Easy | O. Diaz

Pairing: Oscar x Flores!Reader

Timeframe: Season One

Summary: After finding out about the claim Oscar put on her, Y/n sets out to spite him.

masterlist

A/N: Ok, now I’m gonna start alternating the order I post my imagines in so it’s not just back to back Spooky fics hehe x

I left a little over 4 years ago when I went to college, thinking my block would never be the same, but now that I was back I quickly discerned that Freeridge did not change. At all.

Same houses. Same cars. While the kids playing on the streets were a little older, they all looked the same to me.

As I approached Spooky’s house, I realised it was just how I remembered. Three Santos sat at the doorstep with bottles held loosely in their hand, scanning the streets and commenting on what they saw.

“Hey, hey, look!” One called out, nudging the Santo next to him to look my way. “That’s the hyna we been talking about.”

The Santo met my gaze and grinned eerily as he looked me up and down. I furrowed my brows and glared at him, but he remained unfazed. Still, I continued walking along the pavement.

“Flores,” the other one sang like my surname was a melody.

I told myself to ignore them. Freeridge was my home too, and I was not going to let three men in cargo shorts ruin my otherwise happy return. I was doing so well too until the third one opened his damn mouth.

“Isn’t her little sister that weird girl with asthma?”

I stopped in my tracks, fuming, before turning towards Spooky’s house and marching towards the third Santos, who was still snickering. I could tolerate being talked about, but I did not play when it came to Jasmine.

“Aren’t you the one who cried like a little bitch when I kicked him in the balls?”

The other two laughed because they were there when it happened. Spooky hosted a party to celebrate our high school cohort graduating, and I kicked one of my classmates in the groin after I caught him trying to slip something into another girl’s drink while she was not looking.

Not that same classmate was rising to his feet and walking towards me with a deathly glare.

“I’d like to see you try and do that now, puta.”

I suppose his point was that he was no longer the scrawny little high schooler he was when I humiliated him. However, I could see through his little act. They were all the same to me. Same fragile ego. Same macho hyper-masculine pride.

“Trust me,” I hissed. “If you had any balls left, I would.”

The other two laughed again, and I stood and waited for the third to throw a fit or try and scare me into walking away. Instead, he just smirked, as if he knew something I did not.

“Ayo, Spooky!” He called out, glancing back at the house. “Your girl’s sure got a mouth on her.”

I narrowed my eyes at him.

“What?”

I had no recollection of having anything more than a casual friendship with Oscar Diaz, mostly because that was all it ever was between us. I wondered if he told his gangmates something I did not know and felt my heartbeat quicken.

“Claimed you last week,” the Santos explained, smirking at my reaction like it was just what he wanted. My frustration grew tenfold. He looked me up and down again before snickering. “Not that anyone else wanted to.”

His words would have stung if I gave two shits about his opinion of me. I wanted to make a snide remark about how a guy with a receding hairline had no right to be picky, but my opportunity to make a comeback was interrupted.

“Y/n.” I looked over Santo’s shoulder and saw Spooky coming out to greet me. The other three took their seats on the doorstep, sipped their coronas and enjoyed the show. “Nice to see you again.”

“Wish I could say the same for you,” I glared.

“C'mon,” Spooky laughed as he walked closer to me, even as I continued to scowl. “Don’t be like that.”

There it was. The same Spooky I knew and tolerated who never took my anger seriously. In high school, when I got angry with him for taking so long to do his portion of our group project, he thought he could make it up to me by bringing me homemade tamales.

Granted, I did eat the tamales because I knew how good of a cook he was, but that was beside the point. He could not just charm his way out of everything, and if no one had taught him that yet, I was more than willing to do so myself.

“Did you claim me?” I asked angrily.

“And what if I did?”

He continued to smirk, which made me even madder. The three Santos behind them chuckled, and I found myself flustered. They found my anger amusing and Oscar’s annoying charm admirable.

“Well… then you need to disclaim me,” I demanded.

“Or what?”

He inched closer to me and raised his brows as he posed his questions. I knew he teasing me. Trying to get a rise out of me. And perhaps, given that I was no longer a high school teenager, it would have been appropriate to respond maturely. To walk away and be the bigger person.

However, part of me felt like I was being challenged. Like he was asking me if I had enough nerve to go up against the Santo’s newly risen leader. He should have known better than to underestimate my wrath.

I glanced over Spooky’s shoulder and noticed his toolkit laid out. He was still fixing up the car he bought in high school- the one he loved so dearly. Quickly, I turned back to Spooky and grinned sarcastically.

He was startled by my fake enthusiasm. So startled that he did not have enough time to stop me from bolting towards his toolbox and grabbing the biggest nail I could see. By the time I got to his car, I looked back and saw him standing dumbfounded.

His shock morphed into horror as he witnessed me dragged the nail along the side of his car, scratching the red paint. I contemplated leaving at that until I remembered the three pendejos still sitting on his doorstep, and so I did the mature thing; I punctured one of the back tires and tossed the nail on the ground before making my way home.

If it was not clear to him when we were in high school, I knew it was clear to him now; I was not to be fucked with.

***

It was my first Saturday back in Freeridge, and my tia gave me her express permission to go out and have fun. If I had known all my old friends were going to a kickback at Spooky’s house, I would have never agreed to them picking me up on their way there.

I was several drinks in when I stumbled my way over to Sad Eyes who sat alone on one of the sofas. He was the most tolerable Santo, in my opinion, and therefore the best person to talk to about the claim Spook put on me.

“It doesn’t mean he wants you like that,” Sad Eyes explained. “It just means no one else can make a move on you.”

I hated that so much. Though I had no prior plans on doing anything with any Santo other than Spooky, I hated that he had gone ahead and taken that choice away for me.

I wanted to retaliate.

“Not even you?” I asked Sad Eyes.

“Y/n, I’m flattered. But I don’t like you like tha-”

“Oh my god, stop,” I rolled my eyes and shuffled closer until our knees touched. “I just want to get back at him a little bit.”

“Wrecking his car wasn’t enough?”

I laughed aloud, even though I did not find Sad Eye’s retort all that humorous. Just as I finished, I placed my hand on his chest and gazed into his eyes with as much affection as I could fake. He finally caught on to what I was doing.

“You don’t know what you’re doing, Y/n,“ Sad Eyes warned.

"If you know what’s good for you,” I threatened while still smiling at him. “You’ll be quiet and enjoy this while it lasts.”

A brief glance over Sad Eye’s shoulder confirmed that my plot for rebellion was working. It was a good thing too, considering I had no plans of stopping any time soon. At least not until the night got interesting.

“Whatever it is you two got going on,” Sad Eyes groaned. “It’s annoying as hell.”

“There’s nothing going on, that’s my whole point,” I argued.

Sad Eyes must have been studying me closely as I glanced over to Spooky again because when I looked back at him, his hand was reaching for my face.

“Your cheeks say something else,” he commented.

I reached for my face defensively. Had I been blushing? Or was Sad Eyes just trying to psych me out so I could leave him alone? There was little time to figure that out before a shadow loomed over the two of us where we sat.

“Compa,” Spooky nodded. “You good?”

I turned to Sad Eyes who sat up straight.

“Yeah,” he answered sheepishly.

“Why you talking to Y/n, then?”

I rolled my eyes. Something about two idiots talking about me like I was not even there made my blood boil. I turned to Oscar and snapped before Sad Eyes could come up with a half-hearted excuse.

“How is that any of your business, Spooky?” I scowled.

“Just never knew you two were so close,” he shrugged.

I rose to comment on how it was still none of his business. Regardless of where I stood with Sad Eyes, I did not need to report to him about the men I conversed with. Claim or no claim. However, before I could even begin reprimanding Spooky, Sad Eyes shuffled away and headed to the house.

“Man, I don’t need this shit,” he grumbled.

“You know what? Me neither,” I scoffed.

While Sad Eyes raced for the door, I started walking towards the fence. Oscar followed me out as I headed towards the pavement with every intention of calling it a night and going home.

“Y/n,” he called out.

“God, just leave me alone!“

“It’s late, Y/n,” Spooky warned. “You can’t just walk home alone.”

We were a few houses down the road when I turned and groaned at the sight of Spooky still following after me. Was it not enough that he ruined my return and my Saturday night? Did he really have to annoy me all the way to my front door?

“I can’t believe you,” I scoffed. “We haven’t talked since high school but the minute you hear I’m moving back you put a claim on me like I’m a fucking house on the market.”

I shoved him as hard as I could, but the booze in my system weakened my arms. Oscar barely stumbled back and when he continued to move closer to me, my frustration with him only grew.

"Like… who the fuck do you think you are? My handler?”

“Just come back to where everyone else is,” he spoke calmly.

In hindsight, I knew he was just trying to lead me back to where I would be safer off, but tipsy-me took his attempt at staying rational as him patronising me- treating me like one of his little homies or the little hynas who look to him as a leader.

“I get that you’re used to running these streets, Spooky,” I droned. “But you can’t tell me what to do.”

Spooky chuckled, and so I decided I was not yet done with him.

“And you know what? If you wanted me, you shouldn’t have gone and gossiped about it to your stupid friends,” I snapped. “You should’ve just grown a fucking pair and told me yourself.”

I waited for him to retaliate and say something snarky, or to, at the very least, be fazed by what I said. However, Oscar did not do that. Instead, he smiled and nodded his head once before replying briefly.

“Ok, fine,” he quipped. “I like you, Y/n.”

His response was the last thing I expected him to say. My breath hitched as I struggled to think of a response. However, my trusty encyclopaedia of comebacks disappeared from memory and I was left with no other choice but to drop my jaw in shock and stare blankly.

“What do you have to say?”

Spooky’s tone was teasing, even more so than usual. He grinned at me like he had won the back and forth dance we had kept up for as long as we knew each other. I furrowed my brows, unable to let that be the case.

“It’s never gonna happen,” I hissed.

His annoyingly charming smile was not going to work on me. I glared at him and breathed heavily, fuming from how annoying and infuriating he was.

I tried not to be startled when he inched closer and lifted his hand. I knew I should have slapped his hand away, but by the time his fingers grazed over my skin, I felt paralysed by something. Something that burned inside of me. Spooky’s smile lingered in the silence before he eventually met my eyes and laughed.

“Your cheeks say something else.”

My anger grew as I watched him toss his head in laughter. I wanted to punch that stupid grin off his face. Anything to get him to stop enjoying how flustered I was. I huffed and thought of what I would do.

While my arms were weak from the beers, I had a feeling the strength in the rest of my body would only be heightened. Before Spooky could finish laughing in my face, I grabbed his shoulders and thrust my right leg up swiftly until my knee collided roughly with his groin.

Spooky toppled over in pain and I bent down to smile at him before turning back around and walking home on my own, in the silence, where there were no more stupid men to annoy me.

***

He never told anyone what happened, most likely out of embarrassment. Somehow, that made it even better. I walked my streets thinking of what Spooky was getting up to. Whatever it was, he had to carry the knowledge that I kicked him in the balls and walked away smiling.

I thought for sure he would leave me alone, but it was as if the streets of Freeridge pulled us even closer together. I was not even meant to be at the Martinez house. I was only meant to drop in with some snacks for my sister and her friends.

However, just as I was about to leave, the front door busted open and la diablo himself came strolling in. The kids held each other in horror, but I watched with mere dismay as Spooky peeked through the curtains and watched the police cars zoom past.

“One of the homies got shot,” he explained.

“I wishIwere the homie,” I mumbled to myself.

Spooky must have heard me faintly because he turned around quickly and chuckled when I realised I was sitting on the sofa behind him. He ambled over and planted himself on the empty space beside me.

“Flores, mi amor,” he teased. “You know, if you wanted to get me alone, all you had to do was ask. No need to orchestrate a police lockdown.”

I had to hand it to him, he had no fear. Even after I kicked him in the groin, he was still back at again with his antics. I could not discern whether it was because he was just that ballsy or because I was just that lovable. Given the fact that I had been called a bitch by almost every man on our block, I ruled out the latter.

“Diaz,pendejo,” I spat. “Don’t know if you realise but we’re not alone.”

I gestured towards the dining table, where Jasmine and her friends sat in quiet fear. Before Spooky could say anything further, I stood up and headed towards the kitchen where I left the food I had brought.

“I’ll fix up some snacks,” I smiled at the kids.

Their little shoulders slumped in relief as the tension began to ease, but when the pendejo followed me into the kitchen, my anger rose once more.

“For all of usexcept Spooky,” I added, turning back to offer him a glare.

I tried to ignore his watchful eyes as he stood mere steps away from me while I quickly made guacamole for our chips. I knew he was just trying to agitate me, and I refused to give him that satisfaction. Even if I wanted to tell him to back it up.

“I wouldn’t add that if I were you.“

His voice startled me so much, I almost dropped the pepper grinder I held in my hand. Of course, he had strong opinions about food. If the sight of him did not repulse me, I would have listened.

“If I were you, I’d be quiet,” I warned.

I laid the snacks out on the table and took the seat in between my sister and Jamal. Ruby, Monse and Olivia sat on the other three seats, which left Spooky no choice but to hover from afar.

“What are you guys playing?” I asked as I ate my way through a handful of corn chips.

“Truth or dare,” my sister answered. “You want in?”

I nodded, glancing to the side momentarily just to check what Spooky was doing. Luckily he was on his phone trying to get a hold of Cesar. Now I was the one to slump my shoulders in relief. Being watched was stressful.

“I pick… Truth,” I stated when it was eventually my turn.

Before Ruby asked me his question, he exchanged knowing looks with my sister and the rest of their friends. I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously.

“Is it true you had a crush on Spooky back in high school?”

My eyes widened in shock and I immediately turned to my sister, who was conveniently avoiding looking me in the eye. Perhaps it was on me for thinking I could trust my 8-year-old sister to keep a secret.

“Way to tell my business to the whole block, Jas,” I groaned.

“You didn’t answer the question,” Ruby persisted.

I turned to face him and he quickly sunk back, intimidated by my glare. I turned to the side again, just to make sure Spooky was not in earshot. When I was certain he was still making phone calls in the bathroom, I sighed.

“Ok, yes… I did,” I admitted.

“No way,” Ruby gasped, his shocked expression matching the rest of his friends. I realised Jasmine must have told them, but they refused to buy it until now. Perhaps I would have been better off lying.

“Yes way,” Jasmine grinned. “He made her tamales one time, and it was all she talked about for a week.”

“Because they were good tamales,“ I argued. "Not because I liked him.”

“But you admit it.”

My head whipped and my jaw dropped when I realised Spooky was not only back, but he heard what I just said.

“You liked me,” he added, smiling amusingly as she moved closer to where we were all sitting.

“Keyword: liked,” I corrected.

“Well, actually-“

“Jasmine!” I shrieked.

It was bad enough everyone knew about my schoolgirl crush on Spooky, they did not need to know anything more. I swore to myself that the minute Jasmine and I were alone, I would deliver a much-needed lecture on girl code and avoiding my wrath.

I could feel Spooky watching me intently, his annoying grin ever-present on his stupid face, which was why I continued to look away. Thankfully it was only a matter of seconds before the police sirens returned and a voice on a megaphone announced the end of the police lockdown.

“Well, I’m leaving,” I huffed.

My feet could not have carried me out the door faster. I focused on my car where it stood parked in the driveway, desperate for a quick getaway because I felt mortified.

“Y/n c’mon we should talk about this.”

Spooky sure seemed to have a knack for following me during my storm-offs. I felt him reach for my hands in an attempt to get me to stop, but I shook him away and kept walking.

“Nothing to talk about,” I retorted. “And don’t think this changes anything between us. I’m still mad at you!”

I slammed my car door shut and quickly locked myself in. Oscar stepped back and huffed, accepting his defeat. I sighed in relief before inserting my key into the ignition and waiting for the engine to sound.

My heart dropped when I turned the key only to hear the engine sputter. I glanced over at Spooky, whose spirit recovered instantly. Now he was smiling to himself, amused by the fact that I was now trapped.

“You good?” He snickered, tapping on the passenger window.

I cursed beneath my breath and tried again, pleading my beloved car to cooperate. However, each time I turned the key, the engine refused to make the sound it needed to in order for me to get home.

“If we push it to my place, I can check to see what’s wrong for you,“ Spooky suggested.

“No way!”

That was a trap if I ever heard one. Not to mention, I barged out of the house with the intention of getting away from Spooky. Waiting around for him to fix my car would be betraying that pursuit.

“C'mon… I’ll do it for free.”

I sighed. That was a damn good offer. Especially considering the fact that all the repair shops in our neighbourhood were run by mechanics I had already managed to piss off and were, therefore, likely to overcharge me for even just a consultation.

I could have sworn Spooky knew this because he smiled at me like he had already won the argument. Begrudgingly, I put my car in neutral and got out of my seat. I glared at Spooky and made sure to cut him off before he could say anything.

“Shut up and help me push.“

As we dragged my car down the road, I realised how competitive he and I were. Halfway through pushing my car, Spooky asked me if I needed to take a breather, and the rage I felt made me want to finish the job myself.

I wondered if we were always like this. If we stayed somewhat friends throughout high school because we annoyed and challenged each other so much that we both grew to like it. I felt it must have been true because even in college with all the intelligent people I found myself surrounded by, I never felt what I did when I was with Spooky.

By the time we reach his house, I lifted the bonnet of my vehicle while Spooky grabbed his tools. By the time he got back, he had taken off his flannel. I caught myself staring at his bare arms and the part of his chest peeking through his white tank shirt, and immediately shook myself out of it.

"So, what’s wrong with my car?”

“All that matters is that it’s an easy fix,” Spooky answered, eyes already focusing upon the problem area.

“Why do I get the feeling you had something to do with this?”

I narrowed my eyes at him playfully.

“Yeah,” he laughed. “Because I’m just dying for alone time with the girl who scratched my car and beat me up.”

“Your words not mine,” I teased.

Spooky laughed but never said anything further. Instead, he just went back to focusing on fixing my car while I stood aside and watched patiently. I never thought I would be disappointed by his decision to be quiet, but there I was.

Things felt ever so slightly different between us now that he knew I used to like him. I did not feel so enraged by the sight of his face, and I could hardly tell if I liked it or not.

“Why are you back, anyway?” He asked after a good while. “I thought your plan was to move to New York after graduation.”

“I can’t believe you remember that,” I whispered smiling, pleasantly surprised and, quite frankly, impressed with his attention to detail.

“I remember a lot about you,” he whispered.

There was silence between us for a moment as I tried to decipher whether or not he meant for me to hear that. I hated how much I was overanalysing our interactions now that he knew how I felt about him.

“My tia needed help looking after my dad,” I explained, not wanting to linger in the silence any longer. “So I told her I’d move back and find a job here.”

Oscar paused for a moment and stood up straight. My breath felt heavy in my lungs as his gaze pierced through me. He pursed his lips, as if unsure whether he should say something not.

“Stop looking at me like that,” I elbowed his torso playfully. “Especially when you’re supposed to be fixing my car!”

He shook his head and chuckled beneath his breath as if I was most recognisable to him when I was shouting out demands.

“What about you?” I asked curiously. “I thought you were gonna take up that scholarship for culinary school.”

“I had other shit to deal with.”

I knew to leave it at that. Although I was curious about how he was doing raising his little brother on his own, I had no right to pry. Goodness knows if anyone stuck their nose in my business, I would have had a lot to say about it.

Before the silence grew again, my eyes scanned across his house and landed on his car where it stood, parked in the driveway.

“I see you fixed the paint and the tire,” I smirked.

“Yeah, I had a feeling you weren’t gonna be too happy about me claiming you,” he chuckled.

My eyebrows knitted as I grew confused.

“So why’d you do it, then?”

He paused and gave it a bit of thought. It gave me relief. I had hope that this time he would actually give an answer and not some quick-witted remark that made me want to slap him.

“News got around that you were coming back and…” Spooky paused for a moment and then sighed. “I didn’t want any of the guys bothering you.”

“Because you do plenty of that yourself?”

“Exactly,” he chuckled.

Though we joked about it, I liked knowing his reasons for claiming me were far from perceiving me as an object or trying to get into my pants. It made me not feel so repulsed by the sight.

“God, you’re so annoying,” I sighed.

While it was true, I hardly meant to say it. I just wanted to fill the silence and keep myself from staring at Spooky for too long. I did not trust myself anymore. I shook my head and pushed his shoulder gently. His response was to just bounce back until our shoulders grazed against each other.

“Hmm,” he sang teasingly. “Is that one of the reasons you liked me?”

“No,” I answered defensively, this time pushing my shoulder into his. When he bent down again, I made sure he could not see my face before turning my expression. “I like you ‘cause you do the right thing… even if it’s in your own little messed up way.”

I studied his reaction closely, wondering if he noticed the way I said 'like’ as opposed to 'liked. From the way he met my eyes and moved slightly closer to me, I could have sworn he did. Part of me was even hoping he did.

“Can you pass the rag?”

I reached for the old cut up cloth he seemed to use for cleaning the grease off his hands, trying my best not to frown. When I extended my arm out to pass the rag, he took hold of both it and my hand.

My breath hitched when I realised he was purposefully holding my hand. Spooky noticed my surprise and took it as his opportunity to pull me closer to him, while I was too taken aback to pull away. Luckily for him, I did not want to.

I placed my hands on his chest and leaned in just enough to where his temple was pressed against mine. Our eyes were glued to each other. While I had known Spooky for so long, I felt like I had not truly seen him until now.

“I know I’m irresistible,” I whispered. “But if you wanna kiss me, you should know it’s not gonna be that easy.”

On one hand, it was my way of keeping my standards where they always were: high. On the other, it was my way of keeping my guard up and keeping my heart safe. I did not let a lot of people in. If Oscar wanted to be one of them, it would not come simply.

The thought of him losing interest and giving up so soon terrified me, but I would rather he let me know now than after I go letting my guard down any further.

I smiled as he groaned quietly, frustrated that I was not going to kiss him, for which I did not blame him. Then, as I braced. myself for the possibility of him letting me go, his grasp on my waist only grew firmer.

“Guess I’ll have to keep trying then,” he smiled.

His stayed glued on mine as his hand crept down my backside. I gasped quietly, only to realise he slipping my car keys into the back pocket of my jeans. His smile grew. He knew what he was doing, and I hated how much I liked it.

After whispering a goodbye, pulling away from and walking back into his house, I felt unable to get into my car. Not without saying one more thing to him, first.

“Oscar,” I called out, feeling nostalgia as I used his real name for the first time in a decade. He turned back to me expectedly, and I sighed while smiling at him. “… Thank you.”

It was the first time we said goodbye without having any reason to be angry at the other. It was the first time I left his house trying to fight the persistent urge to grin. Before I drove off, I lifted my hand to my face and grazed my fingers over my cheeks. They felt warm.

I finally realised why.

Without You | O. Diaz

Pairing: Oscar x Flores!Reader

Timeframe: Season 4

Summary: Y/n knows Oscar wants out of Freeridge, so maybe it is for the best that she lets him go.

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Oscar made a point not to call her until the day after. Partially because his eyes were too swollen for him to compose a text, but mostly because he knew she would be worried sick at the mere sight of how beaten up he was. He did not want that. Not when there was so much promise ahead of them now that the deed was done.

Y/n raced to the hospital as soon as she clocked out for the night. She held her breath when she read the “Mr O. Diaz” placard plastered over the door to his room. As she made her way to the seat beside her bed she felt unsettled by all the bandages and stitches that adorned his body. He appeared fast asleep, so Y/n made no effort to conceal her concern.

“He’s gonna be ok.” Y/n looked up and saw a nurse standing in the doorway. She offered an empathetic smile and Y/n tried to welcome the comfort of it. “He looked a lot worse when he got in, so he’s doing better.”

She must have been Oscar’s nurse.

“Are you his sister?”

Before Y/n could grow defensive to the hint of hope in the nurse’s tone, let alone provide a response to her question, Oscar’s voice filled the room within in an instance.

“No,” he answered, his voice as coarse and raspy as ever. Oscar gazed upon Y/n for the first time in what felt like a lifetime and reached for her hand. “She’s my girl.”

The nurse’s smile faltered, but she nodded along and excused herself, closing the door behind them. Y/n watched with satisfaction as the door shut before noticing how intently her boyfriend was staring at her.

“Were you awake the whole time?”

“Maybe,” Oscar smirked.

Y/n went to sit on the nearby chair before she felt Oscar pull her closer to him. He shuffled over to make space for her and she happily sat next to him, snuggling closer as he wrapped his uncasted arm around her shoulders.

“Seems like you’ve been well taken care of.”

“Doesn’t compare to how you take care of me,” he quipped slyly.

He heard the hint of hope in the nurse’s voice too, but it did not faze him. Not when he had all he wanted in arms already. From the way Y/n chuckled and kissed him softly, he knew it was common knowledge.

As their kiss deepened, Oscar mindlessly lifted his injured arm, desperate to caress her face. When he winced in pain from the movement, Y/n instantly pulled away and watched him worriedly.

“I’m okay, baby,” he assured her.

Y/n nodded and forced a smile. Oscar knew it was not sincere, but he also knew her worries would never really go away, especially when most of his face was a dark shade of violet.

“You talk to Cesar again?”

Oscar shook his head. Technically he did talk to his little brother if you would count the one-sided conversation he had with his bedroom door. Y/n rubbed her thumb on the back of his casted hand, knowing it was best to drop the subject altogether.

“What are you gonna do now?”

They spent much of their time in the last week talking about him getting jumped out and no longer becoming a Santo. They never really exhausted over what would come next, other than the fact that for the first time, he would have options.

“Ray reached out to me,” Oscar began to explain.

“Yeah?”

Y/n remembered how torn up he was after he left. Not necessarily because Ray was leaving, but rather because he had a huge epiphany that made him rethink everything he was doing. They spent a lot of nights talking it out, and with her encouragement and support, Oscar reached out to his dad again and did so every so often.

“He’s at a rehab centre in Bakersfield,” he continued. “Says I can go there for a bit. Get my head right, before I do anything else. What do you think?”

“I think that’s a good idea,” Y/n smiled.

She was gonna make the suggestion herself. Oscar had been through so much in the past years and, while it was great he realised how much it was hurting him and was taking steps to change that, he needed more help. More time.

“I’m really proud of you,” Y/n whispered. Considering how prideful he could be, it was huge that Oscar was making the decision to go to rehab for himself. “It couldn’t have been easy walking away… after all these years.”

“I couldn’t have done it without you.”

All the times she sat with him. Encouraged him. Supported him. Called him out when he found himself back in his old ways. Oscar knew how crucial Y/n was to him moving on and moving forward, however she refused to let him sell himself short.

“Don’t do that,” she stated, although she appreciated the sentiment. “This was all you.”

Oscar chuckled as her words began to settle. Despite being battered and bruised having just barely escaped death, he felt so strong.

“Have you thought about what you’re gonna do? After Bakersfield?”

“Get out of here. As soon as I can,” Oscar answered shortly. “Maybe even open up my own place… Somewhere far away from here.”

Y/n smiled. The last time he talked about his restaurant dreams was when they were teenagers and he had just gotten into culinary school. His dream was for him to do the cooking and for Y/n to the managing. Watching his eyes light up as he humoured the idea, only this time with the odds stacked in his favour, made her heart flutter.

“Will you come with me?”

She felt like her heart came to a complete stop. Y/n studied Oscar’s face. Surely he was feeling lightheaded from all the medication they put him under. Her suspicions were debunked quickly when Oscar repeated his question, this time slower just for emphasis that he was of sound mind.

Unable to say anything, Y/n nodded her head and pulled his face closer to hers once more until their lips met again. This time his heart was the one fluttering as he became overwhelmed with a joy he never thought he would be fortunate enough to experience.

“Visiting hours are almost up.”

Reluctantly, Y/n pulled away and pouted.

“It’s okay, baby,” Oscar laughed, before sneaking in one last peck. “You should go get some rest.”

“I’ll come back to see you tomorrow,” she promised as she got up from the bed.

After exchanging ‘I love yous’ and one last kiss for the road, Y/n headed out of the hospital. On the elevator down and the car ride home, she found herself unable to stop grinning. The air in Freeridge felt different. Felt light and fleeting as opposed to suffocating.

Upon entering her house, she noticed everyone but her dad and aunt were out for the night. It was late, so Y/n assumed her dad was already placed in bed. She was just about to check on him when she heard faint cries coming from the kitchen.

“Tia,” Y/n said softly as she approached her distraught aunt. “What’s wrong?”

“Beto’s moving to Dallas,” she explained. “He got a huge job so he’s moving with his husband.”

“So, you’re sad because he’s leaving?”

“Mija,” she cried, taking hold of Y/n’s hands and gripping them tightly. “I’m leaving with him.”

“When?”

“After the holidays,” her aunt answered, her tears increasing as she watched the very moment when the realisation hit Y/n.

If her aunt was leaving, the responsibility of looking after her dad would be left with her and with Jasmine. However, with Jasmine approaching her senior year and potentially college, Y/n knew the only way her sister could go was if she bore the responsibility on her own.

The air in Freeridge felt suffocating, yet again.

***

A month had passed since her tia broke the news to her. Y/n spent much of that month contemplating whether or not she should tell Oscar. No matter how many times she played it out in her head, telling him why she had to stay in Freeridge always ended up interfering with his dreams to get out.

By the time he started getting his things in line to go to Bakersfield for a few months, Y/n knew she could not do that to him. He needed to leave. He deserved to leave. She was not going to give him any reason to stick around, even if it meant letting him go.

“I’ve got a job lined up for me when I get back,” Oscar explained. He was crashing at the Martinez’s home until it was time for him to go. “Which’ll be good since I’m getting a new place.”

“Mhm,” Y/n mumbled as nodded along. Her mind was preoccupied as she mentally rehearsed how she was going to end things with Oscar. He misunderstood her worried expression.

“Hey,” Oscar whispered, taking hold of Y/n’s hand causing her to look up at him. “The next three months are gonna fly by so fast… I’ll be back to annoy you before you know it.”

Normally she would smile. Oscar was counting on her to smile. Even just a little bit. He needed some kind of assurance that she was alright, but she continued to stare blankly at the table, a single crease still persistent between her brows.

“Are you ok?”

Finally, she looked at him and Oscar hoped that would bring the comfort he needed, but it did not. Her lips parted and she looked like she was going to say something but after a moment she stayed silent.

“Just tell me, baby.”

Whatever it was, he could take it. At least, that was what Oscar convinced himself. They had been together for almost a decade with, obviously, fights and falling outs here and there, but they always came back stronger. That had to mean something.

“I think we should break up.”

Y/n spilt her words rapidly, unable to stifle them any longer. She stared closely at Oscar, who appeared unresponsive. Did he even hear her properly? When he went to speak, Y/n knew he did.

“If this is some kind of a joke…”

When Y/n’s expression remained unchanged, the reality of it all began to settle with Oscar. This was no cruel prank. This was real. Immediately, he began shaking his head in disbelief.

“No.”

“Oscar.”

“No, this isn’t happening. Not to us,” he stated plainly.

He had already lost enough people in his life, especially after leaving los Santos. He refused to let Y/n be another one. Especially when he had no clue as to what he had done wrong.

“I can’t… I can’t be the person you want me to be,” Y/n cried.

It was the only way she could explain herself without telling him the real reason, and Y/n told herself it was partially true. Oscar wanted someone who could leave Freeridge behind, and Y/n was not that person anymore now that her aunt was leaving.

“What does that mean?”

“It means you’re moving on,” Y/n began, forcing a fraction of a smile through her tears. “But I’m not moving on with you, I… I just can’t.”

“We can talk this out,” Oscar reasoned, reaching for Y/n’s hand as she stood. “I don’t leave 'til Friday. We can sit down and you can tell me how to fix this. Please just tell me how to fix this.”

That was their system. They talked and communicated before doing anything rash. Y/n was the one who developed that system, yet there was making a huge decision without letting Oscar have any input.

“You can’t, Oscar.” It was perhaps the most honest thing she said that day. “I… I have to go.”

She could not bear the look on his face. Y/n tried to turn away and leave, hoping Oscar would not make this any harder than it had to be. When she felt his hand grip her wrist, she knew that was not going to be the case. She spun around to face him but could not bring herself to look him in the eye.

“You’re breaking my heart, baby,” Oscar choked, his voice cracking as he spoke. He held the sides of her face gently. “Don’t do this. Please.”

It took everything in her to push his hand away and meet his gaze.

“Good luck in Bakersfield,” she whispered, before leaning forward to kiss his cheek which was, to Oscar, the knockout punch.

***

Jasmine was in the middle of performing the Beyonce dance routine she learned for her dad when a figure approached them in their backyard. She squinted her eyes as she tried to make out who it was

“Oscar?” She called out. He had been gone for a few months, but she could recognise him easily. When he got close, Jasmine immediately noticed he was no longer bald. “Your hair.”

He shook his head and laughed as he ran his hands through his short curls. It was one of the many things he reunited with since leaving los Santos. When he finally reach Jasmine he glanced over at the house.

“Is she here?”

“She’s working,” Jasmine answer as she shook her head, disappointed because she was dying for them to reunite again. “She’ll be back tonight, though, if you wanna come by around then.”

Oscar gave it a moment’s deliberation. Jasmine watched curiously as he glanced between her and her dad and stayed where he was.

“Could I actually stick around?”

“It’s just me and dad,” she stated, wondering if he was sure that he wanted to hang around with them as opposed to taking a lap around the block to kill time.

Her curiosity only grew when he sat in the chair beside her dad.

“Hey,” Oscar said after glancing at Mr Flores. “He’s looking a little red.”

Jasmine nodded before grabbing the sunblock she kept in her back pocket. As she went to apply some to her dad’s face, she passed the bottle to Oscar.

“Could you get his arms?”

“Sure,” Oscar answered immediately, applying a generous amount of sunblock evenly to his arm.

Jasmine glanced over at Oscar and smiled at how focused he was. She knew he spent a bit of time with her dad through Y/n, but never got to see them interact first-hand. It was clear how much he cared about her, and she knew how much her sister still cared about him.

“She misses you, you know.”

Y/n tried her best to hide it, but the walls of their house were thin and it only took a few nights of crying and listening to heartbreak songs for Jasmine to put two and two together.

“Then why’d she dump me in the first place?”

“I don’t know,” Jasmine answered honestly.

“She never said anything to you?”

“She doesn’t really talk to anyone. Except to you. And dad.”

They both liked talked to their dad, despite his catatonic state. It was one of the few things they could do with him that resembled how things were before he came back from Afghanistan.

“She’s always been a listener more than anything,” Jasmine added. “Why else do you think I talk so much?”

Oscar laughed. As the two people Y/n spent the most time listening to, he and Jasmine both knew it was true. Oscar’s suspicions that Y/n was hiding something felt confirmed to him. It should have made him feel better about the situation, but it only left him riddled with even more questions.

Before returning to his seat Oscar applied sunblock to the tops of Mr Flores’ feet, remembering the times Y/n reminded him to do so until it eventually became a habit. As he adjusted her dad’s shoes before sitting back down, Jasmine smiled, impressed.

“How’d you get so good at looking after my dad?”

“Mr Flores and I go way back,” he began, glancing over to him and offering a gentle fist bump. “He used to let me hang out here after school when Y/n and I were in elementary.”

Things changed after middle school and when he and Y/n started dating, but Mr Flores always made Oscar feel welcome in their home.

“Makes sense,” Jasmine nodded, remembering that his history with Y/n was a long one, and it showed. “You’re still the only person who Y/n trusts enough to bring home.”

Oscar never pieced that together. Y/n had many friends on their block, but he was the only one she invited over without hesitation. She never talked to him about it, but he knew how protective she was over her dad. How much pride she took in looking after the man who raised her and her sister.

It dawned on him that while he was eager to leave because he wanted to escape Freeridge, Y/n’s situation was different. She had a family there. People still counting on her who she could not walk away from so easily.

Oscar always wanted to leave Freeridge, but he never wanted to part ways with Y/n.

“Can I ask you something?” he asked Jasmine. When looked past her dad to face him, Oscar glanced between the two of them. “Can I ask you bothsomething?”

***

Y/n got home from work exhausted. She did not think twice about the way Jasmine and her aunt were smiling at her from where they sat in the kitchen. They were obviously up to something, but after a 10-hour shift, she figured it was not worth dealing with until tomorrow.

She sighed as she opened her bedroom door, threw her hat across the room and kicked her shoes off. It was not until she closed the door behind her and turned to face her bed that she realised Oscar was sitting at her desk.

“Oscar?” Y/n huffed.

Had it been any other person, she would have not hesitated to reach for her dad’s old baseball bat. However, her bedroom was practically Oscar’s second home.

“Hey,” he smiled weakly, relieved to finally see her.

“Your hair,” Y/n laughed.

The last time he had curls they had just started their freshman year of high school. Y/n threw a dramatic fit and then a funeral to mourn the loss of her best friend’s beautiful hair and to help cheer him up after being jumped in. That was when Oscar knew.

“What are you doing here?” Y/n asked, catching herself and remembering that they were broken up.

“I want the truth,” Oscar spoke incredulously. Did she really think he was gonna walk away so easily? “Not the shit you gave me before I went to Bakersfield. I want the realtruth.”

Y/n sighed before plopping herself down on the edge of her bed. Where was she supposed to start? She did not get the chance to think much about it before Oscar sat next to her and spoke.

“Is it because of your dad and Jasmine?”

She nodded. Oscar exhaled heavily before turning to face her. He could not understand why she kept this from him. He, of all people, could understand not being able to let go of family.

It became clear that there was more to it than that.

“My tia’s moving to Dallas in a couple of months,” Y/n explained. “So someone needs to stay back look after my dad and… and I can’t let it be Jasmine. Not when she has senior year and college to look forward to.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I know you,” Y/n stated plainly. “I knew you’d reconsider leaving Freeridge or you’d feel guilty leaving without me, and I didn’t want that to happen. Not after everything you’ve been through.”

Making the hard decision so the other person does not have to. Oscar could have sworn that was his M.O. Clearly they had rubbed off on each other much more they had realised because he spent the afternoon listening to Jasmine while she ranted about her relationship with Ruby.

Oscar laughed and took hold of Y/n hand. She laced her fingers through his and gripped tightly, feeling a huge weight be released from her shoulders.

“I can’t do this without you, Y/n,” he whispered, his brows furrowing as he spoke. She rested her head against his shoulders and sighed.

No one knew him quite like Y/n did and there was no he trusted more than he trusted her. It was not so much that could not do it without her, because logically he knew could. But he did not want to.

“I love you so much, baby. Pero, my dad needs me more.”

She felt incredibly torn. Y/n wanted to leave with Oscar and run a restaurant together like they always dreamed. However, she also wanted Jasmine to go to college and for her dad to be loved and looked after.

She wondered if it was arrogant to ever hope she could have it all.

“I know,” he assured her, grabbing the sides of her face and smiling. He was not going to make her feel torn. Quite the opposite, in fact. “That’s why I was thinking… maybe he should come with us.”

Slowly, Y/n let go of Oscar’s hand and turned to face him, narrowing her eyes as she studied him. It was too good to be true.

“You’re joking.”

“I found a couple places in Berkeley that have extra rooms,” Oscar explained. “Just a couple blocks from the place I wanna set up the restaurant. There’s even a studio above it. You could be with your dad and crunch the numbers while I-”

“Run the kitchen,” Y/n finished, smiling as she remembered the first time he pitched this idea to her in their senior year of high school.

He had just gotten into culinary school and she was gonna study business at UCAL. However, when he ended up staying for Cesar and her for her dad, they never brought it up again.

“Why Berkeley?” she asked.

“Jasmine said she applied there,” he laughed. It was one of the few things he remembered from her rambles, but as soon as he did he knew where to start looking.

Y/n felt her heart swell up from how much thought he had given his idea in what she assumed was an afternoon. It meant a lot that to her that he was not only considering her dad but her little sister too.

“What about Cesar?”

In the months that passed, Y/n saw him on the streets with the other Santos. He was essentially unrecognisable, but Y/n still held out hope he would come around. She could only imagine how Oscar was feeling.

“I’m gonna keep trying but… when the time comes, I’m going,” Oscar explained. It was hard to say. He did not want to think about leaving Cesar behind. At least not until the moving truck arrived and he made every attempt he could to talk sense into him. “… I just hope I’ll be leaving with you.”

“This is a really big deal, Oscar.”

They had known each other for so long, and there was no one she trusted like she did him, but even this was a big step for them.

“I know, baby. But, hey, it’s not gonna happen right away. Obviously, we need some time to save and plan, so we can take as long as you need,” “Plus, I know you’re gonna wanna stick around until Jasmine graduates.”

“Are you sure?”

“I can’t do this without you,”

“I’m scared you’re gonna regret this.”

If they moved in together, there would be no coming back. Her dad would be with them for the long haul and while Y/n knew what that meant, she wasn’t sure Oscar did.

“I could never regret keeping you in my life,” he assured.

Oscar always knew what that meant. He always knew that Y/n could not leave her dad or her sister, and he never wanted to make her feel like she had to. He always knew keeping her meant welcoming then, and he was more than willing to do just that.

There was silence between them as Y/n gave it some thought. Once her mind was decided, she let out a laugh and pulled Oscar in for a kiss. She knew she was ready and that he was too. She was also so grateful they could take their time.

“I can’t wait to tell them,” she smiled as she pulled away.

“I might’ve already done that,” Oscar admitted sheepishly.

“What?”

“I wanted to pitch the idea to them first,” he clarified.

“Why?”

“Because I also needed to ask them for something.”

“Ask them for what?” Y/n asked, as her confusion only grew.

“For their blessing.”

It took Y/n a while to realise what he meant. By the time the realisation hit, Oscar had already knelt down in front of her and held up a silver ring in between his thumb and index finger.

“Oscar,” Y/n blinked. “That’s a ring.”

“It was the first thing I bought when I left Bakersfield.”

Ray was the one who gave him the idea. He mentioned something about how he thought Y/n was really good for him. Oscar did not care much for his father’s opinion on anything, however knowing he felt that way after only meeting Y/n once, he knew he had something special with her. Something worth fighting for.

He knew it was a risk buying a ring when they were still broken up. He knew there was still a chance she’d shut him out and he’d never be able to figure out what happened. But he knew Y/n, and he knew the love they shared for each other and ultimately decided that he liked his odds.

“I don’t know where I’d be without you, baby,” he said as he reached for her left hand. “And I don’t plan on ever having to find out.”

Y/n clasped her right hand over her mouth and cried quietly.

“So… Y/n Flores. Mi amor…Mi vida,” he proclaimed, before pausing to place a gentle kiss on the back of her hand before continuing. “Will you marry me?”

She opened her mouth and tried to answer, but only found herself letting out sobs. So, instead, Y/n nodded her head profusely and waited for Oscar to slide the ring on her fourth finger before leaning over to kiss him. The two of them stood up soon after and wiped each other’s tears while laughing at how utterly happy they were.

Just as Y/n wrapped her arms around Oscar’s neck and leaned in to kiss her fiance again, the door to her bedroom busted open and her little sister came sprinting in with their aunt following after.

“Ahh, she said yes!” Jasmine cheered, as she wedged herself between Y/n and Oscar and hugged her big sister tightly. “Tia, she said yes!”

She looked to Oscar, half-expecting him to look uncomfortable, but he did not. Instead, he willingly leaned down so her aunt could kiss his cheek to congratulate the two of them. He then willingly stayed for dinner and even let Jasmine show him how to carry their dad into his bed.

Y/n watched in awe and twirled the silver ring on her finger. The air in Freeridge was still heavy, yet somehow all the more bearable now that he was back.

Unplanned | M. Martinez

Pairing: Mario x Diaz!Reader

Timeframe: Season 2

Summary: Y/n and Mario must tell their families about her pregnancy.

masterlist

PART ONE

A/N: This was so much fun to write (also INCREDIBLY sad for me, but that’s moreso bc I’m a very emotional person lmao).

This is a long overdue second part to Planned. 

I initially intended to write this and then write Rewrite as a part 3, but I ultimately decided to make Rewrite a stand-alone because of how much detail I wanted to put into it. 

Think of this, then, as a prelude of sorts :)

My hands shook as I entered the door to my boyfriend’s dorm. Mario was expecting me over to have dinner and watch a movie with him while his roommate was out of town. I would have arrived sooner if it had not been for the notification I got alerting me that I had not had my period in over two months.

“Mario,” I said worriedly the minute I entered his room, slamming the door shut behind me. He was approaching me for our usual kiss ‘hello’ but stopped in his tracks when he realised how panicked I was. “I’m late.”

“What are you talking about?”

I gulped. Mario was a smart guy, even if his brain had the tendency to lag for a minutes. It only took him a few seconds to realise what I was referring to, and what it could mean for us.

“Oh.”

“Yeah,” I sighed.

It had not yet began to settle in me until that moment. All I remembered was reading my notification and practically sprinting to Mario’s dorm. He must have noticed my anxiety grow, because he quickly wrapped his arms around my shoulders.

“Hey,” Mario whispered as he rubbed my back soothingly. He then pulled away and placed his hands on the side of my face. I could tell he was scared. Terrified even. Yet, he was trying so hard to be brace for the both of us. “We’ll- We’ll go to Walgreens, get some tests and… and we’ll figure it out from there.”

His words helped keep me from spiralling. There would be plenty of time for that later. About 8 whole months, to be precise. For now, we needed to be sure, and Mario was right. We needed to make the trip to Walgreens first, before we could do any of the freaking out I had already made a head-start on.

“Ok,” I replied, nodding as placed my hands over my eyes momentarily. Mario reached for his wallet and then for my hand, squeezing it gently. “Yeah, let’s go.”

I tried to keep my head clear while he and I sped to the nearest Walgreens to our campus. Test first, panic later, I told myself. However, the closer we got to Walgreens the more I became conscious of just how hard my heart was pounding against my chest. 

Was that a sign of pregnancy?

Mario would catch me beginning to spiral and do his best to calm me down. He squeezed my hand as we dodged pedestrians and oncoming vehicles. He kissed my temple softly as we waited in line. Even when we got home, he pulled me into his embrace briefly before I went into the girls’ bathroom and took the tests. 

Once I was done doing my part for the four different tests we ended up buying, Mario and I sat on the floor of his dorm room and waited for the timer on his phone to sound. He had ordered Chinese takeout for the both of us, but by the time we got back it was already cold, which made no difference.

We were far too antsy to hold anything down.

“Hey,” Mario whispered. My head was rested on his shoulder and our hands were intertwined on my lap. “No matter what happens… I’m with you all the way.”

I let out a weak chuckle and turned my head to kiss the fabric over his shoulder lightly. I knew where Mario’s loyalty laid. I always knew. However, him reaffirming it still gave me some ounce of peace in the whirlwind of panic I was in. That both of us were in.

He reached for phone to check how much time we had left. 

“Two more minutes,” he said. It felt like we had been sitting there in anticipation for a lifetime. I could not tell if I wanted time to move slower or faster. All I knew was that I was not yet ready to make any decisions.

If it were negative, Mario and I would be relieved, I knew that much. Maybe we would laugh about it in a couple months. Maybe we would be extra cautious. Maybe we would even go on to tell our friends about it by the time we were graduated and working in fancy white collar jobs.

If it were negative, we could stay in college.

As guilty as I felt doing it, I squeezed my eyes shut and hoped for just one line. Just one line on all four tests. Even when the sound of the timer rang and filled the previously dauntingly silent room, I continued to hope.

“You check two and I’ll check the other two?”

Mario nodded before reaching for two of the tests, just as I grabbed the other two. I inhaled sharply as I glanced between the two in my hand. I wanted to believe there was just the one prominent line, but I could not deny the faint second one. Not even if I wanted to.

Looking up, Mario and I glanced at the tests we held. I sighed, seeing no point in holding my breath anymore. There were eight lines altogether. Mario squeezed my hand once more, and I wished it brought me comfort.

But it didn’t.

***

The week after we found out, Mario and I packed our things and headed back to Freeridge before the New Year. On the car ride, we did nothing but talk. He practised telling the news to his parents, and I practised telling it to Oscar. 

It was all we could do. 

By the time we reached our neighbourhood, it was dusk. The streetlights were on and people seemed to be gathering at their respective households for when midnight eventually struck.

“Pregnant?!”

After Mario broke the news to his parents mere minutes after we made our surprise entrance, Geny pulled us into the kitchen. This time, I was the one who reached for Mario’s hand and squeezed it gently. His mother was the one person he was most scared to tell, with my brother coming in at a close second.

“Have you two thought about what you’re gonna do?” Geny was technically whispering, but it was just as piercing as when she yelled. I hated the thought of her being mad at us, so I could hardly imagine how Mario was feeling. Much to my surprise, when I looked over at him, he was holding it together.

“We’ve been saving,” he explained calmly. He and I had been putting aside as much money as we could so we could find accomodation together for the following school year. It seemed my birth control and his split condom had other plans for that money. “And I’m gonna look for a job, and Y/n will too after the baby comes.”

Geny huffed. I took it she was somewhat relieved that we were taking my pregnancy seriously. She glanced between the two of us and sighed.

“I am not happy about this,” she began. “In fact, I’m very disappointed… In both of you.”

My breath hitched. It was painful to know her disappointment extended to me as well, especially considering she was the only mother figure I had in my life. Yet, beneath that pain was a small joy. If she was disappointed in me, it meant she had high expectations for me to begin with.

Even with everything that was happening, that meant a lot to me. From the way she looked at me as she spoke, I knew it carried much weight for her too.

“But I’m glad you have a plan,” Geny continued. I glanced up at Mario and smiled when I noticed how quickly his shoulders relaxed. “… And I’m glad you came home.”

Mario kissed his mother’s cheek swiftly before leaving the kitchen. In hindsight, we should have known Geny would come around, but our nerves had us questioning everything on the car ride home. Just as I turned to follow Mario, Geny reached for my and kept me from leaving.

“Mija,” she said softly, prompting me to turn around. It was a relief to her call me that. Part of me feared she would not be so kind to me after finding out I was the reason her son had to leave college.

Geny met my eyes with concern. There was a strange softness to her demeanour now that it was just the two of us. 

“Have you told your brother yet?”

I shook my head. My stomach dropped at the realisation that the hard part was not yet over. Maybe it was for Mario, whose mother meant the world to him. But for me, the girl who had no parents or grandparents present in her life, the har part was yet to come.

“I’m telling him after dinner.”

Geny nodded, before pursing her lips. For a moment, she was stared blankly as she thought. 

“If anything happens…” Before she could specify, Geny quickly stopped herself. Instead, she gripped my hands tightly and looked me in the eye with sincerity. “This is your home too.”

If it were not for the wild animals doing jumping jacks in the pit of my stomach, I would have been greatly comforted by Geny’s promise of a place to stay. However, the prospect of needing to crash there brought me great terror. 

In the midst of all my spiralling, I never once considered the possibility that Oscar would throw me out of our home. When we gathered around the dining table and ate, all I could do was count down the minutes before I would have to face my fate.

After dinner, Mario and I walked with Cesar to my house. My little brother must have known I was a nervous wreck, because he tried to keep my mind occupied by catching me up on what he and his friends had gotten up to over the fall. 

However, by the time we reached our doorstep, Cesar was silent. When Oscar opened the door and let us in, my little brother bolted towards his bedroom and locked his door. Mario and I sat with Oscar at the kitchen table. 

“Why are you back so early?” 

He greeted us somewhat gleefully when he opened the door, but it must have dawned on him that we were back for a reason, because his expression returned to its natural state: half-stoic and half-brooding.

“We- uhm,” I coughed nervously as I shuffle in my seat. I looked over to Mario for moral support, but he looked petrified as he watched my brother chop the vegetable he was using for tamales. “We needed to tell you something… To tell everyone something.”

Oscar did not acknowledge my words. Instead, he just continued chopping. I knew it was him waiting to hear the new fully before deciding how he would react. I always felt nervous when he did that, but it did not come close to how anxious I felt that day.

“I’m pregnant.”

Finally, Oscar put his knife down and stared blankly at the vegetables on his chopping board. I waited for him to say something, but when he remained silent I opted to continue explaining mine and Mario’s situation.

“We found out last week,” I continued. “That’s why we’re back.”

As scared as I was, I inched forward and leaned over the table, trying to get a closer look at Oscar. He was not the most talkative person, but I had never witnessed him be so quiet, especially to me, of all people.

“Say something,” I whispered. 

I desperately needed him to lecture me, because I knew after the lecture he would do everything he could to support me. Even if he knew nothing about pregnancy or about babies. He would be there for me, because even though we grew up with no parents, we always had each other. 

“Mano,” I called out, hoping it would provoke a reaction. “… please.” 

Slowly, Oscar looked up and met my gaze with a steely glare. He inhaled sharply, flaring his nostrils as he did so. I instinctively moved back.

“This is the stupidest thing you’ve ever done.”

His voice was not loud. He was not shouting. And yet, I had to keep myself from flinching, because his tone was so cold.

“I wouldn’t say that,” I said uneasily, trying to muster a smile despite how tense the room was. Poor Mario did not dare move a muscle. “Remember the time I left my sunglasses on the barbecue?”

“You think you’re funny?”

“I think I’m trying to ease the tension,” I corrected. 

Perhaps it was a miscalculation on my part. Perhaps a pregnancy announcement was not the appropriate moment for an anecdote, but it was a knee-jerk reaction. I just could not understand.

“Why are you being like this?”

“How’d you think I was gonna be, Y/n?” Now he was beginning to shout. “You’re barely nineteen! You realise that’s the same age mom was when she had me.”

“Woah,” I flinched. 

I thought we had moved past bringing up our parents in the heat of our arguments. I thought we decided they inflicted enough trauma on the two of us and Cesar. I thought we agreed that we did not need to inflict any more onto each other.

“You’ve ruined your life,” Oscar spat, expressing absolutely no remorse for comparing me to our mother. My gaze was beginning to turn into a glare. “You realise that?”

I quickly glanced at Mario and he appeared just as startled as I felt. Though it was a well-known fact that Oscar was an intimidating person, when it came to me that was hardly the case. It seemed he was choosing this moment to prove us both wrong.

Disgruntled, Oscar rose from his seat and turned to head towards the sink. Just as he did, he quickly turned back to face me. I braced myself for his next words. How else was he gonna be cruel and completely humiliate me in my own home and in front of my boyfriend?

“And after everything,” he hissed. “After everything I’ve done for you… to make sure you didn’t end up the same way…”

I scoffed before he could finish his sentence, knowing exactly where he was going with it. I could recount every lecture he gave me about not ending up like our parents. About trying to be better. 

The irony in him lecturing me about following in our mother’s footsteps when he was being so masterfully cruel to me in a way that brought me back to the few times our dad made an appearance.

“Fuck you,” I shouted at him as I stood from my chair. “I didn’t realise we were keeping track of the things we’ve done for each other.”

“Don’t turn this around on me,” Oscar snarled. Of course, he could never do any wrong. Not in his eyes. “You’re the one who fucked up. And now I gotta clean your mess just like I always have to.”

He turned and headed towards the kitchen, which only infuriated me more. He had grown too accustomed to having his way. To being surrounded by people who worshipped the ground he walked on. I furrowed my brows in frustration as I watched him continue on with making his food, like we were suddenly don with our conversation just because he wanted it to be so. 

How could he say that to me? After everything? I could not let him have the last word. Just as I went to follow him, Mario’s hand quickly gripped mine. 

“Y/n-”

I shook my hand free and approached my big brother, much to Mario’s dismay. I knew he was trying to defuse the situation, but it was not the simple. It was clear this was not about us anymore. It was between me and my brother.

“No… You don’t get to talk to me like this, Oscar,” I barked as I walked up to him. He was going to regret ever teaching me to fight back. “You don’t have a monopoly over making sacrifices or cleaning messes.”

Had he forgotten all the times I covered him? Lying to the cops when they questioned me about what he was up to.  Lying to Child Protective Services about his whereabouts so they would not put Cesar in the system. Singlehandedly keeping the fort down when he was locked up.

Never once did I hold it against him, or try to make him feel guilty for putting me in a difficult position time and time again.

When Oscar turned to face me, I sighed defeatedly. As horrible as he was being, I could not keep arguing with him. Not when I already had so much to deal with. 

“I know I messed up,” I admitted. “… and I’m not asking you to be happy about all this. I’m asking you to just support me… Just be my big brother.”

He had a tendency to forget that. He spent so many years fulfilling fatherly responsibilities for Cesar, sometimes he would forget I was not a little kid. That I did not need him to be anything more than what he was for me. My brother.

“From where I stand,” Oscar sneered. “I don’t have a sister anymore.”

My face fell, as did my stomach. I knew he would be mad. I knew he might even say some things that he would later regret and apologise for, but there was no way I could have prepared myself for that. And there was no coming back from it either.

He took a step closer to me and it took everything in me not to cower and move back. I refused to give him that satisfaction. He puffed his chest and glared at me like I was some dude him and his gang mates were trying to intimidate. 

“Take your shit and don’t ever come back here again.”

My eyes watered immediately, but thankfully he turn his back on me and headed for his room. With blurred vision, I trailed after him. I wanted to say something to him. I wanted to scold him for treating me like this when I always had his back when things went south for him.

When we were halfway down the hallway, all I could think about was how small he made me feel. How much joy he seemed to take in making me feel ashamed for something I never asked to happen. How he treated his stupid homies with twice the respect and twice the dignity than he did me.

“Y’know it’s too bad I’m not a Santo,” I shouted at him, hoping he would stop and face me, but he just kept walking. “Maybe then you’d have my back.”

I was so sure that would get a reaction out of him, but I should have known he had too much pride for that. He slammed his door right in my face and left me with nothing left to do but scream at him from where I stood. 

Eventually Mario came and comforted me before helping me gather the rest of my belongings from my bedroom. Eventually Cesar came out to help take my things to Mario’s. But, even when I walked out the door for the last time and headed down the street, I hoped Oscar would come out and say something.

He never did.

***

When April eventually rolled by, I gave up hoping that Oscar would come around. Lugging around a tiny human everywhere I went helped me take my mind off it at times, but as my baby grew so did my worries. I quickly found myself haunted, everywhere I was, by the way Oscar compared me to our mom.

Even as I washed the dirty dishes, one of the few chores Geny and abuelita allowed me to do, I could not keep my worries at bay. It did not help that everyone was out of the house leaving me and my thoughts.

Thankfully, by the time I got to cleaning the dirty plates, the front door burst open and in came Mario bearing food from his job at Dwayne’s barbecue joint.

“Hey, baby,” he called out as he approached the table to put the food down.

“Hey,” I said mindlessly as I turned face him. Just as I did so the wet plate in my hand fell and shattered when it hit the ground, prompting Mario to race to the kitchen.

“Woah, be careful.”

Mario immediately searched for the broom, while I did my best to not cry. As much as I blamed it on the pregnancy hormones, I knew it was not fair to attribute all my emotional outbursts to the fact that I was growing life inside me. A lot of it had to do with my fight with Oscar and my own fears, but it was just easier for me to avoid talking about it.

“Oh my god,” I cried, clasping my hand over my mouth as I wept. The poor plate did not even see it coming. That was upsetting to me on its own, but I knew there was so much more to it than that. Mario did too.

“Baby, it’s ok,” he assured as he swiftly swept and disposed the shards of broken ceramic. “This plate was from Costco. I’m pretty sure my mom has more just like it stored in the garage somewhere.”

Perhaps that alleviated my grief over the broken plate, but it did not exactly fix my relationship with my brother nor did it calm my anxieties about motherhood.

“Y/n? Baby, what’s wrong?”

“… I don’t know,” I whispered, frustrated by it all.

Before I knew it, Mario planted himself on the kitchen floor and leaned his back against the white refrigerator. Smiling, he patted the empty spot beside him.

“Sit with me.”

“I’m not gonna be able to get up again,” I reminded him, as I gestured towards my protruding abdomen. I struggled just getting up from the living room couch. 

“I’ll help you up,” Mario insisted. “Just sit with me for bit.”

I sighed before kneeling down so I could sit beside him. 

“Is this about Oscar?”

“Yeah,” I answered sheepishly. We only talked about what had happened a couple times, and each time I refused to let on how much it was affecting me. Truthfully, it was because if I admitted to that I would eventually have to admit to everything else that was weighing on me. “Him and… everything else.”

I turned to Mario and he did not say anything. Instead he placed his hand over mine and stayed quiet so I could talk. I smiled gratefully, before inhaling sharply. I knew he liked how emotional I was as a pregnant woman but I, for one, hated how suffocated I was by all of feelings that bombarded me constantly.

“This isn’t the life I wanted,” I huffed, tilting my head back so I could stare at the ceiling. It was easier than looking Mario in the eye. I was never good as this. Not like he was. “I always hoped by the time we had kids we’d be able to give them what we never got…”

Yet, there I was, sentencing my kid to the same life I had on the same streets that swallowed up so many of the people in my life. 

“Now I just feel like my mom.”

Young and stupid. Diving headfirst into motherhood when I was nowhere near ready for the responsibility that came with it. Maybe I would end up just like her too. Maybe my baby would grow to resent me just as I did her.

“Baby don’t say that,” Mario spoke. I sniffled as I wiped my eyes. I was not expecting him to get it. How could he?

“We just worked so hard to get out,” I whimpered, thinking back to all the work Mario and I put into school and into our college applications. “And I promised Cesar I would come back and get him out too… but now we’re back with nothing to show for it.”

“I know,” Mario whispered defeatedly.

Everyone in Freeridge had such high hopes for the two of us when we left for college. Everyone was expecting us to make it and to come back and share our joy and our wealth with the people who raised us. Mario and I had every intention of doing that, yet there we were.

“You know the hardest part wasn’t even coming back and telling everyone,” I said honestly. “… It was the look on Oscar’s face when he said he didn’t have a sister anymore.”

Mario could not say anything. Instead he just held my hand and sat in silence with me for a bit. Fortunately, that was all I wanted him to do.

***

Near the end of the month, Ruby had the bright idea of hosting a baby shower. He initially envisioned a huge party with all of Mario’s distant relatives, but after a bit of bribery and begging he eventually agreed to keep it small.

“Ok,” Ruby began as he wheeled in a huge chalkboard he apparently ‘borrowed’ from their high school. “Now we’re each gonna nominate a name for the baby.”

“Oh and just a disclaimer,” Mario said before his little brother could continue. “Y/n and I reserve the right not to choose any of the names you give us.”

While we were mostly confident the kids would come up with decent ideas for  names, we felt it necessary to cover our bases. From what Jamal told me during our many conversations while he waited for Ruby, they got up to a lot over the past year.

“So why are we doing this?” Jasmine asked.

“Because, we’ve been struggling to come up with names for a while,” I answered. “So take this seriously, guys, okay?”

“I’ll go first,” Ruby announced as he reached for the chalk. He pulled out a foot stool and stood on it so he write his name ideas at the top of the board. “If it’s a girl, Marisol. If it’s a boy, Ruby junior.”

I took one look at Mario and bursted out laughing. I knew Ruby was completely serious, as so did Mario, which made it all the more amusing. Before Monse could rise from her seat and announce her name ideas next, there was a loud know at the door.

“I’ll get it.”

Usually I would not have volunteered to answer the door, but it was still daylight and we were expecting abuelita to arrive at any minute with some extra food. However, when I opened the door and realised who it was, I quickly regretted my decision.

“Can we talk?”

Oscar glanced inside before speaking. His tone was quiet, almost sheepish, and I knew then that he was here to make amends. However, that did not mean I could not give him a hard time.

“I thought I wasn’t your sister anymore,” I sneered.

His expression grew even more pained.

“Please?”

I had no idea that word was even in his vocabulary. As hurt and annoyed as I was, I knew I was grateful he was here and that we were speaking to each other the for the first time in months. Closing the door behind me, I waddled towards the seats on the porch and Oscar sat beside me.

“I’m sorry,” he said not a second after he sat himself down. That was yet another phrase I never knew he had the capacity to say. “I shouldn’t have said what I said.”

“Yeah. You shouldn’t have.”

I studied his expression closely. It was nice he was apologising, but that did not exactly explain why he acted to cruelly towards me. I wanted that just as much as I wanted the apology.

“When you told me, I just,” Oscar paused for a minute and thought. After a moments deliberation, he continued on. “I never expected this to happen to you.”

“Neither did I,” I shrugged.

I understood his sentiment, I did. No one expects the girl with the full-ride scholarship and the pressure of overcoming generational poverty to get knocked up. However, if I was able to wrap my head around it enough to get on board while carrying the damn baby, Oscar could have at least accepted it without calling me a failure. 

“I’m just used to you being the one keeping things together,” he added defeatedly.

“That doesn’t make what you did ok,” I argued.

“… I know,” he said bashfully.

“Oscar, look, Mario… he has his mom, his dad and abuelita. But for me, I just have you. You’re all I’ve got. I need to know I can count on you.”

My brother nodded. I could tell it pained him when I phrased the situation like that. It hurt to know that Mario had three people in his corner, yet I had no one. 

“You know, before I was ever Santo. Before I was ever anything… I was your big brother,” Oscar explained, a small smile peeking through as he spoke. “That’s how it will always be.” 

I smiled as I thought about how inseparable we were growing up. Before we had to take on the responsibility of looking after Cesar. Before it hit us that we were practically on our own. Before we had to grow up too quickly. Before all of that, we were just two siblings strolling along the streets of our block like it was our empire.

We found ourselves staring out onto those very streets again from where we sat. Maybe it would not be such a bad place for my kid. 

“I love you, mana,” Oscar said, his eyes still glued to the road in front of us.

“I love you too,” I replied.

Just as I spoke, a mother and her daughter drove by in a battered station wagon, and it sent me back to the worst corners of my childhood memories. Of my mom driving me around in her station wagon and me trying to savour the feeling of her presence before she upped and left again.

”… What if I’m just like them?” I asked quietly.

“You won’t be,” Oscar answered, not a beat after I finished speaking.

“How can you be so sure?”

“You won’t be.”

It should have been enough. It should have been enough to convince me. However, even after we got up and returned to the baby shower, I could not shake the feeling that it was my destiny. That, no matter what I did, I would end up becoming some abominable mix of parents and raise hurt and traumatised kids just as mine did.

I placed my hand on my belly and breathed deeply. In just a matter of months, my fate would unfold. All I could do was hope my baby would make it.

“How are the baby names coming along?” I asked cheerfully, forcing a smile as I glanced at the chalkboard that was now halfway filled with baby names.

“Cesar’s up now,” Mario explained to me as he got out of his seat so I could sit down. I thanked him quietly as I took lowered myself onto his chair and he stood behind me with his hands hovering lazily over my shoulders.

“Ok, if it’s a girl, Elena,” Cesar said as he wrote his idea on the board. “And if it’s a boy… Manuel.”

I grinned. I could not place my finger on it, but something about that name felt right. Call it intuition or instinct. Either way, it was definitely far more appealing than Ruby junior.

“Manuel?” I repeated, before looking up at Mario who matched my expression. It seemed we had at least one name banked. “I really like that one.”

Mario leaned forward and kissed my temple softly. As the baby shower continued, I found myself finally able to cast my worries aside if at least for the time being. I was convinced there would be plenty of time for that later. 

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