"Where you been?" Rio's brother, Marcus, asked as he walked into the kitchen at two a.m.
Marcus had laid eight Triscuits out on a plate and was sprinkling cheese on top of them before he popped them into the microwave.
"At Dylan's," Rio answered, hopping up on the counter and taking a handful of crackers out of the box. "What you been up to?"
"You know," Marcus shrugged, taking the plate out of the microwave and shaking some hot sauce on to his Triscuit nachos. "Doing what I do. You and Dylan have another fight?"
Rio grinned and shook his head. "What else?"
"You two don't seem to get along that good."
"Not everybody can be you and Lupe," Rio remarked, stealing a cheese-covered cracker from his brother's plate.
Marcus smiled at the mention of his girlfriend and soon to be fiancée. He'd shown Rio the diamond ring he'd bought her the weekend before and was planning on popping the question on the 4th of July. "Fireworks," he'd said in response to Rio's questioning why as if that explained it all.
Grabbing a paper from the fridge, Marcus handed it to Rio. "Your ACT scores came in, hermanito gordito." Rio gritted his teeth, stifling the urge to punch his brother in the arm. He hated that nickname. "Mom was so proud of you she put it on the fridge."
Barely glancing at the score, he handed it back to his brother. "So?"
His brother looked incredulous. "So? So? You've got a future, Rio. You should be more excited."
Leaning his head back against the cabinets, he closed his eyes. He knew where his brother was headed. At twenty-three, Marcus thought he knew all the answers. With Pops gone, he'd assumed the role of man of the house. Well, he wasn't the only man in this house and Rio wasn't about to let Marcus boss him around, older brother or not.
"You got a 98 on this test. I don't know much but I know numbers close to a hundred are good. Open you eyes, Rio. You can get outta here. You could get mom and Maria outta here too."
Rio shook his head. "Marcus, this ain't no Stand and Deliver. I ain't got no big dreams of going to college and sh—."
Marcus slammed the plastic cup he'd been drinking out of on the counter. "Well, maybe you should!" he shouted. "Maybe you should want to be more than Devante's little lackey."
"Your jealousy's showing, hermano," Rio spat. "It's not my fault Devante's sick of all your screw ups. He knows that I can handle business. Hell, I had to cover for you last week, didn't I? You were late and pissed off that buyer. If I hadn't helped smooth things over, your ass would be grass and you know it. So instead of this lecture, how about you recognize what I did for you and say thanks or if you can't do that how 'bout you shut the hell up."
Rio knew he'd hit below the belt but he was so sick and tired of his brother's self-righteous and preachy attitude.
"Excuse me for giving a damn about you," Marcus spat back. "You're doing little stuff for Devante now, but what about when he wants you to off someone? Huh, what you gonna do then? You act all big and tough. You ain't grown. You haven't even begun to see what this life is like. Sorry if I want to protect you from all that. Maybe I don't want my little brother to grow up like me. Maybe I don't want you to always have to worry about getting shot or being arrested. Maybe I want you to have a better life."
Hopping off the counter, Rio reached for the vodka on the top shelf of the pantry. Pouring himself a glass, he shook his head. "You're delusional. This is my only path in life. And I'll do whatever it takes to make it."
Marcus shook his head, his eyes pleading with his brother. "You don't understand. It changes you. Seeing them walking and talking one moment and then all of a sudden they're down on the ground, not moving. And you can't undo what you did. There's no going back. You can't turn yourself in, but you got to live with it. Live with the fact that you took someone's life. You're my brother and I love you. I don't want you to have regrets like I do."
Rio nodded his head, placatingly. Marcus was soft. No wonder why Devante was turning to him more and more and leaving his older brother in the dark. What Marcus said was true. He hadn't had to kill anyone yet, but he knew if the time came he'd be able to handle it. His brother needed to butt out of his business.
"You don't get it. You think you're some big, bad cholo. Who knows maybe you will be? Maybe you'll run this whole town. But this," Marcus said, holding up the paper with his test score. "Is another path you could take. A 98 is a really high score maybe you could get some scholarships or something. Why don't you ask that girl, Beth? She seems like she would know about this type of thing. Maybe she could help you out?"
His brother bringing up the already sore subject of Elizabeth finally did him in. Swallowing the rest of his drink, he turned towards his brother and went in for the kill. "You want to know the real reason Devante's depending on me? Because you need brains to run this operation and you ain't got none. And by the way you can't make a 98 on the ACT. The highest score is a 36. I made a 33. The 98 is just the percentile. Of course, your dyslexic ass is too stupid to understand any of that. If you've got any more opinions, keep them to yourself," Rio hissed before stalking off towards his bedroom.
Beth opened the door to a decidedly cheerful Ruby. Her best friend waltzed into her house as if she were on cloud nine.
"I'm guessing last night went well," Beth remarked.
Ruby did an uncharacteristic twirl before plopping down on the couch. "Stan told me he loved me and then we made out in his car. A LOT."
Beth smiled. Although genuinely happy for her friend, she felt a little pang of jealousy. No man had ever told her he loved her, not even Dean. Well, technically he had, but he hadn't meant it. He'd only said it when he wanted something. Pushing aside her jealousy, Beth replied, "So tell me all about it..."
"Well, we went to go see Kickboxer 3 which was surprisingly good."
"Really?" Beth asked, wrinkling her nose.
"No, it's the worst one of the three."
"You've seen all three Kickboxers?"
Ruby shook her head as if she herself couldn't believe it. "Stan LOVES the Kickboxer franchise and I love Stan so yeah, I've seen all three. We'd already seen all the other movies that were out anyway. So...we're walking back to his car when he stops, turns me around to face him, and places the gentlest kiss on my lips. Then, he says I love you, Ruby Johnson." Ruby imitated Stan's deep baritone.
"What'd you say?"
"I was in shock so I just said thank you," Ruby laughed. "It was so awkward. And he was staring at me looking like a wounded puppy. Then, my brain finally kicked in and I said I loved him too. And then..."
"Y'all got busy in his car," Beth teased.
"Yeah, we did," Ruby boasted. Biting her lip, she said, "Beth, I think I'm going to marry him. I know I'm always talking about how stupid it is to fall in the love with the first guy you meet and how marrying your high school sweetheart never works out, but I think Stanley Hill is the ONE for me. I can't imagine feeling this way about anyone else. He makes me laugh. He makes me feel safe. He makes me feel wanted and needed. I...I just love him so much."
Beth teared up at her friend's description of her relationship. She liked Stan a lot and he was the perfect match for Ruby. She hoped one day that she could have a relationship like theirs.
"How did last night go with you and Dean?" Ruby asked, slipping off her shoes and making herself comfortable on the couch.
"It didn't," Beth replied. "You want some cookies? I just made some."
"Yeah, I'll take a couple. Why not? What happened?"
As they snacked on cookies, Beth caught Ruby up on all the mall drama from yesterday.
Finishing up her chocolate chunk cookie, Ruby shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe he took Cindy home."
"I can," Beth said, rolling her eyes. "There's something weird going on there. I think they must have gotten together while Dean and I were broken up. She was super clingy. Well, she can have him. Good riddance."
Shooting her a look, Ruby asked suspiciously, "Really? Are you really over?"
Beth nodded. "Yeah. I'm done with his crap. It wasn't until I realized how happy I was not having to sleep with him that I knew I needed to end things. I called him last night and told him it was over. For good."
Ruby stood up. "I'm in love. You're living douche-free. This calls for a celebration. Annie?" Ruby hollered down the hall.
"Yes," the blonde moppet called, sticking her head out of her room.
"You want to go roller skating?"
The lights were off at Beth's house as he parked across the street. Jogging quietly, he crossed the street and headed for the tree by her window. Making quick work of the climb, he tested the window. It came up easily. Beth had left it unlocked.
It was only 9:45 but it was unusual for Beth to be out this late especially when she was in charge of taking care of her sister. He sat down on her bed. Feeling tired, he shrugged out of his shoes, laid down on her bed, propping himself up against her pillows. It might be a while before she got back and he needed a little shut eye. He'd argued with Dylan until 1:30 in the morning. Then, he'd gotten home and got into it with his brother. On top of that was the decision he'd made about Beth so needless to say he hadn't had a very restful night. The softness of her bed was inviting. The scent of her shampoo wafted from the pillow. Within minutes, he was sound asleep.
Walking into her room, Beth had expected to see Rio. She'd noticed his car as she and Annie had pulled in from a night of roller skating and ice cream sundaes with Ruby. She'd put her little sister to bed before heading to her room. What surprised her was not finding Rio there, but finding him there asleep. Turning on her lamp instead of the ceiling light, a soft glow fell over his resting form. Her eyes swept lovingly at his tall, lanky albeit muscular frame, his full bottom lip, and the long dark lashes that made many a girl envious. She giggled to herself. He was completely out of it. Must've been a long night last night.
As she stood there watching him sleeping, she remembered the Oprah rerun she'd watched earlier. It had been about empowerment and taking charge of your life. Instead of hoping and wishing for things to happen, the psychiatrist had urged viewers to go out and grab what they wanted. Nothing came free. Nothing was just handed to you. You had to reach out and take it.
Feeling emboldened, Beth set her purse down next to the door and slipped off her sandals. She began to approach the side of the bed where Rio lay sleeping. Pausing a couple of feet before him, she shimmied out of the blue panties she'd been wearing under her dress. Lifting the hem of her skirt slightly, she sunk one knee onto the side of the mattress and swung the other onto the other side of Rio's hip before settling squarely on Rio's lap.
Tonight was the night Beth Marks was going to reach out and grab what she wanted from life.