Thank you for beta'ing, MsSchneeheide! ¡Felíz Cinco de Mayo!
"Mama."
Blanca snaps back into reality as her stomach growls. She looks down at the small figure and feels a tug on her tattered skirt.
"Mama, I'm hungry! When are we gonna eat?"
"Oh, Raiza..." Blanca lifts the little girl into her lap and kisses the top of her head. It's almost four in the afternoon and with the exception of Maritza, they haven't eaten in over twelve hours. The three of them are shivering in the bitter cold.
Unfortunately, Blanca and Maritza together have just not made enough for themselves and Raiza to keep their place. Blanca hadn't been able to afford rent on the first, she was out of work for two weeks since Martin Van Buren High wasn't in session, and Millie didn't give her any vacation pay. They'd gotten an eviction notice last week since the owners had sold the property before the grace period was up.
At first, Karla and Ramón had gotten them settled into a shelter in the Bronx. It was nice for a while, but last night, there was no room in the shelter and they had to sleep outside with Raiza cuddled in Blanca's long black peacoat. They're now sitting on a street corner next to a few bulging suitcases and an abandoned shopping cart.
Blanca would've asked Diablo if she and her daughters could stay with him, but she doesn't want to keep inconveniencing her people or hear Maritza accusing her of forcing her boyfriend into the children's lives. Even if the girl likes him, she probably wouldn't want them to live with him. Besides, she can't put anyone else at risk more than she probably already has.
"Mama!"
Blanca feels guilty about not answering her daughter's question. The problem is, she doesn't know the answer.
"Mari! ¿Cuándo vamos a comer? I want a nana and ice cream and sprinkles and whipped cream!"
When are we gonna eat?
Maritza sighs. "No lo sé, Raiza."
I don't know.
"Why?"
"I just don't, okay?"
"Mama," Raiza groans and flops down into Blanca's lap.
"When we can afford something to eat."
"Yeah, we have to beg now, because Mom made a stupid choice to marry that a-"
"Maritza Diana!" Blanca snaps.
"Lo siento," she mutters.
It's still raining and thundering. They're trying their best to not get drenched by staying under an overhang in New York City. Maritza had insisted they bus here so their friends wouldn't see them. Nobody they know lives in the city, really. It's a wonder that the Diazes had never noticed Gloria homeless in the Bronx since that's their borough. The Floreses don't want to risk it.
Raiza whimpers and hides further inside Blanca's coat. "I'm afraid of the scary noises and the bad man."
"Yo también..."
"Come on, hurry, we have to make the bus!" Blanca urges her children. She, Maritza, and Raiza are running as fast as they can, with Blanca wheeling along two suitcases and Maritza pushing Raiza in a stroller. They're also wearing backpacks. All of a sudden, Blanca trips over a crack in the uneven pavement and falls forward, landing hard on her hands and knees, her forearms crushed between her chest and the handles of both suitcases, probably bruising them up. She's filled with searing, burning pain, and cries out.
"Ay dios mío, Mami..." Maritza sighs and bends down to assist Blanca into a standing position. They both gasp. "Estás sangrando...like, bad!"
You're bleeding
"Sí, I'm well aware..." Blanca groans as she lifts her long, worn-out cotton green skirt slightly. Her knees appear to be pretty banged up, too. When she stretches her hands out, they sting. She's breathing heavily as she and Maritza pick up the suitcases off the ground.
"Oh no! Mama got hurt again!" Raiza points out.
"Yes, she did..."
"You should get first aid," Maritza recommends.
"I don't see any! We're almost there, querida. ¡Vamos de prisa!" She waves them forward as she keeps going the same speed as she was before, despite her open wounds.
Come on, hurry!
Ten minutes later, they get to the bus stop as their mode of transport is just arriving. Blanca frantically looks over her shoulder to see if he's followed them, but luckily, he hasn't. They go up the wheelchair ramp and sit down. By this point, Blanca is feeling lightheaded after seeing smeared bloodstains on the concrete combined with her own scrapes. Her heart rate starts to drop along with the adrenaline that was pumping through her veins earlier as she tilts her head back against the seat and closes her eyes while ripping away parts of her old skirt and wrapping it snugly around the areas that are bleeding. She's gasping in and out as she does so.
"Mami, you need to drink something...aquí." Maritza digs out a water bottle from her backpack and hands it to Blanca. "You look hella pale."
"Ay dios...I'm so weak," Blanca mumbles as she struggles to take off the cover. Maritza does it for her and Blanca takes a few gulps.
"Here, Mommy, you're all sweaty," Raiza waves a toy fan across Blanca's face.
"Oh, gracias, nenas," she murmurs.
Blanca still feels sick, so she lays down with her head on the suitcases and her legs elevated across Maritza's lap. She drifts off to sleep until they reach their destination. She only keeps her makeshift tourniquet on for two hours before finding a place to wash her hands with soap and water and apply band-aids for her injuries.
A rapping on the door turns to banging and Karla is afraid to answer it. She'd looked out the window, seen Carlos Litvack's angry face, and had gone back to watching television.
"Does this asshole have to be loud right now? I just got our son to sleep," Ramón mutters. "What do you want?" he asks.
"Open up!" the faint gruff voice commands. "It's the police. I have a search warrant!"
"Ramón, por favor, don't let him in..." Karla practically begs him. She rises from the sofa and trudges toward her husband, trying to stay quiet. The cat is meowing like crazy.
"Es la policia," he states. "Pero no hicimos nada malo."
It's the police, but we didn't do anything wrong.
"Come on, I know she's in there!" Litvack yells from outside. "Don't make me break in!"
"Who are you talking about?" Ramón wonders aloud.
"Your friend and her little twerps!"
"What..."
"He thinks we're hiding Blanca, Maritza, and Raiza, but we're not." Karla sighs sharply. "Fine, he can search since he has a warrant." She does her best not to show any fear when Ramón unlocks the door. Her rapist storms in and flashes his warrant card that holds his badge and photo ID. Hiding behind Ramón, Karla can see that Litvack has the same baseball cap on that he wore when she was in high school and he still doesn't know how to put on sunglasses correctly. He sidesteps Ramón and glances around, his eyes narrowing and darkness clouding his features. The cat hisses at him, but he ignores the Córdovas' pet. It skitters away.
"Hey, tiny tits, I thought your right-hand woman would be here," he says, his tone rough.
Ramón takes a protective stance in front of Karla. "Don't call her that!"
Litvack just punches him down to the floor and she shrieks while clapping her hand over her mouth. She starts kneeling down to assist him back to his feet, but Litvack grabs her. He traps Karla between him and the wall, clamping his hands around her forearms in a vise grip, hurting her. "Where is she, huh, you bitch?" She gasps in and out rapidly. He shakes her, his nails piercing her flesh. "I know those runts of hers are probably concealed in cupboards!"
"No..." Karla shakes her head while staring at the carpet. "They aren't here..."
"Liar!" he hollers in her face and then strikes her with his open hand. She suddenly feels numb as she whimpers and holds her cheek, her palm slightly touching her mouth. She pulls her hand back from her lips and sees blood.
"The terror in your eyes really gets me hard, it reminds me of our first night together." Litvack winks at her and struts away as he continues his search.
"Ohhh..." Ramón groans as he gets himself up again. "Mi amor, you need ice."
"So do you!" Karla points out, still trembling. He's developing a shiner. "The cops can't assault us, we need to report him..."
"Thank goodness Ford and Donaldson are on the force..."
"Mm-hm...they're the only useful officers." Karla blots her wound with a Kleenex and then presses a baggie filled with ice to it.
"They're nowhere to be seen in this dump," Litvack reports as he pulls his gun from his duty belt and cocks it.
"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing with that?" Ramón snaps. Litvack ignores him and heads towards her in a brisk manner, waving his weapon in her direction. Her husband keeps her behind him. "You won't be touching her again, asshole."
"Outta my way!" he growls and shoves Ramón, but he stays rigidly upright this time. Litvack yanks Karla to him with the gun pushing into her jaw. She gulps and starts breathing raggedly. "I'll blow her brains out if you don't shut up. Now..." He turns Karla around to face him. "Where the fuck did your best friend and her brats go?!"
"I have no idea! I really don't, I'm sorry..." Karla hiccups and bursts into sobs as he slithers his hands under her shirt and inside of her pants. "Stop...please..." Ramón tries his hardest to get the animal off of her, but Litvack won't quit sexually abusing her.
"Oh, don't fib to me again, you're panting and so wet for me," he growls. Without warning, he pulls the trigger, the gun goes off, and Ramón is sprawled out on the floor, drenched in his own blood. Karla screams as she runs to him and then she spots Benji standing there with the kitty and bawling miserably.
Litvack throws his weapon at them and leaves the apartment, slamming the door behind him. Right away, Karla calls nine-one-one and comforts the little boy as best as she can. The cat licks him and he pets his favorite animal.
"Mami, this is Vee Parker," Maritza introduces. She turns to her boss and gestures to Blanca. "My mother, Blanca Flores. I'm really Maritza and my mom and I share the same last name, but Yessica Spencer is my alter ego. I didn't want anyone at my school to know I'm a maid." They're at a Starbucks way out of town, near the city.
"Nice to meet you, ma'am." Blanca smiles politely and extends her hand.
Vee shakes it and grins. "It's a pleasure meeting you, too. Your daughter is a delight, and she does very good work for such a young girl. She didn't even need an interview, I liked her when I first read over her résumé. I am lucky to have her services, and so are the customers."
"Well, that's fantastic. I hope that two hundred dollars a week will be enough to help with rent and bills," Blanca murmurs.
"Oh, me too. I hope you don't wind up homeless."
"Me neither."
"You're so lucky you got a woman pimp." Maritza takes a seat on the couch next to Nicky as she waits for her client. She's the only one still working because the brothel is far enough from Queens and the Bronx. Blanca has to find jobs elsewhere, unfortunately.
"Oh no, I just wanna get high and Enders is as gross as they come," the blonde mutters. "So I don't have it any better than you, squirt."
Maritza pouts. "Lo siento."
Nicky shrugs. "'S okay."
Humps storms up to Maritza and grabs her wrist as he pulls her to her feet. "Ow!" she yelps.
"You want food for your family, whore?" She stays silent as he drags her with him to where johns are waiting. "Then don't complain."
"I wasn't, you just stunned me and you can get hella scary sometimes...like my mami's ex."
"I wanna meet him, maybe we can both rape you and the other bitches in your little tribe of spics." He tosses her now trembling form down on the bed. "Make Cesar, Kubra, Duardo, and Joe Morello four very happy men." Humps gestures to them. She cringes at them appearing to be extremely horny for her. They're just so ugly.
Joe is an old white man in a wheelchair with his hands on his thighs and he licks his lips. "I want a lap dance and my boner in your mouth after it goes between your sweet cheeks while you ride me."
"You ready to start, you little bitch?!" Cesar booms and slaps her bottom. She jumps at his angry-sounding voice and quickly recognizes the bald Hispanic guy as Aleida's other boyfriend. She wonders if Aleida knows he does this.
The dusky Arabian-Kubra-sits on the other side of Maritza and leers at her, his eyes glued to her hot pink bodice. She squirms and shrinks into herself when he creeps his fingernail up and down her deep cleavage. "Quite a shame Aydin isn't here to see these tits, too. Oh well, at least that's one less friend to share you with."
"I dunno...I've never done a fivesome...but that's gonna be two hundred dollars for each of you."
They burst out cackling. "Oh, dearie, you're so naive...it's that price for all of your clients in this room," Duardo informs her.
Maritza glances at Humps for confirmation, and he nods with a twisted smirk. "You'll see that group fucking is so much fun...once, almost twenty years ago, me, Dixon, Hellman, and Litvack, we all screwed this high school Mexi-cunt, Karla." Maritza's heart stills for a second or two and she's gasping in and out as he continues his skeevy story. "She was fun-sized like you, but didn't have the greatest rack...just easy to plow into, since she laid there like a limp rag doll that cried occasionally. It was the best college experience of our lives! Hoo boy, we bonded over that moment...and we watch that pipsqueak whore taking a shower every damn night!"
Kubra starts snickering, and then Joe, Duardo, and Cesar join in.
"That's gang rape, actually," Maritza finally says in a quiet voice. "Seems like she didn't enjoy it as much as y'all thought."
Humps scoffs and ties her wrists and ankles together. "Shut your pie hole if you know what's good for ya, slut." He gets up as the perverts are coming toward her. "She likes sadomasochism, you know, chains, whips, and bondage," he lets them know as he leaves. Maritza is still shaking as he does so, and not just because she's being fondled by four mouths and dicks and eight hands.
It's all so uncomfortable, but at least she's being paid to get tortured.
"Oh shit, there's Clitvack!" Flaca whispers on the first day back from winter vacation in early January. She, Maritza, and their friends are all eating lunch. "I knew him from when he would constantly interrogate my cousin at his store in Arizona where I stocked shelves as a summer job...threatening to deport him back to Mexico all the time..."
"Clit," Elena murmurs, and the others giggle softly.
"You're a genius, Flaca," Cat praises her.
"Gracias..."
The name sounds familiar, almost like..."Who?" Maritza braces herself for the answer. She doesn't wish to turn around since she wouldn't want to be noticed if he's really here.
Flaca rolls her eyes. "Fuckin' Carlos Litvack. He still can't figure out how to wear his sunglasses. They're on the back of his head, as usual..."
Maritza gasps and ducks under the table. She's close to hyperventilating and having a full-blown panic attack. It's a sign that her mother needs to just forget about looking into another apartment and leave the area instead. If Litvack is here, then Dean can't be far behind him. She's just glad that Blanca had taken hours off to care for a sick Raiza at home. She squeezes her knees to her chest and rocks back and forth. Just when things had been looking up for them, everything had taken a turn for the worse.
"Whoa, chiquita, ¿qué pasó?" Flaca asks as she joins Maritza. The volume of her voice lowers as Maritza furiously shushes her with her index finger to her lips.
what happened?
"We have to get the hell outta here...but he can't see me," Maritza whispers, clutching Flaca's upper arms. She's so scared and tears build behind her eyes as a lump grows in her throat. She covers her mouth and hiccups.
"Why? ¿Qué te hizo ese cabrón?" Flaca asks gently, pulling her in close.
What did that asshole do to you?
"He's...es amigo de mi papá...y mi papá no está muerto, pero we're in real danger if he finds us. Lo siento that I lied, I didn't want you to worry..."
he is my dad's friend...and my dad is not dead
Flaca's eyes widen in shock and her jaw drops. "That motherfucker was nowhere near us, I just saw him from a distance," she tells Maritza, cupping her cheek. "There ain't no way he saw any of us. I can sneak you out, but first, I gotta let the girls-"
"Don't tell 'em nothin', por favor," Maritza begs her.
"Lo sé, I won't, I'll just say that you got your thing and I'm taking you to the nurse 'cause you ain't feelin' well."
Maritza sniffles, rubs her nose, and blinks her wet lashes. "Gracias..."
"De nada."
As they come out from under the table, Maritza stares daggers at the evil monster and subtly makes her hands into claws as she imagines scratching him up and choking him to death. The whole time Flaca is explaining to their friends that Maritza is ill from her period, Litvack seems to freeze in motion. His back is to them, and it remains that way until Maritza and Flaca leave the cafeteria. It's almost like he hadn't moved an inch.
When Maritza comes back from her job, it's after dark. Her gait is slow and beneath the streetlamp, her eyes are vacant, brimming with tears, and hollow with dark circles under them. She looks just as lost as Blanca feels.
Blanca has been crying on and off for the past few hours, worried about her oldest daughter and missing Diablo and all of her friends terribly. "Oh, gracias a Dios you're okay..." She wipes her eyes free of tears as Maritza kneels down beside them with a plastic bag full of something. She pulls out bottles of water, chips, and ready-made ham and cheese sandwiches and starts doling them out. Blanca squeaks in pleasant surprise and gently wakes Raiza up. The little girl stretches while yawning and then mumbles groggily.
"I got these for real cheap at Whole Foods para nuestra cena. I had mine in the cab."
for our dinner
"Ay, Maritza...¡gracias!" Blanca murmurs as she unwraps one of the sandwiches and gives it to Raiza to munch upon. She starts eating her own, but only half, since she wants to save it as much as possible. "Pero...can you ask your bosses if they can give you an earlier shift that gets you to where I am before the sun goes down?"
Maritza nods. "Okay, pero it depends when I finish."
"How was cleaning houses?"
"Estuvo bien."
It was fine.
"You didn't steal the rich people's food, ¿verdad?" Blanca asks jokingly, but she wouldn't blame Maritza for being at least tempted to.
"Nah." Maritza shakes her head no. "They don't got nothin' good anyway."
Blanca swallows before letting out a short chuckle.
"Mommy, can I have Doritos?" Raiza asks, shaking the small bag.
"Por supuesto, nena," Blanca allows her. She opens the package for her youngest. "Just a few, though, we need to make these last." She glances between her children. "We'll have the water for when it's not raining." They nod in understanding.
Of course, baby
"Gracias for everything, Diablo...you've shown me what true romantic love can feel like," Blanca murmurs as they're cuddling in her bed on her last morning in Queens. She closes her eyes while beaming as he caresses her hair and her face while his mouth molds onto hers. "You make me feel safe..."
"De nada, that's always my intention, mi amor."
"Pero..." Blanca's heart breaks for what she's about to tell him. She slides her legs between his and takes a few quivering breaths as she runs her fingers through his beard and his curly head of hair. She stares at him, trying to memorize his face and then his body while she traces invisible patterns on his torso. "Um...lo siento, pero tenemos que separarnos."
I'm sorry, but we have to split up.
He appears to be confused, then crestfallen, and she swears she can feel his heart shattering inside of his chest. "Baby...por favor, no hagas esto." He cups her chin and his thumb strokes along her cheekbone.
Please don't do this.
The ache inside of her is expanding, but she tries to ignore it. "Don't make this harder, Diablo, please, I'm begging you..."
"Te amo, querida, por favor don't go..." He kisses her knuckles in the way that's supposed to melt and calm her, but she doesn't feel relaxed in the least, not with Litvack prowling around, possibly spotting them, and then telling Dean right away where they're located. "I thought things were going great..."
I love you, darling, please
"You're better off without me," Blanca chokes out. "Lo siento, I never meant para que las cosas salieran de esta manera. Te amo, lo siento mucho..."
for things to turn out this way. I love you, I'm so sorry...
"Blanca...I'll give you a break if you need it...o si quieres, te dejaré solo para siempre." Diablo runs his hand down his face and she starts whimpering while shaking her head from side to side.
if you want me to, I'll leave you alone forever.
"This isn't goodbye. Es sólo que...no sé cuándo volveremos. We gotta move somewhere with affordable housing today. It could be out of the state since living here is too expensive."
It's just, I don't know when we'll ever be back.
"Ustedes tres pueden quedarse conmigo, les dije..."
You three can stay with me, I told you...
"I know that, pero...we can't just live off you. It's not like you're filthy rich. Cuídate a ti mismo y a tu hijo. No quiero que te declares en quiebra."
Take care of yourself and your son. I don't want you to go broke.
Understanding crosses his face and he nods sullenly. They make out soft and slow, their hands on each other's arms in a way that neither can tell if the other is pushing away or pulling closer. The kiss ends with their foreheads pressed together, neither wanting it to be true that this is happening.
Diablo sniffles. "Call me as soon as you get settled, okay?"
She blinks rapidly, sending more tears down her cheeks. "I...I can't. I had to sell my phone. Sin embargo, puedo enviarle una carta por correo."
However, I can send you a letter in the mail.
"Sure. I just wanna hear from you."
"You will," Blanca promises him.
He brushes her tears away and holds her for about ten more minutes.
They go out for ice cream on their final family adventure for a while. Everyone is feeling somber even though they're all having their favorite flavors and talking about anything they can think of.
When it's time to say goodbye at the Flores apartment, Laronne throws his arms around Blanca's neck, and then Maritza's. They hug him back and then he embraces Raiza. Blanca and Diablo squeeze each other's hands while kissing passionately, but then he needs to hold her, and she melts into his arms. Diablo then bumps fists with Maritza and bends down to Raiza's level so he and Blanca's littlest girl can hug.
"I'll miss all of you so much," Diablo murmurs, tucking a lock of hair behind Blanca's ear and gazing at her and her daughters.
"It's been great having you around," Laronne joins in.
"You're not so bad yourself, kid," Maritza tells him, pressing her lips together.
Blanca smiles, but it crumbles when she chews on her bottom lip and squeaks. Her eyes quickly fill with tears and he engulfs her again. "Oh baby, I wish we could stay here forever...look at the stars, since we haven't done that yet..."
"Lo sė, lo sé...yo también."
I know, I know, me too.
Raiza jumps up and down and then opts for clinging onto his leg. "¡Señor Diablo! I have a secret to share before we gotta go!"
"Oh, lo siento mucho, she's attached to you, literally...I should never have let this happen," Blanca says guiltily.
"It's okay, mi amor," he tells her soothingly and presses his lips to her cheek. He squats again and Raiza leans into his ear, cupping her hands around her mouth.
"When we come back, can you marry my mommy?" Raiza whispers. She stands back, her eyes big and round, her expression wistful, yet hopeful at the same time.
"Sí," he lets her know in the same hushed tone she'd used.
"Yay!" she cheers quietly while clapping her hands discreetly.
"Mama, look!" Raiza points to the sky.
The clouds get darker and thunder crashes while lightning lights up the sky. A storm is coming, and it's going to be worse than the small drizzle they'd been having earlier.
Blanca gasps. "Well, it's a good thing we won't be too badly soaked or hit by lightning. Why don't you girls try getting some water by getting some cups from our suitcases."
"Is drinking rainwater healthy?" Maritza asks.
Blanca shrugs. "You guys are thirsty and hungry, right? At least it's something going inside your mouths."
Raiza scrambles out of Blanca's lap and tips her head up. Maritza looks warily at her sister and scoops her up. She takes three cups from Blanca and finds thin streams of water. It takes her a few minutes, but she has successfully filled the cups with water. They drink, and it tastes like heaven.
"You'll write me?" Flaca asks tearfully, holding Maritza's hands in her own.
"Of course, every day. I want you to know we're okay. You'll know something's wrong when the letters stop coming."
Flaca sniffles. "¿Prometes?"
Do you promise?
Maritza bobs her head up and down fervently. "Sí. I can't call, since phones can be traced." She sighs sadly. "I'm gonna miss you so much. I guess volveré cuando mi familia situation gets under control."
I'll come back when
Flaca strokes her hair and pecks her cheek lightly. "Yo también te extrañaré..."
I'll miss you too...
"Maritza, tenemos que irnos pronto," Blanca calls out, unloading the last of their suitcases from Karla's trunk. She embraces both girls. "Flaca, gracias for being such a sweet friend to my Mari," Blanca tells her.
we have to go soon
Flaca looks at her sorrowfully. "De nada, pero realmente no fue un problema. Your girl means a lot to me, yo. Solo espero que nunca te encuentre...al menos antes de que todos podamos matarlo, 'cause he's being a downer on everyone's lives. I really liked meeting y'all."
but it was really no problem. I just hope he never finds you...at least before we can all kill him.
Blanca nods in agreement. "También me gustó conocerte, honey." She wraps her arms around her short best friend while Flaca bends down to hug Raiza and kiss the top of her head. "Oh, Karlita, prometí que nunca te volvería a dejar, pero aquí estoy, failing." Blanca covers her face with her hand as she sobs on Karla's shoulder, and Karla just smooths her hand down Blanca's hair while crying herself.
I liked meeting you too. Oh, Karlita, I promised I was never gonna leave you again, but here I am,
"Hey...you can't help that he's hunting you down and Litvack is his eyes..." Karla soothes her. "You'll keep Diablo y yo y all our other amigos in the loop, right?"
Blanca nods. "Sí..."
"Hola..." Flaca mumbles as she pushes open Karla's office door after she finishes her lunch with her girls. "I'm in a real bad place right now...and you said I could come in if I needed to talk to somebody."
Karla waves her forward. "Sí, entra."
Flaca is well aware she looks like shit, what with her messy hair and mascara tears streaking from her eyes to her jawline. She can't let the other girls see her like this, but Karla will probably understand, as she'd also lost her best friend. It's not forever, or so the Floreses had said, but it sure feels like it. She sits on a chair and slouches down. "I dunno what to do without her, Señora Córdova...like, we laugh and joke around less now that she ain't here. She was the light in our group. Ahora, it's like...mi corazón is empty."
"Conozco ese sentimiento. All we can do is just wait for their letters and hope they make a safe return." Karla walks to where Flaca is sitting. "¿Quieres un abrazo?"
I know that feeling. Do you want a hug?
Flaca nods wordlessly and stands. They wind their arms around each other and then both of them take spots on the floor. Flaca leans against Karla and the older woman embraces her warmly. The tears start up again, and it appears as if Karla is weeping softly, too, the way her shoulders are shaking and her chest is rising and falling rapidly.
I'm so sorry...but you remember the intro...it was coming.
Thank you for reading and reviewing, A Star in My Universe, Juliette45, and VeraRose19!