"I'm going to be here often," he said, putting his index finger under her chin and pulling her face up to his.
"I hope so.”
"I guarantee it."
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“Good,” expressed Selena.
“You can’t get rid of me anymore.”
Part Two
Secrets
“Deep inside, people are full of secrets and if they’re lucky, very lucky, they’ll find someone to share them with.” Grandmother Chela.
Chapter 23
Selena gently flicked a dark strand of hair from Xavier's unwavering eyes.
"Isn't that funny?" asked Selena with a grin.
Xavier chuckled. "Yes."
The lunchroom was crowded but neither took notice. Neither paid attention to the curious or envious stares aimed at them. Neither took note of Saul and Moonflower having a playful argument next to them as to the best way to eat a juicy watermelon. Saul assured her it was best to grab chunks of it once it was open, and she assured him it was better to eat it in big slices.
Selena and Xavier were in their own world. "Barbra Streisand flew inside the barn and sat on Zac, and he gave her a ride. If I hadn't been there myself, I wouldn't believe this story."
"I believe you," he declared, still chuckling.
"I'm sorry, Xavier."
"For what?"
"Boring you," she explained.
"Boring me?"
"I don't mean to go on and on about my animals."
Xavier glided his index finger over her cheek. "Why would you think that I'm bored?"
"Because they're mine and not yours."
"I think everything about you is interesting.”
“You’re the one with the interesting life,” insisted Selena.
“Why do you say that?”
“I just get the feeling that there are so many interesting complications inside of you.”
“Maybe,” he said, his steel gaze tearing away. “But you’re complicated too.” His dark eyes went back to her.
“I guess my life is also kind of wacky.”
"My life is nothing like yours. You're very lucky. Believe me when I say that."
“Lucky?”
“Yes, lucky,” Xavier asserted. “Not everyone has great parents or a loving place to live.”
“Xavier—“
“We’d better finish our lunch before the bell rings.”
Selena didn't like the tone of her father’s voice when he arrived from work. It had a hard edge to it that could cut through a hard surface. Mr. Spinoza informed her that he needed to speak to her. The lines on his forehead wrinkled deeply. It could only mean one thing--that he had something very unpleasant to discuss. Even Mrs. Spinoza seemed worried upon seeing him.
"What is it, Dad?" Selena inquired, dreading the answer.
"It's about your young man."
"You mean Xavier?" Selena asked, her stomach in knots.
“I know he seems like a nice young man.”
“Seems?” questioned Selena.
“Yes, seems.”
“Dad, what are you getting at?”
“He’s not what he appears to be.”
“Artemio,” chided Mrs. Spinoza, “what are you saying?”
“Dad, why are you saying that Xavier isn’t what he seems?” Selena questioned.
“He’s not,” insisted Mr. Spinoza.
“But—“
"I was driving home with Juan. We were passing by that big, rich house you like so much, Blake Montgomery's house."
"The mini-mansion?" Selena asked.
"And then who did I see but Xavier going inside."
"Xavier?" Selena asked with surprise.
“He was going into Blake Montgomery’s house,” Mr. Spinoza repeated angrily.
“Why would he do that?” mumbled Selena, almost not wanting to know the answer to why her boyfriend was going into the home of her father’s worst enemy.
"Juan said Xavier is Blake Montgomery's nephew."
Chapter 24
"What?!" Selena exclaimed, flabbergasted. She couldn’t have heard right!
"How does Juan know that?" Mrs. Spinoza asked sharply.
"He's dating their maid," Mr. Spinoza stated. "Don't you remember how Xavier told us he was staying with an uncle?"
"Yes," Mrs. Spinoza said, perplexed and upset.
"What's Xavier's last name, Selenita?" Mr. Spinoza asked.
"Jones," Selena stated firmly. “And he said his mother’s family wasn’t from here, so it can’t be an uncle from her side.”
“Different last names,” Mrs. Spinoza announced with hope. “Maybe Juan made a mistake.”
“I don’t think so,” Mr. Spinoza insisted. “Xavier is Blake Montgomery’s nephew. Why else would Xavier be going into Blake Montgomery’s house without knocking?”
“I can think of a million reasons,” Selena said, frantically trying to grab at anything she could get a hold of.
“But Juan’s girlfriend says Xavier is Blake’s nephew,” Mr. Spinoza insisted with harsh firmness. “She should know since she works at that house.”
Selena’s stomach started burning with fierce acidity as if something remarkably sour had been poured into it. Blake Montgomery. Just the name alone filled her with revulsion and disgust. Many years ago, way before she was born or even before her parents had met each other, Mr. Spinoza had been in the United States without papers. He had worked for Blake Montgomery on his horse ranch in La Union before Blake Montgomery had built his mini mansion in Gran Estrella.
Even with all the passing years, Selena’s dad never forgot how Blake Montgomery had treated him. Blake Montgomery had never said Mr. Spinoza's name but instead called him 'wetback', and he had never looked at Mr. Spinoza in the eye. He had just barked orders at him. Then Blake Montgomery had accused Mr. Spinoza of neglecting the horses when he himself had left the gate open of the corral. All the horses had been rounded up, but Blake Montgomery had cruelly tongue lashed Mr. Spinoza who in turn quit his job. Blake Montgomery had refused to pay him his last wages and to make his repulsive attitude even more unforgivable, Blake Montgomery had turned Mr. Spinoza into the border patrol.
Since then, much had changed. Mr. Spinoza had his papers in order. He had met the love of his life and had gotten married. He had a family who adored him, but he never forgot the cruelty and humiliation of Blake Montgomery. Selena knew that inside her father's rough exterior was a man beyond kindness and love. One only had to see how he had taken care of Mrs. Spinoza during the cancer scare to realize that he was for the most part a loving person, but there was only one person he couldn't forgive. There was only one person he hated--Blake Montgomery.
"He has never told you who his uncle is, has he, Selena?" Mr. Spinoza asked.
"No, Dad," Selena said tearfully.
Not only had he not told Selena who his uncle was, Xavier hadn't told her a lot. If he was Blake Montgomery’s nephew then he was Asher and Chad’s cousin, he was wealthy, and he lived in the most beautiful house in Gran Estrella, maybe El Paso. How could she be going out with a guy who she knew so little about? Selena couldn’t get it out of her head how Asher and Chad both looked at her as if she could never belong with Xavier, could never be good enough for him.
"You can't see this boy again," Mr. Spinoza stated.
"But, Artemio--" started Mrs. Spinoza.
“He is Blake Montgomery’s nephew!” insisted Mr. Spinoza.
“We don’t know that for sure, Artemio,” Mrs. Spinoza snapped.
“I’ll find out,” Selena said quietly, wondering what she’d do if it turned out to be true.
Selena sat outside her house on her porch. She forlornly drank a soda that quenched her thirst but seemed tasteless. Her parents had pleaded with her to go shopping with them but after church, Selena insisted she needed some time alone. She could sort out her painful jumbled thoughts in the silence
of her home. As she dissected the situation with Xavier, she became wearier and wearier. A relationship had to be based on trust and truth. She couldn't have a relationship with a mysterious ghost and even if she had all these deep, touchable feelings for him, she had to protect herself from what she didn't know about him. She had to protect herself from someone who didn't seem to want to share himself fully with her.
Selena had so far avoided any phone calls from Xavier, fearing the truth, but she knew eventually she'd have to face him. She couldn't always hide in the weekend as she had done so far. At school, she'd be forced to confront him but as it turned out, she didn't have to wait for Monday.
"Hey,” Xavier said, stepping in from the gate. "You haven't returned my phone calls? Is anything wrong?" he asked, concerned as he sat next to her.
“Yes,” she stated, staring at the floor.
“What’s wrong?” he questioned, trying hard to understand her demeanor.
"Where do you live?" blurted Selena, her eyes not being able to meet his as her fingers clutched the soda can.
"Why are you asking me?" asked Xavier, puzzled.
"There's so much I don't know about you."
“Selena—“
“So much!”
"What are you getting at?"
"Is your uncle Blake Montgomery?" Selena asked quietly.
"How did you know? How--"
“So Blake Montgomery is your uncle?” she uttered with pain.
“Yes, but—“
“This changes everything.”
Chapter 25
“What are you saying, Selena?” he asked, perplexed.
“Why is your last name different from your uncle’s?” Selena asked tearfully, still not being able to wrap herself around this truth.
“My uncle and my father had different fathers. Why are you asking me this?” Xavier asked, completely puzzled and concerned.
Selena set the can on the floor and crossed her arms in front of her, trying to prevent her heavily beating heart from leaving her chest. "You’ve told me so little about yourself."
"What does it matter who my uncle is?"
"It matters a lot."
"Why? I don't understand. Where is this coming from?"
Selena quietly but painfully told him the whole story of how his uncle had degraded and betrayed her father. Xavier listened with horror spreading through him like poison from a scorpion.
"My uncle did that?" he barely choked out.
"Yes, and my father will never forgive him," declared Selena, trying to contain the pounding in her head. Suddenly, soda started spraying out of the can on the ground like the occasion when Xavier had visited her for the first time. The dark liquid hissed as it shot out in translucent shards.
“What—“
“Ignore it,” Xavier told her, his voice shaky. "I always knew my uncle was a jerk, but I didn't know how much.” The soda just as suddenly stopped spraying.
"My dad says we can't see each other anymore." She could barely get the words out.
“What?”
“Dad can’t stand your uncle,” she stated quietly.
"Selena, I'll talk to your father. I'll explain--"
"Xavier, who are you? "
“What?”
“Who are you?”
Deep hurt sprang into Xavier's dark eyes. "You know who I am. Why would you even ask?" Soda started spraying out again, but this time both Selena and Xavier ignored it.
"It bothers me that you don't want to be truthful with me."
"What are you talking about?"
"You don't want to tell me who you are."
"That's ridiculous, Selena. Who I am is the one sitting next to you."
"No, Xavier. Who you are is locked deep inside, and you won't let anyone in, including me."
"There's stuff I don't want to talk about, okay?" he declared sharply.
"Then you and I have nothing to talk about," Selena stated with a broken tone.
The soda shooting out of the can hissed a loud shriek and then exploded. Blasting wet liquid in all directions, it hit Selena and Xavier. She stared at the turned over can with confused puzzlement as she wiped the specks of soda from her face.
Xavier talked to her as if nothing had just happened. "You're breaking up with me because I won't lay all my crap out so you can examine it?" he asked, his voice hurt.
Her eyes left the can and stared straight into Xavier. "I'm breaking up with you because I feel I don't know you."
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“It makes all the sense, Xavier. People open themselves in relationships.”
“I can’t. Not now. Not yet.”
“Then we can’t be together.”
“You’re throwing us away just like that?” he asked, his pained voice trying to stay even.
“I don’t know you,” she said painfully. “How can I be with someone I don’t know?”
The car alarm from the neighbor’s red Chevy blared loudly, penetrating the already intense air around Selena and Xavier.
"Okay," he murmured, "have it your way."
And just like that, Xavier moved swiftly away from Selena's life. Selena stared after him as suddenly all sound and feeling were lost. She didn’t even particularly pay attention to a water spigot breaking apart and shooting a powerful surge of water next door and only a few feet away from the crying vehicle as Xavier strode past it.
Then it hit.
CRASH!
Waves and waves of powerful force bounced inside her like the first time she had met him, but this time a pulling sensation accompanied it. This time the magnetic energy was leaving her.
It was fortunate she was sitting down, or she was certain she’d be hitting the ground.
What was it about Xavier that he could do this to her?
Chapter 26
Sadness.
Chapter 27
At school, Selena avoided even glancing at Xavier who seemed to have locked himself deeper within his own skin. Moonflower wanted to know what had happened and Selena explained that she couldn't talk about it yet. Some stuff was way too deep to be able to bring out without causing permanent damage.
“I’ll tell you soon,” Selena said. “I just need some time.”
In Science class, she could feel his guarded, intense eyes on her, and she had to do the impossible—not turning around. Painful magnetic snaps irritated her skin as his presence collided with hers. She took in deep breaths but found they hurt more than helped.
Selena rushed into one of the bathroom stalls to compose herself when Cherise and Asher started having a conversation at the sinks, not aware that she was there.
"I hear that the chunk-of-lard isn't going out with Xavier anymore," stated a giddy Cherise.
"I don't know what he was doing with her," expressed Asher.
"Slumming it," Cherise retorted.
"My cousin can be such an idiot."
"Your cousin?" asked a surprised Cherise.
"Yes," Asher said reluctantly. "My cousin."
"Xavier is your cousin?" Cherise asked angrily.
"Yes, my cousin."
"Why didn’t you tell me this before?" Cherise demanded.
"Because," Asher said, exasperated, "he was embarrassing Chad and me."
"But, Asher, I’ve been trying to get with him for I don’t know how long. You could’ve helped!” Cherise exclaimed, hurt and furious.
"You really like him, don't you?"
"He’s very special, Asher," Cherise murmured. “My heart totally melts when he’s around.”
"I’ll tell you what, I'll make up for not having told you."
"How are you going to do that?"
"Xavier lives in my house. I'll invite you to have dinner with us."
"You will?" Cherise asked, her voice peaking with excitement combined with hope.
"Yes, it's about time he goes out with someone in his own league."
Selena
nonchalantly stepped out of the stall and went up to the sink. Asher and Cherise stared at her with their mouths wide open.
“Hi,” Selena said to the both of them as she washed her hands slowly and deliberately. “Bye,” Selena threw out before stepping out the door. Still flabbergasted, Asher and Cherise turned their eyes to the wall.
As soon as Selena went down the hallway, her thoughts started colliding like spoiled children fighting over the same toy. Asher and Cherise were such jerks calling her lard and saying she wasn’t in Xavier’s league. But that wasn’t what bothered her the most.
Will Xavier go for Cherise?
Cherise had boys around her all the time. Why wouldn't he want her? Then again, Xavier had rebuffed her before.
Why am I obsessing about it?
Selena kept telling herself over and over again how nice it was for things to be normal again, that there was no one occupying her thoughts anymore. No one would fight with her pig or irritate her father. She could spend more time with her friends and mother. The only problem was that when she caught even a single glimpse of Xavier, all reasoning went out the window
Will Xavier fall for Cherise?
Sitting in Selena's bedroom after school, Moonflower talked non-stop with a motor mouth that even Selena was having a difficult time keeping up with.
"Guess what? You'll never guess," she said, rushing her words. "I just found out that Xavier is Asher and Chad Montgomery's cousin. It is so weird! I’m totally freaked out about it. They’re related! Can you believe that?"
"I already knew."
Moonflower’s face contorted with deep hurt. "And you didn't tell me?"
"I just found that out too."
Moonflower's eyes widened as if something had suddenly occurred to her. "Your dad and Blake Montgomery are enemies!"
Selena nodded. "Yep."
"This is terrible, Selena! Terrible!"
"Yep," Selena uttered sadly.
“Oh my gosh! Sel, this is exactly like what happened to Romeo and Juliet with the Capulets and Montigues fight—“
“Please, Moonflower,” implored Selena. “Let’s tone down the theatrics today. I’m not in the mood for them. Sorry.”
Moonflower nodded dejectedly. “Okay.”
“Thanks.”
"All of this stuff with Xavier is so strange."
"I'd say so."
“Very strange!”