A Poetic Retelling of an Unfortunate Romance

Gentle ocean breeze caressed Ella’s face as she sat beside James in a peaceful silence, enjoying his company and the blunt that they were sharing. Ella worked hard to remain nonchalant even though her loins were screaming for her to pounce on the handsome stranger.

He was the epitome of the 1960’s counterculture and she seriously dug it.

Ella’s hands fidgeted nervously as she stared at his wild mane that was so reminiscent of Jim Morrison’s. She wanted to comb her fingers through it as he played guitar or discussed world politics, but the urge was successfully fought back because Ella didn’t want to be a creeper.

James slowly brought the blunt up to his lips. He closed his soulful chocolate brown eyes as he took in a long drag, holding the smoke in his lungs for a good twenty seconds before blowing it out in a perfect O shape.

“What’s your name Snow White?” inquired James as he handed Ella the blunt.

A discreet smile spread across Ella’s face when he referred to her as that. Snow White is a nickname that Leo gave her when she was born. It’s a nickname that has stood the test of time because most of the Acosta family refers to her as that or its Spanish equivalent Blanca Nieves.

“Gabriella Acosta,” Ella replied, pressing the blunt against her empty soda can to remove the ash.

He stared at her momentarily before saying, “I dig it but I think Snow White suits you better.”

“It suits anyone that’s pasty and has dark hair,” Ella joked passing the blunt back to him. “So what’s your name?”

“James Devlin Parker at your service my fair maiden,” he answered, standing up from the sand in order to bow politely before her.

Margaret paced back and forth in the living room wondering where on earth her daughter was as Samuel sent her another text asking her where she was. They always allowed Gabriella to go out with her friends, to experience life; their one requirement was that she called to tell them where she was.

Usually Ella’s really good at calling them up or shooting a text their way telling them where she is and what she’d doing but that night she hadn’t sent them a single message and she wasn’t responding to their attempts to get into contact with her.

They feared that she had been mugged, gotten into some sort of accident or that she was laying dead underneath the pier. These horrid thoughts plagued their mind and no longer being able to take the uncertainty they called Leo and told him what was happening.

If anyone knew where she would be at those hours it was him.

As soon as Leo got the call from his parents he informed his date that their outing was going to be cut short because he had to go look for his little sister. Instead of getting angry his date began gushing about how sweet he was because he cared so much for his sister.

Leo simply smiled politely at her response knowing very well that the woman’s reactions guaranteed that she’d fuck him the next time they went out. He paid the bill and dropped her off at her house before driving down to the beach where he’d left his sister earlier in the day.

He parked his car in front of a restaurant and began walking out toward the sand. Ella’s laughter soon reached his ears and he couldn’t help but smile because she was nearby but he stopped dead in his tracks when he heard the male’s voice.

He knew exactly who it was and he was livid.

Leonardo Acosta hates James Devlin Parker.

That’s a fact not an opinion.

It hadn’t always been that way. There was once a time when James had run in the same crowd as Leo in high school. Leo was the leader of the crowd so he had been the one to okay James in the group but with the passing of time he came to regret his decision.

James was a fucking mess. He spent all his time lighting up, getting drunk, fucking anything that was at the very least lukewarm and had a hole. He was failing all of his classes, getting tickets for truancy but James was too high to give a damn.

Being the leader of the crowd Leo felt obligated to talk to James. He told James that he needed to clean up a little before he was to far gone. Leo hoped that his words hadn’t been in vain because he hates seeing people succumb to addictions but within the week Leo learned that James was already to far gone.

At the end of the week James dropped out of high school, claiming that the American public education system was designed to oppress free thinkers. Instead of going to school he spent his days roaming the beach trying to find his meaning.

Dropping out of high school wasn’t what caused the irreparable rift between James and Leo. Their rift was caused by something much more serious it was caused by a very stupid decision made by James on the night of prom.

An after party was held at one of Leo’s friend’s house. He and his girlfriend of four years had had a sudden urge to smoke so they wandered towards the beach. A blunt was split between the pair and when they finished he said that they should head back in.

His girlfriend didn’t want to leave so she begged him if they could just stay out on the beach all night. He agreed but wandered back towards the house to grab his bottle of patron so that they could split it between themselves.

His journey to the house lasted much longer than he’d expected. The moment he walked through the door the crowd began chanting for him to do a keg stand. He said no the first two times but then he said fuck it and did the stand.

Leo momentarily lost consciousness and napped for a half hour before waking up. He grabbed the bottle, left the house and readied himself for a night with the girl that he had given a promise ring to. Sadly, he didn’t find her in an appropriate position for she was lying underneath James, being pounded into mercilessly.

James nearly died that night. Leo had lost himself in such a fury that the carefree youth that smiled at everyone vanished and was replaced by a bloodthirsty fiend that wanted nothing more than to tear James apart.

Blood gushed from James nose as Leo delivered blows to his face. His then girlfriend’s frantic screams filled the night sky and the partiers rushed towards the epicenter of the noise. Leo was held back by several of his friends that reminded him that he was now an adult and that James was a minor.

Not being able to continue his assault on James he opted for the second best option; kicking him out.

Ever since then Leo hasn’t been able to look upon James face without wanting to kill him. James ruined his relationship and although he never showed it to anyone Leo was devastated but in Leo’s words, “fuck a bitch.”

Leo began sprinting towards Ella’s voice. His blood boiled as he imagined James sitting beside his sister, trying to woo her in order to get what he wants out of her. He refused to let Ella fall for that miscreant’s tricks, he was going to put an end to things before they even began.

“GABRIELLA!” he roared into the night.

Ella jumped when she heard her brother bellowing her name angrily. She turned quickly and when she saw the furious look on Leo’s face she knew that something was wrong because that look very rarely comes out.

“What’s going on?!” inquired Ella frantically, worried that she’d done something wrong.

Leo didn’t respond to her inquisition. Instead he grabbed her by the wrist so he could drag her away from that bastard, not giving a fuck if any police officers saw him. Ella struggled to free herself from her brother’s grasp. She didn’t understand why he was being such a prick.

“Let me go!” Ella hissed.

He shook his head as he shouted, “NO! Your ass is going home right now!”

“I don’t want to go home!” she responded, like a child being taken away from Disneyland.

James could no longer stand by and watch Gabriella be treated like that. At first he hadn’t gotten involved because he thought that maybe it’d be better for her if Leo didn’t know that James was hanging out with her but for some reason the sight of her being mistreated pissed him off.

“Dude she fucking said that she doesn’t want to go home!”

“It doesn’t matter if she wants to, she’s going!”

James moved so he was staring Leo directly in the eyes and in a menacing voice he said, “Let her go.”

Leo scoffed. He began walking away, dragging a complaining Gabriella behind him when James suddenly grabbed him by the shoulder. Leo didn’t give James a chance to say what he was going to say. Instead he punched James right in the face, not giving a fuck about the repercussions that his actions would have.

“I know who you are and I know what you do so you better stay the fuck away from my sister or else I'm going to make sure that you never walk the streets of Venice again,” threatened Leo.

Ella was dragged away by Leo. He slammed the passenger door shut when she was safely inside and the moment he pulled out of the parking spot he began telling her about James vices about how he could never be trusted with anything.

“Have you been listening to a word I’ve said?!” questioned Leo angrily, his grip on the steering wheel tightening.

“I have actually! He’s bad! He’s a fucking junkie! He’s not going anything with his life and he’s just gonna bring me down! Have I left anything out?!”

“Don’t talk to me like that Ella.”

She huffed before saying, “Well I'm sorry, but you’ve been acting like a prick!”

“The fact that I worry about you makes me a prick?!” he asked as he made a turn to get on the street that the house is on.

“No but the fact that you dragged me away like some fucking dog on a leash and punched a guy out makes you a fucking prick!”

“I'm sorry,” he apologized. “I just lost it out there. I don’t want you getting mixed up with people like that. They’re no good.”

“I know, and I'm glad that you care about me but you don’t have to act like that. A simple text would have done.”

“I know,” whispered Leo. He pulled into a spot in front of his house and shut off the engine. He turned to look at his little sister as he spoke, “You’re to sweet to be getting mixed up with him. Please promise me that you won’t see him anymore.”

“I promise that I won’t go looking for him,” responded Ella.

“Gabriella!” snapped Leo.

“That’s all you’re getting from me,” said Ella as she jumped out of the passenger’s seat.

Margaret and Samuel jumped from the couch when they saw Gabriella emerge through the doorframe. They had planned on scolding her the moment that she stepped in the house but when they saw her they couldn’t resist hugging her.

“Where were you?!” inquired Margaret worriedly.

Ella opened her mouth to respond but was silenced when her brother responded for her, “She was down at the beach and fell asleep.”

“You have to more conscious of the time Gabriella! What if something bad had happened to you?!”

“Nothing happened mom. Can’t we just be happy that I'm alright?”

Ella pulled out the puppy dug eyes, the eyes that her parents hate because they always end up doing whatever she says because they can’t deny those eyes a thing. Samuel sighed and stood from his place on the couch he told Ella to go to sleep.

“Thank you for finding her Leo. We’re sorry we ruined your date,” Samuel apologized.

“It’s alright dad, she wasn’t interesting anyway. I’m gonna go to sleep I have morning duty tomorrow.”

Margaret and Samuel smiled as they watched Leo walk up the stairs behind Gabriella. They had worked hard to cement their place in the United States of America for they are naturalized citizens who had to abandon their native lands.

Samuel worked hard to provide his family with everything they needed and so that Margaret could stay at home with the children. His hard work paid off and the Acosta family composed of Samuel, Margaret, Lily, Leo, and Ella was strong.

Margaret had been worried that Leo and Lily would be happy with another baby in the house but when Leo looked upon Ella’s face and told them that she was as beautiful as Snow White her fears evaporated. Ever since then Leo’s been keeping an extra watchful eye on Ella, making sure she’s not only okay but that she’s thriving.

Ella lay on her bed watching The Doors movie. She’d seen it over a million times but she never got tired or watching Val Kilmer in those tight leather pants courting Meg Ryan and as fucked up as it sounds she sees Jim and Pam as the ultimate couple.

When the movie ended Ella lazily got out of bed to close her window but when she saw a figure outside she grew curious. She squinted and couldn’t help but let out a few choice curse words when she saw that it was James. Her eyes widened when she saw him motioning for her to go outside.

Her brother’s voice filled her mind at that moment. She heard him telling her to close the window and forget about him but Ella isn’t the most rational person, she never has been, for the most part she let’s herself go off of her instincts and right then her instincts were telling her to climb out the window.

So what’d she do?

She grabbed her jacket and jumped out.