Well, you already know that I decided to go to the party, so it's not a surprise that I went there. What shocked me was how I asked Rafael to take me somewhere else. Like, what was I thinking? And now I'm with him at his cottage, somewhere I've never been before. There are other houses around, and I can see their lights in the distance, so I know people are around. I mean, it's beautiful. And now I have to decide if I want to go with him or not. Of course I want to go with him. That's why I'm here. I just took his hand, and he led me toward the house. The path was beautiful. There were stones covering the ground, and we were surrounded by flowers and trees. He unlocked the door, and as soon as we stepped inside, he turned on the lights and started showing me around. The living room was beautiful, decorated in dark, earthy colors, which happen to be my favorite. Then he showed me the bedrooms, the bathrooms, the kitchen, and the dining room. It wasn't a huge house, but it was big enough for everything needed. And the view of the sea made it even better. I was so glad he brought me here, even though I wasn't completely sure why he had. It was just beautiful, and I was so glad to be with him again. I really missed him, even though I had ignored him. I couldn't spend a single day without thinking about him. He was always on my mind. And now, being with him again, felt so nice.
He turned around after showing me the whole house. "Do you want something to eat? We can make dinner." "Well, yeah. I mean, I don't know. It depends. What do you have?" He smiled. "We can check the fridge." We checked the fridge, and there wasn't much, but there was some fish. "We can make fish and some salad. Yeah, that would be enough." "Okay, then. Let's make fish." "I can cook," I said. "No. Just let me do this for you." "Okay." Inside, I was like, Damn. For me? I just prepared the salad while he prepared the fish, and then we had dinner. After dinner, I looked at him. "Don't you have something to drink? Like something hard and cold?" "Damn. Something hard?" "Yeah, yeah. You know what I mean. Just don't stress me." "Yeah, yeah. Gotcha." He brought out a bottle of Jack Daniel's and some honey Hennessy. I stared at the bottles. "Well, I said hard, but not that hard." He laughed. "It's okay. We can add Coca-Cola or something." "Okay." He poured the drinks and handed me a glass. We sat there, leaning against the table, talking about absolutely nothing and smiling at absolutely nothing. After a while, he spoke. "You know, these days, whenever I come here, I just… I don't know. When I'm here, I remember when I was young and we used to come here. We'd come here in the summer, with the whole family. We'd go to the beach, play football or volleyball, build kingdoms in the sand, dance all night, and eat dinner together. It was so much fun. So when I came here, it reminded me of my childhood. All the beautiful moments we had here." He paused for a moment. "And then I look at us now. Everyone lives here and there, everywhere, and we barely even talk to each other." His voice became quieter. "I almost cried. I mean, I didn't cry, but I almost did. It was beautiful being here." I looked down at my glass. His words reminded me of my own family. We were already scattered. My brother was in the USA. My dad… I didn't even know anymore. At least Mom, Regina, and I are still together. For now. Maybe tomorrow Regina would suddenly say, "I'm going too, I mean, I get you," I said. He looked at me. "You do?" "Yeah, I do. Because that's how my family is right now too. I mean, you know how it is. So yeah, I get that." I smiled a little. "And I think the best thing is that we have each other as friends. We're here for each other." "Yeah. Yeah, I mean… yeah. That's great." The moment suddenly became heavier. The silence between us grew intense, and I could feel something changing. I looked away. "Um… yeah. Can we just clean up the table?" "Yeah. Yeah, let's clean this up." We took the plates to the sink, washed everything, dried the dishes, and put them away. When we reached the cupboard, I tried to open it, but it was too high for me. I couldn't reach it properly. Rafael came up behind me and opened it. He was standing so close that I could feel him behind me. One of his hands rested on my waist while the other reached into the cupboard. He took the plates and placed them inside. Then he put both hands around my waist. I don't know what got into me. I just turned around and wrapped my arms around his neck. We stared at each other. It felt like our eyes were having a conversation. I didn't know what they were saying. I didn't fucking know. But somehow, it felt like they were saying everything we had been too afraid to say out loud. Then, just like that, I pulled his face down to mine. He kissed me, and I kissed him back. We kissed for God only knew how long. The kiss was tender and soft, like he was taking his time, learning every inch of my lips. I didn't know what to do except pull him closer, and he pulled me in too. We stopped for a second and looked at each other. Then we smiled, and he kissed me again. I kissed him back. I held onto his T-shirt like I was afraid that if I let go, he would vanish in a second. I could feel his hands around me as I held him closer. My fingers slipped beneath the edge of his shirt, resting against his back. And then, as I shifted, the glasses we had been drinking from fell to the floor. The sound startled both of us, and we immediately pulled apart. "Sorry. Sorry, sorry." "No, it's okay. It's okay." I looked at him, suddenly overwhelmed. "I have to go." He blinked. "Now?" "Yeah. Yeah, I need to go. I have to go. I need to check on Mama because I know Regina isn't going home tonight. Just take me back home." "Okay, okay. Just wait a second." "No. Let's go now."
As soon as we got home, I waved goodbye and ran into the house. It was like I was running from some ghost. I didn't talk to anyone. I just went straight inside, then straight to the bathroom and finally to bed. I didn't want to talk to anyone at home. I just called Leah and told her everything—how everything had happened. "I knew something was going to happen," she said. "The way you two were being all close during the party? It looked suspicious. I knew there was something going on. And the way you hadn't been answering my calls for two weeks? I knew you were hiding something. I knew something was up." "Just stop talking nonsense. I'm telling you the truth right now. We just kissed and got…" I stopped. "I mean, I only came today because Mom was like, 'He's your friend. He was there for you on your birthday. You have to be there for him.' But when I got there, he was…" I shook my head. "I don't even know what took me there, and God…" Leah laughed softly. "Just go to bed and watch something. Don't go online. Just watch something or read something and then sleep. And tomorrow…" She paused. "Tomorrow will be fine." "Tomorrow will be just fine," I repeated. "Yeah. Tomorrow will be just fine." I hung up and turned on the TV. Thankfully, The Legacies was still on, so I didn't have to search for anything else. I just watched. I don't even know when I fell asleep.