Unbreakable Love

by Yesenia Vargas

  “Ugh. Sorry. My parents took away my phone. Can’t get it back for two weeks.” She began walking back to the cafeteria. He walked with her.

  “How come?”

  How should she say it? She settled on the truth. “Um, they found out you gave me a ride home.”

  He began laughing. “Seriously?”

  She was laughing too. “Yeah. We had a fight about it.”

  “I guess this is when I should say I’m sorry?” He gently placed his hand over hers.

  Her breath caught. “It’s nothing,” she managed.

  His hand was at his side again.

  “I have to go. I’ll see you around, Ariana.” He wasn’t smiling anymore, and before she could ask him why, he was gone.

  She headed back to the cafeteria.

  “What freakin’ took you so long? Lunch is almost half over.”

  She checked the clock above the cafeteria doors. “We still have twelve minutes. And I ran into Carlos.” She took a seat and opened her soda, taking a big swig of it. She loved how it burned her throat on its way down to her belly.

  “Spill. Like now.” Mayra put down her fork and pushed her tray away.

  “He is so hot. Sorry, I just had to say that.” She took another swig of soda. “He came up to me and whispered hey in my ear. It was so hot.”

  “That is hot. Then what?”

  “Well, we started talking about last night.” She rolled her eyes and sighed.

  “What happened?”

  “I am so grounded. For two weeks. No phone. No computer. No fun of any kind. Not that I was really having any to begin with.” She pursed her lips and looked at Mayra.

  Her mouth was wide open.

  “What the hell for? You never get in trouble! You’re like the best kid any parent could have.”

  “My mom saw me get out of Carlos’s car yesterday. Thank God he had already driven away by the time she made it outside because I would have died right then and there if she had made him get out of the car to get on to him or something.”

  Mayra gasped. “No way!”

  “Yeah. She came out with a freakin’ pot in her hand and everything. I really thought she was going to hit me over the head with it!”

  “Oh my gosh! I wish I had seen that.”

  “Mayra!” She playfully pushed her but laughed.

  “So what next?” Mayra asked once she realized how much trouble her friend was actually in. Ariana told her about the conversation and about how she had yelled at them and everything.

  “Nothing. I can’t talk to Carlos because I don’t have my phone, and I can’t get on the computer either. I’m lucky I can watch TV. Oh, and do the dishes. They made me clean the entire house.”

  “Don’t worry. If and when you come to my house, and here at school, you can text Carlos from my phone.”

  “Really?”

  “Sure. Least I can do. What are friends for?” They smiled at each other. “We’re just going to have to ask Carlos for his number again.”

  “Um, I kind of memorized it…” she said, looking around the cafeteria shiftily.

  “Stalker!” They laughed.

  “Speaking of stalking,” she said. “Can I borrow your phone, pretty please?”

  chapter six

  Ariana tried not to smile like a fool as Carlos walked her to class. They were taking their time today. The hallways were beginning to empty, but Carlos had said his class was meeting in the library down the hall, so he had a little extra time.

  “I can’t believe you did that to your sister,” Ariana said with a laugh. “You actually put hot sauce in her shampoo?”

  “Yeah. She says I was a pretty horrible little brother growing up,” Carlos said with a gleam in his eye. Ariana laughed again. “She tripped getting out the shower and fell because it got in her eyes. I got in so much trouble that day. You got to admit, though. It was a pretty genius idea.”

  They stopped at the lockers outside her science class. Ariana shook her head, amused and horrified at the same time.

  He continued. “Later, you gotta promise me to tell me one of your favorite memories from being a kid. Deal?” He waited for her to reply.

  She hugged her books to her chest. “Deal.” She looked up and noticed Carlos staring at her mouth. She saw how his mouth hung slightly open, and her breath caught. She saw him moving towards her, but his mouth didn’t come any closer. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her. She tried to do the same, but it was difficult and awkward with the books she was holding and the backpack Carlos was wearing on his back.

  He stepped back, his face inches away from hers. “I’ll see ya later.”

  “Bye,” she managed.

  The bell rang and he walked away, but not without giving her a wink and smile.

  She returned the smile and went into her class just as the teacher began to close the door. I almost had my first kiss, she thought. She was glad it didn’t happen in the hallway of her school. No. She wanted her first kiss to be better—just she and Carlos, alone.

  Ariana sat down and attempted to comprehend what the teacher was saying, Carlos’s slightly open lips still etched in her mind.

  ***

  “So do you think Carlos is going to ask you out one of these days? It’s been way more than a week now since he drove you home, right?” Mayra asked. “I wonder why he hasn’t yet. Sure seems to like you.”

  Ariana shrugged.

  They were outside, on the school campus, sitting in the shade of a tree. Everyone else had a measuring tape and their math notebooks. They were supposed to be figuring out the height of a tree based on the proportion of its shadow and blah blah blah, as Mayra would say. They had gotten Nathan Burgess, their local math genius, to help them out, so they were done now, just relaxing. The sun felt so good.

  “I don’t know. Seems like it. I hope so.” She laid down and covered her eyes with her arms, blocking out the sun. She wanted to fall asleep out here.

  “How many times has he walked you to class this week?” Mayra asked.

  “Three,” Ariana sighed, smiling. They walked closer to each other each time, their arms touching as they made their way down the hall. In fact, it seemed like Carlos looked for any reason to touch her. He would smile constantly at her when she talked and brush her hair behind her ear when it got in her face too much. It made her melt every time.

  “Interesting,” Mayra said.

  “And we text constantly,” she said.

  “I noticed,” Mayra joked.

  She laughed. She had gotten her phone back a couple of days ago because of really good behavior. She had been without it for over a week, and had been forced to find school-related excuses to go to Mayra’s house so she could keep in touch with Carlos. But she had been extra helpful around the house, especially when she saw her parents soften a bit as a result of her extra effort. It was probably because of her upcoming seventeenth birthday.

  They had finally sat down with her and told her that they’d decided to end the punishment early since she had behaved so maturely and because she was almost an adult. She and her parents finally seemed to be on good terms, which she realized made her happy.

  “So you guys haven’t kissed yet?” She could hear the smile on Mayra’s face.

  “You know the answer to that is no.”

  “Not yet, more like.”

  Ariana sighed again, but they heard the teacher calling them to go back inside. Mayra helped her get up, and they followed the rest of their class back into the building.

  They were taking their sweet time going back to class along with everyone else when a girl in their grade who Ariana knew but didn’t really talk to came down the hallway and said something to their teacher, Mrs. Holloway. Mrs. Holloway turned and looked at Ariana.

  “Can you come here, please, Ariana?” She looked at Mayra before catching up with the teacher. Mayra gave her a confused look.

  When Ariana was close enough to hear, Mrs. Holloway said, “The counselor wants to talk to
you about something in her office. Mayra can catch you up later when you get back, okay?” She smiled.

  Ariana nodded and followed the girl—who might have been named Avery—back up the hallway.

  Once they turned the corner, Avery stopped and turned to look at her. “I lied about the counselor,” she said quickly.

  “Wh—”

  “Don’t ask too many questions.” She sounded annoyed. What was this? “Carlos wants you to meet him at his car.”

  They both stood there. “What?”

  “Go on. What are you waiting for?”

  “Why’d he send you?” She looked her up and down. How did Carlos even know this girl?

  “I owed him a favor. I have to go now. I’ve done my job. Up to you if you want to go meet him.” She walked off in the opposite direction after shoving an authentic-looking teacher’s pass in Ariana’s hand.

  Great, she thought. I hope I don’t get in trouble. She could go back to class right now…but she couldn’t leave Carlos hanging like that. Obviously it had to be something really important if he had resorted to something like this. What if something had happened, something bad?

  She had to go. She began walking towards the student parking lot to meet Carlos at his car.

  ***

  As Ariana walked up the steep hill of the student parking lot, she could see Carlos, a tiny figure from this distance, standing next to his car. It was awkward—as she got closer there was nothing to do besides stare at him. Finally, she was in front of him.

  “Hey, Cinderella,” he said. He moved closer. There was a small smile on his face.

  “Hey?” She was confused but gave him a smile.

  “Come here,” he said quietly. He stretched out his hands, and she took them and stepped closer to him.

  He gently grabbed her hands and brought her around the car, where they couldn’t be seen from the building. They leaned against his car. Their hips were touching. Ariana felt like she had way too much saliva in her mouth, and she felt butterflies—no, rhinos—in her stomach.

  “So what are you doing out here?” she asked. “Aren’t you supposed to be in class?”

  “It’s overrated,” he joked. He took a deep breath. “And I couldn’t stop thinking about you.” He put his palm on her cheek.

  She didn’t know what else to do but smile. The thoughts that had sprung into her head were way too cheesy and lame to say out loud.

  “I needed to do something,” he said.

  Was he going to kiss her? But she had eaten barbecue potato chips before class. Her breath must stink. Great, she thought. But she had to admit she wanted this. She tensed, getting ready to close her eyes and tilt her head.

  Carlos took her hands and squeezed them. He looked down at her. This was it.

  “Ariana, do you want be my girlfriend?” he asked. He looked directly into her eyes.

  What? His girlfriend? Her mouth was open but nothing came out.

  He had a confused look on his face, especially after she took her hands out of his.

  “Maybe I was just getting the wrong vibe here, but—” he started.

  “No,” she managed. “It’s not that.”

  “Then what is it?” He searched her face.

  “It’s just that I just got done being grounded. My birthday is in a few weeks. My parents are giving me a car. Maybe. I told them I’d do everything right from now on.”

  “And they said you couldn’t have a boyfriend,” he said.

  She nodded.

  “I don’t get what the big deal is,” he said. He seemed a little irritated now. “A lot of parents are like that. You still see girls going out with guys. We don’t have to announce it to the world.”

  She nodded. “I know. I just…I want my parents to trust me. I’m not telling you no. I’m just asking you to give me a couple of days. Let me talk to them about it. I have a feeling they might give me a chance.”

  He sighed. “I came up here and waited for you because you’re really special to me. I really like you,” he said. His voice was getting kind of loud. “You don’t know how hard this is for me.” He let go of her hands and turned his back to her. He pulled at his necklace and then his hair and stared at the tire of his car. He turned around, stepped onto the curb, and toed the grass.

  “I really like you too,” she said. “But wouldn’t you rather start things off right?”

  He shrugged.

  She put her hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off and walked away, heading back toward the school building. “I’ll see you later.”

  “Where are you going?” she asked, her mouth open. Tears began to gather in her eyes.

  She barely heard him as he replied. “I have to get to class.”

  If she felt heartbroken, she couldn’t imagine how Carlos was feeling. There had to be something going on with him for him to have gotten that upset.

  He had planned all of his for her just to ask her to be his girlfriend. His girlfriend. And she had practically rejected him.

  She kind of wished she had just said yes.

  ***

  On Saturday, she decided that today was the day she should talk to her parents, if she was going to do it. She needed to give Carlos an answer. It had been two days.

  She would make it clear that she wasn’t doing anything behind their backs. She didn’t have a boyfriend. Yet. She wanted that option. She wanted their permission. If they didn’t let her, well, she would deal with that later.

  Her parents were watching a Hispanic game show. They sat next to each other, holding hands. Jimmy was there, too, on the other sofa. She sat next to them. They were engrossed in the show, where some lady had just won twenty thousand dollars and was jumping up and down. Now, she could risk it all and answer one more question for a car in addition to her prize money.

  “Ma,” she said. “Pa.” She used a serious tone that they surely wouldn’t mistake. But her father lifted his hand as a sign to wait a minute.

  “It’s at the best part. Just one minute, mija,” her mother said. She grabbed her father’s shoulder, leaning toward the screen.

  She sighed and turned to the TV. The lady gave her answer as the crowd shouted guesses. Then the host revealed the correct answer. The contestant was wrong. Just like that, she’d lost it all. She walked off the stage crying as the show ended.

  Ariana got back in the zone and reminded herself what she had come to the living room to do. She turned towards her parents, who also turned towards her.

  “Crazy how that ended,” Jimmy said. “I never would have gambled twenty grand. I would have just walked away with what I already had. Why be so greedy?”

  “That’s right,” their mother said.

  “What did you want to talk to us about?” her father asked. He turned his body on the couch so that he was facing her completely.

  Ariana was suddenly nervous and didn’t know how to begin. She took a deep breath.

  “What’s wrong, Ariana?” her mother asked. “Did something happen?’

  “Nothing happened,” she said. “Nothing’s wrong.”

  She looked at Jimmy, who looked like he was trying to figure out what she was up to. He didn’t know what she was about to do either.

  “I want to have a serious talk with you guys. Adult to adult,” she began.

  A look of realization came on Jimmy’s face.

  Her parents still seemed confused. “But you’re only sixteen,” her father said. “You’re not an adult yet.”

  This conversation already seemed to be starting off badly.

  “I know. But I want to be treated differently. I’m almost seventeen. Next year, I’ll be eighteen. I feel like you guys treat me like a little girl, and I’m not a little girl. I’m grown up. Pretty much an adult. I want to learn to make my own decisions like most girls my age. Their parents trust them and let them go out with their friends. Have boyfriends. I want you to trust me.”

  She realized she was out of breath. She paused and looked at her parents, who
looked shocked at what she had just said.

  “Absolutely not,” said her father. “You are too young to be going out by yourself, much less with a boy,” he said.

  “Did a boy approach you, mija?” asked her mother. “Is that what this is about?”

  Ariana sighed. She shook her head. She was giving up already. She knew this would be pointless. Her parents would never understand.

  “No. I don’t have a boyfriend. I just want to be able to have more freedom. Even Jimmy gets to do more stuff than me, and he’s almost two years younger than I am,” she said, gesturing toward her brother.

  Jimmy closed his mouth and looked away.

  “Your brother has to follow the same rules as you, Ariana,” her mother said.

  “No, that’s not true,” she said. “Anytime you go out, I have to go. But sometimes you let him stay. Or when he’s been allowed to sleep over at his friend’s house.”

  “That was one time,” her mother began.

  “Yeah, and you’ve never even let me stay at Mayra’s house once, and she lives down the street!” she said. She felt a ball of anger gather momentum inside of her.

  “Just because I’m a girl doesn’t mean you can give me extra rules to follow. It’s not fair. I want to go out and have fun just like any other girl my age,” she argued.

  “You’re not every other girl,” her father said. “You’re our daughter. You follow our rules. If we say you can’t go out by yourself, then that means you can’t go out by yourself. If we say to come along with us when we go out somewhere, that means you have to go with us. There’s no compromise. This is not a democracy. We are the parents. You are the child. We make the rules. Simple as that.”

  She got up, frustrated, and began to walk to her room. She went back and pleaded with her mom.

  “Please,” she said. “You can’t be serious.”

  Her mother looked between Ariana and her father, looking torn. “Respect what your father has to say, Ariana,” she said quietly.