Se te olvida (You forget)

Que me quieres a pesar de lo que dices (That you love me no matter what you say)

Pues llevamos en el alma cicatrices (For in our souls we carry scars)

Imposibles de borrar. (That can't be erase)

LA MENTIRA

Chapter One

Suze's P. O. V.

I was born in San Francisco in the year of 1834 to the name Susannah Simon. When I was six my father died of a sudden heart attack. Mom and I lived with my grandmother for a while, then she meet Andy Ackerman a fellow widower with three sons – one my age, one older and one younger – they fell in love, got married and mom and I moved to Carmel by-the-see. I was only nine years old, and I was determined to make of Carmel my home and of the Ackermans my family. It worked.

I loved my life in Carmel by-the-Sea. I don't think there was a day, till the very moment I ran away, that I regretted leaving San Francisco and following my mother to Carmel. But that was before our big fight. That was before he broke my heart.

When I was sixteen, I had to run away… The pain was too big to bear. I had trusted him with everything I was and all I got in return were lies. Then, on the same day I found out he had been toying my heart, that Jesse was, in deed, going to marry Maria -the day is now known as the worst day of my life – my mother announced that Paul Slater had asked for my hand in marriage and she had agreed. I yelled and screamed. Broken as my heart might be, I wasn't about to agree to marry a guy I didn't love, let alone Paul Slater –who was all chummy with the Slave runner in town: Felix Diego. So that was the big fight. And I had to run away.

Where did I run? To San Francisco, my hometown.

My grandmother still lived there, and she welcomed with open arms. My best friend –pre Carmel era -Gina still lived there and it also turned out that my other best friend – the one I made in Carmel - Cee Cee Webb was attending finishing school there too.

Two years later, just after I finished school and got my certificate as a teacher, my grandmother died and I was left groundless. There was not much of a reason to stay in San Francisco anymore,

I didn't want to go back to Carmel. But I couldn't help it, my inherency couldn't last forever, I had to get a job. I jumped at the job when Father Dominic sent a letter telling me that one of the ranchers was looking for a governess for two young girls. Plus, Cee Cee was moving back to Carmel too because our old friend Adam had offered her a job managing the Carmel Pine Cone, the news paper in town.

I know, in the middle of 1850 a woman leading a paper was scandalous, but Adam said that he didn't knew anyone who had better orthography -or knew more big words – than Cee Cee Webb. So Cee Cee and I packed our belongings – we had been camping at Gina's house – and took the train to Carmel.

Adam picked us up at the station. Cee Cee would be staying with him and his family at his house in town –he didn't wanted her living alone with the bunch of strangers that passed by the town every day – I was escorted to the Mission, where I found Father Dominic –once my teacher, now one of the few people I can still relay on.

Adam and Cee Cee made me promise I would come back to town to see them next week. Part of the job was that I had to live in the ranch. I was ok with that; I didn't have any other place to go, though my mother's house was right there on the hills. But I couldn't go to her. Plus, staying in one of the ranches outside Carmel would meant that the chances of running into him would be very close to nil.

I was chatting away with Father Dominic, he was telling me how excited my little stepbrother David was about seeing me again – though it would have to wait till Sunday at the church. It was true that I hadn't spoke or wrote to my mother in the last two years but I still kept correspondence with Father Dom, David, Adam and –surprisingly – my stepfather, who had been far more supporting than my mom in the whole "over-my-dead-body-I'll-marry-Paul-the-Spawn-of-Stan-Slater.

"So, where are we going?" I asked once we had made it out of town.

"You'll see Susannah. Patience is-"

"A virtue, I know," I kept quiet for a while but then I realized that we were getting closer to his house. And I didn't like that very much. My worst assumption was made true when we reached the De Silva Ranch. "No, father, you gotta be kidding me." I said as he forced me to get off the carriage.

"Now, now, Susannah. Whatever happened between you and Jesse was long ago. You need this job. And is the only one available. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe you have no money to get back to San Francisco. So is either here or back to your mother's." Father Dom said, he had me on that, and he knew it.

I would have hated him, but he was my homeboy, you know. Plus, I'm pretty sure is a sin to lie to a priest.

…

Father D's P. O. V.

Yes, I know, it was a little bit of a dirty play. But the burden of a truth I couldn't tell was weighting down heavily on me. I couldn't tell the truth to Susannah or Jesse, but I couldn't just let Maria de Silva get away with what she had done to those two. Maybe, if I forced them together, they would talk and find out the truth by themselves.

"Mr. De Silva will see you two now," a young maid said.

Jesse's father had died six months ago and now he was the master of the De Silva Ranch. His mother had passed away too, just a month before. Catherine De Silva had been the one supervising the education of the two youngest De Silva girls. With her death, Jesse had been forced to find a governess for Julia and Maria del Pilar. He had asked me if I knew of someone willing to fill the position, and I thought of Susannah. This was the opportunity I had been waiting for, so the truth could come to the light.

"I can't believe you are making me do this," Susannah said, pacing around in the most un-ladylike manner, "Father Dom… you know,"

"Yes, I know." I did, I did know, I knew things she was totally unaware of. I knew Jesse hadn't broke his promise, I knew Susannah hadn't broke hers – like Jesse thought she had – I knew. And it was time for they two to know as well. Clever had been Maria when she told me what she had done under the cover of the sacred secret of confession. "Now stop before you burn a hole in the carpet,"

"Father Dominic," Jesse's voice greeted me and I saw Susannah stop abruptly and go pale as a ghost. "A pleasure to see you as usual."

"Likewise," I said politely. "Now I leave so you can talk with the girl I brought. I'll be outside."

Yes, I left. Before I closed the door behind me, the last thing I heard was "Susannah!"

…

Jesse's P. O. V.

"Susannah!" I yelled in surprise, I couldn't believe it was her. No, she couldn't be back. Not now. "What are you doing here?" I demanded.

"Father Dom… job… here…" she muttered so softly I only could make out a few words.

"What?"

"Father Dominic told me he could get me a job, I didn't know it was here." She repeated, she hates to repeat what she says and her temper got the best of her, making her voice firm and nothing like it had been before. "I wouldn't have come if I had known." She said. She sounded angry with me. What has she to be angry about?

"Well, no one is making you stay," I snapped. Turning away from her. It hurt too much to even look at her.

"I have no other place to go," she said quietly.

I know this. Father Dominic had told me that the woman who was going to take the job had no other way of supporting herself than the job I was offering. But that didn't made sense, Susannah had her mother and her stepfamily. "You can go to your mother,"

"I rather walk back to San Francisco than go to my mother," again, there was anger in her voice.

I know that there were a lot of fights between Susannah and Mrs. Ackerman. I was the reason behind many of those fights. Mrs. Ackerman didn't believe I was sincere with my intentions towards Susannah, so she kept pushing her to Slater. I was just waiting so I could tell my father I wasn't going to marry my cousin Maria, but then I heard that Susannah had agreed to marry Slater… I had heard it from his own mouth. In the end it had been Susannah the one who wasn't serious about us.

But then she disappeared, and not with Slater… and, I admit, that didn't made any sense. Now she was here, again.

Against my better judgment I found myself asking, "Are you really qualified for this position?"

"Yes…" she answered with uncertainty.

"Then, fine, you can stay. At least my sisters like you." I said, running my hand through my hair as I always did when I was nervous.

"Really?" she asked surprised.

I shouldn't have done it, but if Father Dominic had said it, then it must had been true, Susannah didn't had any other place to go. And, no matter how much hurt she had caused me; I couldn't just throw her out. Two years might have elapsed already, but love doesn't die that easily.

"Yes, really." I said. Still not looking at her. "But lets make something clear. I don't want to see you. Understood? You are here to take care and educate Mapi and Julia, you and I have nothing to do with each other. I don't want to have you in my face all day. STAY OUT OF MY WAY."

She didn't answer right away, so I turned to dace her. "Is that clear, Susannah?" I asked using my most menacing voice; I sounded surprisingly a lot like my father.

"Yes," she answered through gritted teeth. "I'll stay out off your way."

Good, what did I got myself into?

…

End of Chapter One.

…

Notes;

I hope this isn't being too confusing. It will have to be for a while before Suze and Jesse find out the truth….

Please, R/R.

Much love,

Alex.

P.S. Sorry about the bad grammar and stuff.

P.S. S. PEACE, LOVE, FRUIT AND JESSE!!!