Broken

“You’re in love with Danielle again.” Mike smiled as he helped Vic carry his luggage to his Toyota Camry. Vic stopped moving to give his little brother a look.

“Why am I not surprised once again?”

“Because it’s the truth.”

He went back to placing his bags inside the trunk of his car. “I don’t have feelings for Danni. Just because she’s my best friend does not mean one of us is going to have feelings for the other.”

“You’re either lying to me or lying to yourself.”

“I—”

Mike interrupted him. “Before you say anything, when was the last time you were locked up in your room crying over Cara? And don’t say when you got the invite because that was before Danni came back into the picture.”

“Are you trying to tell me that Danielle was a distraction for me to not think about Cara?” Vic placed his hands on his hips.

“I’m just saying that you look more happy and alive with Danni around. All you do is smile and laugh when you're with her. Before you used to lock yourself in your room or shut out everyone around you. Having Danni back was the best thing since Cara. And you can’t deny it because I know when you’ve stop thinking of Cara. Daniel, Casey and Dave even know it.”

“Are you some kind of wannabe psychiatrist diagnosing me with love?”

Mike laughed and changed his attention to something else. He threw the last bag on the trunk and closed it. “You might not know it yet but you’re falling in love with her again. I don’t see the whole point of going to Texas anymore, but whatever makes you happy.” He began walking away.

“Mike,” Vic paused, playing with the keys in his hands. He didn’t think he was developing feelings for Danielle. He just wanted her to come along on the road trip so he wouldn’t be alone. Plus his mother wanted someone to go with him. He still wanted to convince Cara that he loves her and didn’t want her marrying someone else. “Thanks man.” He grinned.

“It’s my job.”

Vic started the car and drove to his old neighborhood to pick up Danni. He drove in silence and thought of how Cara would look and what he was going to say to her. When he arrived, he got off and walked up to her doorstep. He knocked twice and shoved his calloused hands inside his pockets. He faced the sidewalk where two kids were on their tricycle. He smiled and remembered when that used to be him and Danni. A pair of soft hands covered his eyes and he removed them after guessing Danielle. He turned around and saw Danielle's cousin Wendy.

“Wendy!” His mouth was opened wide then a huge smile appeared on his face.

“Victor!” She hugged him. “I’ve heard so much about you from Danni that I had to come down here to see you.” Her smile was wide just like Danielle’s when she saw Victor since her departure.

“How are you? It’s been really long since I’ve seen you also. Weren’t you four years older than me?”

“Sadly yes.” She pulled out her bottom lip. “But I have four hooligans now. I want you to meet them. When will you guys be back from your little romantic road trip?”

“Okay, let’s go!” Danni said before her cousin started to ramble about irrelevant things. She grabbed Vic’s hand and pulled him to her car.

“Hey! I wasn’t finished talking to him. I’ll see you guys in a week, I guess.”

“She’s annoying!” Danielle whispered to Vic. She turned off the alarm from her car and threw her bags in the back. Vic placed his there also and climbed in.

“You seem nervous.”

She faced him and smiled after exhaling deeply. “I never drove outside the country so I’m a little nervous. But hey, there’s a first for everything.” She turned on the ignition and drove out of the neighborhood. They stopped by at Starbucks to grab coffee before their adventure.

“Music?” She asked, plugging her phone to the AUX cord.

“Sure,” he responded. She put on a Snoop Dogg song and started singing along. She turned up the volume.

“When I met you last night baybay. Before you opened up your gap. I had respect for ya lay-day-ay, but now I take it all baack. ’Cause you gave me all your pusssssaay.”

Vic stared at her with wide eyes and an opened mouth forming a smile. “What are you listening to?”

“And you even licked my balls. Snoop doggy dog, yo!” She moved her hand around making him laugh.

“You and Mike would become best friends.”

“He listens to Snoop and them?”

“Anything rap. He tried becoming a rap artist but it ended up making me laugh instead of listening. He called himself MikeyWhiskeyHands.” He covered his face in embarrassment. “No.” He chuckled.

“That’s a badass name. I suck at coming up with names.”

“DannyL was a very nice one.” He held back a roar of laughter but ended up erupting. She flipped him off and continued singing.

“Well if Kurupt gave a fuck about a bitch, I’d always be broke.” She placed her right hand on her chest. “I never had no motherfucking indo to smoke. I get loc’ed you looney." As she sung she moved her hands around in the air or would sing to Vic. He would laugh or shove her away. “So how the fuck am I supposed to pay this hoe?" She asked Vic. “just to lay this hoe. I know the pussy's mines, I'ma fuck a couple more times and then I'm through with it, there's nothing else to do with it. Pass it to the homie,” She shoved Vic to the side. “now you hit it. ‘Cause she ain't nuthin’ but a bitch to me and y'all know, that bitches ain't shit to me. I gives a fuck! Why don't y'all pay attention? Approach it with a different proposition, I'm Kurupt. Hoe, you'll never be my only one, trick ass beeeitch!”

“That’s a very beautiful heartwarming song.” Vic nodded at her and smiled which made her laugh.

“I’ll put on something cooler.” She grabbed her phone and scrolled to her music while glancing at the road quickly. “Here we go. You like Chris Brown, right?”

“I heard about him.” He arched his eyebrows. “Didn’t he beat up his girlfriend?”

“That bitch deserved it...but yeah him. They’re back together though.”

“What the...? She took him back after getting beaten up?” Vic shifted in his seat to face Danielle.

“She’s so stupid. I know. I hope Chris gives her another beating. I can’t stand her or her music.”

“Well I don’t listen to their music so I have nothing to say.”

“Well, we’re listening to Chris’ music right and you’re gonna hear me rap right now.” She smiled and moved her eyes back to the road.

“Is it worse than the first song?”

“I am NOT a horrible singer...or rapper. I’m amazing and breath taking.”

“You know Danielle, if you—”

“Shut up! It’s my part! Let's go! ’Cause I'm feeling like I'm running and I'm feeling like I gotta get away, get away, get away. Better know that I don't and I won't ever stop ’cause you know I gotta win every day, day. Go! See they really really wanna pop me. Just know that you will never flop me...” She sung the rest of the verse then took a deep breath just like the artist did that was singing. Vic just kept his eyes at her.

“That was too fast. I don’t even know what you just said.”

“Told you I’m badass.” She put her arm in the air. They shortly arrived at the border and she started squirming as she saw the MEXICO sign written in red on the borderline station. She looked around her as they passed by and Vic made fun of her.

“You’re like a little kid entering a candy shop.”

“IT FEELS LIKE THAT! We’re in Mexico! It smells weird but WE’RE ALMOST TO ROSARITO! Wooooot!” She went down the row where she saw the border of Mexico and USA with graffiti all over it. She also saw more graffiti on the houses on the sides and hills. “We’re gonna get shot.”

A loud laugh emitted from Vic’s mouth after she said that comment. He almost couldn’t breathe and was about to cry. Danielle just pouted and continued driving down the round until they arrived to Rosarito. Her huge smile returned as she parked at an abandon area which was considered a parking lot.

“Ghetto,” she sung and Vic laughed again. “Are you laughing at me?”

“You’re just...something.” He threw his arm over her neck.

“A cute something?” She said in her little spoiled kid voice. He nodded and walked to the bank where they were going to change their dollars for pesos. Then they went to a seafood place and sat down on the red plastic chairs and table.

“Hola!” Danni waved at the waitress that greeted them while handing out small menus and placing the chips and salsa on the center of the table.

“Buenas tardes. Algo para tomar?” (Good evening, anything to drink?)

“Una Coca y—uh,” he faced Danni. “What do you want to drink?”

“Cerveca! Corona.” (Beer) She smiled brightly. The waitress excused herself and left. Danielle rubbed her hands together then stomped her feet. “I took four years of Spanish in high school and I thought I forgot how to say beer.”

“I’m driving after dinner. I don’t want to risk you killing us here.”

She pulled her lower lip out. “Can we check out the beach after and then start heading back north?”

“Yes. I don’t see why not.”

They got their grub on and Vic made her say goodbye to the workers. They laughed and said it back. Vic drove to the beach and it was dark and windy. Dan just got out quickly and ran to the sand. Victor made his way slowly to the back of Danni’s car and grabbed a few towels and an extra sweater for her. He then went to the sand. He didn’t want to get his shoes sandy so he removed them and met her near the shore.

Danielle just stared at the horizon with a huge smile plastered on her face. She heard Vic’s footsteps and suddenly she became sad. “My ex-boyfriend used to take me to all my favorite places when we were still together. He would buy me something just so I can remember that date.” She faced Vic. “The day we ended things I wanted to go to the beach so badly and just stare at the waves and watch them crash. It was always soothing and it made me happy. But since Colorado doesn’t have a beach I was stuck watching videos on YouTube.” Vic grinned and stared at the waves. After a few minutes she spoke again. “The day I moved back to San Diego I stopped by the beach and stayed there for a long time. I could actually spend hours staring at the sea and never get bored. It’s my favorite place to be.”

“What happened with you and your boyfriend, if you don’t mind me asking?”

She didn’t say anything for a minute. Vic took that as she didn’t want to talk about it. He set the towels on the sand and sat down. Danni joined him after a few minutes. “Things didn’t work out. He found someone better and someone who could make him happier. It was very painful since that someone was my best friend.” She pulled her knees up, hugged them with her arms and rested her chin on top. “Funny thing is she had to tell me. He didn’t have the guts to break up with me...not even by phone or a stupid note.”

Vic scooted closer to her and wrapped an arm around her back. He started at feel her pain. “I cried for about two months until I decided it was time to move on. I didn’t want to chase after something that didn’t want me back.” She wiped a tear from her eye before it fell onto her cheek. “Even though I thought he would be the guy I would marry and have a small happy family with.”

“He’s a dick. He deserves nothing but a punch on the face.”

She leaned her head on his shoulder as she continued staring at the ocean. “I hate him. I want to hit him countless times with a bat and shatter his skull.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s illegal.”

She laughed and wiped the rest of the tears on her eyes. “Have you gotten your heart broken into a million little pieces?”

He only licked his lips and thought of Cara. The last few memories he had with her were the most painful ones. How could he forget those blue eyes, beautiful smile, and petite little girl that he thought carried his heart? He didn’t want to talk about Cara but he knew it was better to let it out then to keep it bottled up inside. It would only be fair since she told him her story.

“A few years ago. I met her in LA. She just moved from Texas and she was with her friends and her boyfriend at that time. We clicked right away. We could talk for hours and not get bored with each other. I never thought I'd fall for a southern girl even though I had an obsession with them.

“She was small, but had a big attitude when she gets upset. Her nostrils would flare when she gets mad but she would still look adorable. She has these diamond blue eyes that were so mesmerizing. She lived far since I was staying in San Diego. I would still travel for two in half hours just to see her. No matter how much gas I used up, I didn't care. Seeing her would always be worth it.

“We were just friends at first, seeing other people but would always casually hang out. Then one day I had the urge to kiss her and I did. It felt right. It felt like it was my destination to kiss her small lips. Cheesy, I know, but that's how I felt. Since then we would always hold hands and make out when we hung out. We just had this sorta opened relationship since we were still seeing other people.”

“That wasn’t such a good idea.”

“I know but it was the closest thing to me for having a legit relationship with her but I felt bad for cheating on my girlfriend back then. I always caught myself thinking of her though, Night and day to the point where I went crazy head over heels for this girl. I would buy her gifts and take her out to eat or to the beach. She really loves the beach, that's actually how we met. She would spend the weekends staying over at my place and I felt like she belongs there.” He played with the sand on the ground thinking back to those nights where they would stay in bed and talk the whole night.

“I would always tell myself 'I have to have her.' I couldn’t stand sharing her anymore. So I was going to ask her to have a serious relationship with. No dating anyone else but me. I was determined and I was going to do it next time I saw her, but…” he paused, trying not to cry. “I got a phone call from her and all she told me was to go over to her house because she had some news to tell me. I told her I had something to tell her also.

“I drove up north to her house with a smile on my face. I was already excited because she would soon be mine, all mine. I pulled up to her driveway and she opened the door, crying. I wasn’t expecting that. So I asked her what's wrong? but she told me to sit down on the couch. I was getting scared. I thought something bad had happened and it drove me insane. It took her ten minutes to tell me I'm pregnant. I stopped breathing right then and there.

“Is it mine? Was all I could say but when she shook her head I felt my heart was torn out. Like it was the end of the world. What hurt more was that she planned on moving back to her hometown because she thought it would be a great place to raise her baby.” He stopped talking and stared straight ahead into the ocean thinking back to that day. It was quiet for a few minutes before he continued his story. “I got a wedding invitation in the mail a few weeks ago and it’s hers. They’re getting married.”

“Is that why you wanted to go to Texas?” She hugged herself tighter feeling his pain on her chest.

He nodded his head. “I want to try one last time to convince her she’s mine. I just want to know if she still loves me because I am dying to know. I just regret the relationship we had. It wasn't stabled and it wasn't such a good idea. I feel like I should have asked her to be mine, you know?” He looked down at Danni. “She probably wouldn't have gotten pregnant by him and we would be together right now. I would be the one in the end of the aisle marrying her not the one crying over her...or telling you all this right now.”

Danielle laughed. "I know what it feels like to lose someone you love. Nothing ever makes sense anymore.” He shook his head. “Cara sounds amazing. I think it’s sweet that you’re going to travel 1,300 miles to try to win her back. You’re such a romantic, Vic.”

Vic smiled, “I’m so sappy.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and laughed. “I sometimes hate myself for that.” She interlocked her arm with his and laid her head on his shoulder.

“Cara was lucky to have you. She’s missing out on a great guy. Sappy, corny, cheesy, and a hopeless romantic…and everything else in the book.”

He shook his head and smiled widely. “You always have the perfect words to say to make me feel better, you know that?”

“I’m joshing with you, Vicster.” She smiled at him. “In case you haven’t forgotten, I fell in love with you for all those reasons when we were munchkins.” She stared back at the ocean and smiled. The rest of the night was spent staring at the sea and the big moon that shined over them.