by Ginger Sharp
Henry grips him tighter. “Now, now, Ryan. It is Katie’s last night here and she is going to stay up at Pedro’s house tonight. You let them be. Go ahead, Katie.”
We stand up and say goodbye. Katie leans down kissing her father’s cheek. I walk past him, and Ryan growls at me. Henry grips Ryan’s other shoulder.
Ryan calls out to me, “Remember, Pedro, that you are my friend. Remember what I said.”
Katie laughs and looks up at me as we leave out the door. “Do not let him intimate you, Pedro.”
Ryan is right. She is begging me to make love to her. She pleads with me reminding me that this is her last night here. That we will not see each other again for a few months until I fly up to Corpus Christie with Rosalie. I keep staring at her shaking my head no. I went as far as putting my shorts back on after we devoured each other with our mouths for hours. We lay in my bed as I hold her naked body so tightly. I do not want her to leave me tomorrow. I want her to stay with me. I run my hands through her hair as I stare at her beautiful face.
“Katie, please do not leave me tomorrow.” She looks up at me. “I have to leave tomorrow,
Pedro. Classes are starting again.”
“Katie, your grandpa says that you want to marry
me.”
“Yes, when I am done with school.”
I kiss her lips. “Then you will come to stay here with
me?”
“No, Pedro. You and Ramón will come and live with
me.”
“You mean leave my farm and my brothers? What
will I do there?”
She smiles. “Anything you want. School maybe. I will
be able to support all three of us with my salary.” “I see you have figured all this out.”
“Yes, Grandpa will help us sort out the details when
the time comes. Just like he did for us tonight with
Daddy.”
I kiss her again. “Yes, no more hiding. He knows
that you are here with me.”
Katie runs her finger down my chest. “Yes, he
knows. So then why don’t you make love to me, Pedro?” “No, I promised him that I wouldn’t and you
promised me that you would wait until you get married.” “That might be too long for me to wait. We should
get married immediately then.”
“No, Katie, stick to your plan. We must wait.” She snuggles into my chest as I breathe her in. I need
to remember how she smells to get me through until I see
her again.
CHAPTER 11
I am on my return flight home from Corpus Christie. That was the second worse experience of my life. Katie’s family is crazy. I was so excited to see Katie, but it was cut short by her psychotic grandmother. The woman is so mentally unstable and jealous of Olivia. She went as far as shooting Ryan in the back with a gun. She could have killed her own son. I do not understand crazy Americans. I love Katie, but I do not want to move there. I do not want Ramón exposed to this unstable family. I have to figure out how to give her up. Katie is tainted. Olivia’s naughty behavior that Ryan fuels was no way for Katie to grow up. I do not understand why Rosalie loves them so much. I am going to have to speak with Rosalie when she gets back to Costa Rica. I need her advice on how to break it off with Katie.
A few days later, Paolo storms into my kitchen. He points at me, shaking his head. “Ryan sent Katie back here with Rosalie. He wants you to watch her and to protect her until he comes back home.” He paces back and forth. “What are you going to do? You can’t break it off with her now.”
“I have to break this off. That family is bad news. Not good for our family.”
He grabs my arm. “That is the same thing the Ticos said to Grandpa when he got involved with a Scottish nurse. The same as when Dad loved the Dutch school teacher. Me with the German Kimma. Pedro, Katie is your destiny. Just follow your heart.” He runs to the window sliding back the curtain. “She just pulled up in her father’s Range Rover. Pedro, she loves you. You know that. Do not be like Lasaro, love her right, Pedro.”
I glance over at him. “She is toxic, Paolo.” My front door moves open and Katie stands before me. I melt at the sight of her as she walks into my house, smiling at me.
Paolo nods at me. “I will get Ramón from school. You need to be alone with your fiancée.”
I glare at him as he leaves me alone with Katie.
I glance over at her. “How is your father, Katie?
“Much better. They kicked him out of the hospital for making my mother scream as he fucked her in the bathroom.”
I blush at Katie’s candidness. “Good then, how about your grandma?”
She shakes her head. “Still out on the loose. That is why Daddy sent me here. He wants you to protect me, Pedro. Grandma can’t come after me here with you. She does not have a passport to leave the country. Daddy knows that, that you will protect me at any cost.”
“No, Katie, not at any cost. My son comes first. Please leave me. I need to think, sweetie.”
She steps towards me. “Did you hear me? My father, who was shot by his mother, he wants me here with you.”
“No, Katie. I do not give a shit what your crazy father wants for you. Ramón comes first. Right now, I do not want my son exposed to your family.”
Tears well in her eyes. “I would expect nothing less from you. Protecting your child first! That is what I love you about you, Pedro. Your nurturing care. Much like Rosalie.”
I bit my lip. “Please go back to Rosalie. I can’t help you anymore.”
She nods and leaves out the door.
I stare at the clock knowing Ramón is not coming home to me tonight. I do want Katie by my side tonight. I do love her and need her. Paolo may be right, she could be my destiny. I decide that I will go down to the Cantina and see her. To see if she is worthy of me.
I drive down to the Cantina. Katie is not there as I push through the kitchen doors.
Rosalie looks up at me smiling. “You Araya men love the challenge of foreign women, I assume you are looking for Katie.”
I nod as Rosalie laughs. “Just like your father, so honorable, Pedro. She has been drinking a lot lately. She has too much to deal with her family issues. She almost got herself into some trouble in New Orleans at the tour bus with a man. Go to her, Pedro. She is walking the beach. Pedro, honey, if she is the one in your heart. Please take her tonight. No more of that must wait until marriage game. You confuse her. Take her home, boy, do you understand me?”
I have a hard time making eye contact with Rosalie, but I nod to her, reassuring her that I will take care of Katie tonight. I run off towards the beach. She is not there. I am confused where could Katie be. I go back to the Cantina in to the kitchen.
“Rosalie, Katie is not down at the beach.”
“She has to be. The day trippers left before I sent her on her walk to sober up.” Rosalie walks over to the back door looking out. “Oh no, Pedro. The Range Rover is gone.” Rosalie shifts her eyes. “My God, Pedro. I think she might have left with Parker. She was talking all smutty to him as they were drinking.”
I shake my head as I run out of the Cantina.
I check Parker’s house and they are not there. The Range Rover is not at Rosalie’s house either. I think hard as to where they could be. Her mother’s house, but Parker would not take her there. There is construction going on at the house, but I will check there. I feel my rage as I pull up next to the Range Rover. He has taken her to her mother’s house, why would Parker do this? He is my best friend, he knows that I love her. I get out of my truck and walk to the door. I pause before entering. I let myself into the house, worried about what I may see. As I walk straight ahead, I see Katie’s naked body sprawled out on her mother’s bed. I reach out to touch her face and see that she is sleeping. I leave the room and see Parker sitting at the kitchen table. He is not wearing his shirt and his hair is tousled. I step closer to him feeling my heart drop as ange
r fills me. His stare is transfixed on the bottle he is drinking out of.
He looks up at me. “I couldn’t do it, Pedro. As much as she was begging me, I couldn’t do it. She is damn close, but she is not Olivia.” He sighs. “She was so damn drunk. Screaming at me, begging me to end her virginity. Pedro, it was hard. So very hard for me to say no. I let her strip down and told her to wait for me in there. She finally passed out.” He stands up and pulls his shirt on. I watch him leave out the door.
I walk back into the bedroom. I sit on the edge of the bed staring down at her. I brush her hair away from her face. She looks like an angel to me, so beautiful yet so naughty. I dress her into her clothes then carry her out to my truck. I drive back to the Cantina to where Rosalie is standing at the stairs. I pick up Katie as Rosalie points to her jeep. I place her in the front seat and peck a kiss to her forehead leaving her there. I walk to the stairs of the Cantina. I face Rosalie who is searching my eyes for answers. She can see my pain.
“Where did you find her, Pedro?”
I glance away from her stare. “In her mother’s bed naked.”
Rosalie shifts her weight. “And Parker?”
“He was there as well. He didn’t succumb to her attempts of seducing him.”
Rosalie sighs in relief. “Good, Ryan would have killed him. He wanted Katie in your care.”
“No, Rosalie. Katie will never be in my care. She is not for me. She is too much to handle. I have to protect myself and keep my focus on Ramón.”
“I understand, Pedro. I really do. I got her from here.”
I turn away going back to my truck. As I start the ignition, I can see Katie stir in the front seat of Rosalie’s jeep. I know that tomorrow, I will come back down here and talk to her. Explain why I have to give her up for good.
The next afternoon, Rosalie tells me that Katie is on the beach. I walk down and see her sitting on a blanket. She is watching some of the schoolchildren frolic in the water. She is wearing dark sunglasses and listening to music with her ear buds from her iPhone. I touch her shoulder startling her as I sit down beside her. She turns off whatever it was she was listening to. We sit there for a few minutes in silence then Ramón comes crashing into me, running from the school. He wrestles with me and I hug him and kiss the top of his head. Katie just watches us expressionless behind those dark sunglasses.
Ramón stands up and looks at me. “Daddy, Daddy, can I go in the water?”
I smile up at him. “Sure, here let me help you with your shirt.”
He pushes away from me as his eyes shift to Katie. “No, I got it. I am a big boy now. Remember, Daddy?”
I laugh at him. “Yes, Ramón, I remember.” He runs off splashing in the water with his friends.
Katie turns her head back looking out at the water as she speaks softly, “I just keep on fucking up.”
I glare over at her. “Katie, please, your language. There are children here.”
“You are right, Pedro. I am sorry.”
“Katie, we need to talk.”
She puts up her hand to silence me. “I know, Pedro. Rosalie and I discussed it this morning. My behavior is inexcusable. We can be friends though, right?”
“I am not sure, Katie. Friends do not hurt each other like you have to me.”
She tenses up. “I know, I screwed up royally. Parker is disgusted with me.”
“Yea Katie, I am too. I thought you were smarter than that, but hearing that you did this twice in one week makes my head spin. You are self-destructive, Katie.”
“I am going through a lot right now. I am scared, you know.”
I reach out to rub her back. “I know Katie. It is insane what you are going through. I am here for you as you friend now. Nothing more though.”
“Thank you, Pedro. I have another favor to ask of you.”
I shake my head. “Come on, Katie. No.”
She shifts. “Not that. Can you not tell anyone that we are no longer together? My family has too much going on right now to worry about me. If my dad thinks I am safe here with you then they can focus on finding my grandmother and band.”
“Sure, I can do that for you. But please tell them when they return home.”
“I will Pedro, I will.”
A few days later Katie leaves when she learns that her cousin Nick had shot and killed his grandmother. I was free of Katie once and for all. Rosalie told me that Ryan had a mental shut down after seeing his mother gunned down. Nick and Olivia are in jail pending charges. I am in shock, but they do not deserved to be punished for what they have done. They were protecting themselves. Rosalie is very worried for them. I decide to call Katie to make sure she is alright. Rosalie gives me my phone back that Katie provided to me months ago. I drive up the hillside to the location that I went with Katie for a phone signal. I place the call and wait for her to answer. After the fifth ring she answers.
“Hi, Katie.”
She sighs into the phone. “Hi, Pedro.”
“I wanted to call you. I wanted to see how you are
doing?”
She is quiet for a few seconds. “Pedro, can you give me five minutes? I will walk back to my apartment. I will FaceTime you from my laptop. I do not want to talk here.”
“Sure, Katie. I will wait for you. Talk to you in a few minutes.”
As I wait, I look at the photos on the phone. I remember back to when she showed me how to use the camera. All the things we did using this phone. I look at her face caked with dirt in the one photo that I snapped. She looked happy that day when we worked out in the fields with Nick. They were so silly and she was a mess with dirt. I feel my heart get heavy again as I look at her. I have to stop doing this to myself. Thinking about her in any other way but a friend that I truly do care about. I do care, but she almost damaged my relationship with Parker. It was awkward at first for him and me, but we plowed through it. I forgave him for what almost happened between him and my girl. Wait, she is not my girl. I have to remember that. I should leave and not wait for her call. Then my FaceTime alert goes off. I answer the call and see Katie’s beautiful face fill my screen.
“Hi, Katie.”
“Hey, Pedro.”
I stare at the screen. “Are you back at school?”
“Yeah. The media is hounding me too about my parents and grandmother. It is really rough.”
“I am sorry, Katie. Rosalie told me what happen with Olivia and Nick. Your dad too.”
“Yeah, Chris took care of Daddy. Daddy made it to court and gave his account of the incident. They never went through with the indictment. Mommy and Daddy are on their way back now. They are in a rough place.”
I raise my eyebrows. “When are they not in a rough place? Drama all the time for them. I really do not know how they survive. I think you were right that they are better off apart. All the hurting that they cause to each other.”
“Pedro, they love each other. You know that and you saw that nothing will keep them a part.”
“Yes, I see that. Your mother really tests his patience with her music. I see why he gets so upset with her.”
“Pedro, he loves her. He knows that everything she does is for him. It is for him and only him. They are going to need some time to heal from this ordeal. I will tell them soon that we are no longer together.”
“I am fine with that, Katie. Parker is a little nervous that Rosalie is going to tell Ryan what happened.”
“No, she won’t. She is going to keep our secret. He does know that you turned me down again.”
I laugh. “He must be so proud of me too.”
She frowns at me. “Mommy is being medicated. She lost her mind after he was shot. The medication was to keep her focused to complete the tour. She told Daddy about her past. She was completely freaked out when Daddy told her he was sending me off to be with you.”
“I couldn’t imagine what was going through her head when I saw her break down when we told her what happened. She is better now, right?”
“No, it g
ets worse. That information about her past about Chris’s brother, Tyler, was haunting her. Tyler had cancer. She convinced Daddy to let her and Chris confront him and say goodbye before he passed away.”
“That must have went over well with jealous Ryan.”
“He supported her decision to go. So there was another shooting, Pedro.”
My jaw drops. “What, Katie?”
She shakes her head. “Tyler committed suicide with Mommy in the room. Then after that was Grandma. She is holding it together for Daddy. They need to mend. I could see that they are worn out and helpless. I know Mommy can’t wait to get back to her routine teaching and put all this behind her.”
“Katie, your family is really screwed up. No wonder why you are the way that you are.”
She nods. “Funny that you say that, Pedro. Those are almost the same sentences that Daddy said to Mommy when I was with them in New Orleans. He changed, Pedro. He stopped touching her and they were fighting again in Georgia about Mommy’s past. Rosalie claims that they have a long road to recovery.”
I see Noelia come into the room. Katie looks over at her and speaks to her “Yea, it is Pedro. I am filling him in on what happened. Sorry about the reporters outside.”
She turns her head back to me.
I smile and try to make her laugh. “It is hard being the child of the famous couple, huh, Katie?”
“Yes, very hard, Pedro. Too much all at one time. I am just going to wrap myself up in school and make Daddy and Mommy happy.”
“You will make me happy too when you finish law school.”
“What did you mean by that, Pedro?”
“I want my friend to accomplish her goals, then to make her dreams come true to be a successful lawyer like her parents were at one time.”
“Oh, that is what you meant. I get it now. My parents should have landed already back in Costa Rica. Just stay away from then for a while until I can talk to them.”
“I will do that for you Katie. They have been through too much these last few weeks. Well, I am going to go now. I just wanted to check on you. I will give your phone back to Rosalie.”
Katie moves closer to the screen. “No, please hold on to it Pedro. Check in with me and keep me posted on what is going on down there.”
