Please Don't Cross Me, I Asked Nicely

I stood in shock, my mouth going dry as I couldn't process what Mom just said.

“H-how? You-you were fine. When did-?” I began, but I stopped talking. I couldn't understand, not one bit.

Mom looked at me apologetically.

“I've had leukemia for about ten years now, but my body stopped responding to treatments five years ago. I knew this was going to happen eventually. You noticed back in June and August, remember?” she asked and my mind clicked.

Everything fell into place. The phone call back on the day Vic and I had that talk and she called... I couldn't believe it.

“Why didn't you tell us sooner?” I asked in a monotone.

“I didn't want things to change just because I'm sick. I didn't want anyone to be sad like you are right now”, she clarified.

I was speechless. If I were Mom, I'd have done the same thing.. But, I didn't want to lose her... I-I'd just die.

“Rosalina, I think you should-”, Dad began, but Mom cut across him.

“You must be the infamous Nick”, she said to Nick with a gentle smile.

All eyes landed on Nick. I stared at him, too. He stood near the back, farthest away from her. He looked uncomfortable.

“Yes, Mrs. Sanchez. I am.”, he said walking to her.

They started talking, but Dad led Vic and I away from them.

“Rosalina, Vicky. I want you to go home and get settled-” he began, but I already knew what he was going to say.

“-with Nick”, I added.

“Rosa, I said no”, he said in an icy tone.

“Well, I'll stay at a hotel with him. He came here for Mom, too. We have plenty of room at home”, I retorted.

He looked away, obviously thinking it over.

“Come on, Daddy. Please?” Vic begged.

His eyes landed on her and his expression changed. He ran a hand through his slightly grey-chestnut brown hair.

“Alright, Princess. He'll sleep in-”, he began, but Nick cut across him.

“-Rose's room”, Nick finished, all of us staring at him in shock.

“Young man, you don't have a say so around here-”

“Mrs. Sanchez said I can. She said you can ask her, too”, Nick said coolly.

Dad frowned, then walked back into Mom's room.

“This is going to be a long day”, Vic said in a bored tone.

I rolled my eyes, walking away from her as Nick followed, a small grin on his face.

…

Twenty minutes later, we arrived to our 3 story mini-mansion. The red bricks with white roofing made me relax a little. The grass was as luscious and neatly cut as it always was. I was home.

“This is where you live?” Nick asked incredulously.

I laughed.

“If you think this is impressive, wait until you see the beach house”, Vic said slyly.

I shot her a look. The only thing Vic did at the beach house was have sex or God knows what else with the guys she brought when Mom would go out with Dad, which was almost every weekend during the summer.

I didn't even want to begin to imagine, if in some alternate universe, that Nick and Vic would do anything at the beach house. Eww! I shook the thought away, completely disgusted by it.

“So, show me around?” Nick asked, startling me.

“Y-yeah”, I answered.

Vic unlocked the door first, Nick following suit after her, then me.

Nick gaped in awe.

His eyes scanned the enormous living room. Like his, ours had beige carpet, but had a large, plasma-screen TV resting in the middle as well as a HUGE couch, big enough to fit at least 10 people on it. A black coffee table sat in the middle of our oddly shaped couch.

The kitchen had all black cabinets as well as was the electric stove, microwave, and dishwasher. Even our fridge was black. The aisling and counters, however, were black granite, completely spotless. Dad was very organized when he chose the designing for the kitchen. The flooring was white tile, though.

Next, was the dining room. The black, wooden table rested on the carpet part, separating the living room and dining room by a step up. Of course, the chairs were black as well. I sighed.

“Oh, thank God Max isn't here”, Vic sighed over dramatically.

“Max?” Nick asked with a hint of jealousy.

“He's our butler slash chauffeur, but more like my best guy friend”, I clarified.

“He's like a big brother to her, but a major pain in the butt for me”, Vic said, sending a glare at me.

“Whatever”, I replied, rolling my eyes at her.

“Oh, OK”, Nick said, his eyes wandering to the rest of the house.

“Oh, sorry. Tour, right?” I said almost forgetting.

We left our luggage in the living room and walked down to the right in to the next room past the kitchen. We were greeted by the stairs to the left, which led up while the rest of the hall continued to the right of the rooms.

“Up or right?” I asked him.

“Um, right”, Nick decided.

I took him to the movie/entertainment center followed by Dad's office as well as Mom's and the family's library. It mainly consisted of children's books to novels that Mom and I read to magazines about the latest fashion (Vic's interest) to Dad's sports magazines. Finally, we'd reached my special room.

“Seriously, Rose? You're going to show him this room?” Vic asked in an annoyed tone.

“Yeah. It's no big, really”, I said nervously, turning the doorknob.

“Oh, wow”, Nick whispered.

We'd entered the music room. Its walls were white. Six acoustic guitars rested carefully in their stands, a stool by each one. The first two were pink while the other was a regular, chestnut brown (Vic's obviously). The next one was all black, the second, blue and black, while the third was an identical chestnut acoustic like Vic's except it was kept in better condition; my babies. Photos also plastered the walls in various places in frames. A small bookshelf was to the right where 3 photo albums rested. In the middle of the room, there was a dark brown table with two chairs. The table had 2 folders, an organizer bin, pencil cup holder that held unused pens and pencils in it, two large, yellow memo pads, unopened boxes of guitar strings and picks.

“It's our music room”, Vic said, walking to the table, rubbing the tips of her fingers on it.

“You both play?” Nick asked.

“Yeah, but I use this room more than Vic does”, I said with a small smile.

In reality, Vic only decided to learn how to play because Mom taught me how to play when Vic wasn't interested in it. I'm better at the song writing than she is, too.

“Th-that's amazing”, Nick gushed.

“Thanks”, Vic and I said in unison. I wanted to glare at her. She knew Nick wasn't talking to her. If only he knew the entire story...

“I didn't mean to interrupt-”, Max began, startling all of us.

He stood at the front door. Max was in his late 30s and had slightly tanned skin and huge muscles. He was about Nick's height and currently wore beige slacks with a gray t-shirt with brown shoes.

“-but don't you have to show him the rest of the house?” Max finished, raising a brow.

He was inspecting Nick, boring his brown eyes into Nick's. I found it hilarious. Nick gulped quietly.

“Can't you just leave and like, never come back?” Vic asked with a scowl.

“If it meant not seeing you, I would, but your parents and Rose want me to stay, so 3 to 1, no go. You lose”, he answered, folding his arms across his chest as he stared Vic down.

She groaned in frustration and marched past Max, a smile gracing his lips.

“I'm Max, the Sanchez' butler and car driver. You must be Nick. The misses told me about you”, he guessed.

“Yes. It's nice to meet you, sir”, Nick replied.

“Hey. I'm not that old, now”, Max replied, shaking Nick's hand.

The two shook before Max turned to me, embracing me in a hug. I hugged back eagerly. I'd missed him so much. He was like the father I'd always wanted- not brother.

“Alright, so, Subway as usual?” he asked after we pulled away, backing towards the door, more than likely going to make a call to Dad.

“Yeah, thanks”, I answered. “That alright with you?” I asked my stunned boyfriend.

“Y-yeah”, Nick answered.

I turned back to Max whom put a thumbs up before speaking.

“Alright. I'll text you”, he said. I nodded in return.

“That's your butler?” Nick asked with slight amazement.

“Yeah. No big. Ready to unpack?” I asked, getting ready to walk away.

“Yeah. But one thing”, Nick said, gently pulling me to him. He placed a tender kiss on my lips before lacing his left hand with my right.

“I love you”, he whispered.

“I love you, too”, I replied with a smile. We headed upstairs to finish the tour.