that would appreciate being made to look like a fool.
I could see Benicio Cortez coming after me to save face, and I wasn’t even sure if I could blame the man.
“While I appreciate the offer, can you please tell Mr. Domingo that I am not interested,” I said, doing my best to keep my voice even and sincere, even though I was falling apart inside. “I don’t feel as if Mexico is the place for me, Mr. Cortez.”
“Glad to hear it, Ms. Medina,” he replied firmly. “And I’ll be sure to pass on your answer to Mr. Domingo.”
“Thank you for calling, Mr. Cortez,” I said, sounding like a robot. “Have a good evening.”
“It’s been a pleasure, Ms. Medina,” he lied before hanging up, leaving me a bit shaken.
“What?” Tomasco asked, his voice sounding worried.
“Yeah, what did he want?” Sonia chimed in.
“He said that Miguel Domingo wants to offer me a Mexican citizenship to make up for what his guards did,” I told them.
“What the hell?” Sonia choked out.
“Are you serious?” Tomasco asked, his eyes wide.
I nodded. “He’s trying to minimize the damage to the country’s public image right now.”
“Why did you say no?” Sonia asked. “I mean, only a few days ago, you’d been ready to risk getting shot to cross the border.”
“Because I don’t trust Benicio Cortez,” I answered honestly. “I mean, how do you think he’d react to me taking Miguel Domingo’s offer after all that he did to get me released?”
Both Tomasco and Sonia leaned back against the couch, their hope for me dying right along with all the hope that I’d lost days ago. Honestly, I didn’t even know if I had a right to complain about any of this, but I couldn’t help but feel like a complete failure.
“Jesus,” Sonia muttered.
After a few seconds of silence, I said, “Well, maybe Hillrom isn’t such a bad idea.”
“We can contact realtors on Monday,” Sonia remarked, all in with this crazy idea.
“I think that we can do it,” Tomasco added. “We can start looking for jobs in the area, and we can roommate for as long as we need to.”
“I just...I just don’t want to be the reason that you guys rearrange your entire lives-”
“You’re not the reason,” Tomasco said, interrupting me. “You’re the inspiration that we needed to finally do something different with our lives, Triana.”
“Yeah, even if we’re stuck in Rancher Hills, that still doesn’t mean that we can’t carve out a different life for ourselves,” Sonia added. “We can still unstuck ourselves.”
I started to cry.
I couldn’t help it.
After my parents had thrown me away so easily, and after Kairo’s betrayal, their support was everything that I needed right now, and I was always going to be grateful for my brother and best friend.
“What about Veronica?” I asked through my quiet tears.
“What about her?” Tomasco retorted, and I really did love my brother.