Chpt.2
Livy took in a deep breath, smiling at the over-sized hat on her head and the book in her hands.
She strolled onto the beach, but made sure she was far enough away from the house so Roy wouldn't find her. She was making it her mission to wear his patience.
She would never admit it, but she was grateful for Roy's presence. He was good entertainment. He was like the annoying big brother she never had.
There were moments when he crossed the line and Livy hated him, though. He said some things to her that seemed to stab at her heart, and despite how Livy might have provoked the statement out of him, she still saw what he said uncalled for and hurtful.
It usually had to do with either her real mother and/or adoptive mother. It was a fling to her face to remind her that she had two mothers and she lost both.
After a remark like that from Roy, she usually got very quiet. She'd drop whatever argument they were having, and stalked away from him, and closed herself off from everyone.
Once she was sure nobody was looking, she would cry. It would be heavy sobs but it would only last for about two minutes. She'd have a good cry, then get up again, and then she would resume her life like nothing happened.
Jason noticed the reactions though. He once heard the conversation Roy and Livy were having and saw the events play out.
Jason walked into the house and could hear Roy and Livy fighting in the other room.
"Roy, gimme back my book!"
"Awww, the little shorty wants her book back." Laughed Roy and Jason could practically see his daughter trying to retrieve the book from the man's grasp, but to no avail.
He then heard a sharp OW come from Roy, and he figured that Livy probably kicked him.
"Little Bitch." Roy grunted.
"You're the one who started it, dickhead!"
"Well you're father's a dickhead!"
"He is not, and at least I have a father!" Livy shot back.
Then came the blow.
"Well, at least my mother didn't commit suicide after giving birth to me!" Roy exclaimed. Once hearing those words exit Roy's mouth, Jason ran into the room.
He could see Livy holding her book limply to her side, and her eyes were locked on Roy, her face full of hurt. He watched her take in a deep breath, and calmly leave the room.
Jason looked at Roy, who had a dumbfounded look on his face. Jason drove his fist into the man's stomach, and grabbed his long hair, pulling it back harshly.
"Do not talk about her mother that way. Don't you ever say that to her again. Am I clear?"
Roy gave a short nod, and Jason ran out of the room to get Livy. However, she was gone.
Jason slowly crept upstairs, not making a sound, and he could hear muffled sobs coming from the closet in Jason's room.
Jason stood outside the closet door, listening as her sobs lessened. He could hear her take in a deep breath, and then she opened the door.
Livy's eyes widened when she saw Jason, but she smiled at him happily. It didn't even look like she had been crying.
"Hey Jason. Sorry, I was just… looking for my book." She held up her hand, holding the book that she had been holding after the fight. "I found it. I'm just gonna go on the couch and read it." She informed with a smile and a small chuckle.
Jason watched as she skipped out of the room. He then looked into his closet.
He saw one of his bigger shirts bunched up almost as if to resemble a blob of a teddy bear. He could see where Livy squeezed it and where she buried her face. It was wet with tears.
Jason walked down stairs and saw Livy curled up on the couch, reading her book.
He sat down next to her, and gently placed a hand on her head. She looked up at him with a smile.
"Hi Jason." She grinned.
"Hello, Livy." He said in a gentle tone, returning the smile. "Are you enjoying your book?" he questioned and she nodded her head.
"Yes. It's sweet." She informed. She was reading 'The Tales of Desperux' that Kor'i had gotten her.
"I'm glad you're enjoying it." Jason nodded. He then swiftly picked Livy up, twirled her around, and sat back on the couch, but was hugging her tightly.
Livy dropped the book she was holding and hugged Jason back, curling into his hug, enjoying the embrace.
"You know, Livy, that's alright to cry in front of people. There's nothing wrong with that." Jason informed. He paused, and Livy didn't answer him. "Livy?" he questioned. Her face was turned away from him, but he could hear a shaky sob, and he felt her small body quivering in his grasp.
Jason patted her back and rocked her gently in his arms.
"It's alright, Livy." He soothed as he kissed the top of her head. "It's alright."
Jason loved Livy, and Livy loved Jason. He was the perfect father, well, in her eyes anyway.
However, what Livy was doing roaming around the beach wasn't so she could find somewhere private to cry, no, she wasn't upset about Roy. She just liked pissing him off.
Livy was sight-seeing. She felt connected to her mother while in Puerto Rico.
"I wonder if she was ever at this beach?" she mumbled to herself. She then started to travel into some of the neighborhoods.
"I wonder what her life was like here." She muttered. Jason told her a lot about Indira when they were at her grave, but that was only what the Indira and Jason did, not much about Indira's life in Puerto Rico was explained to her.
"Hola niña." Livy turned around to see a group of three boys following her.
"Hola." She nodded.
"You're not from around here, are you?" one of the boys questioned, and Livy shrugged.
"Not really." She answered. The boys were about thirteen, making them three years older than herself. She felt like that if they attacked she would be able to handle them, but they made no advances on her.
"Where are you from?" questioned the one boy who appeared to be the leader.
"I've been hoping around. I've been to Germany, and Italy, and France, and America, and some islands." She informed. The boy raised an eyebrow.
"So you're a traveler."
~*~*~*~*~15 minutes later~*~*~*~*~
"Viajerita!" one of the boys that Livy recognized as Raphael exclaimed. The boys gave Livy the nick name of Little Traveler.
Livy responded to the name and the boy passed her the basketball.
She swirled around with the ball and shot the ball into the air, making the basket.
"Ay dios mio!" one of the boys, that Livy knew as Benigno exclaimed.
"Yeah, Raphael you cheated. Viajerita must've been a pro basketball player before she came here." Jaivin, the other boy, stated.
"I never played basketball before. How could I be a pro?" Livy questioned with a smirk.
"Never played before? What have you been doing then in your free time?" Benigno questioned, and Livy shrugged.
"Reading." She answered, glancing over at her book that was on the side of the basketball court.
"You should take up Basketball." Raphael chuckled.
"So, let's play another game." Livy smiled and the children started to dribble the ball.
They were playing in a facility that was for kids to come to when their family weren't around for them. It was a place for kids to have fun and stay off of the streets.
The founder of the facility was leaning against the wall of the building grinning as he watched the kids play.
He wished that when he was a kid there was a place where he could have gone other than the streets. It would have saved him a lot of pain.
His smile quickly dropped to concern when he noticed the girl who was playing with the boys fell onto the pavement harshly. He could see that she quickly got back up, but the boys looked concerned.
"Sr. Colon!" exclaimed Raphael, seeing the man. "She needs help!"
The man ran onto the court to see Livy, who was trying to assure her friends that she was fine and they had nothing to worry about, but her legs were terribly scratched up from the brush burn she received on the pavement, and blood trickled down her legs.
"Let me help you." He said gently to the girl. "We need to clean out that brush burn so it doesn't get infected, alright?"
Livy nodded, and followed the man inside, leaving the three boys on the court.
The man took Livy inside the building and to his 'infirmary' that had cots and medical equipment, but was empty. Not many people got injured in his facility.
"Why don't you sit down while I get some iodine and cotton balls." The man said gently, and Livy did so.
"So, I heard the boys calling you Viajerita. Do you travel often?" he inquired, making some small talk as he poured some iodine onto the cotton ball.
"Yeah. I've been to a lot of places." Livy nodded, and winced slightly when the iodine made contact with her open wound. She looked over onto the man's desk to see a picture of four boys and a girl. Her eyes widened as she focused on the girl.
Jason had showed her a picture of her mother once, and that girl looked just like her.
"Who is that all in the picture?" she inquired. The man looked over and raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, that's me and some of my old friends. We used to be together very often." He nodded.
"Who's the girl?" Livy inquired.
"The girl? That's Bajita. At least, that's what we called her." The man chuckled slightly. "She was a great girl. We used to joke around with her all the time. She would always call me absent minded because I forgot things so easily. She would exclaim, "Tito, your forgetfulness is going to be the death of us."" He sighed, his mind on the memories. "She was such an amazing girl. She would sing, and play chess, but she had a knack for trouble. Just always got into it, and she'd always get hurt." He sighed. "But she was stubborn. Always stubborn and nothing you could say or do could sway her from a decision once her mind was made up."
"What was her real name?" Livy inquired.
"Bajita? Her name was…"
"Viajerita." Livy looked up, already used to the name, and Raphael was standing in the doorway, holding her book. "I thought you should have your book." He smiled.
"Thanks Raphael." Livy smiled, but her eyes lingered on the book thinking of Roy, which led her thoughts to Jason.
"What time is it?" she inquired and the man looked at the clock.
"It's 7:30, why?" Livy's eyes widened.
"My Dad's probably worried sick." She sighed heavily. Despite the fact that Jason knew Livy could handle herself, that still didn't make him not slightly paranoid. He didn't mind her going out, but when she wasn't back home when she said that she would, his mind went to the worst thought possible.
"You can use my phone if you want to call him." Raphael suggested as he dug his phone out of his pocket.
"I think I can walk home myself." Livy shrugged, but the man gave her a warning look.
"Niña, it's dangerous at night alone. Please call your father. Or I could walk you home if you want."
"I'll call him." She said after a pause. Jason had some disposable phones that she could call.
Livy dialed the number and it was immediately picked up.
"Livy?" she heard Jason's panicked voice question.
"I'm sorry Jason. I was playing basketball at a facility down the road and I didn't notice the time. Can you pick me up?" she inquired, and she could hear Jason exhale in relief.
"Sure thing. I'll be over as quick as I can." He informed, then hung up.
"Thank you, Raphael." She grinned, handing the phone back to him.
"No problem." The boy smiled, and then could hear a car honk. "That's my dad. Are you coming back tomorrow?" Raphael inquired and Livy shrugged.
"Maybe. My family moves around a lot, so I may be here tomorrow and I might not." She shrugged, but then hugged the boy. "It was fun playing with you and your friends. Thank you for including me." She smiled. Raphael grinned back at her.
"No problem." The car honked again, and Raphael sprinted to it.
The man looked down at Livy, then at the picture he had. The girl looked familiar. She looked a lot like…
The man raised an eyebrow as he looked at Livy, who was waiting for her father while reading her book.
He went over to his desk and pulled out one of the last letters he received from his best friend. In it was a picture of her and her boyfriend.
The man looked at the boyfriend, then at Livy.
The resemblance was uncanny.
There was a knock on the door, and the man opened it, and his eyes widened at the sight. It was the boyfriend in the picture, but older.
"Jason?" he questioned. Livy looked up at her father.
"You know Sr. Colon?" Livy inquired. Jason looked at the man, still shocked.
"Personally, no. I don't. but your mother did." Jason nodded. "Am I right, Tito?"
