Dirty Laundry

I groaned when my phone rang. ‘‘Get that for me please?'' I whined groggily. I felt him reach across the night stand and grab my phone. ‘‘What?'' he said quietly into the phone. I opened one eye pulling the pillow away and laying my head on his chest. ''..Who are you?'' I heard my uncle say apprehensively. ''..Smith'' ''I think I have the wrong number'' my uncle sighed. ‘‘Not unless you’re looking for Shanell''

''where is she?'' my uncle asked Suspiciously. ‘‘Sleeping'' ''..Who are you again?'' ‘‘Smith'' I giggled lightly ''give me the phone baby'' I held my hand out. ‘‘She’s up'' he said then handed the phone to me. ''Que paso?'' I grumbled to my tio Frisco. ‘‘Who the fuck is he?'' he asked angrily. ‘‘Chill dad geez'' he was my godfather. I’ve been calling him dad for the longest time but he was in no way my father. He was my uncle and godfather. ‘‘Who the fuck is he?..'' he demanded. ‘‘What do you want?..I’m still asleep'' I yawned. ‘‘What’s wrong with Elenita?'' he asked talking about my mom. I sighed nodding..I knew it would come to this. ''..Depression probably?..I don’t know'' ''how don’t you know? You live with her'' he said annoyed. ‘‘Not anymore'' ''what do you mean not anymore''. ''I don’t live with my mom anymore..Simple'' ''you living with the asshole..Smith?'' ‘‘He’s not an asshole dad'' I rolled my eyes. Welcome to my big accusatory Hispanic family..Now introducing my tio Frisco..The biggest loud mouthed mother fucker in the family. Married to my loud mouth tia Alia, but I love them dearly. And seeing as they’re my godparents I’ve got no say in anything when it comes to them. Still though..Love has a funny way of making us like the most annoyingness of people. ‘‘Well who is he?'' I didn’t want to tell him that Smith was an assassin. ‘‘My boyfriend'' ''when the fuck did you get a boyfriend'' he said dumbstruck.

''Ora le'' I grumbled. ‘‘What?'' he demanded. ''I don’t want to get into this..I don’t know what’s wrong with her..Ask Irma to talk to her..And next time call me when I’m not asleep-'' ''does Anthony know?'' he asked about my dad. ''..He knows I’m living with him'' ''and he's ok with this?'' ''does it matter?'' ''don’t be a smart ass..When did you get stupid?'' ''I’m not stupid'' ''how long have you known this mother fucker before you moved in with him'' ''you know what..I don’t gotta listen to this bullshit. por dios dejame tranquila'' I growled annoyed with him. ‘‘I want to know or I’ll come up there and beat your ass'' ''I’d like to see you try old man..'' ‘‘Bitch don’t push me'' ''bitch? Who the fuck you calling a bitch..Damn Frisco calm the fuck down..I don’t gotta put up with your bullshit..You wanna yell at someone yell at your wife not me..Bye'' I hung up annoyed. I threw my phone shaking my head.

''I swear I want to kill my family'' I grumbled. My phone rang again and I glared at it on the floor. ‘‘Really?'' I growled as I got up and grabbed it. This time it was Cheo. But I knew better. It was just my uncle using my cousin's phone. ‘‘What?'' I whined. ''I’m not done talking to you..Don’t hang up on me'' ''leave me alone jeez'' ''I want to know because I don’t know who the fuck this man is..How old is he? Where is he from? Who the fuck is he? How long have you known him?-'' ''it’s none of your damn business..You don’t see me questioning you about all the women you cheated on tia with..How about you tell me who the fuck she is and how long you've known her?'' I yelled. ''don’t throw that in my fucking fa-'' ''oh no I’mma throw it in your fucking face for being un pendejo desgraciado shame on you'' ''fuck you'' ''fuck you!'' ''respeta'' ''fuck that'' I shouted flailing my arm more out of habit. I always did the whole Italian hand gesture thing when I was angry. ''you fucking whore who the fuck is he'' ''who the fuck do you think you are calling a whore when you've slept with-'' ''shut the fuck up'' ''don’t tell me what to do your not my father your my godfather you don’t have any control over me'' ''the fuck I don’t! I’ll tell you what to do if it’s in your best interest'' ''best interest?..What about you? You go screwing every other bitch you see like a bitch in heat'' ''watch your fucking mouth''

''really? You’re not going to deny it..You’re just gonna tell me to shut up? Bitch please-'' ''I’mma beat you senseless the next time I see you'' ''bring it you old bastard'' I snorted. ‘‘Don’t mock me'' ''I’ll stop mocking you when you finally screw your wife instead of all them other bitches you've been screwing'' I growled. He hung up on me and I threw my phone clear across the room and fisted my hand screaming. ''MOTHER FUCKER'' I punched the wall making a hole where my knuckles connected.

I pulled my hand back and it was covered in blood. ‘‘Fucking idiot'' I sighed to myself licking the blood and examining the hole. To my greatest relief Smith didn’t yell at me..He looked angry though. He was sitting up in bed and pulled the blankets from him walking up to me and taking my hand examining it. ''I’m sorry'' I whispered. ‘‘Don’t be'' ''are you mad at me?'' ‘‘No..I’m mad at him'' he seethed. I smiled lightly finding it almost adoring. ‘‘He’s just looking out for me'' I sighed. ‘‘By calling you a whore?'' he growled. I cupped his cheek with my uninjured hand and made him look at me. ‘‘My family is nuts. Sometimes when you love someone things are said that shouldn’t be said..But we all know we don’t mean them'' ''and if he did'' he glared. ‘‘If I put stalk into what he said then I’d never speak to my family again. Sometimes..It’s easier to just get mad get over it forgive it and forget it'' I said lightly. ‘‘It doesn’t excus-'' ''shh'' I put my finger to his lips. ‘‘Just let it go'' ''bu-'' ''shh'' I leaned in and pecked his lips. ‘‘He’ll call back later and apologize..Trust me..This isn’t the first time I’ve fought with him'' I shrugged. He put bandages on my knuckles and crossed his arms ''what’s his name?'' ''Francisco..But we call him Frisco'' ''..What’s his last name?'' ‘‘Why?'' I asked with narrowed eyes. He shrugged ''where does he live?'' ‘‘You are not gonna kill my uncle'' I giggled slapping his arm playfully. ''I’m being serious'' he said gruffly. ‘‘Smith..It’s what family does. Insult you and yell at you and in the end apologize then make up''

Lina barged in wide eyed ''what the hell?'' ‘‘Oh sorry'' ''what the hell happened?'' she asked. ‘‘I got in a fight with my uncle'' ''at six in the morning?'' ‘‘My family is weird you know that'' ''are you ok?'' she eyed the wall. ‘‘Yeah yeah I’m fine go back to sleep'' I pointed to the door. ‘‘Ok'' she nodded. She left and I sighed going to the bathroom. ‘‘Of all the fucking times'' I grumbled to myself as I washed my hands and cleaned out my knuckles. It wasn’t so deep so I left it uncovered. Smith cornered me picking me up and setting me on the counter. ‘‘What’s wrong?'' he asked. ‘‘Nothing..I’m just a bit pissy right now'' I shrugged.

He leaned on the counter in front of me and nodded ''ok that’s normal'' he shrugged. I snorted smiling. He was making me laugh without realizing it. ‘‘Hey'' he lifted my chin up. ‘‘What?'' I asked. ''I’ve been thinking about this for a while now..About what you said about my name..If you want to call me Gabriel..Its free reign'' he said quietly. I smiled ''only if I can call you Gabe'' ''if you want to'' ''but do you want me to call you by Gabriel?'' I asked. ‘‘Yes..No one’s ever called me by it and you’re the only real person I’ve ever been with so..I want you to call me Gabe'' I pulled him to me kissing him. I didn’t know why it made me so happy that he wanted me to call him Gabe. I guess he was starting to really trust me. He picked me up like a princess ''and I’m really sorry about your uncle'' ''don’t be'' I wrapped my arms around his neck as he carried me back to the bed. ‘‘At the end of the day he's my uncle and we'll always argue but he'll always love me'' I shrugged. He propped himself on his elbows on top of me. ‘‘How do you deal with it I’d have killed him by now'' ''like I said forgive and forget. Fights are inevitable'' I couldn’t help running my hands over his body. He really was a fine looking guy. ‘‘Is the door locked?'' he asked. ‘‘I don’t think so'' he must have seen the intention in my eyes. I was glad the lights were out except for the bathroom and the curtains were closed because my face lit up like a Christmas tree. He got up long enough to lock the door he came back and paused making a detour to his nightstand before rejoining me.

Lina would flip her shit when she found out. I can’t believe what I just did. I just kind of laid there with my head on his chest as he played with a curl of my hair. ‘‘You haven’t said anything'' he said apprehensively. ‘‘I didn’t hurt you did I?'' he asked. I shook my head ''no..I’m fine'' ''then why are you so quiet?'' ‘‘Just kind of..it’s hard to explain'' I didn’t know how to say what was going through my head right now. ‘‘Are you sore?'' ‘‘A little..I’ll be fine'' I shrugged. And then the real world came crashing in my head. Kyle. I sat up grabbing my nightgown off the floor. ‘‘Where are you going?'' ''I’ve got to make Kyle a bottle'' ''I’ll do it..Relax'' he sat up kissing my cheek then pulling on his pants. He walked out and I laid back with a smile on my face. I did it! And I didn’t chicken out!

I sat up again and went to the bathroom. I took a shower and washed my hair then dressed in a tank top and jeans. I knew Lina was waiting on the prowl to attack me because we weren’t exactly quiet. Hopefully the walls were thick enough. I picked up around the room then went downstairs to start breakfast. Smith was feeding Kyle in the living room and Landon was drinking a cup of coffee, no doubt laced with alcohol, at the table. Lina came downstairs with a big smile on her face and hugged me ''honey I’m so proud of you, you finally lost your virginity'' she exclaimed loudly. ‘‘Shut up'' I blushed intensely as Landon choked on his coffee. I covered my face shaking my head ''Lina!'' ‘‘What?'' she said innocently.

‘‘Well if you want to keep it private then maybe you two should be a little more quieter'' she shrugged. ''Lina do you feel that?'' ‘‘What?'' ‘‘That’s the sound of me wringing your neck'' I pretended to choke her. Landon looked at me wide eyed. ‘‘Virgin?'' he whispered to himself. ‘‘Shut up'' I glared at him. I went back to making eggs and bacon. ‘‘Well I want details'' Lina demanded. ‘‘No'' I said wide eyed ''how big is his-'' ''shut up'' I blushed. ''Li I already told you I’m not going to tell you anything'' ''so boring'' she sighed. ''Li you need to grow up'' I giggled. ‘‘What? I like being immature'' ''yeah well what people do behind closed doors is none of your concern'' ''he has a fetish doesn’t he'' ''what?! No. how did you get that out of what I said'' I looked at her wide eyed ''I don’t know'' she shrugged. ‘‘Go sit down'' I sighed shaking my head. ‘‘But I wan-'' ''no'' ''fine'' she sighed.

I finished cooking and served breakfast. Gabe put Kyle in his car seat and sat at the table. I could see Lina beam ''not a word from you or I’ll remove your tongue'' I flashed a knife at her. She meshed her lips nodding then ate her food. I sat down at the table and took a bite of my toast. I wasn’t that hungry so I just ate some toast. It was quiet just the way I liked it. ‘‘Hey Lina wanna go to the mall?'' I asked as I finished my toast. She smiled nodding ''sure let me get ready'' she finished her breakfast and put her plate in the sink. I got up and washed the dishes. ‘‘Well I’m going to rape your big screen'' Landon got up handing me his plate ''thanks for breakfast'' he said as he walked out the archway. Gabe brought his plate to me and lingered pushing my hair to one side and laying his head on my shoulder. His arms circled my waist. ‘‘What?'' I giggled as he chuckled ''I’m tired'' ''then go to bed'' ''ok'' he nodded standing back up and kissing my head. ‘‘Sleep tight'' I dried my hands on the kitchen rag. I took Kyle and went upstairs and gave him a bath then dressed him up. I packed his bag and went down where Lina was waiting for me. ‘‘Let me just get the stroller'' I went into the garage and put the stroller that came with Kyle’s car seat in the back of the car. She sat in the passenger seat and I buckled Kyle in. ''please!..I’m dying to know'' she griped. I laughed nodding ''I know you are..'' I sighed. ‘‘Well..Tell me what you think about it?'' she urged.

‘‘What? Sex in general?'' ‘‘Yeah'' ''you’re not gonna let it go are you?'' ‘‘No'' I glanced over at her. She looked very pretty as usual. I wish I had naturally good looks like her but I guess not everyone can be lucky. ‘‘its fun'' ''I knew you'd like it'' she beamed ''can we not talk about this it’s awkward'' ''fine'' she rolled her eyes possibly satisfied enough. She turned up the radio when Dani California by Red Hot Chili Peppers played and we sang out loud.