Unbreakable Love Read online

  “You coming?” she asked, impatient.

  Jimmy paused, looking unsure of himself. “Yeah. Let’s go. Mayra must be eagerly awaiting me, huh?” he said, his old self again.

  “Not a word,” she said.

  “Okay, okay. But that date better happen. And soon,” he said.

  She rolled her eyes as she called Mayra to come meet her.

  ***

  “You look great!” Mayra said, hugging Ariana. Mayra took their purses and put them behind the bar, winking at the twenty-something bartender. He almost tripped with the drinks he was carrying. They walked back to the dance floor.

  “Thanks! Did I miss anything good?” she said, looking around. The DJ was doing a great job spitting out some great mixes of the latest hit songs. She was aching to get out on the dance floor.

  “Hey, Jimmy,” Mayra said.

  He winked at her and smiled. “Hey, you need a dance partner or something?” he asked coolly.

  “Maybe later. Gotta dance with the big boys first,” she said.

  “Too bad they can’t dance,” he shot back. That was one thing about Jimmy. He could dance.

  “So,” Ariana said, turning away from Jimmy as a hot song came on. “Who else is here? I need someone to dance with, and it can’t be either of you. Not for the whole night anyway. What are my options?”

  She saw Jimmy roll his eyes before he looked at Mayra.

  “Well, Uriel is here. He’s okay. Not the best dancer, but you don’t gotta worry about him feeling you up. Raul’s here too. And Logan. He’s pretty good. And some other guys from our year who might ask us out. Lots of possibilities,” she said, smiling.

  “What are we waiting for?” Ariana said, moving to the music. “Let’s go.”

  She pulled Jimmy by the hand and led him to the dance floor. Mayra followed behind them.

  It was packed and hot, but she didn’t care.

  Ariana moved to the beat of the hip hop song, dropping low to the ground with the beat of the music.

  The song ended, and the music transitioned to sensual Latino music, bachata. Ariana grabbed Jimmy around his neck and began doing the steps to the song with him. He was a few inches taller than her, but thin. Bachata was perfect for dancing with a cute guy, but Jimmy would have to do for now.

  Mayra got closer to them, and they separated, each of them dancing on their own.

  Ariana closed her eyes. She loved this song. She let her mind go blank and focused on the music.

  Then, somebody touched her shoulder. She turned around but continued to sway to the music.

  It was a guy. A cute guy. A senior, by the look of him.

  “Hi,” he said. “How about a dance or two with me?” His smile reached his eyes.

  She looked him up and down as she bit her lip. He knew how to dress himself, that was for sure. He was wearing a black dress shirt and dark blue jeans that emphasized his lean figure. He had medium-length hair that was purposely tousled into place. She didn’t really know him but knew she’d passed him in the hallways occasionally. She couldn’t believe he had asked her—out of all the girls—to dance.

  “What do you say? I promise I won’t bite.”

  She turned around and looked at Jimmy. He gave a slight nod as he twirled Mayra to the music.

  “Is that your boyfriend?” the guy asked as he glanced at Jimmy.

  “My little brother,” she responded.

  He nodded. “Hm.”

  He offered his hand, and she took it with a smile. He led her to an open space on the floor. He put one hand on her hip and took her other hand. She put her free hand on his shoulder. She felt butterflies in her stomach. She tried not to smile like an idiot.

  They danced together for a few minutes without talking.

  “I’m Carlos, by the way.” He shouted to be heard over the deafening music. “What’s your name?”

  That smile would simply not come off his face.

  “Ariana.” She smiled back. Their eyes met, and she blushed. She turned away to look at something else, anything else. She glanced back at him and saw his smile had grown even wider.

  He brought his head down to her ear. “You’re beautiful.” She could barely hear him say it, but the look on his face said it all.

  They came closer together. He put both of his hands around her hips, and she put both of her arms around his neck. She could feel his warm breath on her neck, and she felt her heart race. She wondered if this was what it felt like to fall in love. She didn’t want to forget a single detail.

  As the music continued, they kept dancing, moving to everything from bachata to merengue to slow music. A few times she caught sight of Jimmy dancing with girls, mostly with Mayra. He nodded at her, seeing if there was a sign that she was at all uncomfortable. She wasn’t. She smiled back, gave a small wave, and kept dancing.

  By the end of the night, she had laid her head to rest on Carlos’ shoulder. He echoed the gesture, moving close. She closed her eyes for a few seconds, wanting to remember the moment forever, having completely forgotten to check in with her parents.

  ***

  Ariana and Jimmy hadn’t gotten to the party until around eight thirty. This was perfectly normal in Latino culture. This kind of party, a quinceanera with over three hundred people, would probably carry on until the early hours of the morning. But Ariana knew her parents would never let them stay that long. She thought about the fact that she would have to leave as she and Carlos danced another slow song, bodies touching. She used her sleeve to wipe her brow and nose of sweat. The song ended, and she pulled back from Carlos, wondering what time it was.

  “I have to go,” she said, looking up at him. He was a few inches taller, but because he was looking down at her, their noses were almost touching. She tried not to stare at his lips. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  He nodded, and she made her way across the dance floor to look for Mayra and Jimmy.

  Her parents hadn’t told them what time they would pick them up. They were supposed to check in with each other, which she hadn’t done at all. She didn’t know if Jimmy had bothered to call or text them. She found him dancing with Mayra. From the looks of them, he had probably forgotten all about normal life too.

  She nudged Mayra, and they stopped dancing and turned around. Jimmy tried to hold Mayra’s hand, but she pushed him away, laughing.

  “Let Mayra breathe, Jimmy.”

  “Actually, he’s danced with like half the girls already.” Mayra said, nudging Jimmy playfully with her shoulder.

  Jimmy looked down for a second. “Not my fault I’m like the only guy who knows how to dance.”

  She looked at Jimmy. “Has mom or dad called you?”

  He shrugged and took his phone out of his pocket. “Oops,” she saw him mouth. He showed her his screen. Five missed calls and two texts. Her parents took forever to text even a word, so two texts meant something.

  “Crap,” she said. She rushed over to the bar, followed by Jimmy and Mayra, and grabbed her purse, looking for her phone. She found it at the very bottom and checked it. Seven missed calls and three texts from her parents. She turned around, showing them her phone.

  Jimmy’s mouth was open, and he actually looked kind of scared.

  “Mayra. Bathroom. Now.” She grabbed Mayra by the hand and dragged her to the bathroom. They tiptoed around the dirty bathroom, avoiding used toilet paper and random puddles.

  “My parents are going to kill me. Us,” she said as she dialed her mom’s cell phone.

  Her mom picked up on the first ring.

  “Mom—” Her mom didn’t even let her say anything.

  “Ariana, we’ve been calling you all night. It’s past midnight. Get Jimmy and get outside right now.”

  Her mom had given the phone to her dad because now he was talking to her.

  “We are already on our way. We will be there in five minutes. Get your brother. I’ll call you when we are outside,” he said.

  It could have been worse, she thoug
ht, exhaling.

  “And Ariana. Forget about going out ever again.”

  That was worse. She hung up and looked at Mayra. She did not want to get into her parents’ car.

  “What happened?” Mayra asked.

  “We’re dead. Like officially dead,” she said, walking out of the bathroom.

  Jimmy was still there. He just looked at her. “So?”

  “We’re dead. They’re outside.” He groaned, but they said bye to Mayra and walked to the front of the building together. As they reached the door, she realized she hadn’t even said bye to Carlos. Or gotten his number. Not that she’d ever gotten a guy’s number. But she could hope.

  She looked back. Mayra was dancing with one of the guys from their class. She looked like she had no intention of leaving the party until it was over.

  She couldn’t believe she had forgotten to check her phone. That was their parents’ big rule. How had she forgotten? Because of Carlos, that’s why.

  ***

  A few minutes later, she and Jimmy were waiting outside for their mom and dad to show up.

  She remembered the feel of Carlos against her body and being nose to nose with him. She tried not to think about the fact that she had probably walked away from her first kiss.

  “Well, we sure messed up our chances of ever going out again,” he said.

  “Yep.” She crossed her arms and felt anger welling up inside of her, creeping up her throat.

  “What’s wrong?” Jimmy asked. She didn’t even want to look at him right now.

  “I hate that we have to leave just because they say so. We’re never allowed to do anything, and me way less than you.”

  “Yeah, well, at least you don’t have to get up early on Saturdays to help around with the outside work and get paid nothing to do it. We get the same allowance, and you do way less than me. Or when I have to go to work with Dad sometimes on Saturdays or school holidays. I don’t get that much time to hang out with Ryan and play basketball. Now that sucks. You’re a girl. You just flip some tortillas here, wash a few dishes there, and you’re done.”

  “At least you get paid something when you go to work with Dad. Besides, I would do all that if it meant getting more freedom.”

  Jimmy didn’t have time to say something back because their parents pulled up. They had serious looks on their faces.

  Resigned, Jimmy and Ariana made their way to the car and got in. They were still slamming the doors shut when her mother began to get on to them.

  “I’m sorry about forgetting to check in. Please just leave me alone,” Ariana said, staring out the window.

  Jimmy stared. Ariana didn’t care that she had just made things worse.

  “Don’t talk to your mother like that, Ariana. Tomorrow, we are having a serious talk. Don’t think we’re done with you. You have to remember that we are the ones in charge around here,” her dad said. “Not you. When you work and provide for yourself, then you can have a say in what you can and cannot do.”

  Ariana just rolled her eyes.

  chapter two

  Ariana woke up the next morning realizing she had gone to bed without washing off her makeup. She sighed as she walked to the bathroom with caked eyes. The mascara and eyeliner took a while to wash off.

  Since it was Sunday morning, she crawled back into bed, but she couldn’t fall asleep again. Part of it was because she could already hear Jimmy bouncing his basketball around outside. She checked her alarm clock. It was barely nine in the morning. Ariana tried to close her eyes again and lull herself back to sleep, but no luck. She remembered last night, and her stomach sank.

  She regretted being short with her mother now, but what was done was done. She couldn’t take it back. And she would be facing the consequences today. Who knew what her parents would do? Then again, there wasn’t much they could do. Her parents already practically treated her like a prisoner. What else could they take from her? Her television? Maybe. Her time with Mayra? Probably.

  She remembered her friend and hoped she had gotten home okay. She needed to call and make sure. She sent Mayra a quick text before she walked back into the bathroom to brush her teeth and hop in the shower.

  About twenty minutes later, she was out and dressed. She heard movement in the kitchen and knew her parents were up.

  She walked quietly down the hallway to check out the situation and see what kind of mood her parents were in. She would evaluate what she should do then.

  Her father was sitting in the kitchen eating breakfast, and her mom was bustling around the stove, moving pots and pans. She heard them quietly but seriously talking about something. It sounded like an argument. They were probably trying to decide what punishment they were going to give her.

  She decided to walk back to her room from the living room as quietly as possible. She would stay in her room all day, avoiding them as long as she could. Maybe later she would come out for breakfast if they went outside. She began to turn back around towards the hallway, trying to avoid being spotted. Luckily, her dad was facing the other way. His back was facing her. And her mom seemed busy at the moment. She exhaled and began to walk back to her room. She was almost there. Just a few more steps…

  “Uh uh, Ariana. Get back here,” her mother said. Ariana turned around and faced her mom.

  Her dad didn’t even turn to look at her.

  She rolled her eyes and shuffled back to the living room.

  “Bring us your phone,” her dad said. He was still eating.

  “Why’d you make me come all the way over here if you were just going to tell me to go get my phone?”

  Her mom stared at her, and her dad turned in his chair to do the same.

  She walked away and came back with her phone, but not before looking at the text she had gotten from Mayra saying that she was home.

  Her mom took her phone from her outstretched hand. Ariana didn’t even look at her. “No phone today. Or tomorrow. You’re grounded.”

  “Like I care. I’m practically a prisoner, anyway.” She turned around and headed back toward her room.

  She wasn’t even halfway there when her mother called her back again.

  “No, Ariana. You’re not going to your room to sleep the whole day away either. Or watch television. You’re helping me clean the house today. So put your hair up, because you’re starting by washing the dishes.”

  “That’s what dishwashers are for.”

  “And then you’ll mop after that,” her mother said, ignoring her.

  Ariana felt anger well up inside her, and she forced the tears back.

  ***

  That evening, after washing dishes, doing the laundry and folding the laundry, and mopping, vacuuming, and cleaning her room, Ariana finally sat on her bed and brushed stray hairs from her face. Her t-shirt was dirty, and she felt sticky. It was ten thirty at night, and her parents would be going to bed soon. They would be going to work the next day, and they were already in their room getting ready for bed. She had closed her own bedroom door, turned off the light, and turned on her lamp.

  Thoughts of Carlos had been gnawing away at her the whole day. She would have gone completely nuts if it hadn’t been for the fact that she kept replaying last night’s events over and over like a movie in her mind.

  She remembered the scent of his cologne. She remembered the feel of his warm skin on hers and smiled. She wondered what it would be like to go out on a real date with him. Or just to be his girlfriend.

  She knew Carlos had a car because she’d seen him standing beside it in the afternoons as the school bus was leaving the school parking lot. She imagined herself standing next to him and his car, his arms wrapped around her waist as she made a witty joke and he laughed. She imagined riding in his car and holding his hand on the way to see a romantic yet funny movie.

  She sighed.

  She needed advice from Mayra. If anyone knew how to get a guy to ask you out, it was Mayra. She’d had her first boyfriend in seventh grade, a boy named Erik. He was an
eighth grader in the popular crowd. Needless to say, Ariana and the rest of the girls in both grades had been impressed.

  Mayra was a flirt who knew how to be charming, daring, and confident around guys, even when she was in sweatpants and didn’t have any makeup on. Especially when she was in sweatpants and without makeup. Now that they were juniors in high school, even a few college-aged guys were after her. Which made her laugh. She dyed her hair and did her makeup perfectly, which made her look older and accentuated her almond-shaped eyes. Ariana’s parents would never let her dye her hair like Mayra’s mom did or actually go out somewhere with a guy. She sighed again. She was going to do something about it.

  Maybe.

  She’d talk to Mayra about it, but it’d have to wait until tomorrow morning. She’d finally gotten her phone back after working extra hard the whole day, but she was too tired to call or text. Jimmy had done some chores too, but nowhere near the amount of work she was given. Ryan had even come over to play hoops with him in the afternoon after he had mowed the lawn.

  She grabbed some comfy clothes and her towel and headed for the shower.

  ***

  “So what’d your parents say when they picked you up? I bet they were mad, huh? Knowing your parents.”

  Mayra and Ariana were on the school bus Monday morning. Mayra was resting her head against the seat with her eyes closed. Turned out she hadn’t gotten home until three in the morning on Sunday morning, right before her mom got home.

  She and Mayra always sat together on the bus. Neither of them had cars, like a lot of the juniors and seniors in their class, so they were some of the only ones in their grade level on the entire bus. They didn’t mind, though. The bus ride wasn’t too long, and they enjoyed chatting and gossiping.

  “Pssh. They blew a fuse. And I blew one right back,” Ariana said.

  “You talked back to your parents? Well, that’s unheard of.”