Chapter 15, Milo

"C'mon, Chase ! You can do better !" Coach Darcy yells.

I feel weirdly calm today, as I hit the punching bag with my fists.

The talk with my Mom settled me, even if she said things I still cannot allow myself to face right now.

I needed a distraction, ASAP, so I decided to come to the gym, and workout here, in the open.

I do have an apartment so big it contains a workout room, but this gym has always felt like home, and coming here makes me feel at peace with myself, somehow - as messed up as that might sound.

And Coach Darcy is always a great motivation, because she threatens to kick my ass every time.

She's a real boxing monster. She is the one who taught me how to fight, and self-defense, and I will be forever grateful for her, because she's the reason I love coming here so much.

"One, two, three. That's right, Chase !"

I follow the rhythm sound of her counting, focusing myself on her orders. I focus until I'm the only one in the room.

I am supposed to be in France in less than five days, and I still haven't told Esmeralda.

We need to make one last appearance before I'm gone for a month, and I don't really know how to tell her.

Am I in love with Esmeralda ? Fuck if I know.
I did love her once, and she fucking ripped my heart open, so maybe Mom is right. Maybe loving her terrifies me so much, that I try to make myself hate her.

I hit the punching bag again. This time so hard it breaks under my fists.

"You're a fucking beast, dude." I hear the admiration in her voice and can't help but smirk like the arrogant bastard I am.

I release breathy pants, and wipe the sweat on my forehead with the front of my hand.

I turn towards the dark haired woman, and she smiles at me.

"How's Danielle ?" I question her, when she approaches me and gives me a friendly tap on the shoulder.

"Meh. This second trimester's got her all over the place."

Darcy's pregnant girlfriend is one of my friends too. She used to come at the gym everyday, but since she found out she's pregnant, she prefers to stay home.

"Have you found out the gender yet ?"

"Yup. It's a boy." Her eyes light up with happiness and her usual frown morphs into a huge smile.

I grin. "That's awesome."

She claps me on the shoulder in thanks.

"What about you, huh ? I saw you're going all crazy over the younger Hernandez daughter."

I nod, and force a smile to my face.

"Yeah, we're together." I lie.

"Congrats, man. I'm happy for you." She smiles and I force a smile on my own face.

When I finish my workout, I drink some water and grab my phone.

"Try not to be a ghost, Chase." Darcy says, with a dip of her chin, rearranging her ponytail, ready to leave.

I wish her a good day, and promise to come back soon.

So much for feeling calm, I am now frustrated. Sometimes I really wonder if someone put a freaking baby in me, because of how fast my emotions change lately.

Speaking of babies, Rita Hernandez is pregnant - why is everyone pregnant right now, what the hell ?

How I know, you may ask ?

Well, I have Instagram. She posted a selfie with Esmeralda, and the two sisters were both smiling wide. And the multiple articles talking about it didn't go unnoticed by me.

My heart sunk with relief when I saw that she looked okay, and not the pale exhausted face she was three days ago.

I am distracted, when I jump in my car, ready to go to my house. I have a family dinner tonight, and I really am looking forward to it, because it's been a while since we've done that.

I hear my phone ring, and I instantly smile when I look at the caller ID, before picking up. It's Alice.

"Hi, Monkey." I greet.

"Hi, Asshole." She says, and I chuckle.

"How are you ?"

"I'm good. What about you ?"

"Good. Just got out of the gym."

"Oh, that's cool.

There's a beat of silence. I hear her hesitate.

"There's something I need to tell you."

"Okay, tell me."

"Promise me you won't freak out." She says urgently.

"Don't tell me you're pregnant too." I mutter under my breath.

"What the fuck, Milo ? Of course not, I use protection." She yells, outrageous.

"Excuse me ?! You shouldn't be having sex at twelve years old."

"I'm sixteen. And that's none of your business !"

I can't help but smile a little, I know she's practically grown up now, but I can't help but feel a tad overprotective towards her. I wonder how Ellis will react when he finds out, he's always been the more protective between the two of us, and him and Alice are very close.

"I'm telling Ellis about that, kid."

"No ! No, you're not. I don't want him going around murdering people !"

I laugh again, because my brother would definitely it, then deflate, remembering that this started as a serious conversation.

"Allright, now tell me what the fuck is going on."

She swallows soundly.

"Uh, I might have invited Esmeralda for dinner tonight ?"

If I was in front of my baby sister, right now, I would have strangled her.

"You did, what now ?"

I try to contain my anger as well as I am capable to because I hate to yell at her.

"I know you're so mad right now, but I didn't know you guys were in a fight before she told me, and when I asked Mom if she was coming and she said no, I thought it would be a good opportunity for her and I to properly catch up."

I clear my throat.
That is a lot to process, but at least I won't have to send her a text to take her on a fake date. We could just take Instagram stories, and be done with it.

Done. I don't know if I'm ready for us to be done.

"Okay." Is all I say.

"I'm sorry." Her regret can clearly be heard in her voice.

"It's okay. I've got to go now. I'll see you tonight."

"Yeah, sure. Bye Milo."

I hang up, trying to process once again the fact that Esmeralda is coming to my family dinner tonight.

Family dinners are very important, and I hope we won't ruin this by arguing, again.

Oh, this is going to be a disaster.