Page 30 of Miguel
Mi sangre.
I smiled at him. A gesture he surprisingly returned. I bathed in the comfort the gesture brought me for a moment before my phone ringing cut through my thoughts. I fished it out of my pocket and my eyes widened in surprise.
Lorena.
I’d saved her number but hadn’t had time to call her. Fuck, I hadn’t seen her for a while since I had to watch her stupid fucking boss dig his fingers into her shoulder. Since she’d dropped Zeke off at the compound. Since that kiss that lived to torment my dreams at night with promises of more.
And I had promised her more. But then everything happened with Zeke and the club and I hadn’t spoken to her. That didn’t mean she wasn’t far from my thoughts. Whenever I got a moment to breathe, to gather my thoughts, she wasn’t too far behind.
I was surprised she was calling, what with her strict rules that meant she didn’t get involved with her students’ parents. I’d vowed I’d break those silly rules down regardless. With a smile, I answered the phone. A smile that promptly died as I heard her fearful breaths and pleading voice.
“Help me.”
Chapter Twelve
Lorena
“Lorena,DirectorRamónwantsto speak with you in his office.”
I looked up at Señora Laura’s anxious gaze. There was an apology in the look she gave me, and I returned it with a reassuring smile of my own. She’d told Ramón about me taking Zeke off school grounds, but I didn’t hold it against her. She hadn’t done it to be malicious, and as the principal, he would have found out eventually. Besides, we’d both received a tongue-lashing because of it, so I figured that was punishment enough.
But what could he possibly want me for now?
The day after he’d warned Señor Lopez and I away from each other, he hadn’t come into school. It was a reprieve, because he wasn’t there to watch me as I bounced on the balls of my feet at the drop-off line, waiting for someone I wasn’t supposed to want.
It was in vain anyway, because Señor Lopez never showed up with Zeke. He’d called in. Then the days that followed, I was met with a beautiful woman dropping Zeke off every morning. She was tan with dark hair and eyes. After the brief flash of jealousy that seared me, I tamped those ridiculous feelings down when I realized she looked too much like Miguel. His sister, I gauged after sneaking a peek at the list of approved family members he’d written down.
Her name was Camila Lopez. Beautiful, with long limbs and an endearing smile. Putting aside the fact that she was his sister, that’s the type of person–aesthetically, at least–I imagined Miguel with. Someone confident, someone clad in leather who could match his wit and lifestyle.
Not… me and my floral dresses andfresonaaesthetic as he’d put it. I’d been accused of being fresa throughout most of my life, though it hadn’t stung as much as it did when he’d said it. Being called a fruit, a double entendre forpeppyandsnooty,was my norm, though something I never considered myself to be.
I tried to stave off my disappointment every day I didn’t see him. He never showed to drop Zeke offorpick him up. My fingers itched to send out a text, but it wasn’t my business what he did or didn’t do.
One kiss had indeed made me stupid. I was actually rather ashamed of myself. So I resolved to put Miguel, and the stupid disappointment I felt, far from my mind. Because when he’d promised it would happen again, I’d almost believed him until it didn’t. He’d probably realized how stupid of an idea it was to get involved with me, especially considering the not-so-subtle threat my boss threw his way. And that was fine.
It was fine.
I was fine.
Pulled back into the present, I got up, ignoring my meager lunch, and went ahead to see what my boss wanted. If he was going to reprimand me once again for fraternizing with parents, my head would explode. He’d done it once, and I didn’t need to hear it again.
At his office door, I knocked and then pushed it open slowly. “You wanted to see me?”
I hadn’t seen him since the day he threatened my job. If there was one thing Ramón always was, it was put together. He looked very rough around the edges today. Dark circles smudged beneath his eyes, and he jolted when I stepped into his office.
Ramón cleared his throat. “Have a seat, please.”
I did as he asked.
“Señorita Flores, I, ah–I wanted to apologize for my behavior the other day.”
I blinked, sure I’d heard wrong.
“It was uncalled for. At the end of the day, it is no business of mine who you decide to mingle with outside of school grounds, and after a closer look at school policy, there really is no concrete rule regarding it either. As long as you don’t show favoritism to any students, all should be fine.”
He was talking so fast I almost couldn’t keep up. My mind was whirling, spinning with this information. It was a complete change from how adamant he’d been last time we spoke on the subject, and now he was saying it was okay?
I took him in, eyes narrowing. For some reason this felt like a trap, but why? How? Was he trying to trick me to diminish my chances of getting a higher position at the school? It was no secret that I had aspirations of being director. Not that I’d step on Ramón’s toes to get the job. I wasn’t underhanded like that. I knew I’d get that job by my performance alone, especially since Ramón was getting on in years. Was he trying to sabotage me with a lie? Would he take this situation to the school board and get me fired the minute I trusted him? So many questions were poised on the tip of my tongue, but I didn’t get to ask a single one of them because Ramón lifted his hands from beneath his desk and shooed me out.
