Never Look Back by Lilliam Rivera

Author:Lilliam Rivera
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

PART II

Arriv’d, he, tuning to his voice his strings, thus to the king and queen of shadows sings.

METAMORPHOSES BY OVID, TRANSLATED BY SIR SAMUEL GARTH, JOHN DRYDEN, ET AL.

Tal vez me alimentaba el ego y fue mi error.

No sé en pocas palabras desubicación.

“TUYO,” ROMEO SANTOS

CHAPTER 15

Pheus

The suit I’m wearing is electric blue. There’s a satin feel to the slacks and jacket. The T-shirt underneath is black with a slight V-neck. My chest hairs are making an appearance tonight. I’m going full-on Romeo and not holding back. Not one bit.

“Te botaste,” Jaysen says when he checks out my threads. He insisted on wardrobe approval. I told him the last person who picked out my clothes was my mom, and that was when I was eight. Unless he birthed me, he needed to leave me alone.

We wait for an Uber to take us to the club. I hold my guitar case close. My nerves are shot. It doesn’t help I haven’t had much sleep. These past few days went way too fast. It’s funny how cruel time can be. When you are at school, the clock just toys with you, its seconds slowly moving. In the summer, it’s a joke how quickly time flies.

Every day I woke up eager to see Eury. She didn’t want to go outside, and I was cool with that. The stairwell in my building became our second home. I would bring my guitar to practice while she borrowed Penelope’s laptop. We sat next to each other on the steps. There were times when the neighbors would be annoyed by the noise. Other times when they would enjoy it. It would depend on the song I played.

When you don’t have nearby parks, and it’s too cold to be outside, the hallways have always been a great substitute. Jaysen and I used to play hide-and-seek in the building, finding shelter in one of the exits or janitor’s rooms. With Eury beside me, sitting close, I felt like a kid again. We talked about everything. Her life on the island. My parents’ divorce. School. Lack of school. Our fears.

And we kissed. Damn, we kissed. Every second, I wanted to touch her. I wanted the world to stop. Let us have our own space, outside of the ticking clock that has her mom taking her back to Tampa. With each kiss she would whisper my name like a sigh. Pheus. It didn’t matter how hot it got inside that hallway or how many times her aunt gave me the icy glare; it was on.

My friends assumed I ghosted them because I’d been getting ready for the gig. Melaina sent me a long email with pictures of what she intended to wear tonight. I still haven’t responded.

“Come through.” Jaysen is on the phone wrangling more people to the show. He wears an insane-looking shirt with a dizzying pattern. If I didn’t know better, I would think he was Dominican with his loud self. The Uber arrives and the driver has extreme merengue on.

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