Chapter 26 - The days go by - mduno
He stayed silent for a moment, and I waited for him to speak so I could know what he was going to say.
"Both things, sister."
"Be careful and talk to her first."
"Why do you hate her? Besides, I'm older than you."
"I don't give a damn, I don't hate her, but you should know what you're getting into, Santiago Vásquez."
"Dad arrives two days later, he can't leave the farm for so many days. We're busy with the harvest, plus your graduation has him in a great mood. He has money for everything, and according to him, he has nothing, like the poor old lady."
I smiled. Santi has had the hardest part of mom's death. Helping him with the farm, though in town he's one of the most eligible bachelors, he must have more than one woman in his bed.
"I'm glad you're coming. Are you arriving this weekend?"
"If nothing happens, I'll be there on Saturday."
"I'll be waiting for you." Raúl opened his eyes.
"I love you, my Vero."
He was vital in my life, like dad. Even though I left home very young, he always managed to visit me often.
"I love you too, Santi." I ended the call.
"There's probably a crazy person out there who won't go out those days just to see your hunky brother."
"Lorena knows that if she messes with my brother without telling him the truth, I'll pull her hair out."
"Do you doubt something is happening, or has happened?"
"They haven't told me anything."
I'm not angry if they have something, as long as my brother knows the truth. I don't want to see him as a fool. We arrived at the supermarket where we would buy popcorn and other snacks.
Upon leaving the store and arriving at the parking lot, we saw one of Roland's trucks pull in. My heart raced a mile a minute. Simón got out of the car, walking distractedly. One of his men also got out with two escorts. They were laughing, he passed by me and didn't notice. Was this for real? I couldn't handle the uncertainty, so I caught up with him.
"Simón!" He lowered his sunglasses upon hearing me.
"Miss." He looked around. It seemed like a coincidence.
"Hi, how are you?" I approached and greeted him with a kiss on the cheek.
"Fine." He seemed to be looking for something. His companions left us alone. "Who did you come with?"
"With Raúl." He looked towards the bikes and saw him, nodded.
"I have to go, miss."
"Alright." A lump formed in my throat. I put my hands in my pockets. They weren't following me. It was a chance encounter.
"The Boss left on a trip, no return date."
"Don't tell him you saw me." He nodded.
"I have no reason to tell him, but if he asks, should I lie?"
"He won't ask you… thanks." He didn't leave without company, I was sure of that, and my insides churned. "Why didn't you travel with him?"
"Have a good day, miss. Stay out of trouble and congratulations on your graduation."
"How do you know…"
"Lorena." He lowered his head and left.
A week had passed since the Santa Marta trip. Roland was still missing; maybe he didn't care about me that much. The graduation was on Saturday, my brother couldn't settle his matters, so he couldn't arrive on the designated day.
Lorena canceled her schedule for the next few days. My friends were organizing the party: the dress, the food, the guests. In total, there were going to be a hundred people, of which half would show up.
I've been attending the university for the final collaborations, being the course monitor, and some classmates were in make-up exams. I also had to rehearse the closing choreography and was in charge of the motivational speech for graduation day.
Regarding the choreography, I couldn't say no. I trained with them every morning and in the afternoon met with the dean of the veterinary faculty. I tried to keep myself busy. However, at night, I couldn't lie to my pillow, or to the Creator, I couldn't hide my sadness. I hope to heal soon.
Roland was right, nothing happened that I should regret. The problem was the desire for him to caress my body and finish what he started. I want him so much! D'Artagnan has become my guardian, he doesn't leave me alone for a moment.
"Vero!" Lorena entered my room.
"Lorena, don't tell me the dress is different now, because I'm not changing it."
"No, it's not that." She closed the door once inside. "I want to tell you something."
"Tell me."
"Can we talk about the Boss?" I looked at her trying to hide my eagerness to get the information, shrugged my shoulders feigning indifference. "I've debated a lot whether to tell you. On the trip I took last week, one of the last women Mr. Roland was with also attended."
I wanted to hear anything but that. It was depressing to know about all the women he'd been with recently, even if it was just for an hour.
"We were talking about the men we've been with, and she mentioned, I guess she didn't know I knew you, anyway, she talked about the woman who threw the Boss off balance. She said he lost his concentration, treated her badly, which isn't normal, that man never loses his focus. Then he acted very decently, but he didn't touch her again. She said she asked him if something was going on with a woman, and he didn't deny it. Vero, they were talking about you."
"Why do you think that?"
Butterflies fluttered in my stomach so fast that I don't know if it showed.
"You need to calm down, everything discussed was about him and I just listened. On the trip to Santa Marta, he didn't sleep with anyone. The girl hired for him was left out the same day you returned to Bogotá. They even commented that he might end up switching sides."
"Is my dress ready?" I changed the subject abruptly, she understood and nodded.
"The aquamarine color will look lovely on you."
"If you say so."
"If you trusted what you have, your life would be different!"
"Listen to those words, you should take that same advice."
She rolled her eyes and I stuck out my tongue. She left the room with a smile on her face. I sighed and thought for a moment, am I changing Roland's life? Because without a doubt, he changed mine.
The preparations were going smoothly, Lorena and Raúl had distributed the invitations for the event. I talked to Katy and we agreed that they would do the final rehearsal without me, I couldn't accompany them anymore. Tomorrow I'll be at the spa with my friend, relaxing and getting pretty, according to her! I'll start spending the money I earned on the Santa Marta trip.
I said goodbye to my friends, grabbed a bottle of water, and left the university. I was heading to get a taxi when I was surprised by Santiago, who lifted me in his arms. It had been so long since I'd seen him. He kissed my forehead and cheek so many times that I figured; if anyone saw us, they would think we were a couple.
He lifted me, spun me around while I smiled, something I hadn't done since elementary school. When he put me down, I was facing the road. Simón looked at me with wide eyes and from his expression, I knew something bad had happened. What could it be? I didn't see Roland, I looked around to see if there was anyone threatening, but I only saw a group of students who didn't even notice, whoever scared him away.
"You look beautiful, little sister!"
He messed up my hair, he was as tall as my father, not like Roland who was over six feet, my brother was about five eleven.
"And you too," I hugged him tight.
The feeling of danger in my stomach increased. It was best to get out of there, even though I didn't owe anything, with the boss's world, you never know.
"I'll invite you for a drink." I hugged him again. "I have so many things to tell you."
"Romance finally after Juan?"
He messed up my hair again, took my hand, and led me to Lorena's car, I couldn't help but raise one of my eyebrows.
"Finally, a mess!"
"We'll talk later, now I want you to tell me your things."
He was my older brother, talking to someone outside the world of drug trafficking, outside Roland's life, would do me good. We arrived at the nearest mall, sat down to have a juice and talk a bit about everything.
The conversation revolved around my father, how depressed he had been these days, how each day it was harder for him to live without mom, Santiago's wish for dad to find another love. Even though the farm was doing well and my career had ended, he wasn't happy.
I felt very bad for being so apathetic about the farm, our heritage, what my parents worked for years. The truth is I didn't want to go back without my mother welcoming me with open arms.
That was my fear and apathy. I haven't returned since mom's death, I keep the silly illusion that if I don't go back, she'll keep waiting for me. If I return and she doesn't welcome me, it would be the definitive confirmation of her eternal absence. I still haven't gotten over it.
"What can I get you?" said the waitress.
"A blackberry juice," I replied.
"I want a beer."
I looked at him, he was so attractive, undoubtedly a very handsome man. His hair was lighter than mine, highlighting his honey-colored eyes that looked lighter than mine. I don't want to imagine how Lorena reacted when she saw him. He made a gesture, indicating for me to talk, but I couldn't.
"Now, tell me what's going on in your life? Whose ass do I need to kick?"