(Isa's POV:)
I silently watched my kids as they slept soundlessly in the large bed. Salty tears flowed down my face, as I pushed Natti's bronze-colored curls from her face, along with Santi's chocolate-colored curls. I marvel at the fact that two of the greatest things that I was gifted came from such a horrendous asshole of a person.
I worried that they would be exactly like him when they were first born, yet have found, with tremendous relief, that they aren't anything like him at all. Well maybe, slightly in complexion, but that was it.
What happened today had obviously affected us all greatly. Yet, Santi and Natti had seemed more upset earlier by what had happened than I was. Almost too upset.
It worried me to no end that this could set back what little adjustments they might have made upon arriving in Madrid.
I could still remember as we began leaving the stadium, both of them clutched onto my waist, walking closer to me as we were guided to my sister's minivan.
They hardly spoke a word as we ate dinner, hardly having a bite to eat.
Even as they slept now, the small v that formed earlier hadn't left their faces even as they slept.
My heart was breaking for them, overwhelming me, and practically suffocating me, leaving me feeling as if I was drowning in despair because of the situation. I can see I am not the only one who was affected by what had happened earlier.
Even now after a few hours of this happening it is clear we are all still bothered by what had happened.
A soft knock causes me to jump, before wiping my eyes and getting up to check who was at the door.
My sister stood there, looking more concerned than before as she saw the state I was in.
"Necesitamos hablar contigo." She softly said, peeking over my shoulder to look at the kids. (We need to speak to you.)
"En un momento saldré," I replied softly. (I'll be out in a minute.)
She nods in response before pointing in the direction of the living room and holding up her hand in a 'five-minute' gesture, to which I crack a smile, before slowly closing the door.
I quickly head towards the closet, and pull out a pair of leggings and a thick cable knit sweater and quickly change into them. Then heading into the bathroom to wash my face, before heading out of the room and to the living room.
My sister and Gio were sitting on one of the loveseats that were placed in the living room.
"¿De qué quieren hablar?" I asked, quietly, as I sat down in one of the chairs across from them. (What did you want to talk about?)
"Queríamos hablar contigo sobre lo que pasó antes. Estamos preocupados y creemos que usted y los niños deberían quedarse aquí." My sister explained. (We wanted to talk to you about what happened earlier. We are worried and think you and the kids should stay here.)
"Eso es muy considerado por su parte, pero no creo que pueda aceptar esa oferta." I replied, as my eyes watered. (That is very thoughtful of you guys, but I don't think I can accept that offer.)
My sister stood up, walking over to me with annoyance. "¿Porque diablos no? ¿Qué? ¿Prefieres que te pase algo a ti oa uno de tus hijos? No sabemos lo que quiere ese idiota. Ustedes tres están en peligro. Ustedes tres se quedan aquí. Y punto." She growled as she shot to her feet and began to pace around the room. (Why in the hell not? What? Would you rather something happen to you or one of your children? We don't know what that idiot wants. You three are in danger. You three are staying here. Period.)
"Es exactamente por eso que tenemos que ir a otro lugar. No quiero que le pase algo a uno de ustedes por mi culpa." I explained, as my eyes watered again, standing up too and burying my hands into my hair. (That is exactly why we have to go somewhere else. I don't want something to happen to one of you because of me.)
Gio stood up and made his way over to where my sister and I stood, before throwing his arms around our shoulders.
"Isa, esto es algo que quizás debamos hacer hasta que hablemos con un abogado. Piense en ello como algo temporal. Si bien es posible que no desee hacerlo, por favor considéralo. Solo para darnos un poco de tranquilidad." He pleaded, giving my sister an exasperated look, "Amor, porque no vas a descansar un poco? Yo hablo con Isa.." (Isa, this is something that we may need to do until we speak to a lawyer. Think of it as temporary. While you might not want to do it, please consider it. Just to give us a little bit of peace of mind./Love, why don't you go get some rest? I will talk to Isa.)
I watched my sister scoff before sighing and reaching up to kiss his cheek before turning to pull me into a hug. "Te amo 'manita. Espero que te des cuenta de eso." She whispered before letting go of me, kissing my cheek, and walking away. (I love you, sis. I hope you realize that.)
I drew in a shake breath as I watched her disappear into the hall, dropping heavily into the chair and roughly wiping away the tears from my face.
"You do know she is only reacting like this because she is terrified something will happen to you, right?" He asked as he sat across from me.
I nod silently, as I try not to start crying again, failing miserably when the tears fell anyway. "Gio, you realize that this could get ugly for me? I don't want you or Pilar or my nephews to get hurt." I replied, softly, lowering my head into my hands.
"Déjame decirte algo, 'manita ..." I heard him say. (Let me tell you something, sis…)
"Que…?" I asked, lifting my head to look at him when he didn't respond.(What?)
I knew he was about to make a good argument from his tone of voice. He always did this to my sister, and made me laugh whenever they were in a heated argument. Now that I was on this end of that tone I wasn't too amused.
"En el momento en que me casé con tu hermana, ella se convirtió en mi familia. Su familia ahora es mi familia también. Eso te incluye a ti y a tus hijos. Déjame decirte algo más, yo cuido a mi gente, nuevamente, eso los incluye a ustedes tres también. Así que sí, eso significa que te cuidaré. Porque eso es lo que hace un hermano por una hermana, y no quiero oír más sobre eso. Esta mierda se acabó.." He said, fiercely. (The moment I married your sister, she became my family. Her family is now my family as well. That includes you and your children. Let me tell you something else, I take care of my people, again, that includes you three too. So yeah, that means I'll watch out for you. Because that's what a brother does for a sister,and I don't want to hear any more about it. This shit is over.)
I groaned in response realizing that he and my sister weren't about to let me put myself into danger. "Ustedes dos no van a hacer esto fácil para mí, ¿verdad?" I groaned again. (You two aren't going to make this easy on me, are you?)
"You bet your ass we won't." He replied immediately, smirking in amusement at me.
"Jackass." I replied, smiling at him.
"You know you love us." He teased, letting out a chuckle.
"Wouldn't be here if I didn't." I mumbled with an eye roll.
I sighed, remember again all that had happened here. "Maybe if I hadn't come back he would have left me alone." I muttered, rubbing a hand over my face tiredly.
"Something tells me that isn't the case, sis. Do me a favor and call your lawyer first thing tomorrow morning." Gio said looking down at his watch. "On that thought, we should head to bed. Call as soon as possible and tell us what is going on, alright?" He said, as we both stood up.
"Alright." I sighed.
"Espero que sepas que estamos haciendo esto por que te queremos. Y no nos gustaría que algo le pasara a ti o a uno de tus hijos." He whispered, before kissing my forehead and ruffing my hair and leaving to bed. (I hope you know that we are doing this because we love you. And we would not like something to happen to you or one of your children.)
I sat there staring blankly down at my hands for a while after everyone had gone to bed, preferring to stay here than toss and turn in the bed and end up waking up Natti and Santi.
After a while I gave up on sleep when I realized it was now five in the morning, opting to grab my phone from the room before walking back out again.
After a few taps on the screen of my phone, I found the familiar number of the one person who I knew would help me with this situation.
In hopes of finding a solution, I took a deep breath before sliding my finger across the screen and pressing it to my ear as it began to ring shrilly.