Secrets & Surrender by L.g. Castillo

Author:L.g. Castillo [CASTILLO, L.G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rylind Publishing

“I miss you.”

I clutched the phone’s receiver to my ear at the sound of Nic’s voice, holding on to his every breath. I desperately wanted him to be near me. Sounds of violins playing familiar Christmas songs played in the background, so different from the beat of the Tejano music that came from the small stereo my dad setup in the living room just for this occasion.

I glanced around the room, looking at all the familiar faces: cousins, uncles, my parents, and co-workers, all speaking to each other in Spanish; kids wrestling on the ground imitating they’re favorite wrestlers; Doña Trini feeding one of her dogs out of her hand. My eyes stopped at Julian.

He had his guitar out and was strumming along with the song on the radio. Juan sat next to him with a smile on his face. My heart twisted with the knowledge that it was Julian who could reach my little brother. Even my parents, who liked Nic, were much more relaxed around Julian.

“I miss you too. I wish you were here.”

“Believe me, me too,” he whispered.

“Me too!” A voice squealed from the phone.

I chuckled at the sound of Kristie’s voice. I would be the last person to admit it, but the girl was rubbing off on me. “Tell Kristie ‘hi’ for me.”

“I will. I have to go. Father wants to introduce me to one of the violists, who just happens to be studying at Princeton.”

“Do you mean there’s an actual string quartet in your house?”

“Can you believe it? Mother had them flown in for what she calls a ‘small family gathering.’ Ha! The only family time I’ve had with them all day was when Father called me into his study to make sure that I was dressed appropriately to met the distinguished professors he invited. It’s all black tie in here. How’s it going with your family?”

I looked down at my t-shirt and jeans. My eyes met with Julian’s briefly. He was the only one wearing a tie. He flashed a grin when he caught me looking at him. I quickly turned away.

“Well, Doña Trini is wearing all her costume jewelry. Then again, she sleeps with all her jewelry on. That’s about as dressed up as it is over here.”

After Nic hung up, I sat next to my mom, watching Juan laughing with Julian over some jokes they were telling my dad. Juan’s good mood was pissing me off.

I stabbed a fork into the ham and shoved it into my mouth without even thinking. Julian stared at me from across the room as he talked to Dad. Dad slapped him on the back, laughing as they spoke to each other in Spanish.

Yeah, don’t think I don’t know you’re kissing up to my dad.

I stabbed another piece of ham, the fork tearing through the foam plate. “Son of a bitch!”

“Manuela,” Mom warned.

“Sorry, Mom.” I tossed the plate aside.

“What’s wrong, Mijita.” Mom brushed my hair off my face. “Here, sit down in front of me. I’ll braid your hair like I did when you were little.

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