There is no music in the house the next day. The unusual silence hits Elena's senses before she opens her eyes. She sits up and listens closer. No guitar music, no singing, no talking for that matter. Everyone must still be asleep. Elena gets out of bed and slowly pushes her door open. The amount of sunlight that greets her causes her to squint briefly.
If everyone's still sleeping, then at least she won't have to be confronted. It's only a matter of time before everyone-- including Héctor-- wakes up. Then it won't be long before everyone interrogates Elena, finding out about what she'd done. How will she make it up to him?
She hears hushed talking in Héctor and Mamá Imelda's bedroom and she pauses just outside their doorway. Héctor's face is what gets her the most. Tear-stained with a striken expression. It doesn't take Elena long to figure out that Héctor didn't get much sleep last night after him and Elena's argument. And, for once, Elena doesn't feel any anger towards him this time around. She watches him carefully, listening to him and Imelda's whispered voices.
"She broke it? When?"
"Last night." Héctor sighs and Elena sees him steal a glance at the broken guitar, no better than it was after Elena bashed it up.
Mamá Imelda huffs. "I'll talk to her, okay? Maybe we can get it fixed."
"It can't be fixed." Elena startles as Héctor's voice cracks with emotion.
Mamá Imelda sighs and puts a hand on Héctor's shoulder. "I will be talking to Elena about this. And then we'll see what we can do about your guitar." She smiles. "I'd love to hear the song you're working on once it's finished."
Elena darts to her room just as Mamá Imelda steps out into the hallway. Moments later, Elena hears her bedroom door open.
She tells Mamá Imelda everything: how she's been trying to ask Héctor why he left his familia, how she'd looked through Héctor's photo album in secret, how Héctor caught her, and how she broke Héctor's guitar out of pure rage.
Ater Elena finishes, she turns away, realizing how stupid her choices were, and how selfish she was.
"I thought he deserved it at the time," she explains. "I wanted him to be miserable. I wanted to make him feel ashamed." She sighs. "But I didn't even give him a chance. Well, I did, but not for long. And after looking through his photos, I just... lost it."
Mamá Imelda nods and straightens her seating position, fidgeting with her hands a little. "You lost your temper and broke his guitar."
Elena sighs, feeling a sense of shame. "He kept dodging my questions. And when he did answer them, his answers were lies." Elena looks away again. "I used to believe he was better off forgotten. That he could never be forgiven for leaving."
Mamá Imelda nods again. "I used to think the same thing."
Elena glances behind her at her bedroom door. "I just want to make it up to him."
Mamá Imelda leans back in her seat. Then she smiles. "Why don't you try talking again?"
Elena widens her eyes. "But--"
Imelda cuts her off. "He doesn't have to give you all the answers you want, but if you two talk about it, you can ask him your questions. And this time, you accept the answers you do recieve." She pauses, then adds, "Without losing your temper. Or destroying his things."
Elena thinks about that. "Do you think he'll even want to talk to me?"
Mamá Imelda stands up. "Only one way to find out. But he's never been one to hold grudges."
She gives Elena one more smile before exiting, closing the door halfway and leaving Elena alone with her thoughts.
After a few minutes, Elena reluctantly heads back to Héctor and Imelda's room.
Héctor stiffens when he hears footsteps behind him. He whips around, coming face-to-face with Elena and letting out a small yell.
"What are you doing here?" he asks. He tenses as he watches Elena's eyes drift to his broken instrument.
Elena regards him again. "I just want to ask you a few things."
Héctor draws in a breath and starts to speak, but Elena holds up her hand to stop him.
"You don't have to tell me everything. It was wrong of me to push you. But I do want answers."
Héctor sighs, once again looking at his guitar and his notebook, which contains his now almost finished song. He swallows and turns back to Elena, taking a seat on his side of the bed. He gives her a small smile as she slowly takes a seat next to him
"What do you want to know?" he asks.