Chapter 8

PaulaOkonkwo · 2026-08-09T21:00:59.076091Z

i'm already worried about her and this chapter just made it worse. alejandro seems like trouble.

I stand before the shop window, still caught in the memory of his gaze. A sudden buzzing snaps me back to reality: I feel my phone vibrate and see who it is.

—Where is he?" my mom asks.

—At the corner store," I reply.

—Let's go there," she says.

A few minutes later, I see the car pull up in front of me, and I get in.

I sit silently in the seat, thinking about how quiet everything is. I wonder why Alejandro said that and why my dad reacted the way he did. Could they know something? I understand why my dad didn't want me getting into a stranger's car, but Alejandro really surprised me; I have to find out what they're hiding.

The car is parked in front of the house. I quickly get out and head straight inside to change; I’m bustling around the room looking for comfortable clothes because I want to take a shower to relax and wash off the grime I’ve picked up. Once inside, everyone went their separate ways; my mom headed straight to her room to change as well.

Just then, I hear my dad calling me from the hallway. He peeks in and asks if I’d like to go to the restaurant with them. I turn around and tell him no—that the two of them should go on their own so they can enjoy their anniversary as a couple and talk. I tell him not to worry about me, since I’ll just order something or fix myself a bite to eat before heading out.

In the end, my dad turns around and leaves me alone in the room.

Hours later, my parents leave, but not without reminding me of the rules: I have a four-hour pass, I shouldn't drink too much, I have to behave myself, and if anything happens, I must call them immediately.

Just then, Samantha texts to ask if she can come over early and get ready with me. I tell her yes, that’s fine. While I wait for her to arrive, I start getting lunch ready for the two of us. When the doorbell rings, I open the door; she walks in and asks about my parents, and I tell her they just left. I ask her to help me with the juice for lunch and with getting ready

She takes care of the smoothies while I set the table; I’ve prepared rice, steak, and mashed potatoes. She asks if I’ve decided what to wear. I admit I’m unsure, explaining that most of my clothes are loose-fitting. In a reproachful tone, she says we should find something nice and that I ought to buy more feminine clothes. Once the dishes are done, we go upstairs to change. She picks out shorts and a top. I put on a deep red dress that hits mid-thigh. I try to put a sweater over it for a bit of coverage, but she stops me, saying she doesn't like it and telling me to take it off.

I confess that I feel uncomfortable in such a short dress, to which she snaps back that if that’s the case, I’d be better off staying home. I say okay, and we leave. I hadn't worn much makeup—just a little mascara and lipstick—whereas she was fully glammed up.

After nearly an hour, we arrive at the party. I get out of the car and walk behind Samantha. She greets her other friends and introduces them to me.

—This is Diego, this is Junior, and this is Camila."

I told them it was nice to meet them. Junior asked if I was new around there—wondering why he hadn't seen me before—and I nodded. Camila handed me a drink, and I accepted it. We chatted for a while until they went off to dance. They invited me to join them, but I told them I didn't know how and felt too self-conscious to try.

I walked over to a fallen tree and sat down; from there, I could see everyone. I took a sip of my drink and scanned the crowd for Samantha, but then I spotted the two of them...

They were standing near the drinks table. I watched as some guys, looking to be about twenty-three or twenty-four, approached them and handed over two envelopes. Alex’s friend lifted his shirt, tucked the envelopes into his waistband, and covered them up. Then I saw Alex take off his shirt, revealing his arms; one of them was covered in tattoos. I watched from a distance as they danced.

At that moment, I noticed Alex’s friend realize I was watching him; he pointed in my direction. Alex looked over, and I quickly glanced away, but a moment later I looked back and saw he was still watching me. I decided to hold his gaze—after all, he had already caught me looking at him.

Just then, Samantha arrived and led me over to where the guys were. They were bringing in a table, so I asked what it was for.

—It’s for placing bets," they replied.

—What kind of bets?" I asked.

—Whatever you want," Samantha said.

Suddenly, Alex walked over and stood silently beside me. His friend brought out an AR-15 rifle and placed it on the table. Deciding to break the tension, I said to them:

"If you guess how many rounds the rifle holds, I’ll buy you the two most expensive bottles you have here. The only two who can't answer are those two," I said, pointing at Alex and his friend.

Everyone gave it a try, including my friends, but they all got it wrong.

—It only holds thirty rounds," I told them.

I left them there and headed toward Samantha’s car. I sent a message to a taxi service to come pick me up. I saw Samantha walking toward me and told her I was leaving because my taxi was about to arrive.

—Say goodbye to the guys; don't just leave like that," she asked.

I went over and said goodbye to them. As we walked back, Samantha said:

—Didn't you notice that Alex couldn't take his eyes off you after you left?"

—No, I didn't notice," I replied.

The taxi arrived, and I got in. Minutes later, while we were stopped at a traffic light and the driver was about to cross the intersection, an SUV cut right in front of us. There was the sound of hard braking, but fortunately, nothing bad happened. Just then, I saw Alejandro get out of the vehicle, completely drunk. He walked over and asked me:

—Celeste? What are you doing out here at this hour?"

—I was at a party and was just leaving," I answered with complete honesty.

The taxi driver chimed in:

—You need to drive carefully, buddy; that could have ended in a crash."

I was about to roll up the window, but Alejandro stopped me:

—Don't go. Take me home."

I was taken aback, and so was the driver. The cabbie looked at me:

“Miss, are you with him?”

“Yes,” I said.

I watched Alejandro hand the driver $100, and the taxi drove off. I got into his SUV, and he handed me the keys.

“And do you know how to drive?” he asked sarcastically.

“Well, of course,” I retorted.

He got in, and I started the engine. I asked him to put his home address into the GPS.

“No, I’ll give you directions as we go,” he replied with difficulty.

“If you can’t even drive, you certainly won’t be able to give me directions,” I shot back.

In the end, he entered the location into the GPS.

We arrived at his house and I parked the car; he got out, and so did I. Just as I was about to call another taxi, he took my hand and said:

"You can take the car," he said, looking straight at me.

"Okay." I watched him go into his house. *What the hell is that man thinking?* I wondered.

I drove off. On the way, I kept thinking about what the hell I was going to tell my parents when they saw Alejandro’s car parked at the house. It took me half an hour to get there, since there was no traffic at that time of night. I parked the car, made sure it was locked, and went inside. Everything was dead silent. I went up to my room, feeling utterly drained, and collapsed onto the bed.

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