Unending Love

by Yesenia Vargas

  “Isn’t it a bit early for that?” She stared at them.

  “No. We want to know from the start who you’re with,” her dad said.

  Now that would be mortifying. But she was sure Lucas would do it for her. Carlos, probably never. But Lucas. He would do it. She nodded. “When?”

  “Today. Tomorrow. The sooner the better,” her mom said.

  “Okay. I’ll ask him.” She checked her phone. “I have to go get Jimmy from the school, but I’ll be back in about thirty minutes.”

  “Don’t go around making any detours,” her dad said. She just smiled and shook her head.

  ###

  Ariana called Lucas while she waited for Jimmy to come out of his basketball meeting. She was a couple of minutes early.

  “Hey,” he answered.

  “Hi.” She was sure Lucas could hear her smiling on the other end.

  “What’s up? What’d they say?”

  “They’re not in love with the idea of me having a boyfriend, but they said yes.”

  “That’s great.” Now she could hear him smiling. Ariana thought of how much she loved the sound of his voice. Just a tiny bit husky.

  “I never thought they’d say yes after… Anyway, they said there will be rules, like Jimmy has to tag along when we go out.”

  “That doesn’t matter to me. I’m more than cool with that.”

  “Well, Mayra could come too, so it’d be a double date.”

  “That works. Like I said, all of that doesn’t matter to me. I’m just glad you talked to them about it.”

  She smiled. “There’s one more thing.” She tapped the steering wheel and looked to see if Jimmy was out yet. He wasn’t.

  “What is it? It can’t be that bad.”

  “They want to meet you.” She exhaled.

  “Seriously? When?”

  “As soon as possible.”

  “Wow.” She heard him breathe. “How about today?”

  “Really?”

  “I mean, it’s not going to be easy. When is something like that ever easy? But if that’s that they want, I’ll do it. Besides, I have to work the rest of the week. I want to be able to see you this weekend.”

  She smiled and wished he was with her so she could give him a hug. “Can you be at my house in twenty minutes?”

  “It’s the one at the end of the street, right?”

  “Yep.”

  “At least I’ll get to see you.”

  Ariana saw Jimmy come towards the car with his bag in tow. “I can’t wait. See ya later.”

  They hung up, and Jimmy got in the car.

  “Who were you talking to?”

  “Lucas.” She turned on the car. He nodded.

  She turned the car on and maneuvered out of her spot. “Mom and Dad are going to meet him in twenty minutes.”

  Jimmy did a double-take. “You mean…”

  “He asked me to be his girlfriend, and I said yes.” They left the parking lot. For once, she couldn’t wait to get home.

  “And Mom and Dad are cool with this?”

  “Yep. I talked to them about it just now. Told them I’m almost eighteen, and they said there will be rules, but honestly, I don’t care.”

  “Good for you.” He had a huge smile on his face.

  “Why are you all happy?”

  “Because I get to meet him too.” He laughed, and Ariana groaned.

  chapter eight

  As Ariana’s car went around the street corner and their house came into view, she could see that Lucas was already at her house. She parked near the mailbox since they were short on space in the driveway. Lucas was just getting out of his car, and he smiled as Ariana got out of hers. Jimmy was right behind her.

  “Hey,” she said. She turned around and indicated Jimmy. “This is my brother, Jimmy. Jimmy, this is Lucas.”

  They shook hands. Jimmy was taller than Lucas, of course¸ but Lucas had a bit more bulk on him.

  “What’s up, man?” Lucas asked.

  Jimmy nodded. Ariana just stared at their male ritual. “Shall we go inside?”

  She led the way. She opened the front door, and they all went inside.

  “We’re home,” Jimmy announced, putting his book bag and gym bag in the hallway before heading to the couch. Her mom and dad were in the living room, waiting. She had called them on the way home saying Lucas would be coming over. Her dad looked as serious as ever, and her mom had some drinks ready.

  “Mom, Dad,” she said in Spanish. “This is Lucas.” She looked behind her, and Lucas stepped forward with his right hand out.

  “Nice to meet you,” he said in Spanish to each of her parents. Her parents stood up, and he shook each of their hands. Her dad nodded, and her mom smiled.

  Ariana didn’t know what to do so she sat in the empty sofa next to her parents, where Jimmy was already sitting. Lucas joined her. They didn’t hold hands or anything. Lucas glanced at her, and she smiled.

  “Tell me why you’re here, young man,” her dad said.

  Lucas looked around the room and stammered a bit before answering in Spanish. “Yo soy Lucas Martinez, y yo respeto y quiero mucho a su hija.”

  My name is Lucas, and I respect and like your daughter very much.

  “He’s a good guy, Dad.” Jimmy said, looking at Ariana with a smile. All Ariana could think of was that Lucas was impressing her, but more importantly, her parents.

  ###

  Over an hour later, her parents were finally done talking with, or rather interrogating, Lucas. They had asked about his family, his grades, his job, his goals for the future. Ariana was surprised they hadn’t asked if he had a retirement account or something. Then they’d gone over all the rules of their relationship and what would happen if he didn’t follow them. Lucas had looked terrified and even sweaty nervous at one point, but he had survived, and now she was walking him to his car. As they went out the front door, Jimmy followed them for a bit, and Ariana hugged him.

  Lucas walked ahead of them. “I can tell he’s a good person,” Jimmy whispered.

  “He is. He really is,” she replied, letting go. Jimmy closed the front door as he went back in while Ariana followed Lucas to his car. It was dark out already. They conveniently went around to the other side of his car, where it would be hard for someone inside her house to watch them.

  “What’d you think?” Ariana said with a smile.

  “A little scary, but I think they liked me. Right?”

  “Not completely sure either. It’s hard to tell with them, mostly my dad, but I think they did.” She looked up at him. He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned her head on his chest and closed her eyes. Lucas breathed deep and began stroking her back. She shivered a little. She didn’t know if it was from the chill outside or from Lucas’s hands on her.

  “Are you cold?” he asked.

  “A little,” she said. Any excuse to get closer to him. Instead, he took off his jacket and put it on her.

  “Aren’t you cold?” She looked at him while gripping the super soft edges of the sleeves.

  “Nah.” He put his arms back around her. “Do you want to go out with me this Friday?”

  She nodded and whispered. “I’d love to.”

  “I should probably go now. Don’t want to make your dad mad,” he said. She squeezed him harder. “I’ll text you when I get home, and we’ll see each other in school tomorrow.”

  “What do you think everyone’s going to say?” She looked up at him with a smile.

  He smiled back. “That it’s been a long time coming.”

  She laughed. “Really?”

  “Yeah. My friends could tell I really liked you.”

  “You should have heard Mayra.”

  He laughed. “Yeah, she definitely helped me realize maybe you felt the same way about me.”

  Ariana shook her head. They pulled apart, and Ariana waited for a kiss from Lucas, but, again, it didn’t come. He kissed her forehead instead and walked her back to the fro
nt door.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

  “Yeah.” She hugged herself from the chill.

  He walked back down and got in his car and drove away. It was then that she realized his jacket was still on her.

  Ariana watched his car go around the corner, and then she went inside. Her parents were in the dining room, about to have dinner.

  “Come and eat,” her mom said, eyeing Lucas’s jacket on her.

  “I’ll go get Jimmy.” She went the opposite way to his room and knocked before going in.

  He had just gotten out of the shower and was putting on a shirt.

  “Hey, you have a six pack,” she said. It was weird seeing her little brother all muscular.

  “Pssh. I’ve had a six pack,” Jimmy said as he pulled his head through his shirt.

  “Impressive.”

  “Does Lucas have one?” he said with a smile.

  “I wouldn’t know.” She rubbed the sleeves of Lucas’s jacket, wondering if he did.

  “Sure.”

  “Anyway, Mom and Dad said it’s time to eat.”

  He followed her to the dinner table, and they had dinner as a family. Ariana couldn’t stop smiling. She wondered what it would take for Lucas to kiss her on the lips.

  ###

  The next morning, she and Jimmy pulled into Mayra’s driveway to pick her up on their way to school. She realized she hadn’t even told her the news about Lucas. She and Lucas had texted until midnight last night. She was kind of tired but way too excited to even yawn.

  Mayra came out of her house and got into the front passenger seat. Jimmy was in the back.

  “Guess who has a boyfriend?” Jimmy said before Mayra had even shut her door.

  She stared at Ariana, and Ariana shook her head, smiling.

  “You and Lucas?”

  She nodded. “Yep. Last night. He came and talked to my parents and everything.”

  “Aw. Congratulations.” She leaned over and gave her a hug as best as she could. “You two deserve each other.”

  “Thanks, Mayra.”

  “So your parents were cool with it and everything?”

  Ariana nodded and smiled.

  “Wow. They’ve really come a long way.”

  “Uh huh,” said Jimmy from the back.

  They began the drive to school. Fifteen minutes later, they were in the parking lot, getting out of the car and walking towards the cafeteria for breakfast.

  Ariana wondered where Lucas was. She didn’t normally see him in the morning, but maybe that would change now that they were going out. Or maybe they needed time away from each other? She made a mental note to ask Mayra about that later.

  They each grabbed a chicken biscuit and an orange juice and sat down. She looked at Jimmy and Mayra. They were sitting next to each other opposite from her, but she hadn’t heard anything lately from Mayra about them. She supposed they really were taking things slow.

  Her phone buzzed, and she looked around for teachers before taking it out. It was Lucas.

  Good morning, Princess.

  “What are you smiling about?” Jimmy asked. He was on his third chicken biscuit.

  “Nothing.”

  “You better tell me about nothing later,” Mayra said with a wink.

  Ariana laughed and replied to Lucas’s text.

  Good morning, handsome.

  Her day was already getting off to a great start.

  As she and Mayra walked to their first period class, she saw Lucas waiting for her at her locker. He had a different jacket on today since she still had his other one at home. She’d slept in it, breathing in his scent the entire night and waking up super cozy.

  She walked up to Lucas, and they hugged.

  “I missed you,” he said. She opened her locker and took out some things.

  “Me too.” She looked up at him.

  “Where’s your first class?” Lucas watched as she put in a notebook and closed her bag.

  “I have AP Lit with Harrison.”

  “That’s on my way. Can I walk you?” She shut her locker and took his hand.

  “Let’s go.”

  They said bye to Mayra, and Jimmy had already hustled off to his first class. They had a few minutes still before class started for the day, so they took their time walking to the English wing. She loved the feel of Lucas’s hand in hers. She squeezed his hand, and he squeezed back, harder.

  Then they were in front of Mr. Harrison’s room. They turned to look at each other.

  “See you in Spanish?” he asked, taking her hands in his.

  She nodded. There was hardly anyone left in the hallway now. “The bell’s about to ring. You don’t want to be late.”

  He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and took off. So forehead and cheek but still not on the mouth. It had to a matter of time.

  She walked into class and took her seat. She opened her notebook to a fresh piece of paper to do the warm up on the board. She tried to focus as some other girls were talking behind her. She didn’t really know them, but they were starting to become annoying with their laughter and whispering. She looked around for Mr. Harrison as the bell rang. He wasn’t in the room. One last person came running, realized the teacher wasn’t even there, and slowed to a walk as he reached his desk.

  Then Ariana heard her name mentioned behind her.

  She turned around. One of the girls had said it. They tried to look away and stop laughing as she stared at them.

  “I’m just sayin’. I wouldn’t want to go out with the ex-girlfriend of someone who went to jail for going all psycho. Not to mention if she was drunk and everyone got it on video.” The girl who was talking had her back to her. Her friends were kicking her and shushing her. “What? I’m not afraid to say what I think.” She turned around and stared back at Ariana with a smirk.

  It was Wendy, a girl in their class who loved to talk smack.

  Ariana stared back, not knowing if she should do something about what Wendy was saying. She was frozen in the moment, not believing what was happening, and then Mr. Harrson walked in and closed the door.

  “Good morning, everyone. I apologize for my being late. I forgot your graded essays in my car. When I call out your name, please come up here and retrieve your paper.”

  “Wendy.” He held out her paper and looked down at the rest of the essays. Wendy got out of her seat and strutted to the front of the room. Mr. Harrison continued as Ariana grinded her teeth, trying to calm her beating heart.

  “Ariana.”

  She got up, and walked towards the front of the room. Wendy stared at her as she walked back to her desk, as if daring her to do something.

  As they passed each other, Wendy hit her shoulder, hard. The room was silent, as just about everyone realized what had happened. Ariana turned around, and so did Wendy. She didn’t apologize.

  Before she knew she was moving, Ariana had pushed her on the shoulders, knocking Wendy down onto a desk. Wendy managed to catch herself, but got up lightning fast to come at Ariana. Ariana moved out of the way.

  Then Mr. Harrison was in between them. “Stop now! Both of you to the front office. I will not have this in my classroom.” He pointed to the front door, everyone’s essays on the floor.

  Wendy seethed, staring at Ariana. Ariana stared right back, not realizing she was biting the inside of her mouth.

  “Now.” Mr. Harrison was louder this time. Everyone else had started talking and whispering. Ariana decided she wasn’t going to give them any more reason to keep talking about her. She walked out and straight to the principal’s office, leaving Wendy behind.

  chapter nine

  Ariana was sitting in the lobby of the front office. Wendy was across from her, still staring at her. And probably imagining herself getting Ariana back for knocking her down.

  Ariana wondered how such a perfect morning had turned into this mess.

  She’d never gotten in trouble in school in her life. Not even for chewing gum. That wasn’t her. B
ut she had gotten so angry so quickly. For a split second, she admitted to herself that her reaction scared her.

  Was she turning into Carlos? Was this how he had turned into the person who had been responsible for landing Jimmy in the hospital?

  Then she looked at the paintings on the wall, listened to the secretary talking on the phone, anything to get her mind off the thought that had just crossed her mind and the crazy nut who was in front of her.

  A door to her left opened and the assistant principal, Mr. Sandhill, stepped out of his office. He signaled to the both of them with his finger, beckoning them. “In my office, please.”

  He didn’t sound happy. Ariana got up first and went right in. Wendy trudged behind her. They each took a seat, and so did Mr. Sandhill.

  “Mr. Harrison has just informed me of what happened in his classroom this morning. One of you pushed the other?” He looked from Ariana to Wendy and back.

  “Yeah. She pushed me,” Wendy said, looking Ariana up and down like she was scum.

  “Why don’t you tell him why?” she said, glancing at Wendy.

  “For no reason. I didn’t do anything to you.”

  Ariana scoffed.

  “You two young ladies need to tell me the truth,” Mr. Sandhill said, looking from one girl to the other.

  “She was talking about me with a bunch of other girls. They were laughing at me. I hardly even know her, so it beats me why she was even doing it.”

  Wendy just rolled her eyes.

  “Then, when she was walking back to her desk and I was going up to get my essay from the teacher, she ran into my shoulder on purpose. So I pushed her.” She glared at Wendy. “I don’t even talk to her.” Ariana felt hot again.

  “I did not touch you.”

  “Oh my God. At least have the…the decency to admit it.”

  Balls, she wanted to say, but not in front of Mr. Sandhill. She leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms. Then she began thinking about how all of this might affect her getting into college. What if she got suspended? What if they wouldn’t accept her because of her behavior?

  “Since we can’t seem to settle this, I’ll just have to find out myself what happened.” Mr. Sandhill told them.